Word Consciousness: Vocabulary Strategies to Promote ESP Students’ Interest in Learning Legal English

Abstract

The importance of teaching vocabulary cannot be overestimated. From the general to the technical, words are the building blocks of knowledge. In order to expand students’ communicative competence, language teachers should motivate them to learn as many words as possible. In modern society, English for Specific Purposes courses (ESP) is at the heart of every classroom activity including Business English, technical English, scientific English, English for Medical Professionals, Legal English, and English for hospitality and tourism, and a myriad others. There are different notions and beliefs about teaching ESP courses but vocabulary is a core issue. Rich vocabulary stock and comprehension of words are the end product of word consciousness and vocabulary acquisition. The paper aims to expand the awareness about words, vocabulary acquisition, and mastering Legal language terms in ESP. The focus and material of this paper are II year undergraduate Law students, whose participation in this study was completely voluntary, they responded to a questionnaire designed to elicit students’ perception of Legal English vocabulary learning strategies and the effect of word consciousness on vocabulary acquisition. The paper has been valued on the basis of student’s responses; the data was recorded on Google form, and was, later on, analyzed.