Research Seminar "Professional Communication in the Field of Jurisprudence"

2023/2024

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Undergraduate Programmes Curriculum Support

Course type:

Elective course

When:

3 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Chumilkin, Sergei

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The discipline is designed for third year students of programme 40.03.01 Legal studies and aims at developing the level of communicative competence for successful performance in professional environment. Students will have a chance to systemize their knowledge of the language and also develop and expand their active and passive vocabulary in legal sphere. The course helps to increase the level of comprehending of professional legal English together with introduction of successful behavior strategies. To reach these goals except for base textbooks an authentic materials including significant cases of past and recent years. Students will have an opportunity to create different legal texts from articles of association to the project of constituion. The language of discipline is English.

Learning Objectives

• The course aims at developing language competence in legal sphere indifferent modes of professional communication for successful solving legal issues
• The course is to help students to form professional socio-cultural skillsin English to be able to perform adequately in international labour market
• The course will maintain student's ability to create their own Legaldocuments in English and conduct adequate professional communication without any loss of their prestige

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Knows principals of Speech Acts theory, characteristics of professional legal communications and strategies of successful behavior and language use in different genres of legal communication.
• Is able to create written legal documents belonging to various segments jurisprudence which satisfies both professional competence and linguistic awareness and successfully lead legal written professional communication in accordance with aim of communication.
• Is able to perform orally in different genres of oral legal and media legal communication belonging to various segments jurisprudence which satisfies both professional competence and linguistic awareness in accordance with aim of communication
• Uses terminology and grammar patterns that are necessary for successful legal communication in English

Course Contents

• Communication and Speech Act Theory. Role play
• Oral Legal Discourse, part 1. Presenting yourself in professional environment
• Working with documents and colleagues - 1
• Working with documents and colleagues - 2
• Written Legal Discourse (part 1)
• Oral Legal Discourse, part 2. Giving recommendation\Advising
• Media Legal Discourse, part 1. Taking part in media events
• Oral Legal Discourse, part 2. Dealing with Difficult Clients.
• Written Legal Discourse, part 2.
• International Law (optional if the speed of the course is high enough).
• Legal Media Discourse. Part 2

