Bachelor
2021/2022
Legal Linguistics
Type:
Compulsory course (Law)
Area of studies:
Law
Delivered by:
School of English Language
Where:
Faculty of Law
When:
3 year, 2, 3 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of one campus
Instructors:
Tatyana Petrovna Popova
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
38
Course Syllabus
Abstract
This course is intended to offer a layout principle of ESP course design tailored for the HSE law students based on Content-based instruction approach. The areas within each topic means to improve and expand the students’ specialist vocabulary, which will further enable them to operate effectively in the field of law. Admittedly, these issues can be viewed from different angles in diverse ESP contexts. Legal Linguistics is taught in the 3d year, its orientation is mainly practical. Focused on a career in the legal profession in an international setting, the aim is to enable the student to present information of a legal nature in English. It complements the English course, which was taken in the first and second year at the HSE, emphasizing the legal notions and concepts that the students have acquired through their study of the law and providing them with the necessary skills and linguistic tools. The course includes comparative analysis of Common Law jurisdictions and Civil law ones; extensive reading of legal texts; debates, case studies, doing research on a legal topic and defending it in class; giving oral presentations; writing business letters to clients. The final output is taking an oral course exam in Legal Linguistics. In this course, we also go through the various sub-fields and issues of legal linguistics; for example, plagiarism, transcription of legal terms, translation, interpreting, while explaining the nature of linguistic evidence and the role that languages play in the legal proceedings.
Learning Objectives
- This course is aimed at preparing students to use legal English in different legal contexts To achieve this goal, they will have the opportunity to explore authentic legal texts (documents, contracts) as a way of knowing how they are filed in English, the speaking practice being a tool for problem solving. They will be actively engaged in reading and discussing legal cases.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- experience in working with different information sources on theory and legal practice
- skills on designing some types of contracts
- skills on the use of various legal vocabulary in certain contexts
- skills on using ICT and different modern technologies
Course Contents
- Topic 1. The practice of Law
- Topic 2. Contract law.
- Topic 3. Contracts: assignment and third party’s rights
- Topic 4. Employment law.
- Topic 5. Company law.
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Introduction to International Legal English : a course for classroom or self-study use, Student's Book, TransLegal, 4th ed., 160 p., Krois-Linder, A., Firth, M., 2012
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- International Legal English. A course for classroom or self-study use, Krois-Lindner, A., 2011