English for Law

Introduction

English for Law is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards the specialisation of the law. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking and pronunciation.

Граматика

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences.
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events.
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions.
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.

Речник

  • By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 120 expressions used in legal contexts.

Skills

  • By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and legal contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to Legal Terminology
  • Grammar: Present tenses
  • Речник: Essential legal vocabulary, legal concepts, branches of law
  • Четене: Understanding legal texts, articles, and case studies
  • Слушане: Legal discussions, lectures, and debates
  • Писане: My life as a lawyer
  • Говорене: Describing a legal concept
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Contract Law
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Речник: Contract formation, breaches, remedies, contract terms
  • Четене: Contracts and agreements
  • Слушане: Contract negotiation and dispute resolution discussions
  • Писане: Contract clauses and summaries
  • Говорене: Discussing contract terms and negotiating agreements
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Criminal Law
  • Grammar: Going to and Will
  • Речник: Offences, criminal procedure, sentencing, criminal defences
  • Четене: Criminal case summaries and legal statutes
  • Слушане: Courtroom proceedings and criminal law discussions
  • Писане: A case brief
  • Говорене: Presenting criminal law arguments
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Family Law
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Речник: Marriage, divorce, child custody, alimony, adoption
  • Четене: Family law statutes and cases
  • Слушане: Family law consultations and court hearings
  • Писане: A family law document
  • Говорене: Discussing family law issues
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Property Law
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Речник: Real property, personal property, leases, mortgages, easements
  • Четене: Property law documents and cases
  • Слушане: Property law discussions and negotiations
  • Писане: A property law document
  • Говорене: Discussing property law transactions
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Employment Law
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Речник: Employment contracts, discrimination, termination, worker’s rights
  • Четене: Employment law cases and regulations
  • Слушане: Employment law consultations and disputes
  • Писане: An employment law document
  • Говорене: Discussing employment law
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Intellectual Property Law
  • Граматика: Passive
  • Речник: Copyright, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, infringement
  • Четене: Intellectual property law cases and statutes
  • Слушане: Intellectual property law discussions and disputes
  • Писане: An intellectual property law document
  • Говорене: Discussing intellectual property law
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • Professional Communication for Legal Professionals
  • Grammar: Second conditional
  • Речник: Formal and informal language, presentation skills, cultural awareness
  • Четене: Professional emails, memos, and announcements
  • Слушане: Effective communication with colleagues
  • Писане: Professional emails, memos, and announcements
  • Говорене: Communication between legal professionals
  • Pronunciation:Hope and Hop + connected speech

Follow-up

  • Students completing the English for Law course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.