Evaluating the textbook “law” a study at faculty of law ho chi minh city university of technology

With an aim to improve the quality of the textbook “Law”, this study focuses on an evaluation of the textbook “Law” that based on the evaluation of students of law in terms of aims and

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

-

EVALUATING THE TEXTBOOK “LAW”

A STUDY AT FACULTY OF LAW- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Submitted to the Faculty of English language

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English language

Course code: 1641900

By

NGUYEN HUYEN QUANG

Supervised by

NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, PHD

HO CHI MINH CITY, March 2018

CERTIFICATION OF THESIS DEFENSE

THE THESIS WAS WRITTEN AT HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Academic supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu, Ph.D

The thesis defense session was conducted at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) on 6th April, 2018

The Board of Examiners for the Master’s Thesis Defense

5 Nguyễn Hòa Mai Phương, Ph.D Secretary Member

On behalf of the Board of Examiners

Chair

Lê Thị Thanh, Ph.D

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE

Ho Chi Minh City, April 2018

MASTER’S THESIS TASK REPORT Student name: Nguyen Huyen Quang Sex:Female

Date of birth: 30 th March, 1988 Place of birth: Binh Dinh Major: English Language Student code: 1641900023 I- Thesis title:

Evaluating the textbook “Law”- A study at Faculty of Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

II- Task description and contents:

This study focuses on an evaluation of the textbook “Law” that based on the

evaluation of students of law at Faculty of Law-HUTECH

On the basis of the data collected from a survey based on questionnaire for

law students, findings about the suitability of the textbook “Law” for the students’

needs as well as the local needs were drawn out However, a number of aspects of

the textbook “Law” were found to be necessarily adjusted and the recommendations

were made

III- Starting date: 01st August, 2017

IV- Completing date: 18th March, 2018

V- Academic supervisor: Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

Evaluating the textbook “Law”- A study at Faculty of Law – Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Ho Chi Minh City, March 2018

Nguyễn Huyền Quang

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Nguyen Huyen Quang, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Art (English Language), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposit in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh City, March 2018

Signature:

Nguyễn Huyền Quang

I am also very grateful to Mr Nguyen Dang Nguyen, Ph.D, who gave me priceless advice and assistance in the process of doing the research

In addition, I would like to thank the Faculty of Law – Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology for organizing the extracurricular activity in teaching Legal English

I would like to express my gratitude to the Legal English teachers of University of Law of Ho Chi Minh City, Human Resources Managers and staffs of YKVN, KevinChia, Phuoc& Partners, KPMG, Unilever for their enthusiastic participation in the survey and their permission for the information to be used

I am also thankful to the law students, who were joining in the course and were willing to give their own opinions and make useful suggestions for the

textbook “Law”

Last, but not least, I warmly thank my family for their encouragement and help

ABSTRACT

Legal English is a new branch at Faculty of Law of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology that has not included in the curriculum of Faculty of Law

As a new branch, the textbook “Law” in the series of Career Paths of Express

Publishing has been first applied as the extracurricular activity for the Faculty With

an aim to improve the quality of the textbook “Law”, this study focuses on an evaluation of the textbook “Law” that based on the evaluation of students of law in

terms of aims and approaches, format and organization, illustration, topics, accompanying materials, language contents, language skills and activities contained

in this textbook

The main method of this research was mixed method design which includes both qualitative and quantitative data

On the basis of the data collected from a survey based on questionnaire for

law students, findings about the suitability of the textbook “Law” for the students’

needs as well as the local needs were drawn out

However, a number of aspects of the textbook “Law” were found to be

necessarily adjusted and the recommendations were made

Key words: ESP; Textbook; Material evaluation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES viii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Problem statement 2

1.3 Purpose of the study 3

1.4 Thesis statement 3

1.5 Scope of the study 3

1.6 Significance of the study 4

1.7 Limitations of the study 4

1.8 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 6

2.1.1 Overview of English for Specific Purposes 6

2.1.2 Relationship between General English (GE) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 7

2.1.3 Legal English and its characteristics 9

2.2 Materials 12

2.2.1 Definition of materials 12

2.2.2 Materials evaluation criteria 13

2.2.3 Components of good materials 14

2.2.4 Materials for legal English 17

2.3 Materials evaluation 21

2.3.1 Definition of materials evaluation 21

2.3.2 Purpose of materials evaluation 21

2.3.3 Framework for materials evaluation 22

2.3.4 Conceptual framework for materials evaluation in the current study 26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 28

3.1 Research question 28

3.2 Research design 28

3.3 Research site 29

3.4 Description of the textbook “Law” 30

3.5 Sample and sampling procedures 31

3.5.1 Selection of participant 31

3.5.2 Characteristics of participant 32

3.5.3 Research instrument 32

3.6 Data collection procedures 34

3.7 Data analysis procedures 34

CHAPTER 4 36

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 36

4.1 Introduction 36

4.2 Results 36

4.2.1 Aims and approaches (Question 1, 2, 3, 4) 36

4.2.2 Formats and organizations of the textbook (Question 5, 6, 7, 8) 40

4.2.3 Illustrations of the textbook (Question 9, 10) 45

4.2.4 Accompanying materials (Question 11) 47

4.2.5 Topics (Question 12, 13, 14) 47

4.2.6 Language contents (Question 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) 50

4.2.7 Skills (Question 20, 21, 22, 23) 55

4.2.8 Activities (Question 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30) 58

4.2.9 Students’ expectations about the textbook 64

4.3 Discussions on remarkable strengths and weaknesses of the textbook “Law” 66

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 75

5.1 Recommendations 75

5.1.1 Recommendations from opinions of law students 75

5.1.2 Recommendations from stakeholders 77

5.1.2.1 Recommendations from Legal English teachers' opinions 77

5.1.2.2 Recommendations from the administrator' opinions 78

5.1.2.3 Recommendations from enterprises' opinions 80

5.1.3 Synthesis of recommendations 81

5.2 Conclusion 82

REFERENCES 84

APPENDIX 1: 1

DESCRIPTION OF 15 UNITS IN THE TEXTBOOK “LAW” 1

APPENDIX 2: 5

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 5

APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE (Vietnamese Version) 13

APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONNAIRE (English Version) 18

