Teaching English for Legal Purposes (ELP) in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

The emergence of coronavirus in early 2020 and its rapid spread led to the pandemic that has affected almost all aspects of our lives, including education, law and the economy. After the first downtime and the initial shock it became clear that it was extremely important that learning continued; therefore, when schools and universities were closed and lockdowns introduced, online teaching became a priority. For the vast majority of teachers and students, however, it posed an enormous challenge as the situation required leaving their comfort zones, adapting to new conditions and / or acquiring new skills. Some of them were also forced to confront their prejudices towards this mode of instruction. This paper endeavours to provide some insights into the teaching English for Legal Purposes online in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the course of Legal English carried out for Slovak judges, prosecutors and court staff in 2020 and 2021 provides a specific case background for the research. The study aimed to investigate how the course participants perceive learning Legal English online. The research particularly addresses the questions what their approach towards this mode of instruction was before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, what they like and dislike about online language learning, whether they find learning Legal English online more difficult than studying in a real classroom as well as whether online classes can be as effective and enjoyable as traditional ones. The study assumed both a quantitative and qualitative methodology encompassing a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The findings of the research show that an overwhelming majority of the respondents favourably evaluated the course and would definitely participate again in a similar format or recommend it to other learners.