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journal of linguistic studies

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3. ILEC PREPARATION COURSES AT THE FACULTY OF LAW IN OSIJEK<br />

Legal pr<strong>of</strong>essionals today need up-to-date and accurate knowledge <strong>of</strong> legal English in<br />

order to meet the challenges <strong>of</strong> their work. They have to deal with English-speaking<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>essionals more than before and equip for the challenges <strong>of</strong> the European free market.<br />

They are expected not only to understand but also draft commercial contracts in English.<br />

They should be able to reply letters and emails written in English on a daily basis. On the<br />

other hand there are law students who have to prepare for post-graduate <strong>studies</strong> <strong>of</strong> law<br />

and take active part in legal courses. In order to prepare legal pr<strong>of</strong>essionals for the future<br />

business involvement in the international field <strong>of</strong> law and law students for following<br />

courses <strong>of</strong> legal study at university level the Faculty <strong>of</strong> Law in Osijek has been <strong>of</strong>fering<br />

the ILEC course since 2008 for law students, lawyers, judges, civil servants and other<br />

legal pr<strong>of</strong>essionals.<br />

The course assumes existing knowledge <strong>of</strong> law and legal English but it also deals<br />

with differences in legal vocabulary in particular to the common law system. The<br />

following units are taught (Amy Krois-Lindner and TransLegal. (2007). International<br />

Legal English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press):<br />

- The practice <strong>of</strong> law<br />

- Company law: company formation and management<br />

- Company law: capitalisation<br />

- Company law: fundamental changes in a company<br />

- Contracts: contract formation<br />

- Contracts: remedies<br />

- Contracts: assignment and third-party rights<br />

- Employment law<br />

- Sale <strong>of</strong> goods<br />

- Real property law<br />

- Intellectual property<br />

- Negotiable instruments<br />

- Secured transactions<br />

- Debtor-creditor<br />

- Competition law<br />

There were not more than ten participants in the class who were tested for their<br />

English knowledge level before commencing the course. The testing results show that<br />

there were 87% <strong>of</strong> participants <strong>of</strong> B2 level, 8% C1 and 5% B1 (data refer to the 2008<br />

testing results) level <strong>of</strong> the Common European Framework <strong>of</strong> Reference for Languages.<br />

Our experience in ILEC teaching shows that in spite <strong>of</strong> the recommendation that the<br />

course is intended for B2 and C1 levels the B1 level participants were motivated to learn,<br />

which resulted in catching up with the group and improvement <strong>of</strong> their language skills.<br />

The law-related texts deriving from law text books, laws or articles were authentic<br />

and learners were expected to show not only their reading ability but also the ability to<br />

manage wide vocabulary. For that purpose complete vocabulary lesson sheets were<br />

prepared in advance for them to deal with before the reading.<br />

As for the vocabulary the learners had the most difficulties with legal terminology<br />

that <strong>of</strong>fered no exact equivalent in their mother tongue (Croatian). However, this was<br />

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