APPENDIX 5: 22

REPLACEMENT TEST TO ENTER THE TRIAL LEGAL ENGLISH CLASS22 APPENDIX 6: 27

EXAMPLES ON LATIN TERMS 27

APPENDIX 7: 31

EXAMPLES ON OLD-FASHIONED WORDS 31

LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Should Legal English be included in legal curriculum as a main subject?36

Table 4.2 Which year of students can study Legal English? 38

Table 4.3 Legal English should focus on particular section? Give reasons 38

Table 4.4 The textbook is suitable to students' need in studying Legal English 39

Table 4.5 The content in each lesson is clear 41

Table 4.6 Reading comprehension, vocabulary, listening, speaking, writing sections are ordered logically 42

Table 4.7 The textbook reminds in knowledge for learners to review 43

Table 4.8 The textbook reminds in knowledge for learners to review 44

Table 4.9 Illustrations are very attractive 45

Table 4.11 The illustrations are functional in involving your attention to the lesson content 46

Table 4.12 Speed of recordings is suitable for your comprehension 47

Table 4.13 The topics meet your interests 48

Table 4.14 The topics are interesting 49

Table 4.15 The topics offer the possibility of enriching your awareness of your Legal English 49

Table 4.16 The textbook offers hands-on experience when practicing legal English.50 Table 4.17 The textbook offers enough a number of necessary grammatical structures 51

Table 4.18 The language in the textbook helps learners understand obviously the Lawyers' communication in the practicing law 52

Table 4.19 The textbook provides enough the necessary specific vocabulary used in law 53

Table 4.20 The specific vocabulary in the textbook meets students' needs in studying Legal English 54

Table 4.21 Reading section is suitable to learners' level 55

Table 4.22 Listening section is suitable to learners' level 56

Table 4.23 Speaking section is suitable to learners' level 57

Table 4.24 Writing section is suitable to learners' level 58

Table 4.25 The activities in the textbook help learners improve their language skills 58

Table 4.26 The activities in the textbook help learners improve their practicing in law 60

Table 4.27 The activities in the textbook help learners review their knowledge from previous lessons 61

Table 4.28 The activities in the textbook help learners feel more confident 62

Table 4.29 Pair work, group work, individual work is suitable to your English level 63

Table 4.30 In your opinion, in the textbook “Law” which section…? 64

Table 4.31 Which items in the textbook "Law" do students like the best? 64

Table 4.32 Which items in the textbook "Law" do students not interested in? 65

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

EAP English for Academic Purposes

EEP English for Educational Purposes

EOP English for Occupational Purposes

ESP English for Specific Purposes

HUTECH Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, the term “Legal English” is no longer strange to people in the world Legal English can be easily understood as English taught for Law which is taught for both law students and law practitioners Over the last few decades, there has been an expansion of commercial activities across national territory As a matter

of fact, Legal English has already become a global language that achieved by parties who join in commercial activities It is a fact that Legal English can achieve

a lot of benefits from using it People who possess a good Legal English can have many opportunities to choose a good job and conditions of working environment

This chapter presents the background to the study including the development

of English in Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City, and the role of Legal English at work, followed by the indispensable parts of any study: the problem statement, the purpose, the limitations, and finally the organization of the study Also included in

this chapter is the description of the textbook “Law” which is taught at Ho Chi

Minh City University of Technology

1.1 Background to the study

Vietnam has not developed yet in terms of economy when the people had just overcome the damages caused by the war During this time, the Vietnamese Government applied the closed-door policy, which prohibited any economic deals with any foreign countries except for the Soviet Union and the socialist countries, and the State subsidized most of the home projects Consequently, people had not taken much care of legal field

It was a turning point when Vietnam officially joined in the WTO in 2006 and a wide range of foreign companies have invested in Vietnam They have realized that Vietnam has a convenient environment in terms of geography and low labor cost Besides, a number of home companies have exported their products to many countries in the world In such a context, it is crucial for foreign companies to have knowledge of Vietnamese laws and vice versa, and for Vietnamese companies

to have knowledge of international laws

Being the city whose economy is considered the leading of the country, Ho Chi Minh City is home for a large number of foreign and Vietnamese companies and representative offices of multinational corporations It is important for these agents to be aware of the regulations of Vietnamese Government regardless of whether foreigners could be permitted to conduct their business in our territory or not Only do when they certainly have legal knowledge that they would get a high promotion and bring the reputation both for their own companies and nation If a company is not good at legal systems of the countries in which they are dealing with, it would be dangerous for their business in drafting contracts, writing legal documents that could make mistakes caused by lacking of legal perceptions Hence,

it is necessary to pay attention to legal English and its roles in legal studies for lawyers and other legal officers who work in law field to apply in their practicing

According to Tiersma (1999), Legal English refers to the type of English used in legal writing It has been referred to as a “sublanguage”, as legal English differs from ordinary language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax and semantics, as well as other linguistic features It is a technical language specifically originated as

a language for legal professionals such as judges, lawyers, legal assistants and attorneys A specialized use of certain terms and linguistic patterns governs the teaching of legal language Thus, studying legal language is as a kind of second language, a specialized use of vocabulary, phrases, and syntax that helps users such

as judges, lawyers, legal assistants and attorneys to communicate more easily with one other with accuracy and precision

