NEEDS ANALYSIS AND ENGLISH FOR LEGAL PURPOSES COURSE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY ON AN ELP SYLLABUS DESIGN FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
NEEDS ANALYSIS AND ENGLISH FOR LEGAL PURPOSES COURSE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY ON AN ELP SYLLABUS DESIGN FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Summary/Abstract: Needs analysis and English for Legal Purposes Course Development: A Case Study on an ELP Syllabus Design for University Students. The present paper investigates the connection between students’ learning needs as reflected in the initial needs analysis and ELP syllabus design. Initiated at the beginning of the academic year the study investigates solutions to bridge the gap between the linguistic and professional needs of students attending legal English classes and their course syllabus. A typical challenge for the students’ instructor is the fact that they have little, typically no prior experience with the profession for which they hope to qualify during their studies. The fact that compulsory language courses are often placed in the students’ first year of bachelor study programmes makes the intention to offer relevant course content even more difficult. The structure of the article is the following: first is given a scope for the study, then needs analysis is presented in relation to teaching ESP for the general public and university students; finally, the findings are interpreted in the context of changes in teaching strategies and course design. The article concludes by pointing out that taking into consideration students’ expectations and needs is strongly correlated with the quality and the relevance of the course.

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