English Ii
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
This is a second-year, two-semester course (1st semester: 40 hours; 2nd semester: 20 hours) which can be accessed once the first year English language course has been completed.
The aim of the course, which combines theoretical and applied perspectives, is to familiarize students with legal and institutional discourse in English. This means that students will have a chance to gain a good grounding in common law legal systems and the main principles underlying them, also comparing them with civil law systems, with special attention for linguistic aspects. Students will be equipped with the tools to understand the ways in which legal language is deployed used in national, supra-national and international contexts respectively. Lessons will be based on the analysis of authentic texts (statutes, contracts, judgments, arbitration awards, etc.). Students are expected to acquire the ability to read and interpret legal texts, learning to handle their peculiar linguistic structures and specific vocabulary and phraseology. The course includes a component focusing on judiciary legal discourse and on legal interpreting, in which students will develop the ability to translate oral legal texts in the consecutive mode, also taking notes wherever necessary.
The aim of the course, which combines theoretical and applied perspectives, is to familiarize students with legal and institutional discourse in English. This means that students will have a chance to gain a good grounding in common law legal systems and the main principles underlying them, also comparing them with civil law systems, with special attention for linguistic aspects. Students will be equipped with the tools to understand the ways in which legal language is deployed used in national, supra-national and international contexts respectively. Lessons will be based on the analysis of authentic texts (statutes, contracts, judgments, arbitration awards, etc.). Students are expected to acquire the ability to read and interpret legal texts, learning to handle their peculiar linguistic structures and specific vocabulary and phraseology. The course includes a component focusing on judiciary legal discourse and on legal interpreting, in which students will develop the ability to translate oral legal texts in the consecutive mode, also taking notes wherever necessary.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Understand English legal documents that range from statutes to contracts and international instruments.
- Understand and use English legal terminology.
- Analyse and present legal and institutional cases in English.
- Act as interpreters of oral legal discourse, including police interviews and court examinations.
- Understand English legal documents that range from statutes to contracts and international instruments.
- Understand and use English legal terminology.
- Analyse and present legal and institutional cases in English.
- Act as interpreters of oral legal discourse, including police interviews and court examinations.
Lesson period: year
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The syllabus covers two main areas: legal English (including legal interpreting) and institutional discourse, with special regard to critical-analytical approaches. The legal English component aims to develop skills in Language for Special Purposes. As for the other course component, insititutional discourse (which also includes the use of language in legal settings) has been selected as the object of special attention because of its likely relevance in students' future professional lives.
The legal Engish component focuses on legal discourse in international organizational and corporate settings, looking both at written and oral genres, with special regard to interpreting. The topics covered are the following:
- An introduction to legal English and its use in different contexts, national supranational and international.
- Legal language and discursive practices in international legal instruments (public and private).
- Distinctive features of normative texts - international conventions, international contracts, international arbitration texts (arbitration rules, awards).
- Discussion of case studies. Production of written and oral text in order to practice the skills acquired in the unit.
- Oral genres in the legal and judiciary context: court pleadings, police interviews, public enquiries, court examinations.
- The interpreter's role in the judicial context.
- The interpreter in the police interview in the UK, in other European countries and in the US.
- The interpreter in the courtroom, in adversarial vs inquisitorial systems: professional and ethical issues.
- Interpretation strategies.
- Case studies and role plays / simulations.
The remaining part of the course focuses on institutional discourse across genres and media. This part of the course explores the theoretical and practical aspects of institutional discourse, in a discourse-analytic perspective, taking into consideration texts and case studies belonging to different genres and communicated through different media. This will provide an opportunity to learn terminology, phraseology and syntactic patterns, and become aware of communicative strategies and discursive practices used in a variety of institutional settings. Relevant texts will be provided throughout the course.
The legal Engish component focuses on legal discourse in international organizational and corporate settings, looking both at written and oral genres, with special regard to interpreting. The topics covered are the following:
- An introduction to legal English and its use in different contexts, national supranational and international.