1.2 Problem statement

It is necessary for Vietnamese lawyers, legal officers as well as people who work in law fields to be good at legal English to give appropriate consultancy to foreign investors as well as Vietnamese enterprises when they wish to invest in newly emerging business lines or other legal fields However, there exists a problem that not many Vietnamese people who work in the law field can possess substantial legal English knowledge Consequently, there is an urgent need to train those

working in the law field in such a way that they could communicate in English at work

On the other hand, not many Law universities in Ho Chi Minh City offer Legal English into their curriculum for law students It is only Law University of

Ho Chi Minh City and Faculty of Law of Huflit University that apply this subject as

a main one to their curriculum However, when teaching this subject, teachers have

to search information on the Internet and refer to foreign books to adapt them to Legal Contexts of Vietnam instead of using an original textbook In the Faculty of Law of HUTECH University, Legal English is considered as important but it has not been taught yet because there is a lack of Legal English materials

In the Vietnamese context, there are a number of studies which evaluate General English materials but it is in lack of studies which evaluate English for Specific Purposes materials, Law in particular

1.3 Purpose of the study

This study aims to evaluate the textbook “Law” of Express Publishing to find

out whether it is suitable for the students and whether it meets the target needs or not in terms of aims and approaches, format and organization, illustration, topics, accompanying materials, language contents, language skills and activities

1.4 Thesis statement

Based on the fact that Legal English is a new subject at the Faculty of Law- HUTECH University and there are not many standard Legal English textbooks, this study attempts to survey the students’ attitude toward the material and to reveal whether it satisfies the employment requirements in the area of Ho Chi Minh City The research is guided by the following question:

How do the students of Faculty of Law – HUTECH evaluate the textbook

“Law”?

1.5 Scope of the study

In the scope of this study, the author only used the textbook “Law” in the

series of Career Paths of Express Publishing for the reason that this textbook has

been applied for the first time at the university; therefore, students’ evaluation is very important after the first application of the textbook

Moreover, the author only sought for answers about students’ evaluation

toward the textbook “Law” in terms of its physical appearances, its language

contents, skills and activities The study does not try to give empirical evidence of its effectiveness in improving proficiency of English for students

1.6 Significance of the study

This study contributes to the background theory of materials evaluation by investigating how law students of Faculty of Law of HUTECH evaluate the

textbook “Law”

The result of this study would help teachers, students and the university administrators not only know the crucial role of Legal English, help design the English courses in the Faculty of Law- so that the law students could effectively

communicate in English at work, but also find out whether the textbook “Law” in

Career Path could be used in teaching in reality or not Hence, the study might have

a useful insight towards the textbook so that teachers will use and adapt the textbook more effectively

1.7 Limitations of the study

As for the participants, the amount who joined in the survey is comparatively small - only 37, which is considered a disadvantage in getting the research subjects’ responses to questionnaire On the other hand, the Faculty of Law of HUTECH has been newly established in 2014 Thus, at the conducting time to do this thesis, there are not fourth-year students and nor alumi to evaluate their using Legal English in their job

Another disadvantage of the survey is the limited number of teachers

involving in teaching the textbook “Law” There are not any teachers who teach this

textbook before the experiment teaching described in this study Besides, there are only three teachers in Ho Chi Minh City who specialize in teaching legal English

1.8 Organization of the study

This study consists of five chapters:

Chapter One presents the introduction of the study In this chapter, the background to the study, the problem statement, the purpose of the study, the

description of the textbook “Law”, and the limitations of the study are included

Chapter Two covers an overview of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), especially Legal English, the characteristics of Legal English, the issues related to the materials in general and materials evaluation in particular, typically materials for Legal English The final part of this chapter is the presentation of the framework for materials evaluation including the criteria for evaluating materials, especially English for Specific Purposes materials

Chapter Three focuses the methodology of the research Apart from the research questions, this chapter presents the research designs, which included the method of the study, accordingly, qualitative with descriptive statistics method was employed This chapter also refers to the sample and sampling procedure including the selections and characteristics of the participant, the description of the research subject The author also describes in detail the research instrument used for collecting data, which is questionnaire For ending this chapter, the procedures of data collection and analysis were mentioned

Chapter Four, is divided into three parts: introduction, results from the responses to the questionnaires collected from the research subject, the discussions drawn out from these results These discussions will help to answer the research

questions and to make reasonable recommendation for the textbook “Law”

Chapter Five, the last chapter of the thesis is concerned with the necessary

recommendations for the textbook “Law” based on the findings presented in

Chapter Four, and the recommendations for designing or adapting the textbook in teaching legal English o law students at HUTECH will be followed by the conclusion of the study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background of the research It is divided into three main sections

2.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

2.1.1 Overview of English for Specific Purposes

ESP has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of English language teaching since early 1960s ESP develops in both fields of research and practice, which is known “essentially as a material and teaching-led movement” (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998) Is is considered that ESP comprises of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) Among that, Jordan (1997) pointed out that the term ‘English for academic purposes’ appeared in 1974 and EAP is also called EEP (English for Educational Purposes)

There are a number of definitions of ESP Anthony (1997) stated that ESP is the teaching of English used in academic studies or the teaching of English for vocational or professional purposes Robinson (1980) defined it as the teaching of English to the learners who have specific goals and purposes Hutchinson and Waters (1987) have claimed ESP as an “approach” rather than a “product” It means that ESP does not necessarily involve any particular kind of language, teaching materials or methodology The fundamental function of ESP is to focus on the learners’ needs According to Kennedy and Bolitho (1984), some of those needs are important for their studies, whereas others are crucial for their work and profession Therefore, from these above definitions, ESP is considered as a learner – centered approach to teaching English, which focuses on developing communicative competence in a specific discipline

