Bridging the Gap: e-CIC, Mediation and Scaffolding

As a crucial 21st-century skill for EFL learners, mediation fosters learner autonomy and lifelong education. In foreign language classrooms, mediation and scaffolding are primarily developed through real-time communication. Designed as a case study, this study investigated how six higher education EFL learners applied mediation strategies and scaffolding features to develop their e-Classroom Interactional Competence (e-CIC). The research was conducted during assessments designed around the CEFR mediation and interaction activities in Synchronous Online Lessons (SOLs). The results revealed that high-achieving participants effectively varied their mediation strategies. In contrast, average and low-achieving learners relied on limited, individual strategies rather than group-oriented approaches. Additionally, the findings highlighted that data-driven scaffolding themes significantly enhanced classroom interaction in terms of students' e-CIC, though these features varied across different learner profiles.