- Legal language and discursive practices in international legal instruments (public and private).
- Distinctive features of normative texts - international conventions, international contracts, international arbitration texts (arbitration rules, awards).
- Discussion of case studies. Production of written and oral text in order to practice the skills acquired in the unit.
- Oral genres in the legal and judiciary context: court pleadings, police interviews, public enquiries, court examinations.
- The interpreter's role in the judicial context.
- The interpreter in the police interview in the UK, in other European countries and in the US.
- The interpreter in the courtroom, in adversarial vs inquisitorial systems: professional and ethical issues.
- Interpretation strategies.
- Case studies and role plays / simulations.
The remaining part of the course focuses on institutional discourse across genres and media. This part of the course explores the theoretical and practical aspects of institutional discourse, in a discourse-analytic perspective, taking into consideration texts and case studies belonging to different genres and communicated through different media. This will provide an opportunity to learn terminology, phraseology and syntactic patterns, and become aware of communicative strategies and discursive practices used in a variety of institutional settings. Relevant texts will be provided throughout the course.
Prerequisites for admission
The course builds on the competences developed in the first-year English language course. The entry level for the course is set at C1 level of the CEFR (minimum requirement). A working knowledge of Italian is also required. The exit level is set at C1plus/C2 of the CEFR, with special reference to legal and institutional domains. The self-assessment grid for CEFR levels can be found here: https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/table-2-cefr-3.3-common-reference-levels-self-assessment-grid.
Teaching methods
The course comprises lectures, seminars and language training sessions. All teaching is in English (except where interpreting training is concerned, where the combination EN-IT is used).
Students will attend 30 lectures (60 hours) over two semesters with the course professors.
Language practice sessions (60 hours over two semesters) are scheduled in addition to the course. Additional training sessions, focusing on consecutive interpreting techniques, will be provided in the second term. Students are strongly advised to attend practice sessions and consecutive interpreting seminars. Please note that some of the skills taught in the course for which training is provided in seminars and practice sessions are very technical and require extensive practice.
Detailed information about the materials to be used in language practice sessions will be provided at the beginning of the academic year.
Reference grammar
Martin Hewings, Advanced Grammar in Use, with answers, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (the edition with a CD-ROM is recommended). [to be noted: this textbook was already used in the first year).
Students who are unable to attend the language practice sessions must contact Professor Paganoni for guidance on how to prepare for the exam.
Course website: http://li2lin.ariel.ctu.unimi.it
Students will attend 30 lectures (60 hours) over two semesters with the course professors.
Language practice sessions (60 hours over two semesters) are scheduled in addition to the course. Additional training sessions, focusing on consecutive interpreting techniques, will be provided in the second term. Students are strongly advised to attend practice sessions and consecutive interpreting seminars. Please note that some of the skills taught in the course for which training is provided in seminars and practice sessions are very technical and require extensive practice.
Detailed information about the materials to be used in language practice sessions will be provided at the beginning of the academic year.
Reference grammar
Martin Hewings, Advanced Grammar in Use, with answers, Cambridge University Press, 2005 (the edition with a CD-ROM is recommended). [to be noted: this textbook was already used in the first year).
Students who are unable to attend the language practice sessions must contact Professor Paganoni for guidance on how to prepare for the exam.
Course website: http://li2lin.ariel.ctu.unimi.it
Teaching Resources
Legal English:
G. Garzone, R. Salvi, J. Turnbull, Legal English. Seconda Edizione, Milano, EGEA (chapters 1, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16).
Legal English in interpreting settings:
Janet Cotterill (ed.) (2002) Language in the Legal Process. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, Chapters 6, 7 and 8.
Garzone, Giuliana (2011) "Professional discourses in contact: Interpreters in the legal and medical setting". In Candlin C.N. / Sarangi S. (eds) Handbook of Communication in Organisations and Professions. Berlin: Mouton-De Gruyter, pp. 319-340.
Hale, Sandra Beatriz (2007) Community Interpreting. London: Palgrave McMillan, Chapter 3.
