Juridical terminology and text analysis in English

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

François van der Mensbrugghe

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The aim of the Legal English course is to introduce law students to a broad range of legal texts that will assist them in their academic and professional undertakings. The method of the course goes beyond mere translation and the memorizing of lists of vocabulary. It is meant to provide an introductory understanding of the legal culture of the English-speaking world so that students may convey their understanding in a non-English speaking context. In order to achieve this objective, students are invited to read a vast array of texts taken from the Common law (and specifically the English and American legal environments). Besides judicial decisions and statutory instruments, the material comprises academic writings as well as law reports taken from leading English newspapers. In addition to the reading material itself, the course provides a vast number of exercises and a thorough glossary of legal terms specifically suited for the course and accessible on-line (E-reading).

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of this course, students should be able to:
1). convey the meaning of a Common Law judgment in their native language;
2). write a short note in Legal English; 3). command the structure of the court system in the United States and the United Kingdom, in addition to understanding the main features of Civil Procedure in both countries; 4). discuss and analyze several key areas of contemporary legal debate (current and developing trends) in the English-speaking world.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Students are kindly requested to have a "reasonable" command of the English language. Those students who feel they have a "below average" command of English are kindly invited to make this known at the outset of the course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

In the main, the course involves reading a significant number of legal texts in English. All texts will be made available online (E-reading). Exercises will also be given (some of which may involve writing in English).

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Given during the second semester, classes take place on Friday mornings, from 10:30 to 12:30 (Laurent amphitheatre).
The first class will take place on Friday, February 9, 2018.

Recommended or required readings

The texts will be made available online (E-reading).
Besides the texts themselves, the entire course is based on extensive usage of a Powerpoint presentation, available on the website of the course.

Assessment methods and criteria

The form of the exam is a two and a half hour written examination comprising:

• a commentary ("case brief") of a text in English, analyzed in class (answer in French);
• the translation and commentary ("case brief") of a text in English, that was not analyzed in class (translation from the English into French, case brief in French);
• the definition of three concepts (approximately 10 lines each)
• the translation of three sentences from French into English;
• a short essay question based on the understanding of several texts (answer in French).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

See above, Mode of delivery.

Contacts

fvdmensbrugghe@ulg.ac.be
The office of Professor van der Mensbrugghe is located on the ground floor of the Law School - level "0" (office R.35).

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