MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI TINH 443047 STRATEGIES USED BY ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY TO PROMOTE THE INTEREST IN LEARNING LEGAL ENGLISH Hanoi — 2023 MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI TINH 443047 STRATEGIES USED BY ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS AT HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY TO PROMOTE THE INTEREST IN LEARNING LEGAL ENGLISH NHỮNG CHIEN LƯỢC SINH VIÊN CHUYEN NGANH TIENG ANH TRUONG DAI HỌC LUAT HÀ NOI SỬ DUNG DE THUC DAY SU HUNG THU TRONG VIEC HOC TIENG ANH PHAP LY Major: Legal English Supervisor La Nguyen Binh Minh, MA. Hanoi — 2023 DECLARATIONS TI hereby state that I: Nguyen Thi Tinh, class 4430, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin ofmy paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper. August 3", 2023 Supervisor Student La Nguyen Binh Minh, MA.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratefulness towards my supervisor, Ms. La Nguyen Binh Minh, M., for her support with great patience, devotion, unwavering advice, profound insight and experience. She has been very attentive to me and guided me through the difficulties I have in the process of writing this paper. Besides my supervisor, my sincere thanks go to all the Members of the Paper Committee, the lecturers who work hard and fair to evaluate this research of mine, give insightful comments and questions, as well as provide me with detailed feedback to help my future studies.
I am deeply grateful that Hanoi Law University creates such opportunity for me to enhance my writing and research skills. Via this activity, I and other students shall gain a variety of useful knowledge and experience for our future careers. Last but not least, I am particularly grateful for my family members and close friends who have been supportive and caring throughout the journey with their unconditional love, understanding and kindness. I thank my fellow 4429 and 4430 classmates for the tremendous amount of advice and cooperation to support me in the writing and survey process.
il ABSTRACT This research aims to investigate the factors influencing the interest of English-majored students in learning legal English at Hanoi Law University and explore the strategies they employ to promote their interest in this domain. A survey questionnaire was utilized to gather data from the participants. A total of 68 senior English-majored students at Hanoi Law University participated in the study. The results of questionnaire indicate that the majority of participants exhibit a moderate level of interest in learning legal English.
Regarding the factors influencing the interest in learning legal English, the participants showed that the factors related to the teacher had the most influence, followed by factors related to the legal English subject. Other factors namely facilitiy and internal factors also have impact on students’ learning interest but at a lower level compared to teacher-related factors and legal English subject- related factors. Pertaining to the strategies employed by students to enhance their learning interest, this present study found out that the use of digital tools received the highest satisfaction rating to promote their interest in learning legal English among the strategies investigated. Concerning the strategies that they expect, students expressed a strong preference for teacher-related strategies in the teaching process.
Accordingly, the researcher also provides some recommendations for students, teachers and the institution respectively. 1H TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT li ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vil INTRODUCTION 1 1. Rationale for the study 1 2. Aims of the study 3 3.
Scope of the study 4 5. Significance of the study 4 6. Organization of the study 6 DEVELOPMENT 7 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 7 1. English for Specific Purposes 7 1.
Definition of legal English 8 1. Characteristics of legal English 9 1. Learning interest II 1. Definition of interest 11 1.
Definition of learning interest 11 1. Expressions of learning interest 12 1. The importance of learning interest 13 1. The factors influencing learning interest 14 1V 1.
Review of some previous related research So) 1. Data collection procedures 29 2. RESULTS AND DICUSSION 31 3. Summary 42 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS 43 4.
Recommendations for students 43 4. Recommendations for teachers 44 4. Recommendations for institutions 44 4. Summary of the main findings 46 2.
Limitations and suggestions for further research 47 REFERENCES Viii APPENDICES xiv LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Percentage participants’ class 27 Figure 2. Percentage participants’ gender 27 VI LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Level of interest in learning legal English eal Table 2.
Physical factor 33 Table 3. Mental factors 33 Table 4. Cognitive factor 34 Table 5. The legal English subject-relatedfactors 35 Table 6.
The facility-relatedfactors 36 Table 7. The teacher-relatedfactors Be Table 8. Strategies students used 39 Table 9. The teacher-related strategies 40 Table 10.
The institution-related strategies 41 Vil INTRODUCTION This part intends to lay the groundwork for the research paper by describing its rationale, aims, research questions, scope, significance and organization with a clear focus, purpose, and direction. Rationale for the study Interest plays a crucial role in learning, serving as a catalyst for motivation, engagement, and deep understanding. According to Hidi and Renninger (2006), interest enhances cognitive processes such as attention, encoding, and retrieval of information, leading to better retention and transfer of knowledge. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that interest-based learning experiences foster intrinsic motivation, which is essential for long- term engagement and mastery of a subject (Harackiewicz et al.