Assessment Elements

• Mini Lecture \ Report
  A student has an opportunity to make either mini lecture or report. Mini Lecture is a speaking presentation made during Lectures of the course to assist the lecturer and communicate theoretical (an not only) frameworks. Report is a short speaking presentation during seminars helping your peers to have necessary context for particular tasks or to give instructions hot to work with documents, role plays and etc. The student is allowed to do this task once during the course. If the student has made a mini lecture or report he or she is not allowed to request for another mini lecture or report. In order to have a topic for mini lecture or report. A student is to write a request to Mr Chumilkin or to speak about it during the break. The request is to be expressed not later than 6 calendar day before the date of the mini lecture (except for mini lectures for 15.04 when this option does not work). No requests are considered after 10.12.23. The slots for mini lectures are limited no more than three slots for a seminar because all the lectures and reports stick to the topic of the class. Mr.Chumilkin has the right to set number of slots for mini lectures and reports during seminars depending on the topic. Total number of slots for mini lectures and reports exceeds the number of students enrolled on course. All these slots are distributed equally throughout the classes in September, October, November and December. Sergei V.Chumilkin has the right to reject you with mini lecturer if • Deadline break in December • All the slots for mini lecture or report have been taken. Mr. Chumilkin has the right not to give topic for mini-lecture or report if there’s no option according to course syllabus. • The request for the report has not been made. If the student misses the class with his mini lecture or report having been set he or she will have no opportunity to set one more topic.
• Speaking tasks
  Speaking tasks include podcasts, role play activities, advising and training tasks, video blogs, presentations and etc.. Students may receive task in class or as a home task. At the end of the course all the marks a student has received for the course are added and this sum is divided on the number of the tasks which were conducted. This result becomes 0,225 of Final mark for the course. The final number of speaking tasks depends on the level of the group but cannot be less than four but not more than 8 (in the Smart LMS the maximum numbers of tasks are presented). If the activity is conducted in the class room Mr . Chumilkin sets the deadline and main requirements for the task. The task is to be completed by this deadline. If the activity is designed to be done at home the deadline is set by S.Chumilkin in advance.
• Written tasks
  During the course they are to complete written tasks both at home and on seminars and interactive lectures. The written tasks can be emails, letters, forms, legal documents, reports, brief cases. The task may be conducted individually, in pairs or in groups. At the end of the course all the marks a student has received for the course are added and this sum is divided on the number of the task which were conducted. This result becomes 0,225 of Final mark for the course. The number of the written tasks depends on the group language acquisition level and cannot be less than five. Deadline for the written tasks made in class are obliged to be done in class. No after class passing is allowed. These papers are either sent to Mr. Chumilkin’s email or handed in handwritten. Deadline for the home written task is set by Mr.Chumilkin. Breaking the deadline is impossible. The total number tasks is to be between 5 or ten depending on the speed of the group. In the programm and ol Smart LMS a maximum number of tasks is set in the system.
• Constitution Task
  It is a home task activity that is completed individually. The student is to create a fragment of Constitution for the given islandic or small country. The fragment has to be related to a part of Constitution dealing with vital articles of the constitution. The Final Constitution project is to consist of Preamble, Articles and Final notes. The number of the Articles obligatory for the students depends on the level of the group and will be clarified throughout the course. The task is not expected to be repassed. The task is given by S.Chumilin to students not later than 30 days before deadline
• Final Exam: Test
  The final test is designed to check knowledge from interactive, mini lectures and reports made by student. After each mini lecture and report the author of the presentations crates five questions for multiple choice test. These tasks will be used by Mr. Chumilkin to create 60 percent of the test, the rest of the test will bу completed by Mr. Chumilkin, using information either from Lectures or seminars. The test is done offline in Smart LMS platform. The test consists of 100 questions. The students will have an hour and thirty minutes to complete the task. The quiestions are of multiple choice.
• First Module Legal Act Draft Project
  Mr. Chumilkin will divide you into groups not more than three or four people depending on number of students. By deadline you are to send the draft law you will develop as a group. The volume of the draft will be defined after the level of the group has been diagnosed. All students are to have equal participation in writing the final variant (it is to be highlighted in the text). After receiving the topic students are to discuss the draft of the legal act from different positions. The second stage is when students write their first draft of the document and discuss one in their group. Beforehand the students are to conduct their own research on the type of the document they choose to develop depending on their dicision on the first step. The Deadline is to be set by Mr.Chumilkin.

Interim Assessment

• 2023/2024 1st module
  Final Grade: First Module Legal Act Draft Project*0,1 + Mini Lecture * 0.100 + Speaking tasks * 0.2250 + Written tasks * 0.2250 + Constitution Task * 0.100 + Final Test * 0.25 From the first module assessment the first module Exam will be counted 10% of the Final mark. The written and speaking tasks will be clculated together with those from the second module, the average mark will be calculated for each type of the tasks and will cost 22,5 % (22,5% for Wriiten tasks, and 22,5 % for Speaking tasks)
• 2023/2024 2nd module
  Assessment formula for the whole course: First Module Legal Act Draft Project*0,1 + Mini Lecture * 0.100 + Speaking tasks * 0.2250 + Written tasks * 0.2250 + Constitution Task * 0.100 + Final Test * 0.25

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Попов Е.Б. - Legal English for Graduate Students: International Law - НИЦ ИНФРА-М - 2016 - ISBN: 978-5-16-015766-5 - Текст электронный // ЭБС ZNANIUM - URL: https://znanium.com/catalog/document?id=150948
• Попов Е.Б., Феоктистова Е.М., Халюшева Г.Р. - Legal English: Quick Overview: Английский язык в сфере юриспруденции.Базовый курс - НИЦ ИНФРА-М - 2023 - ISBN: 978-5-16-012304-2 - Текст электронный // ЭБС ZNANIUM - URL: https://znanium.com/catalog/document?id=416081

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• International Legal English. A course for classroom or self-study use, Krois-Lindner, A., 2011