Analyzing Genre Specific Needs of Learners of Law with Reference to Sub-Skills Required in Reading of Cases

Abstract

Juridical English, judicial opinions written by judges of higher
judiciary, is an extremely important genre for legal discourse
community. In situations where learners’ first language is other than
English, law students and recent law graduates in the profession of law
reportedly find it hard to cope with a variety of tasks they are required
to perform while reading judicial opinions/cases. The aim of this paper
is to identify the level of linguistic adequacy of learners of law with
regard to eight sub-skills that are required in reading comprehension
of cases. This empirical research was carried out through survey
questionnaires by taking into account three members of legal discourse
community: teachers of law, recent law graduates and senior lawyers.
The analysis revealed that the level of linguistic adequacy varies: the
complex the task required in a sub-skill, the higher the level of
inadequacy. Taken as a whole, learners had inadequate competence in
six out of a total of eight sub-skills required in reading of cases. The
findings provide insights to course developers and teachers in the field
of English for Academic Legal Purposes (EALP) and English for
Occupational Legal Purposes (EOLP).