Academic English for Law Students

Abstract

In the Korean society, English has always been an important skill for one to be successful in his/her future. Students majoring in law are no different as they also study English to acquire scores in exams such as TOEIC . However, as the society is getting more competitive for people in the legal profession due to FTA between South Korea and United States of America, it is important for students majoring in law to have global competitiveness that simply can’t be covered by English test scores alone. (Oh, 2011) According to Wu Chang Rok, the representative of a prestigious law firm “Yool-Chon” and graduate of Seoul University Law School, he states that law students need to study English and be able to use the language. This is because more international law firms along with many Korean American lawyers will come to Korea as the Korean legal profession market will open up to the global market within a couple of years. The students will be competing against lawyers who studied law and fluent in English so if they are unable to speak English, it will be difficult for them to be successful in their future career. (Park, 2007) The problem though is that law students don’t get to use English for authentic communication as well as writing as they just memorize vocabulary and grammar that has been a repeated process since middle school. Therefore, there is a need to provide appropriate materials for students to improve their writing and speaking skills. The purpose of this textbook is to address such problems in terms of helping students to improve their English writing and speaking. Ryan Kim, an educational consultant and representative of Al-School states even though Korean students are able to read and translate difficult sentences, they are unable to actually write or speak simple sentences. (Lee, 2012) Thus, this textbook will focus on a language curriculum that integrates EAP approach with an emphasis on speaking and writing skills. In this way, the students will have a chance to enhance their confidence along with oral competency and improve their writing skills as well that will prepare them for their future. The target audience is a group of undergraduate Korean law students who are planning to study in law school abroad. There is a maximum of 12 mixed gender students whose ages are between 21- 26 and would like to study English related to law issues. The students’ proficiency level is B2 level in speaking and writing according to the CEFR . Throughout this textbook, the students will be covering law-related controversial issues using authentic materials and case examples in each unit that will enhance their writing and speaking skills as they study issues related to their major.