MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY NGUYEN LAN NHI 453250 INVESTIGATING LEGAL ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENT’ AUTONOMY IN UTILIZING THE INTERNET RESOURCES FOR LEGAL ENGLISH LEARNING IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY 4.0 MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NGUYEN LAN NHI 453250 INVESTIGATING LEGAL ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENT’ AUTONOMY IN UTILIZING THE INTERNET RESOURCES FOR LEGAL ENGLISH LEARNING IN THE AGE OF INDUSTRY 4.0 NGHIEN CỨU VE TÍNH TU CHU CUA SINH VIÊN NGANH NGON NGU ANH TRONG VIỆC KHAITHAC NGUON TAI NGUYEN INTERNET PHUC VU CHO VIEC HOC TIENG ANH PHAP LY TRONG THOI DAI CONG NGHIEP 4.0 Major: Legal English GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor ‘Vu Van Tuan, PhD. Hanoi - 2024 i STUDENT DECLARATION Thereby state that I Nguyen Lan Nhi — ID 453250, 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 im the Itbrany. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the iibrany should be accessible jor the purposes of study and research in accordance with the normal conditions established by the itbrartan for the care, loan or reproduction ofthe paper. ‘Supervisor's confirmation Researcher's signature ‘Vu Van Tuan, PhD.
‘Nguyen Lan Nii ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT Completing a thesis is not a solitary endeavor I am grateful for the support, encouragement, feedback, and comfort provided by numerous individuals who deserve recognition. ‘The researcher extends heartfelt appreciation to the generous and individuals whose invaluable assistance and support have transformed abstract, and complex ideas into the tangible work presented here, While countless others have contributed to this research, space and time constraints permit the acknowledgment of only a select few. Nevertheless, their contributions are deeply cherished and will forever remain etched in the researcher's memory and heart Aboveall, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Vu Van Tuan, my supervisor, for his steadfast support and mentorship during the course of this research.
His invaluable guidance, astute insights, and constructive feedback have playeda pivotal role in shaping this dissertation. Iam deeply appreciative of his patience, generosity, and unwavering encouragement throughout this joumey. T would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the faculty members and staff at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Law University. Their unwavering dedication to the pursuit of Imowledge through teaching and research has served as a constant source ofinspiration for me.
Throughout my academic joumey, their support, guidance, and encouragement have been invaluable, shaping my growth and development as a student Furthermore, Iam deeply appreciative of the unwavering love, support, and encouragement provided by my family. Their belief in my abilities has been the driving force behind my academic achievements, and Iam profoundly grateful for their unwavering presence in my life iii Last but certainly not least, I extend my heartfelt thanks to my friends and classmates, whose companionship have been a source of strength and ‘motivation throughout my studies Their encouragement, assistance, and support have made the academic joumey more enjoyable and rewarding In conclusion, Iam indebted to all those who have supported me on this graduation thesis. Without their guidance, encouragement, and unwavering belief in my abilities, completing this graduation thesis would not have been. iv ABSTRACT Inthe age of Industry 4 0, the utilization of Internet resources for leamning has become increasingly prevalent, particularly in the field of legal English education.
This study delvesinto the realm ofleamer autonomy among students ‘majoring in legal English at Hanoi Law University, focusing specifically on their utilization of intemet resources for legal-English leaming Through a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and interviews, data were gathered from 71 representative students enrolled in K46 and K47 courses. The study investigated students’ perceptions, challenges, and strategies\related to ‘autonomous legal English learning. The findings illuminate the obstacles which students encounter, and propose recommendations to enhance their leaming experience This research contributes valuable insights to educators and policymakers in the field of legal English education, providing guidance for optimizing the use ofintemet resources in fostering leamer autonomy in legal English leaning Thisresearch isalso helpful for teachers, leamers, and anyone involved in legal English education, giving them ideas on how to use the Intemet to help students leam better on their own, TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Student declaration ii Acknowledgement iil Abstract Table of contents List oftables List of abbreviations PART I. Rationale for study 2.
Aims and Objectives of the Study 2.1, Aims of the study 2. Objectives of the study 3. Research Questions 4 Scope of the Study 5) Significance of the Study 6. Structure of the Study PART II.
The overview of legal English 1. Legal English in learning and teaching process 12. Intemet utilization CHAPTER 2:METHODOLOGY 2. Research question restated 2.5, Procedures of data collection 2 6.RESULTS AND DICUSSION 3.
Demographic information of the respondents 3. Theanalysis of challenges encountered by students while learning ‘egal English online through self-study methods 3.3) The analysis of toolsimethods to improve leamer autonomy in studying legal English online 3. The analysis of the online tools and resources deemed most 'beneficial for leaming legal English. The analysis of the satisfaction of students with the availability of 30 online resources for legal English leaning.6, The analysis of students’ semi-structured interviews regarding.
