MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI VAN ANH 453234 READING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING LEGAL ENGLISH TEXTS GRADUATION THESIS Hanoi — 2023 MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THỊ VAN ANH 453234 READING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING LEGAL ENGLISH TEXTS CHIEN LƯỢC ĐỌC SINH VIÊN NGÀNH NGON NGU ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC LUẬT HÀ NỘI SỬ DUNG DE ĐỌC HIỂU VAN BẢN TIENG ANH PHÁP LÝ Major: Legal English GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor Nhac Thanh Huong, MA Hanoi - 2023 STUDENT DECLARATION Thereby state that I: NGUYEN THỊ VAN ANH - ID 453234. being a candidate Jor the degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use ofthe Bachelor's Graduation Paper deposited in the library. Jn terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of shidy and research, in accordance with the normal conaitions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper. rey a rs) res} Supervisor's confirmation Researcher's signature Nhac Thanh Huong MA.
Nguyen Thi Van Anh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A comprehensive study would not carried out without any assistance, my graduation thesis is not an exception. Throughout the process of conducting the graduation thesis, I was provided with a substantial amount of aid, guidance, and encouragement from my teachers, family members, and companions. First and foremost, I would like to extend my utmost gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Ms Nhac Thanh Huong, for her invaluable guidance, courteous assistance, and encouragement. The thesis would not have been satisfactorily completed without her constant monitoring and thoughtful advice.
Secondly, my gratitude extends to my friends, classmates, and English- majored students at Hanoi Law University who have wholeheartedly encouraged and supported me with all of their abilities. I am particularly grateful to all participants for their significant contributions to the data collection for my research. Moreover, my sincere thanks also go to the remainder of my thesis committee for their encouragement, insightful comments, and thought-provoking inquiries. Last but not least, I would like to would prefer to sincerely thank my family and close fnend.
It is unattainable to express enough gratitude towards my parents, who gave me the encouragement I needed throughout this process. To my friend, this would have been a considerably more challenging task without their presence. Thank them all for their unwavering support and for reminding me to keep moving forward. it ABSTRACT Various nations promulgate and implement diverse kinds of legal texts to govern all activities, thus, it is recommended for law students or legal practitioners to obtain proficiency in legal English, which is an exclusive domain of the English language pertaining to legal fields.
Additionally, it is undeniable that reading is one of the important skills in legal English acquisition. This study examined reading strategies employed by English- majored students to comprehend legal English texts. In order to accomplish the aim, the research utilized a mixed-method approach with the participation of 84 legal English major students who are in the courses K45 at Hanoi Law University. The findings indicated that students with good reading proficiency reported significantly greater use of reading strategies compared to those with either average or poor reading proficiency, both overall and within specific categories.
At the level of individual strategies, a total of 20 out of the 35 reading strategies examined exhibited significant vanations in relation to the students' levels of reading proficiency. Furthermore, students with different levels of proficiency demonstrated distinct inclinations in the utilization of individual reading strategies. Such findings are expected to be advantageous to school administrators, lectures of legal English, students and anyone who is concemed about the capability of using legal English at work. li TABLE OF CONTENTS STUDENT DECLARATION.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS isisssisisscssssssrsnassssstsansseiasssnnsarsnsisaananstanannstieed LIST OF FIGURES/ TABLEG. Rationale for the study. Aims ofthest0Uy 2. 3Research qUEstf0nS.
6, ME cease c0: F 0900 01 Ãcoacó TƯ“. Significance of the study. Organization Ofthe SIM,. Mie tad sệ PART II.1 English for Special Purposes(ESP).1 Definition of Legal Engiish.2 Features ofiegal English.
TED2 AT TONIC 1:1 GS TA.3 Reading Strategies for ESP learners.1 Definition of Reading Strate Gis .2 Classifications of Reading Comprehension Strategies iv FED US NON OIE oxssrsssoioeisuigosglegg601009:30305sa30000x35cg0mspzarotssairssesS | D322: WRN GV OGAING iN RES NEON L323: POSPTOOING ywissccssccstscessccsssicsssssaceriisii manne AF, 1.4 Previous studies on reading comprehension strategies of EAP/ESP 1. ee oa ee LB 2. eee ees LS 332 FGI VI CW reseee cs. Procedures ofdata collecHon.
Data fiom qHesfiOiriđires. DL FROMU EOI VIA SSSS0). Data anllWsis eect ranean tecisiticccistiwstasietssstcutewetetenceedeictn dt. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.1 Demographic information of the respondents.1 The English-mnajored students’fequency ofreading legal English sui 3.2 The perspective of students regarding the necessity of reading legal BNBIISh Materials: 6x22 See eS ees ES NOS 35 3.2 Reading strategies employed by participanfs.1 The most and the least frequently used sfralegies.2 Variations in the frequency ofoverall reading strategy empioyed by TC ÔN HGÌN boonssnssosgzngnigtiis030170001004857898g800010.431004gE035:ggG0:g01ug0ai8g503a80.3 Variations in frequency of students’ strategy use in the categories 30 3.3 Variations in the frequency of students’ individual strategy use.
32 14: 0INNDEEV: se sseesonoooaosssas ere rent: | 3) CHAPTER 4. Suggestions for studtnts. taf Ae cast suse Daan 37 4. Suggestions for lecturers.
Suggestions for the Faculty of Legal Foreign Languages.oc oooooiS bon 2 40 1. Summary of the main ñndings. Epp cath Onis Fire en eerste Oe on eeSensfeee-aas. Limitations and suggestions for further research.LimiGNHOHS:O TRE SHIAN-c---.