Dudley – Evans and Maggie (2000) have stated that it is needs analysis and discourse analysis that are two components of ESP Needs analysis deals with analysis of learner needs, with identifying learner wants and purposes as integral and obligatory elements in materials design Meanwhile, discourse analysis refers to

the examination of the written or oral language, generally for purposes of designing curricular materials Different types of learners have various needs in studying language which leads to different types of ESP

Orr (2002) claimed that there are three characteristics of ESP First, ESP is a specific subset of the English language that is required to carry out specific tasks for specific purposes Secondly, ESP is a branch of language education that studies and teaches subsets of English to assist learners in successfully carrying out specific tasks for specific purposes Finally, ESP is a movement that has popularized the ESP profession and its work with ESP discourse

2.1.2 Relationship between General English (GE) and English for Specific

Purposes (ESP)

According to Robinson (1980), GE (also called English for General Purposes EGP) prepares students for the kind of English they need in everyday situation GE class programs are designed to effectively develop communication skills and fluency in speaking, listening, reading, grammar, pronunciation and writing In teaching English as a foreign language, GE is at the same rank as ESP, consisting of different levels, such as primary, secondary, tertiary or adults GE is aimed to teach general language to the learners whose needs are broadly defined, therefore, teachers tend to impart knowledge of the proficiency Moreover, GE is a non-technical term for English when the language at large is contrasted with usage, variety, dialect, or register

Hutchinson et al (1987) pointed out the difference between the ESP and GE that “in theory nothing, in practice a great deal” which means that a teacher who teaches ESP should closely work with an expert in the field or be well equipped with excellent knowledge in specific field

ESP differs from GE in the sense that ESP is used in particular teaching circumstances, it is an advanced approach as compared to General English The design of syllabus for ESP is directed towards serving the needs of learners seeking for or developing themselves in a particular occupation or specializing in a specific

academic field ESP courses make use of vocabulary tasks related to the field such

as negotiation skills, effective techniques for oral presentations A balance is created between educational theory and practical considerations ESP also increases learners’ skills in using English

The term “specific” in ESP refers to the specific purpose for learning English Students approach the study of English through a field that is already known and relevant to them This means that they are able to use what they learn in the ESP classroom right in their work and studies The ESP approach enhances the relevance of what the students are learning and enables them to us the English they know to learn even more English, since their interest in their field will motivate them to interact with speakers and texts ESP concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and language structures It covers subjects varying from accounting or computer science to law, tourism and business management The ESP focal point is that English is not taught as a subject separated from the students’ real world, instead, it is integrated into a subject matter area important to the learners

As a matter of fact, ESP combines subject matter and English languages teaching (Fiorito, 2005) Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study Being able to use the vocabulary and structures that they learn in a meaningful context reinforces what is taught and increases their motivation

Meanwhile, GE is essentially the English language education in junior and senior high schools Learners are introduced to the sounds and symbols of English,

as well as to the lexical, grammatical, rhetorical elements that compose spoken and written discourse There is no particular situation targeted in this kind of language learning Rather, it focuses on applications in general situations: appropriate dialogues with restaurant staff, bank tellers, postal clerks, telephone operators, English teachers, and party guests as well as lessons on how to read and write the English typically found in textbooks, newspapers, magazines, etc GE curriculums

also include cultural aspects of the second language GE conducted in speaking countries is normally called ESL GE is typically viewed as a level that precedes higher-level instruction in ESP if ESP programs are to yield satisfactory results ESP, however, is that kind of English teaching that builds upon what has been acquired earlier in GE with a more restricted focus It aims at acquainting learners with the kind of language needed in a particular domain, vocation, or occupation In other words, its main objective is to meet specific needs of the learners

English-However, GE and ESP diverge not only in the nature of the learners, but also

in the aim of instruction (Fiorito, 2005) In fact, as a general rule, while in GE all four language skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing, are stressed equally,

in ESP it is a needs analysis that determines which language skills are most needed

by the students, and the syllabus is designed accordingly For example, an ESP program might emphasize the development of reading skills in students who are preparing for graduate work in business administration; or it might promote the development of speaking skills in students who are studying English in order to become lawyers

2.1.3 Legal English and its characteristics

According to David Crystal (2004), Legal English is considered as the mixture of languages such as French and Latin because of some reasons First, in

1066, the Norman invasion of England and French became the official language of England at that time For a period of nearly 300 years, French was the language of legal proceedings Thus modern legal English have their roots in this period Some

typical words which derived from French such as property, estate, chattel, lease, executor, and tenant have still been used nowadays Some legal words taken from Latin are: adjacent, frustrate, inferior, legal, quiet, and subscribe Secondly, some

writers at that time have adopted Latin words into the printed books or documents

in order to make such documents or texts to be more sophisticated Moreover, some writers also have used Latin word order to impress rather than inform and thus

making the text to turn ornate Even today, Latin grammar is used in some of the ornateness and unusual word order of legal documents, such as the usage of “shall” constructions in legal documents

In general, English was adopted for different kinds of legal documents at different times Wills began to be written in English in about 1400 Statutes were written in Latin until about 1300, in French until 1485, in English and French for a few years, and in English alone from 1489 till now called modern legal English Modern legal English has linguistics theories which investigate in two fields included in the forensic linguistics and legal discourse Forensic linguistics dealt with relationship between language, the law and crime It is used to apply in the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial and judicial procedure Meanwhile, legal discourse is regardless of legal texts which comprised of written codes and the textual records of the judicial proceedings

As a result, Rupert Haigh (2004) stated that legal English had the main characteristics as follows:

 Using Latin terms: words or phrases that have been borrowed from Latin There are a number of Latin terms which are used in legal English writing Forms of their pronunciation are different from each other Some terms are pointed in Appendix 6

