STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING LEGAL ENGLISH VOCABULARY - A CASE AT HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Legal English, a style of English in law areas, is a compulsory subject in the syllabus of International Trade and Business Law Department at Hanoi Law University. Legal English vocabulary is considered to be the basis in developing other skills at higher level. This present research seeks to clarify the learners’ difficulties when acquiring legal English vocabulary at this institution. In order to achieve the aim, survey questionnaires were administered to 165 students of the International Trade and Business Law. The results indicate that the distinctive features of legal English, differences in legal systems and lack of background knowledge of various law fields constituted the main obstacles. A number of practical recommendations were thus drawn up for enhancing the learning and teaching legal English acquisition process.