Syllabus for Legal language, Legal writing and General English

Part I - General

Module I : Introduction . Nature of language

Importance of English language in law
Develop skills of reading and interpreting a variety of text on law
Characteristic feature of legal English
Basic grammatical patterns and vocabulary items

Module II Background of law and language

Importance of language for law
Scope and problems of legal language
Special problems of legal language in India
Importance of command on language.

Part II- General English

Module III Comprehension- skill of reading and understanding English language.

Correct usage of words, phrases and idioms,

Module IV Developing writing skills knowledge of concords and determiners(a, an, the)
Correct usage of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions
Active, passive voice, change of voice
Order of verbs, use of tenses
Homophones, one word substitution
Common errors
Prcis writing, letter writing, report writing

Module V Types of communication- Intrapersonal, dyadic, small group, public, mass

Communication competence- pronunciation, intonation, accent, rhythm, articulation,
modulation & pitch, body language, tone, choice of words
Characteristics of competent communicators
Listening styles, critical listening

Part III- Legal Language

Module VI Legal maxims : Origin of maxims

Meaning of maxims
Usage of maxims in sentences to bring out the clarity of meaning.

Module VII Legal terms and phrases: purpose.

Meaning of legal terms and phrases to bring out the clarity.

Part IV- Meanings and usages

Module VIII A brief idea about pleading, drafting

Meaning and purpose of pleading
Meaning and purpose of drafting
 Conveyancing- meaning, purpose, ingredients, types

Module IX Drafting petitions and applications: purpose

General application writing
Writing to state authorities-The President, The Prime Minister The Chief minister,
Secretaries, Chairmen, Pollution Control Board, Human Rights Commission etc.
Structure of plaint
Type of plaints.

Module X Essay writing and commenting

Reading reports and judgements.
Practice of legal writing petitions, reports,
Legal essays & applications writing
Making summary of cases.
Extensive reading practice of legal stories and biographies.

Exercises

Module XI Watching legal movies, plays and discussion thereafter.

Module XII Delivering speech or reading passages, audio-visual recording of the same, discussion
Role plays, audio-visual recording and discussion.
Handling and control of audio-visual recording equipment
Language lab hearing, speaking, rectifying, evaluating
Personality development
Etiquettes and manners, Protocols
Presentation skills

Part V- Language Lab

1. Introduction to English Mastery:

1.1. Practice of listening comprehension,
1.2. Practice of speaking,
1.3. Practice of pronunciation and
1.4. Practice of intonation

2. Audio Puzzles:
2.1. Practice of listening comprehension in mixed order
2.2. Rearranging the segments in correct order using aural clues.

3. Audio write:
3.1. Practice listening comprehension
3.2. Dictation and spelling
3.3. Typing the text without seeing on the screen
3.4. Understanding mistakes and correction

4. Improving vocabulary:
 4.1. Listening to the pronunciation of each vocabulary item.
4.2. Repeat after the model and record them.
4.3. Compare their pronunciation with the original, correct

5. Vocabulary games e.g. crossword puzzles:

5.1. Play crossword puzzle game with aural and visual clues
5.1.1. Practice recognition and spelling of new vocabulary
5.1.2. See, listen and understand clues given in section 4.
5.1.3. Fill up the crossword puzzle with the above clues.

6. Language exercises:
6.1. Difficult points of grammar
6.2. Reading skills
6.3. linguistic inference
6.4. Practice of speed reading
6.5. Exercises in vocabulary and grammar questions

7. Grammar Exercises:
7.1. Fill-in-the-blanks
7.2. Multiple choice
7.3. Word order
7.4. Two-part questions

References: Software packages

English Mastery, Rosetta Stone Curriculum text levels 2&3
Face-to-Face;:(Introduction), Pre-inter, Inter
Professional presentations