 Using terms of art: It is technical words or phrases which having a specific meaning and they cannot be replaced by any words or phrases Some words are similar to non-lawyers such as patent, share, and some words are not such as bailment, abatement;

 Using old-fashioned words not much in general use: some words or phrases from the period of Old English or Middle English which have been still used in this period of time in order to linking terms which are used in written legal texts to deal with other parts of the texts Some old words have been used today are pointed in Appendix 7

 Using pairs of words with a reciprocal relationship: some words and titles have been reciprocal but different from meaning and nature

Ex: employer-employee, lease- leasor;

 Using legal jargon including the use of pairs of words, or triplets: these words are used by lawyers and they have not been used in ordinary English

Ex: annul; null and void, terms and conditions, perform and discharge;

 Using phrasal verbs: are often used in a quasi-technical sense

Ex: enter into contracts, put down deposits, write off debts, etc

 Having special meanings for words in ordinary use: one word has a meaning in ordinary English but has another meaning totally in legal English

Ex: construction in legal English means interpretation, but in ordinary English it means building or other structures

 Using long sentences with little punctuation

Ex: If either party fails to perform this transaction as agreed in the contract (late initial fund transfer or late repayment of principal and interest, etc.) without any other written agreement or confirmation via Reuters, the default party will be subject to penalty interest for late payments/overdue interest rate equal to 150% of the interest rate specified in Article 1.5 of this Contract, applied to the late amount and number of days and other costs incurred (if any)

 Inverting word order

 Using capital letters to signal important or defined terms;

 Avoiding personal pronouns;

 The use of “shall” to impose an obligation or duty on someone and in a directory sense

The example below contains all of the elements above:

The Lessor, without notice to or consent of the Lessee, shall be entitled to use the Security Deposit to cover any payments, damages that occurred, unpaid lease rents…under the Lease Agreement and other finance lease agreements signed by the Lessee and the Lessor in the order of payments in the Lessor’ sole discretion

Explaining:

 Inverting word order:

“The Lessor shall be entitled to use ….without notice to or consent of the Lessee”

instead of “the Lessor, without notice to or consent of the Lessee, shall be entitled to use…”

 Using capital letters to signal important or defined terms:

Security Deposit, Lease Agreement, the Lessee and the Lessor

 Avoiding personal pronouns:

This clause used Lessee and Lessor instead of using “you” and “I”

 The use of “shall” to impose an obligation or duty on someone and in a directory sense:

In this circumstance, the contract drafter used “the Lessor,…, shall be entitled to…” to deal with the right of the Lessor and obligate the Lessee to do some things

2.2 Materials

2.2.1 Definition of materials

According to Tomlinson (1998), materials comprise of “anything which is used to help to teach language learners” Brown (1995) expanded such definition by introducing in detail the fact that materials “encompass lesson plans, books, packets

of visual aids, games, or any types of activities that go on in the language classroom” Another definition that shares Brown’s viewpoint is written by Kenji Kitao and S Kathleen Kitao (1997) “Materials include textbooks, video and audio tapes, and visual aids.” Tomlinson (1999) also confirmed that the term “language-learning materials” can be used to refer to anything which is utilized by teachers or learners to facilitate the learning of a language or to increase the learners’ knowledge and/or experience of the language Therefore, materials can be

“cassettes, videos, CD-Roms, dictionaries, grammar books, readers, workbooks or photocopied exercises, newspapers, food packages, photographs, advertisements

Live talks by invited native speakers, tasks written on cards, articles from the Internet, etc.”

2.2.2 Materials evaluation criteria

Hutchinson and Waters (1991) have presented a checklist of criteria for objective and subjective analyses The criteria include audience, aims, content, methodology and other criteria Cunningsworth (1995) explained more detail and put forward four criteria for evaluating materials as follows:

- Materials should correspond to learners’ needs They should match the aims and objectives of the language learning program

- Textbook should reflect the uses (present and future) which learners will make of the language Select materials which will help to equip students to use language effectively for their own purpose

- Textbook should take into account of students’ needs as learners and should facilitate their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid method

- Textook should have a clear role as a support for learning Like teachers, they mediate between the target language and the learners

As it has been argued by some scholars (e.g Byrd, 2001; Sheldon, 1988), materials evaluation criteria should be chosen according to the learning-teaching context and the specific needs of the learner and teacher However, a review of the available checklists indicates that they have many identical evaluative criteria regardless of the fact that they had been developed in different parts of the world for different learning-teaching situations and purposes Most well-established checklists suggested by Cunningsworth and Kusel (1991) or Skierso (1991) have examined similar dimensions like physical attributes of textbooks including aims, layout, methodology, and organization Some other criteria that are present in most criteria include the way language skills (speaking, listening, wrting, reading), subskills (grammar, vocabulary, etc.), and functions are presented in the textbook depending

on the present socio-cultural setting (Zabawa, 2001; Ur, 1996; Cunningsworth, 1995; Harmer, 1991) In addition to the criteria mentioned above, a checklist must

take into account the background of the target students who are going to use it The background can encompass a variety of dimensions including students‟ age, needs and interests (Byrd, 2001; Skierso, 1991) Finally, the language used in the various texts of the textbook under evaluation should present natural and authentic examples of language use in the real world According to Bell and Gower (1998), employing real language in the textbook contributes to the students’ motivation by helping the teacher “get them off the learning plateau”