When learners are intrinsically motivated, they exhibit higher levels of curiosity, persistence, and enjoyment, resulting in enhanced learning outcomes. However, there are many factors that influencing the interest in learning. One crucial factor is the learning environment. Fredricks et al.
(2004) indicated that the learning environment needs to be stimulating and supportive, providing appropriate materials and activities to create an engaging and exciting learning space. Additionally, the teacher-student relationship also has a significant impact on learning interest. Wentzel (1997) demonstrated that a warm and supportive classroom environment, where teachers foster positive interactions and encourage student engagement, can increase interest and motivation for learning. Furthermore, personal beliefs and students' connection to a particular topic or subject also play a role.
A study by Ainley and Hidi (2014) revealed that students who have a deep personal interest and connection with the learning content tend to have higher levels of interest and achieve better learning outcomes. In the current context, the importance of legal English cannot be understated. The significance of legal English stems from its role as a global language of law, facilitating communication and understanding among legal professionals across different jurisdictions. Katz and Olszewski (2015) highlighted that proficiency in legal English is essential for effective legal practice, as it enables lawyers to navigate complex legal documents, negotiate agreements, and advocate persuasively in legal proceedings.
Furthermore, legal English plays a crucial role in legal education, as emphasized by Bowles and Woon (2011). It enables law students to comprehend and analyze case law, statutes, and legal texts, fostering critical thinking and legal reasoning skills. In the current era of globalization and interconnected legal systems, mastering legal English is paramount for legal professionals, law students, and anyone involved in legal matters. Hanoi Law University is one of the few universities in Vietnam that offer legal English courses to students of different disciplines.
The goal of the training program is to create human resources who are not only good at English and have basic knowledge of the law, but also master the legal English language so that they can use it to communicate and work in an international environment, meeting the needs of society. English-majored students at Hanoi Law University are required to learn legal English through subjects such as Basic legal English, Advanced legal English, Legal translation and interpretation, etc. Through observing the learning environment and the attitudes of English-majored students at Hanoi Law University, the student researcher have noticed many students show not very high interest in learning legal English. Therefore, it is necessary to study strategies to promote their interest in learning legal English.
By conducting research on this topic, we can identify the underlying reasons behind the lack of interest and explore strategies to address this situation. Because of the aforementioned reasons, the student researcher was urged to conduct a study on: “Strategies used by English-majored students at Hanoi Law University to promote the interest in learning legal English. Aims and objectives of the study 2.1, Aims of the study The present study intends to achieve the following aims: - To evaluate the levels of legal English learning interest of English-majored students at Hanoi Law University; - To explore the factors influencing the interest of English-majored students in learning legal English; - To investigate the strategies that English-majored students use to promote their interest in learning legal English; 2. Objectives of the study - To explore the perceptions and attitudes of English-majored students in learning legal English - To identify which factors affecting most the interest of English-majored students in learning legal English.
- To propose some recommendations to help English-majored students to promote their interest in learning legal English. Research quesfions In order to achieve the aims set out, three research questions were formulated as follows: - What are the current levels of interest in learning legal English among English-majored students at Hanoi Law University? - What factors influence the interest of English-majored students in learning legal English at Hanoi Law University? - What are the strategies used by English-majored students at Hanoi Law University to promote their interest in learning legal English? 4. Scope of the study This research limits itself to investigate the strategies that these students use to promote their interest in learning legal English, examining factors influencing the interest of English-majored students at Hanoi Law University in learning legal English. The population for this research includes senior students registered as full-time students regardless of gender from classes 4429 and 4430 in the Faculty of Foreign Legal Languages at Hanoi Law University.
This research was conducted over a period of three months, from the end of April 2023 to the end of July 2023. Significance of the study This study mainly focuses on exploring the factors influencing the interest in learning legal English of English-majored students at Hanoi Law University and strategies to promote their interest in learning legal English. The research contributes to filling the research gap and provide valuable insights and recommendations for learners, teachers, institutions, and researchers. For learners, the findings of this research provide valuable insights into the factors influencing the interest in learning legal English.
Understanding these factors can help learners become more self-aware and proactive in promoting facilitative factors and limiting prohibitive ones that influence their interest in language learning in general and legal English learning in particular. The research also explores effective strategies that learners can employ to promote their interest in legal English, fostering a more positive and rewarding learning. For teachers, this research sheds light on the factors that impact learners' interest for legal English learning. Armed with this knowledge, teachers can tailor their teaching approaches to better cater to students' needs and preferences, creating more engaging and effective language learning environments.
The research also offers insights into innovative teaching strategies that can promote learners' interest and boost their learning outcomes. For institutions, the research provides recommendations for enhancing language learning program. Understanding the factors influencing learners' interest in legal English can help institutions design and implement more targeted and impactful courses, building suitable facilities and equipment to promote students' interest in learning legal English.