Introduction to the language of criminal law

Do you find yourself stuck when reading a legal text on criminal law due to the language used? Are you confused or feel lost when listening to native English speakers discuss a criminal law issue due to the complexity of the terminology?

This course is intended for anyone either studying or working in some capacity in the field of criminal law (and particularly for non-native English speakers). It introduces students (or provides a good review for those already with some knowledge) to key vocabulary, concepts, collocations and prepositions in the area of criminal law. It can also be a good introduction to the world of criminal law for those with no background  in that field whatsoever.

This course offers a quick practical introduction to the area of criminal law with focus on key terminology, collocations, prepositions, procedural chronology, case brief writing and reading/listening comprehension based on current and controversial criminal law cases. By the end of the course, you should have the basics of the language of criminal law to be able to understand and communicate with others smoothly and accurately.

You will learn key terminology related to types of criminal offences; review typical chronology of a criminal case; study key criminal law concepts and terms, etc. You will perfect your reading comprehension skills based on a recent controversial “manslaugter by words” case along with structuring a basic case brief, a skill required of any law student. Similarly, you will also perfect your listening / video comprehension skills based on two videos dealing with current global white collar crimes (financial crimes) cases: the first one relating to Elizabeth Holmes’ criminal trial and the second related to sentencing process of white collar crime convicts.

This mini course is not intended to go in-depth into the area of criminal law, but rather, provide you with the very basics to be able to speak, read, write and understand content related to this area of law.

The approach is rather practical with an introductory session of approx. 80 minutes accompanied by a pdf script of everything said in the video along with key exercises in order to put the theory into practice. All the materials mentioned in the video are attached as resources in each of the 6 Lectures.

Feel also free to leave your comments and thoughts related to the criminal law related questions raised in the course, particularly through the two video comprehension excercises and the reading comprehension exercise on the course forum.