2.2.3 Components of good materials

Mentioning the components of good materials of ELT textbook in general, Legal English textbook in particular, Hutchinson and Tomes (1994) have indicated that a good material should provide certain conditions for smooth and effective change Besides, Kitao et al (1997) proposed some characteristics of good materials based on both the language and content In terms of language, Legal English textbooks should be correct natural, recent, and standard English From learners’ viewpoints, the content of Legal English textbooks should be useful, meaningful and interesting for students On the other hand, according to Epstein and Omiston (2007), the good textbooks should give efficient and effective language coverage, saving teacher’s time, saving programs’ money, and providing high-quality references that students want to use and refer to linguistic support In combing the beliefs from linguist, components of good materials can be seen clearly in the following elements:

Language

- Efficient and effective;

- Correct, natural, recent, and standard;

- Various in forms

- Informative for students’ guess

- Providing supplementary materials and high-quality references;

- Providing security in the change process

Economic value - Saving time and money

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) have also defined six objectives for materials: they should:

 Provide a stimulus for learning

 Help to organize teaching and learning process

 Embody a view of the nature of language and learning

 Reflect the nature of the learning task

 Have a very useful function in broadening the basis of teacher training, and

 Provide models of correct and appropriate language use

Moreover, Rowntree (1997) had another viewpoint which proposed that good materials should:

 Arouse the learners’ interest

 Explain new learning content to them

 Encourage them to practice

 Help them to do better

 Relate these ideas to learners’ previous learning

 Remind them of earlier learning

 Get learners to think about new content

 Help them get feedback on their learning

 Make sure they know what they are supposed to be doing

 Enable them to check their progress

Another characteristic of materials which concerns Richard (2001) is the authentic materials and created materials Authentic materials are usually defined as those which have not been produced to teach language like a song, a newspaper article, a letter (Tomlinson, 1998) In contrast, created materials refer to textbooks and other resources specially developed for pedagogical purposes Authentic materials are considered as the important role for teaching ESP because they relate more closely to learners’ needs and provide a link between the classroom and students’ needs in the real world Meanwhile, created materials may be superior to authentic materials because they are generally built around teachers’ and students’ knowledge in terms of specific field For these reasons, teachers should use a mixture of created and authentic materials because they both contribute meaningfully to teaching and learning language; therefore, they should also be considered as characteristics of good materials

Briefly, a good material should satisfy characteristics suggested by all of the authors above But Roberts (1996) emphasized; “Evaluation is directed not so much towards the selection of ‘good’ materials as measured by some absolute standard, but of appropriateones.”

2.2.4 Materials for legal English

 Materials for legal English in the world

According to Tiersma (1999), materials for legal English comprise of textbooks which have the following criteria: First, the materials can be customized

in various ways to meet the needs of second language users studying law in the medium of English Second, the materials can adopt a more language and discourse-based approach Third, rather than packaging materials exclusively in book form, they can be made available as a computer-mediated resource bank There are, of course, other legal English resources, such as Internet sites, software programs, legal study aids, form books (i.e books of standard legal forms), and individually produced materials The materials share some significant common characteristics Most are written for native English speakers Most are written for the USA context Most assume that the reader has at least a basic familiarity with the socio-cultural context within which the subject is being taught, such as the country’s system of government, legal system, history, and cultural values Few, if any, are premised on any type of research-based linguistic analysis of legal texts and language Finally, those legal English materials adopt a principled approach to teaching legal English use more of a law-based, as opposed to language-based, teaching approach

C.N Candlin (2002) claimed that legal English materials can be placed into four general groups:

 Group One: lexico-grammar based materials: Materials in this group are not considered as legal English materials at all because it relates to explain general concept It is used for lawyers as well as non-lawyers to those who wants to understand legal concepts These materials also focus on lexico-grammar-on words

and sentences A typical example is Plain English for Lawyers (Wydick, 1994),

which includes the following chapters: Why plain English?; Omit surplus words; Use base verbs, not nominalizations; Prefer the active voice; Use short sentences; Arrange your words with care; Use familiar, concrete words; Avoid language

quirks; Punctuate carefully

 Group Two: rhetoric-based materials: this kind of legal materials focus on specific legal writing strategies such as organizing, drafting, and editing strategies, and take account of discourse level considerations such as issues of

context, audience, and purpose A typical example from this category is Clear & Effective Legal Writing (Charrow, Erhard, & Charrow, 1995), which includes the

following chapters: A short history of legal language; The litigation process; Reading, analyzing, and briefing a case; Synthesizing the law from a series of cases;

A systemic approach to legal writing; Understanding context; Organization; Writing clearly; Writing effectively; Reviewing and editing; Writing an in office memorandum; Writing a memorandum of points and authorities; Writing an

appellate brief; An overview of English sentence structure

Although these legal English materials concentrate on specific legal fields and

it seems to be better than the group of lexico-grammatical materials, these materials are still used for native English who are professional in legal, rather than used for

lawyers who speak English as second language

 Group Three: materials that include legal content: These legal English materials make use of a legal method framework to teach legal English fields Although covering lexico-grammar as well as rhetoric, they are driven by legal method such as legal analysis and reasoning, and sometimes even areas of

substantive law such as content based law An example from this category is Legal Method and Writing (Calleros, 1998), which includes the following chapters:

Statutory and common law analysis; Precedent; Legal method; Writing style; Case analysis; Reorganization, summary, and inductive reasoning; Essay examinations; Office memoranda; Pleadings; Motions for summary judgement; Motions to exclude evidence before trial; Appellate briefs; Contracts; Letters Such books are typically designed and developed by legal academics instead of language specialists One of the major problems with such textbooks is that they are in favor

of legal content rather than the language of the law

 The final group includes legal English materials designed mainly for second language users It emerges that there are six materials that fit into this

category: Introduction to Legal English (Chroma & Coats, 1996); American Legal English: Using Language in Legal Contexts (Lee, Hall, & Hurley, 1999); English for Law (Riley, 1991); English Law and Language (Russell & Locke, 1992); English for Law Students (Van der Walt & Nienaber, 1997); and Introduction to Legal English: An Introduction to Legal Terminology, Reasoning, and Writing in