Brannan, James (2010) "ECHR case-law on the right to language assistance in criminal proceedings and the EU response". Presentation made at AIIC seminar in October 2010, available from www.eulita.eu.
For an introduction to consecutive interpreting and note-taking method:
Garzone, Giuliana / Santulli, Francesca / Damiani, Daniela (1999). La Terza Lingua: Metodo di Stesura degli Appunti e Traduzione Consecutiva. Milano: Cisalpino Istituto Editoriale Universitario, pp. 38-96; 145 - 167; 172 - 211.
For the institutional discourse component:
Sutherland, Sean. 2015. A Beginner's Guide to Discourse Analysis. London: Red Globe Press.
Texts for further reading, slides and materials used in class will be made available on the course website.
For further information about materials, reading lists and assessment modes and criteria please refer to the course website: http://li2lin.ariel.ctu.unimi.it.
G. Garzone, R. Salvi, J. Turnbull, Legal English. Seconda Edizione, Milano, EGEA (chapters 1, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16).
Legal English in interpreting settings:
Janet Cotterill (ed.) (2002) Language in the Legal Process. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, Chapters 6, 7 and 8.
Garzone, Giuliana (2011) "Professional discourses in contact: Interpreters in the legal and medical setting". In Candlin C.N. / Sarangi S. (eds) Handbook of Communication in Organisations and Professions. Berlin: Mouton-De Gruyter, pp. 319-340.
Hale, Sandra Beatriz (2007) Community Interpreting. London: Palgrave McMillan, Chapter 3.
Brannan, James (2010) "ECHR case-law on the right to language assistance in criminal proceedings and the EU response". Presentation made at AIIC seminar in October 2010, available from www.eulita.eu.
For an introduction to consecutive interpreting and note-taking method:
Garzone, Giuliana / Santulli, Francesca / Damiani, Daniela (1999). La Terza Lingua: Metodo di Stesura degli Appunti e Traduzione Consecutiva. Milano: Cisalpino Istituto Editoriale Universitario, pp. 38-96; 145 - 167; 172 - 211.
For the institutional discourse component:
Sutherland, Sean. 2015. A Beginner's Guide to Discourse Analysis. London: Red Globe Press.
Texts for further reading, slides and materials used in class will be made available on the course website.
For further information about materials, reading lists and assessment modes and criteria please refer to the course website: http://li2lin.ariel.ctu.unimi.it.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Assessment is exam-based. The final oral examination with the course subject professor will test both the throretical notions discussed during the course and the ability to apply suck knowledge to real communicative situations.
Pror to sitting the final exam, students will have to pass two preliminary language skills tests (written and oral).
The assessment procedure is organized as follows:
1. PRELIMINARY LANGUAGE SKILLS TESTS
1.a. Written test
The written test is composed of two parts.
The first part (40 minutes) involves writing a summary of an oral text on a legal, professional or institutional topic, of about 150-200 words) which students will listen to. The summary will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: ability to grasp and synthesise text contents; ability to reformulate txt contents without altering or reducing them; grammatical correctness; variety and appropriateness of lexicon and phraseology used; textual cohesion. For this part a monolingual dictionary may be used.
The second part (30 minutes) involves the translation of a non technical legal text (e.g. an article on a topical legal issue or on a general problem having legal implications) of about 150 words published in the media, or downloaded from the Internet. For this part, a bilingual (Italian/English) dictionary may be used.
1.b. Speaking test: professional presentation
Argumentative oral presentation, lasting from 4 to 5 minutes (maximum), using slides or a presentation programme such as PPT. The student prepares and delivers a presentation on a topic dealt with in the course or in the language practice sessions. At the end of the presentation the student will be asked some questions, prompting further illustration of aspects of the presentation.
Only students who have taken both preliminary language skills tests (written and oral) successfully will be allowed to sit the oral exam.
