English

English | Introduction to Legal English - listening/audio-visual comprehension; reading comprehension; lexical and terminology development and expansion; summarising/writing accuracy skills; oral discussion and debating. Each skill is developed within the context of material derived from the student's field of study, Law. Teaching is conducted in two separate but connected lesson structures:
(a) once-weekly “Théorie” lecture, open to all (200+) registered students (taught via TEAMS). It is a mixed-level group, accommodating students from many different educational backgrounds and language abilities.
(b) a series of weekly Exercise/TP lessons (one 2h lesson per group, given face-to-face on campus once each for the TP groups), which cater for smaller groups: effectively the total number of students divided into smaller, mixed-level groups.

The overarching objective is to develop general communicative competence in English, with a focus on legal contexts and knowledge. Given the nature of the course and its materials, the course requires students to make a significant effort in both intensive in-class participation and planned and/or extra-curricular self-study.
Emphasis is placed on facilitating and familiarising students with different legal fields and concepts in the English-speaking world and on actively and intensively gathering new vocabulary which is specific to the following domains:
Study of Law/Starting a law career;
Contract Law;
Tort Law;
Criminal Law;
Company Law;
Commercial Law;
Real Property Law;
Litigation and Arbitration;
International Law;
Comparative Law (including aspects of Human Rights and International Law);
and Judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, among other international jurisdictions.
A further aim is to encourage students to make contact with the professional world of law in English-speaking contexts, through a group case study/research project which students conduct throughout the latter half of Q1 and submit mid-Q2 (6-8-page written report with relevant appendices abd comparison with a Belgian or French judgement). Beyond the use of the variety of texts mentioned above, to stimulate reading ability, comprehension, and accumulate pertinent terminology, the course targets improvement of listening/viewing comprehension and follow-up debate, discussion and in-class (informal) presentations through law-based listening and a wide range of documentary/visual resources (e.g. developing note-taking skills).

Connaissances et compétences pré-requises ou co-requises

Intermediate ability in the English language (B1, according to the CEFR scale).

Cours ayant celui-ci comme pré-requis

The teaching methodology is interactive-communicative, with an open, informal dialogue between teacher and students, the core aim being to build confidence while communicating in a non-native language.
The classroom language is always English. If explanations are required in French, these are given, although a collaborative approach to problem-solving is encouraged, with cooperation sought between student peers of different levels of ability. This helps to create the optimum environment for language learning in an easy-going context. While the Théorie course (delivered via TEAMS), due to potentially fluctuating numbers, naturally lends itself to a more traditional front-lecturing style, interaction is nonetheless encouraged and engaged in.
The TP classes, conversely, are fully interactive, with students being stimulated to work in groups for short periods of the lesson, mix and change groups, report to the class/to the teacher on findings, volunteer answers to exercises, read texts aloud, debate questions, correct each other’s mistakes, summarise each other’s work, write collaboratively, and so on. Throughout each lesson, the teacher endeavours to deal with the four main skills in language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking (with the main emphasis on reading and listening comprehension ability). This means that each lesson is characterised by three or four distinct parts, the starting point for which may be a grammar diagnosis on a particular point that causes problems, a listening exercise from a legal context, a law-based reading comprehension, or a video explaining some aspect of English/US/Comparative law. These starting points for language learning are based on the study of law pertinent to students’ interests and academic pathways. Additional to the above, the course is entirely supported by digital and online material which is always available to students via the Virtual University.

Références, bibliographie et lectures recommandées

Key legal-English language text books are used consistently, to supplement and give structure to the grammar/sentence-formation/terminology aspects of the course, notably:
-Introduction to International Legal English, A. Krois-Lindner, M. Firth & Translegal (Cambridge UP)
-Professional English in Use. Law, Brown & Rice (Cambridge UP)
-Legal English (2nd Edition), R. Haigh (London & New York: Routledge – Cavendish)
-The Legal English Manual, A. Wiebalck, R. Norman, C. von Zedtwitz, K. Weston Walsh, in cooperation with “Lawbility” (Helbing Lichtenhahn [co-published by C. H. Beck & Manz])
-Legal English. How to Understand and Master the Language of Law, McKay & Charlton (Longman)
-English for Contract and Company Law (2nd Edition), Chartrand, Millar & Wiltshire (Thompson).

We also make frequent use of the following bilingual Legal EN/FR dictionary: Harrap’s Dictionnaire Juridique | Law Dictionary (Chambers Harrap/Dalloz);
For grammar and Academic English, the following are referred to for self-study:
-English Grammar in Use, R. Murphy (Cambridge UP);
-Academic Vocabulary in Use, M. McCarthy & F. O’Dell (Cambridge UP).

A rich and constantly updated supplementary list of websites and pertinent texts kept in the ULB Law Faculty’s Bibliothèque de Droit is supplied to students via the Virtual University in Q1 and consulted throughout the course.

See also: Guardian Weekly | The Guardian and Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide (hrw.org)

Support(s) de cours

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Dr David Best, Faculté de Droit et de Criminologie

David.Albert.Best@ulb.be 

Campus

Solbosch

Méthode(s) d'évaluation

• Travail personnel
• Examen écrit
• Projet
• Travail de groupe
• Autre

Travail personnel

Examen écrit

• Examen hors-session

• Question fermée à Réponses Multiples (QRM)
• Question ouverte à réponse courte
• Question ouverte à texte à trous

Projet

Travail de groupe

Autre

Task 1. Employability: Applying for a legal internship (simulation) [Q1 - travail personnel]
Task 2. Case Note: Group registration + Case Note [Q1 - travail de groupe]
Task 3. Case Study: Written report [Q2 - travail de groupe: projet (écrit)]
Task 4. Video Capsule or Podcast: Case Study filmed or recorded presentation [Q2 - travail de groupe: présentation oral]
Task 5. Final Evaluation: Reading, Vocabulary + Writing test [Q2 - examen écrit - 3.5h]

NB. Attention: only the Final Evaluation is tested in the Second Session: all parts of the TP/Exercises course work (Tasks 1-4) must be completed during the teaching year (September-May)

Construction de la note (en ce compris, la pondération des notes partielles)

LANG-C2002 = 5 ECTS
Task 1. = 10% Employability: Applying for a legal internship (simulation) [Q1 - travail personnel]
Task 2. = 10% Case Note: Group registration + Case Note [Q1 - travail de groupe]
Task 3. = 20% Case Study: Written report [Q2 - travail de groupe: projet (écrit)]
Task 4. = 10% Video Capsule: Case Study filmed presentation [Q2 - travail de groupe: présentation oral]
Task 5. = 50% Final Evaluation: Reading, Vocabulary + Writing test [Q2 - examen écrit - 3h]

NB. Attention: only the Final Evaluation is tested in the Second Session: all parts of the TP/Exercises course work (Tasks 1-4) must be completed during the teaching year (September-May)

Langue(s) d'évaluation

• anglais