Plain English (Wojcik, 1998)

Many of these books aim to teach both legal language and basic common law legal content through a content-based teaching approach Each chapter covers a legal content area Each chapter also includes a language section, called ‘‘Word Study’’, such as writing a definition, using conditional clauses, making suggestions, and writing an argumentative essay Notwithstanding this presence of a language section, one of the major drawbacks of many of these books is that, although they often draw on legal content to authenticate their materials, they rarely integrate this legal content with the language Further, such materials are frequently written for a specific audience in a particular country and thus may not have equal relevance for audiences from a different country Unfortunately, law is not a universal discipline and it is not applied from countries to countries

 Materials for legal English in Vietnam

The first course book was “Getting into Legal Terminology” written by Le

Hong Hanh in 1994 when he was a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School Though the book was designed carefully with clearly good purposes, it was found relatively suitable from the beginning Since it was intended to guide students and other possible readers to understand the law in English rather than to study the English in law fields, most exercises aimed to develop legal vocabulary and were given in diverse forms of puzzles for instance There are no speaking and listening activities throughout the book This made it difficult for the teachers to arrange lessons plans and for the students to grasp the language study Moreover, all the materials of the

book were taken from Harvard University’s libraries, and the content was about the general theory of state and law with various definitions, principles of different legal aspects or explanations of abstract legal terminology unfamiliar to the Vietnamese legal system The legal language types were difficult for non – bureaucrat readers to comprehend Teachers and students usually had difficulty in understanding legal terms in the texts because they were not familiar with the foreign law systems There were many definitions or principles of legal aspects, which were not familiar

to the students and teachers even in Vietnamese Therefore, the teachers and students had to work very hard on the specialized terms and unusual context before teaching and learning a new lesson

To solve this problem, a second textbook was offered to replace the first one

in1997 just after it was published The title of the book is “English for Lawyers”

The book was written by the same author –Le Hong Hanh, published by the Hanoi Law University, and funded by Sida project The second textbook was used from

1997 to 2004 Since the book aims at legal aspects, attention was not paid to ordinary vocabulary and grammatical structures, the teacher and students still had to struggle with the book and had the same problems as with the first book It was still too difficult to teach and learn

The third was used in teaching and learning ESP in the school was

“Improving your Understanding Law in English” written by Le Hong Hanh and

Duong Thi Hien, which was designed and published within Sida-funded Project

“Strengthening legal education in Vietnam” In comparison with the previous

course books, “Improving your Understanding Law in English” seemed much better

on both appearance forms and in-depth content It was less difficult for teachers and students to teach and learn But they still had to struggle with the English lessons and had no real achievements

Till now, legal English teachers have used a textbook which was written by foreign authors, which follow their own legal systems such as Common Law instead

of Civil Law as the legal system in Vietnam Teachers have to adapt these materials

to be appropriate to Vietnamese context

2.3 Materials evaluation

2.3.1 Definition of materials evaluation

According to Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004), “materials evaluation involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials by

making judgments about the effect of the materials on the people using them”

“Materials evaluation”, stated Hutchinson (1987), “is essentially a matching process

in which the needs and assumptions of a particular teaching and learning context are matched to available solutions”

2.3.2 Purpose of materials evaluation

Cunningsworth (1995) claimed that people should evaluate materials to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in a textbook in use, so that “optimum use can be made of their strong points, whilst their weaker areas can be strengthened through adaptation or by substituting material from other books” Bachman and Palmer (1996) have identified that “evaluation can be defined as the systematic gathering of information for the purpose of making decision” Littlejohn (1998) also cited some responses after analyzing and evaluating materials: adopt, reject, adapt, supplement the materials Therefore, to judge the value of a material before being used, it is necessary to make evaluation on some aspects to make sure that it is appropriate and useful for both teachers and learners in a specific context Also, evaluating process is necessary to be carried out to estimate the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using them (Tomlinson, 1998) Indeed, it does not exist a textbook which is appropriate to all learners’ needs Thus, materials analysis and evaluation enable teachers and learners to see the nature of materials Besides, the aims of materials evaluation are

to find the best fit, together with potential for adapting the material where it is unsuitable so that it can serve best teaching and learning process

Sheldon (1988) suggested several reasons for textbook evaluation He stated that the selection of a textbook is indicator of an educational decision in which there

is considerable professional, financial, and even political investment Through evaluation, teachers will become familiar with the content of available textbooks and recognize the weaknesses and strengths of each One more reason for evaluation is suggested by Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) They argued that evaluation can be considered as a means of conducting action research as well

as a form of professional empowerment and improvement It can also be a component of teacher training courses in which prospective teachers become aware

of important features which they should search in textbooks Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) have proposed three types of materials evaluation: predictive or pre-use evaluation in which the future or potential performance of a textbook is examined, in-use evaluation designed to examine the currently used textbook, and retrospective or post-use of evaluation, whereby one can decide how to improve the given textbook for subsequent use