2. ORAL EXAM
The final exam will consist in an oral exam with the course subject professors, who will award the final mark. Students will need to demonstrate proficient command of the language varieties and theoretical instruments taught in the course, and will need to demonstrate their ability to analyse and discuss legal case studies autonomously using appropriate analytical categories. They will also be tested on the technique of consecutive interpreting (oral or written translation from English into Italian of a monologic or dialogic legal text, e.g. a comment, a report, an interview, a court examination; the text will be read twice).
Part of the testing will be computer based. Computer-based interim tests will be administered at the end of each component of the course. Marks obtained in the interim tests will go towards the formulation of the final mark, which will be expressed with a mark out of 30.
Students who have not taken the computer-based interim tests will sit the same tests during regular exam sessions. The oral exam cannot be broken down into separate units (except in the case of interim tests, where part of the sullabus are tested separately).
Only students who have completed English 1 are allowed to sit the English 2 exam or any of the interim tests.
It is strongly recommended that student complete their English 1 exam by the September session.
Pror to sitting the final exam, students will have to pass two preliminary language skills tests (written and oral).
The assessment procedure is organized as follows:
1. PRELIMINARY LANGUAGE SKILLS TESTS
1.a. Written test
The written test is composed of two parts.
The first part (40 minutes) involves writing a summary of an oral text on a legal, professional or institutional topic, of about 150-200 words) which students will listen to. The summary will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: ability to grasp and synthesise text contents; ability to reformulate txt contents without altering or reducing them; grammatical correctness; variety and appropriateness of lexicon and phraseology used; textual cohesion. For this part a monolingual dictionary may be used.
The second part (30 minutes) involves the translation of a non technical legal text (e.g. an article on a topical legal issue or on a general problem having legal implications) of about 150 words published in the media, or downloaded from the Internet. For this part, a bilingual (Italian/English) dictionary may be used.
1.b. Speaking test: professional presentation
Argumentative oral presentation, lasting from 4 to 5 minutes (maximum), using slides or a presentation programme such as PPT. The student prepares and delivers a presentation on a topic dealt with in the course or in the language practice sessions. At the end of the presentation the student will be asked some questions, prompting further illustration of aspects of the presentation.
Only students who have taken both preliminary language skills tests (written and oral) successfully will be allowed to sit the oral exam.
2. ORAL EXAM
The final exam will consist in an oral exam with the course subject professors, who will award the final mark. Students will need to demonstrate proficient command of the language varieties and theoretical instruments taught in the course, and will need to demonstrate their ability to analyse and discuss legal case studies autonomously using appropriate analytical categories. They will also be tested on the technique of consecutive interpreting (oral or written translation from English into Italian of a monologic or dialogic legal text, e.g. a comment, a report, an interview, a court examination; the text will be read twice).
Part of the testing will be computer based. Computer-based interim tests will be administered at the end of each component of the course. Marks obtained in the interim tests will go towards the formulation of the final mark, which will be expressed with a mark out of 30.
Students who have not taken the computer-based interim tests will sit the same tests during regular exam sessions. The oral exam cannot be broken down into separate units (except in the case of interim tests, where part of the sullabus are tested separately).
Only students who have completed English 1 are allowed to sit the English 2 exam or any of the interim tests.
It is strongly recommended that student complete their English 1 exam by the September session.
Teaching Unit 1
L-LIN/12 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - ENGLISH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Catenaccio Paola
Shifts:
-
Professor:
Catenaccio Paola
Teaching Unit 2
L-LIN/12 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - ENGLISH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Nikitina Jekaterina
Shifts:
-
Professor:
Nikitina Jekaterina
Teaching Unit 3
L-LIN/12 - LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION - ENGLISH - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Paganoni Maria Cristina
Shifts:
-
Professor:
Paganoni Maria CristinaProfessor(s)
Reception:
Next office hours on 28 April; details + booking form: https://forms.office.com/e/ziu5QreFvv
Personal meeting space on Teams / room 4013
Reception:
Tuesday afternoon, by email appointment.
Room 4013/Teams