This is a comprehensive textbook on English legal vocabulary, grammar and legal concepts. It focuses on preparing students for the Test of Legal English Skills (TOLES) or higher core exam. The book focuses on the English legal system and covers a number of different practice areas such as the legal profession, business law and contracts. There are many style activities that fill in the gaps that can be done in class or through self-study. Note that there are no significant differences between the 2016 and 2021 editions. Buy here. We are recognized as a Centre of Legal Excellence in English and accredited by ASIC. What legal English course books can I use to learn legal English? The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the duality between power distance and textual complexity usually attributed to legal language applies to two different types of texts widely used, interpreted and applied in the global field of commerce and communication, namely Lloyd`s Institute freight clauses and the Rules of the London International Court of Arbitration. Finally, by selecting two genres that are the direct product of the legislative apparatus of the common law system, but that are used internationally, we undertake to examine whether opacity is really inherent in English-language legal texts with international scope of implementation. In order to study, illustrate and argue the degree of difficulty and power distance (and the relationship between the two) in such legal instruments, the gender perspective has been chosen as the most effective instrument of contemporary applied linguistics.
Gender analysis makes it possible to identify the gender(s) of a specialized professional community related to the communicative group from which it comes, the audience it receives, the historical and cultural context and the extratextual reality it is supposed to represent. The objective of our study, which takes place at different levels: formal, discursive and above all pragmatic, is to recognize whether there is a possible equation between power and textual complexity and what are the consequences for the understanding of the nature of these major international texts. This is a comprehensive course book suitable for students from upper intermediate to advanced level. It can be used both for self-study and with a teacher. It contains 45 units covering a wide range of legal vocabulary on topics such as the English legal system, intellectual property law and environmental law. An example of content can be found here. “Absolute Legal English is a comprehensive course book for law students and practicing lawyers who wish to work in an international legal environment and need to improve their language skills. Absolute Legal English consists of nine units covering the main areas of international law. Each unit practices in the four key languages, and all skills are closely linked to actual work practice.
The burgeoning plain language movement on the international stage is pushing for an urgent global ideological push that legal documents intended for ordinary citizens, especially known as consumer contracts, must be in a form understood by them. Several studies refer to the complexity of legal documents (Bhatia, 2010; Gibbons, 2004; Schuck, 1992, Tiersma, 1999) and call for the promotion of clearer language that still retains legal meaning (Eagleson, 2004; Felsenfeld and Siegel, 1981; Gibbons, 2004; Kimble, 2000; Tiersma, 1999). Therefore, this article attempts to validate such studies in the local environment and thus examine how a consumer finance contract is understood by some consumers. In particular, this study seeks to determine the comprehensibility of this particular material in the Philippine environment – a document with credit card terms by answering the question: How understandable is the existing document with credit card terms? Using two reader-based tests (cloze text and paraphrase) to analyze how respondents understand the contract, the results of the study show the poor comprehensibility of the validated document with Pearson`s statistical test of the correlation coefficient of the moment of the product. In addition, respondents` perceived lack of understanding and familiarity with Document 27 represents statistically significant associations with their low paraphrasing scores. The results of these efforts will serve as a basis for a possible simplification or revision of the Consumer Finance Agreement – a future innovative project in the field of judicial linguistics in the Philippines. OUP offers the widest selection of legal systems and skill books, and we are aware that the way this subject is taught can vary widely. That`s why we offer a tailor-made option that allows you to customize your own manual in print or electronic form. Learn more about custom options. This article examines how English for Academic Legal Purposes (EALP) textbooks published over the past three decades have evolved and responded to the challenges of legal education. The purpose of such a survey is threefold: (1) to determine the type of typology that configures the composition of contemporary EALP-type textbooks; 2) (re)define EALP in the light of the new typology; and (3) determine the possible implications of such a typology for English legal education. The literature review revealed that between 1980 and 2002, English legal textbooks focused primarily on teaching writing, with an emphasis on grammar, legal content, and general writing skills.