Hì their experiences with leaming legal English online. The analysis on the engagement of students in online discussions 35 or forums PART II.1, Summary ofthe main findings 36 4.3, Limitations and suggestions for further research. Suggestions 38 REFERENCES vũ APPENDIX 4 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRES 45 APPENDIX B: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 50 QUESTIONS vũi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Projfies ofthe respondents involving tn the study 19 Table 2: Difficuities students may face when studying legal ” English online without supervisor Table 3: Tools/methods to traprove the anfonomy in learning legal 26 English online Table 4: Most beneficial tools for students when learning legal 30 English online Table 5: The satisfaction of the availability of online resources. ` 31 Table 6: Stowmarized analysis of students’ semi-structured 33 interviews (manipulated by NVivo) Table 7: Table of Participation Assessment Hà ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HLU Hanoi Law University ESP English for Specific Purposes GE General English EAP English for Academic Purposes LMS ‘Leaming Management System PART I INTRODUCTION This part provides the context of the research by explaining the rationale, aims ofthe study, research questions, significance, and scope of the study, along with the structure ofthe paper.
Rationale for study In today’s modem society, the Internet is considered an indispensable part of human life. In the age of Industry 4.0, online resources are much more influential in assisting students to promote their self-study abilities in different subjects such as learning foreign languages, especially English. In other words, the utilization of online resources enables students to improve their autonomous leaming activities (Bui & Vu, 2018).g, Vu, 2018; Almarwaey, 2017) have investigated the accessibility and ability to use social networking sites in utilizing Intemet resources for English leaming of the students. The results have indicated that the level of English language leaming autonomy of leamers seems to be positive at the high level and students tend to show their abilities to do well if they are given opportunities to encourage their use of intemet resources for their autonomous learning purposes.
Although there are many studies (e g, Bui & Vu, 2018; Molnar & Fields, 2004, Vu & Hoang, 2020) conducting research on leamer autonomy in exploiting the Intemet resources, English for specific purposes (ESP) in different fields suchas business, commerce, foreign trade, medical services, or particularly legal English study have not been given proper attention. ‘After examining numerous articles, Dryden (2023) states “Autonomy is an individual's capacity for self-determination or self-governance”. Thus, 1eemer autonomy can be defined as self-study - a method of learning where leamers take charge of their studying outside of the classroom, without supervision, This allows students to take control of how, what, when, and where they leem, and manage the speed and timing of their learning. 1 Furthermore, leamers can assess what information they need, find the resources to supplement their learning, and complete assessments at their own pace Leamers with the self-study leaming method have a chance to focus ‘more on areas that interest them the most or that they understand better.
‘Moreover, this 1eeming method helps leamers reduce the feelings offrustration oranaiety they may undergo withina classroom setting Leamer autonomy also plays an important role in improving student's insights into language learning ‘These days, with the ongoing development of Intemet applications, Learning Management Systems (LMS) (¢g, Moodle, ATutor, Moodle, Blackboard, Google Classroom, Canvas by Instructure) come with adequate tools that allow students to be vigilant of their assessment performance with insightful data and instant notifications about test scores after finishing their tests and these facilities avail mostly free of charge. Besides, in addition to helping students focus on their favourite areas and giving students an insight into language 1eaming, self-study is also creating an opportunity for leamers to try things out, handling problems from different perspectives, and taking initiative in their time management. Because self-study or autonomy requires a lifelong process and contains lots of struggles while leaming, leamers not only have high accessibility with the self-study method, but they also actively engage with whatever they want to achieve and develop a sense of accountability to comply with personal rules to become experts in a particular field In the long-term process of promoting leamer autonomy in studying legal English, it is necessary for legal English major students to benefit from online resources. As claimed by Vu and Hoang (2020), students develop the habit of autonomous language 1 ming using Internet resources for their learning, they are likely to be more successful in the era of Industry 4.0 Kemp (2023) asserts that the Intemet facilities in Vietnam can meet the demand ofaccessingall sources that can support English leamers even those who have little chances to use English frequently.
In addition, the resources that leemers can exploit for legal English learning on the Intemet are virtually limited. The Internet can be used for educational purposes in many ways, including research, online courses, collaborative learning, virtual tours, language leaming, test preparation, and time management and organization. For instance, students can use the Internet to research and read the works that have already been done according to their areas ofresearch, and they can use it for building relationships. These days, with the development and convenience of online learning platforms, students can create relationships with educationists around the world through online applications or websites in just one click, which enables them to havea wider knowledge about the research areas, discuss things from different perspectives, and connect with foreigners.
Leaming legal English requires students’ patience, perseverance, and. eagemess to leamas Legal English leamersare expected to have the knowledge and deep understanding of its terms or their meaning in a particular context. Since English legalese is mown for its professionalism, complexity, and vagueness for leamers in general, autonomy is believed to be one of the efficient ways to improve the Legal English leaming level. In the same vein, Jasmina and Biljana (2014) are typically the two scholars conducting a study on the autonomy of students in the use of digital resources in a legal English course.
They conclude that if the students are gradually instructed on how to search and use online resources more and more independently, they would leam how to select the proper sources and use them autonomously in their writing ‘They claim that the obstacles students must face when using the Intemet as a ‘main tool for studying legal English are the shortage oftheir strategies on how to search and use the Intemet in the most efficient ways. As a result, students tend to surrender their responsibilities to their teachers, which often leads to 3 their demotivation of autonomous performance Legal English is considered difficult to understand even for native speakers because 0fits archaic linguistic features.