For individuals who want to get involved in any sort of law, it is highly advisable (and in most cases necessary) that they acquire some form of qualification regarding English language of legal studies. This is because you need to display that you are competent enough to read law texts, thoroughly converse with your clients, transcribe interviews and phone conversations, conduct yourself properly in the courtroom and understand what other professionals are saying to you. With that being said, in this blog post, we are going to delve deeper into the way that you display this knowledge in order to improve your chances of getting a good job.
How do you display your competence in the English language?
One of the most highly recognised and widely regarded examinations in English is that of the ILEC exam. The ILEC exam is one that is based on the use of the English language for those involved in law. People may be more familiar with the extended version of its name; the International Legal English Certificate.
One of the best things about this examination is that it tests candidates in all areas and thus it is a thorough exam. This is because there are four sections – each of which is worth 25%. There is one section for reading, one for speaking, another for writing and one for listening.
The purpose of this exam is to credit those involved in law with a merit to display their competence of the English language. It is crucial for those who want to be involved in international law because they will need to display that they have a thorough knowledge of the English language and that they can use it correctly and effectively in their practise. There are even a lot of business degree schools online that will require you to pass this exam if you want to move into any sort of legal or international field.
The different sections of the exam
The exam is split into four parts; reading, writing, listening and speaking. The fact that it is spilt into four different categories displays that it is an exam that thoroughly examines all elements of the English language in order to provide a complete conclusion. Each part of the exam has an equal weight – this is 25% each. However, the exam structures vary greatly. The reading and writing parts of the examination are one hour and fifteen minutes long. The listening section of the exam is forty minutes long. And finally, the speaking section is the shortest as it only lasts a mere fifteen minutes. With regards to the actual law which is incorporated into the exam, the International Legal English Certificate deals with a range of different law areas, including some of the following; environmental law, real property law, employment law, and competition law.
How the exam is marked
Once an individual has taken the exam they will obviously be eagerly awaiting their results to see how they have done on it. The examination is marked as a whole; meaning that all four points are joined together to give one final grade rather than four separate ones. There are five possible grades a candidate can achieve. The grades attainable consist of three passing grades and two failing grades. The passing grades available are as follows; firstly, the C1 pass with merit, and then, C1 pass, and finally, B2 pass. The two failing grades which one may receive are as follows: narrow fail and fail. However, nobody will obviously want to achieve those two final grades mentioned.
Delving deeper into the different segments
The four sections of the examination were mentioned earlier in this article, and now let’s delve a little bit deeper into each section. First and foremost, the speaking section is the shortest part of the examination – it is only fifteen minutes long. The purpose of this part of the exam is pretty self-explanatory; it is to show that the candidate can communicate effectively with their clients as well as other professionals in the industry. Speaking correctly in law means that the person can use the correct legal language when necessary but they can also break it down into simple terms for their clients.
Another section of the exam is the writing part. This is one hour and fifteen minutes long. It consists of two parts; one requires the individual to write a letter and the other requires them to write a memorandum. Then in addition to this, there is the reading part which is the same in time length as the writing section; one hour and fifteen minutes. This has 6 sections consisting of 54 questions as a whole. This obviously determines whether the individual is competent in reading various law texts.
The final section is the listening section. This is 45 minutes long and requires the individual to listen to law materials, such as telephone conversations, in order to determine whether the candidate can understand them.
Why is this exam highly regarded?
The reason why the ILEC exam is one of the best ones to opt for is largely to do with the fact that it is an examination which is recognised all over the world. There are so many institutions that acknowledge this form of assessment as they obviously value its credibility. These include, but are not limited to; the Milan Bar Association, the Council of Europe and the French Chamber of Commerce. Obviously, most people who are considering doing this exam will obviously want to get involved in international law, and thus worldwide credibility is something which is absolutely crucial.
Some final words
All in all, having the International Legal English Certificate is beneficial to anybody involved in the law field. It displays that they are competent when it comes to the utilisation of the English language. It assures employees and clients that the individual in question is able to communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking in the field of legal studies.
