English, Standard and legal language

Duration

90h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Frédéric Depas, Pierre Geron, Kevin Heyeres, Caroline Hougardy, ISLV, Estelle Oger

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

All year long, with partial in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This English course is intended for first-year law students and aims both at improving their command of general English and at providing them with the basics of legal English in reading, listening and speaking.
CEFRL levels of the course :

• listening (B2)
• reading (C1)
• speaking (B2)
• writing (B1)

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of the term, students will have

• developed their ability to read and understand legal texts such as legal periodicals, commercial legislation, legal correspondance and other commercial law documents.
• increased their comprehension of spoken English when it is used to speak about legal topics in meetings, presentations, interviews, discussions, etc.
• strengthened their speaking skills and become able to engage more effectively in a range of speaking situations typical of legal practice, such as client interviews, discussions with colleagues and contract negotiations.
• learned how to use the necessary vocabulary and grammar tools .

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

The class is taught in English from the start and is not meant for beginners. Students should ideally have reached level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages before the start of the class.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

This 90-hour course is taught all year round in two-hour sessions, twice a week in the first term and once a week in the second term.These sessions will take place in class, provided circumstances allow.
To be able to keep up with the fast pace of the class, students will make sure to prepare actively and regularly at home the exercises from the book and other additional tasks as indicated by the teacher.

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

Dependent on the sanitary context or on logistical issues caused by the sanitary context, face-to-face classes might not remain possible.  In that case, our interactive courses will take place live on Collaborate of Lifesize without any changes to the original schedule.
If possible, an on-site written examination (MCQs) in January will remain the preferred option. If that is impossible, the written examination will be organized via E-Campus (MCQs). 
In May/June: if possible, an on-site written examination (MCQs) and a face-to-face oral examination, also in the university buildings.  If that is impossible, the oral exams will take place over LifeSize.

Recommended or required readings

The course book "English for Law Students" is available at the "Magasin des Presses", on Myuliège and on eCampus.
Students are required to bring a paper version of the course book to class.
Students who wish to improve on their grammar are advised to get hold of the Grammaire Anglaise de Base (ISLV), Editions de l'ULg
Besides, students will need a good bilingual dictionary (English/French, French/English) such as The New Collins Robert French Dictionary or Oxford/Hachette.
They are also advised to get hold of a monolingual dictionary such as Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners or Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Some of these are also available free of charge on the libraries' website.

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Any session :

- In-person

written exam AND oral exam

- Remote

oral exam

- If evaluation in "hybrid"

preferred in-person


Additional information:

There will be a written exam in January and a final exam in June.  The final exam in June will be made up of a written and an oral part.
The written exam in January will test the grammar, vocabulary, and the texts seen in class during the first term. Students who passed the January exam will not have to resit that part of the exam in June/August.
The written exam in June will be composed of true or false and multiple-choice questions about listening and reading comprehension, and about the grammar and the vocabulary seen in class.
The oral exam (June) will assess not only the students' speaking skills, but also their use of the vocabulary and language functions exercised in class as well as the comprehension of texts seen in class.
Part of the oral exam will be about texts selected from a readings file. This readings file, which is available on eCampus, is composed of several texts dealing with different topics covered in class.  A given number of credits is assigned to each text depending on its length and difficulty level.  Each student is required to choose 12 credits' worth of texts.
2nd-year law student whose option is "langue et mobilité" have to prepare another twelve credits' worth of texts to reach a total of 24 credits.
Students are required to fill in the ad hoc form and to hand in a paper copy of it to their teacher during the first class after Spring Break (week of April 19th 2021).  Failure to do so will lead to a mark of 0 for that part of the oral exam.
The points that make up the final mark will be distributed as follows:

• Written exam in January / resit in June or August : 5 points
• Written exam in June : 5 points
• Listening comprehension exam (June) : 2 points
• Oral exam (June) : 8 points

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

After the information session, students are requested to fill in the registration form available on Wooclap as soon as possible in order to be assigned a group.
Deadline: September 24th Contact: Ms. Lheureux  (ilheureux@ulg.ac.be) 
After this deadline, students who are still not signed up for a group have to contact Ms. Hougardy (C.Hougardy@uliege.be). 
First class: September 28th
 

Contacts

Teachers:
Frédéric DEPAS (F.Depas@uliege.be)
Pierre GERON (Pierre.Geron@uliege.be)
Kevin HEYERES (K.Heyeres@uliege.be)
Caroline HOUGARDY (C.Hougardy@uliege.be) (coordinator)
Estelle OGER (Estelle.Oger@uliege.be)

Items online