SUB ZOSHOMS JOR TnnierisHiip. 41 REFERENCES, cà con besseesittce-csonnscsesoses sand beeieengddecnantetocensasboeenserocnessl I APPENDICES. APPENDIX I: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES.- VIII APPENDIX II: IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW.-- XIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EAP English for Academic Purposes EBP English for business purposes ELP English for legal purposes ELT English language teaching EMP English for medical purposes EOP English for occupational purposes ESCP : English for sociocultural purposes ESP : English for Specific Purposes EVP English for vocational purposes GLOB : Global Reading Strategies HLU : Hanoi Law University L2 : Second language POS : Post-reading strategies PROB : Problem-solving Strategies PRS : Pre-reading strategies SUP : Support reading Strategies WHS : While-reading strategies LIST OF FIGURES/ TABLES List of figures: Figure 1. The frequency of reading legal English tezt.
The respondent’s viewpoint of the importance of:spccidiag se EHBIISHREHÏS: sca ccssciaesise rere eater serine 35 en dd Figure 3. Strategies used by reading. levels Error! Bookmarknot defined. List of tables: Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics of Likert scale data. Summary of the most frequently used strategies. Summary of the least frequently used strategies. Variations in Frequency of Students’ Overall eating ——Use 29 Table 5.
Overall categories of reading strategies used among students at three level of English proñciency. Variations in the frequency of students’ individual strategy use. Rationale for the study Nowadays, reading is considered a primary approach in academic contexts. In other words, reading is regarded as one of the essential skills for leamers as it provides an avenue for communication, language acquisition, and interaction.
Reading can also include several important aspects that work together to develop overall literacy. As highlighted by Sheorey and Mokhtan (2001), one of the key means to augment students' comprehension levels is through the utilization of reading strategies. Students who possess reading strategies have their own ways of interpreting the meaning ofa text they have read (Yapp, 2021). In the Self-Strategic Regulation (S2R) Model, readers are perceived as strategically selfregulated ones who approach challenging reading tasks and problems by choosing from a repertoire of strategies they believe are best compatible with the situation and purpose of their reading (Oxford, 2013).
In the age of integration and globalization, the ability to comprehend legal documents or texts written in English, such as statutes, codes, precedents, or contracts, is of great importance, especially among legal practitioners. In order to grasp the content of the aforementioned reading materials, law students or individuals specializing in law are advised to acquire legal English, whichis a specific branch of English in legal fields, commonly used by legal professionals. In Vietnam, the majority of legal education institutions have acknowledged legal English asa core subject within their curriculum. At Hanoi Law University (HLU), the study of legal English is an obligatory discipline for students pursuing majors in intemational trade and business law as well as for those specializing in legal English Throughout the formal training, especially in legal English, itis recognized that reading legal English texts with appropriate strategies is of utmost importance for learners to effectively access and interpret these types of legal materials.
1 In the literature, various studies have been conducted to explore reading strategies in different contexts of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), such as business (Chen, (2014), Rohaizat, (2021)), engineering (Nalliveettil (2014), Surendran, (2023)), and medical ( Bitran et al. However, it is hard to identify research conducted at HLU pertaining to the reading strategies employed by English-majored students when comprehending legal texts. Recognizing the undeniable role of legal English reading skills as well as the gaps that exist in both academic practice and previous research, hence, the researcher decided to carry out this study to clarify different kinds of reading strategies ESP learners tend to use in legal contexts, as well as to examine the correlation between their self-assessment of reading proficiency and the strategies they employ. It is hoped that leamers will be able to enhance their performance in the domain ofreading comprehension, as well as cultivate the ability to engage in lifelong learning.
Aims of the study The study is undertaken to examine the reading strategies utilized by English-majored students in order to comprehend legal English texts. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate the correlation between reading proficiency and the utilization of reading strategies among English majors studying at HLU. Research questions To achieve the goal of the study, this research attempts to answer the following question: « What strategies do legal English major students at HLU use to comprehend legal English texts? © What is the relationship between students’ self-evaluation of their reading proficiency and the strategies they use? ey 4. Scope of the study The current study focuses on the strategies employed by English- majored students as well as the correlation between students’ self-evaluation reading proficiency with the strategies they use.
Therefore, the participants chosen are 90 random students from the legal English department of HLU from course 45, whereas the teachers' strategy in teaching reading comprehension to students is beyond the scope of this study. Significance of the study Compared with these preceding research papers, this study intensely concentrated on the reading strategies employed by English-majored students at HLU to comprehend legal materials. Furthermore, considerable emphasis is paid to clarifying the relationship between students’ self-evaluation of their reading proficiency with the strategies they use. Additionally, this study comprises both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with the purpose of examining and providing an in-depth analysis of the subject matter.
Regarding the implementation of the results of the present study, instructors, students, materials developers, and lesson planners can benefit from them. Organization of the study The study comprises three major parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion. The Introduction includes the Rationale, Aims, Research questions, Scope, Significance, and Organization of the study. The Development is segmented into four chapters as follows Chapter 1: Literature Review lays out the theoretical background knowledge related to the explanation of legal English as well as the reading strategies for ESP leamers.
Chapter 2: Methodology sets out three main parts: participants, research instruments, and research procedure. Chapter 3: Results and Discussion indicates the analytical findings of the survey and meticulous interpretation of the data gathered. Chapter 4: Recommendations offers several suggestions based on the key findings of the study The Conclusion provides a summary of the study, implications of the study, limitations and suggestions for further research.