2.3.3 Framework for materials evaluation

Materials evaluation plays an important role in teaching and learning a language Once the decision of choosing a specific textbook to teach students is appropriate to their demand, teachers and learners can be motivated and achieve the success in using such materials Firstly, teachers can identify the strengths and weaknesses of materials as well as understand clearly the textbook in order to adjust their teaching to suit to the aims of course and learners’ needs Secondly, Sheldon (1988) pointed out that materials evaluation can help teachers and learners to establish a distinction between textbooks in the market There are a great number of materials in the market for teachers to choose for teaching their students But they should choose a material that is suitable to local context which, according to Harwood (2010), are comprised of “the age of the students, the number in class, the learners’ level, how learning is usually managed, motivations for learning, and available finances” Another aspect of the characteristic of appropriateness of

textbook is need analysis, regardless of the systems and skills Among that, the systems are composed of grammar, vocabulary, phonology and discourse, while skills are composed of listening, speaking, reading and writing Teachers should analyze the learners’ needs based on such systems and skills to choose a material which can make learners feel interested when studying and learners can achieve the best result Thirdly, materials evaluation can provide teachers some information to analyze “their own presuppositions about the nature of language and learning” (Hutchinson, 1987) It can also make teachers and students aware of important features to look for in textbooks Finally, according to Tomlinson (2003), textbook evaluation may also be used to help publishers decide on publication and help people to develop their own textbooks for publication and write a review for a journal

For such importance in materials evaluation, there are a number of theories

of famous authors that are dealt with giving criteria for materials evaluation Ellis (1990, cited in Tomlinson, 1998) recommended that materials should provide learners with opportunities to use the target language to achieve communicative purposes Indeed, Bachman (1990) emphasized that communicative competence is adopted from native and people who are excellent in speaking English as second language which should be added in textbooks for learners to practice According to Morrow (1977), communicative competence of learners will be enhanced by adding authenticity in textbooks He claimed that “authentic text in a textbook is a stretch

of real language, produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message” Thus, it will be easy for learners to catch the author’s ideas and learn by heart the lessons in textbooks On the other hand, Hedge (2000) stated that authentic textbooks help learners to reach to the authentic language of the real world easily via daily conversations as well as real life situations (Harmer, 1994) This point is also noticed by Peacock (1997) who remarked that authentic materials may enhance learners’ levels in their behavior, concentration in the target activity rather than artificial materials Mentioning on

learners’ behavior, Tomlinson (1998) stated that materials should take into account that learners differ in affective attitudes For example, children love to study with attractive textbooks which display many lively pictures and contain many colors as well as animals Meanwhile, teenagers or adults are in favor of materials which provide them knowledge which they concentrate on and match with their needs Kilickaya (cited in Al Azri & Al-Rashdi, 2014) believed that using authentic materials with weak learners frustrate and demotivate them because they lack the required skills and vocabulary to deal successfully with the presented text Realizing this fact, materials should provide choices of different types of texts and types of activities suitable to each type of learners Rea-Dickins and Germanie (1994) have stated that it is necessary to evaluate “how materials are presented to learners, the types of learning tasks used and the way the courses are designed” All

of these elements have to be evaluated In specific, Ellis (1997), Tomlinson (1998), Littlejohn (1998) have tended to evaluate textbooks on four main aspects, including: (1) the internal content of the textbook; (2) the aims and approaches; (3) the supporting sources; and (4) the physical appearance Among that, Cunningsworth and Littlejohn have covered up these theories regardless of materials evaluation into their own theory in detail

Cunningsworth (1995) stated some underlying principles or guidelines for evaluation of teaching materials, which depended on asking appropriate questions and interpreting answers He then suggested a checklist for evaluation and selection

of teaching materials under the following headings:

(1) Aims and approaches, in which the researcher or the teacher focus on finding out answers to such aspects as whether the aims of the book correspond closely to the aims of teaching program and to students’ needs, whether the book covers most or all of what is needed, or whether the book is a good source for students and teachers

(2) Design and organization, in which Cunningsworth recommended some criteria to consider, such as the components of the book, including students;

book, teachers’ book, workbooks, cassettes, etc., the organization of contents according to structures, functions, topics, skills, etc., the content for recycling and revision, the reference sections of grammar, its suitability for individual study and layout

(3) Language content, in which research on the following aspects is recommended: the appropriateness of grammar items, vocabulary exercises in terms

of emphasis on vocabulary development and strategies for individual learning, material for pronunciation work, and structures and conventions of language use above sentence level, e.g how to take part in conversation and how to identify the main points in a reading passage

(4) Skills, in which aspects to be investigated include whether the book focuses on integrated skills, whether reading passages and associated activities are suitable for students’ levels and interests, whether listening material is well-recorded, whether material for spoken English is well designed to equip students for real-life interactions and whether writing activities are suitable in terms of amount

of guidance, degree of accuracy and use of appropriate styles

(5) Topics, in which the researcher or the teacher should pay attention to the variety and range of topics, to its appropriateness for students’ interests, and to its capacity of expanding students’ awareness and enriching their experience

(6) Methodology, in which questions of the approach to language learning, of its aim at strengthening active learner involvement, and of the development of communicative abilities should be investigated

(7) Teachers’ book, which is supposed to cover such aspects as adequate guidance, teaching techniques, and keys to exercises

Whereas, Littlejohn (cited in Tomlinson, 1998), aiming at focusing on materials as a pedagogic device, that is – an aid to teaching and learning a foreign language, establishes a framework for analyzing materials which includes two main sections: publication and design All of these are detailed as follows:

 Format;

 Activation of learners’ schemata;

 Engagement of learners’ using the target language;

2.3.4 Conceptual framework for materials evaluation in the current study

There are a number of authors dealing with materials evaluation, but it does not have too many researches regardless materials evaluation in ESP, legal English materials in particular Therefore, in a nutshell, so as to find out the answer for research question section, a conceptual framework for analyzing anESP textbook is synthesized from Cunningsworth (1995) and Littlejohn (cited in Tomlinson, 1998)

as follows:

 Aims and approaches;

 Format and organization;

Questionnaire was the instrument applied in the research to clarify the research question

Figure 1: Conceptual framework

English for Specific Purposes

Legal English(Rupert

Haigh)

Materials

evaluation(Cunningsw orth & Littlejohn)

( Format and

Language

Skills Activities

Topics