Legal English I

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Ed: 1	Nick Flynn	English Section	ENG

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM

Class hours: approximately 110 hours
Independent study: approximately 72 hours

Observations: As language classes consist of small groups, full participation on the part of the student is expected. Students will receive continuous feedback on their learning and performance throughout the course. Given the nature of language acquisition at higher levels, the time indicated above for independent study is only an estimation because sometimes more work outside class is required at these levels to progress than at lower levels.

Many students are offered the opportunity to do an academic exchange at foreign universities, many of which offer courses taught in English.

Some subjects may be available in English in the second cycle

In an increasingly international professional environment, a good command of English is also essential for effective communication to take place, not only with native speakers but also as the lingua franca between non-native speakers.

Course Learning Objectives

Students passing English 1 should achieve a level approximate to a B pass (First Certificate, Cambridge University), with special emphasis on the necessary skills, both oral and written, to function flexibly and effectively in academia and in the legal and/or business worlds. They will be able to:

Speaking
- Participate in a discussion on social and legal issues and express an opinion
- Give a presentation on a legal or social issue

Listening
- Understand a variety of speakers on a range of subjects

Reading
- Understand the main points of texts on a variety of topics

Writing
- Write a letter of advice
- Write a paper defending a point of view
- Write an email to their professor, observing the professional email conventions.

4. Conveying information and/or knowledge

CONTENT

1. Writing The mark assigned for writing skills is based on the following: Participation, 10% Mid-term: letter of advice, 20% Mid-term written exam, 20% Second writing task: professional email, 20% Final exam, 30%
2. Speaking The grade for oral communication is based on the following: Mid-term oral assessment: problem-solving discussion, 30% Presentation, 30% Final oral assessment of problem-solving discussion. 40%

1. Writing

The mark assigned for writing skills is based on the following:
Participation, 10%
Mid-term: letter of advice, 20%
Mid-term written exam, 20%
Second writing task: professional email, 20%
Final exam, 30%

2. Speaking

The grade for oral communication is based on the following:
Mid-term oral assessment: problem-solving discussion, 30%
Presentation, 30%
Final oral assessment of problem-solving discussion. 40%

Relation between Activities and Contents

	1	2
Writing
Speaking

Methodology

Classes are taught in English throughout and require full participation and commitment on the part of the individual student and the group as a whole. Effective learning also depends on extensive individual work outside class, the writing tasks, extensive and intensive reading, studying structural and lexical aspects of the language and preparing presentations on law-related issues.

Speaking skills: activities designed to offer opportunities to practice speaking skills include discussions, debates, presentations, role-playing exercises and specific tasks such as giving instructions, giving advice and obtaining information.

Listening comprehension: students practise listening for gist, identifying key points, listening for details and identifying speaker attitude through classroom activities and resources for individual use. These activities draw not only from learning materials, but also on a wide range of authentic material from sources such as television programmes or the internet.

Reading: different skills are developed, including skimming, scanning and reading for study purposes using texts drawn from a variety of sources. Students will become aware of the difference between formal and more informal registers.

Writing: tasks include essay writing in preparation for reports, summaries and other types of communication practised at more advanced levels.

Linguistic resources: all the above skills demand constant consolidation and expansion of syntactic and lexical knowledge, as well as practice in pronunciation and intonation. This involves focusing on aspects of the language that students are already familiar with but do not yet control fully.

Description	%
Writing	50
Speaking	50

Assessment criteria

Assessment is carried out by means of written and spoken assignments, portfolios of written work and participation in class. Marks are awarded from 0-10. In order to pass the course, a minimum of 5 is required on both the speaking and the writing component.

Speaking skills are assessed by means of:
1. Discussions in small groups on topics of social and legal interest
2. A presentation given individually in class, and graded according to command of the
conventional presentation skills; clarity, organisation and relevance of content, and
linguistic performance on four criteria: structure and vocabulary, pronunciation and
intonation, and fluency.
3. Participation, which means taking the opportunities offered to participate in
English and encouraging classmates to maintain English as the medium of communication.

Listening: students are assessed via mid-term and final exams.

Reading: students need to be able to locate specific information and to identify greater details.

Writing: students are evaluated on the basis of:
1. Discursive papers (for and against something)
2. A portfolio of written assignments.

Evaluation criteria include communicative effect and task achievement, structuring of information via paragraphing, use of discourse markers and cohesive devices to develop and support an argument and correct use of grammar and vocabulary.

Grammar and vocabulary tested in the mid-term and final exams.

Participation: a proportion of the oral grade is allocated to class participation. Students are expected to speak English in class and show commitment to their tasks. A mark is also given for writing done during the course: all writing tasks are to be corrected where necessary and presented with a full analysis of errors.

Attendance: Attendance is obligatory. Students who miss more than 25% of classes will not be able to sit the final exam and will be duly registered as "Absent" for said exam. They will thus have to re-sit the final in July.

In addition to the results on exams, assignments and other course tasks, feedback is given throughout the course on students' progress, participation, individual strengths and weaknesses and approach to language learning: persistence and perseverance are more important at this level than at lower levels.

Assessment tools:
- Ongoing assessment: approx. 10% of the mark
- Assignments: approx. 30% of the mark
- Exams: approx. 60% of the mark

Students who do not:
1. Pass the course at the FIRST SITTING OF THE EXAM, due to not attending class, not completing the set activities or copying them will not be able to RE-SIT THE FINAL EXAM and will therefore have to re-take the course again and complete the set activities specified by faculty.
2. Have the level of required competences will be able to move on to the next year of the programme so long as they pass this course, but they will not be able to complete the final degree project without acquiring the required competence levels for the degree programme.

Type:	OB	Curs:	1	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	4 ECTS

Legal English I (GED90001)

General information

Type:

Curs:

Period:

ECTS Credits:

Teaching Staff:

Prerequisites

Previous Knowledge

Workload distribution

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM

Course Learning Objectives

Competences

CONTENT

1. Writing

2. Speaking

Relation between Activities and Contents

Methodology

ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

Assessment criteria

Timetable and sections

Timetable Ed: 1

Timetable Ed: 3