3 ECTS credits
90 h study time
Offer 2 with catalog number 1022244BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.
The ‘français juridique’ course takes place under the form of practical lessons. To the extent possible, we take the student's starting level into account and operate according to a differentiation model so that every student can make progress in foreign language acquisition, however, a good basic knowledge of French (B1/B2 level) is both an advantage and an added value.
The pedagogy used stems from the CLIL method (Content and Language Integrated Learning). Through CLIL, students are exposed to non-language-oriented content with the aim of promoting multilingualism interactively. The content provided leans towards the general Law programme and deepens various law-related/legal topics that are systematically adapted to current events.
Specific attention is paid to legal vocabulary through 7 modules focusing on different themes and branches of law (Belgian context). Through ‘distance projects’, punctual grammatical (problem) points are addressed (via Projet Voltaire) and oral language skills are worked on (via the Tandem project ism the ULB). One of the major assignments involves making a plea/argument before an audience. For this, specific argumentation techniques are employed and principles from rhetoric are used.
In terms of cross-curricular objectives, the course contributes to active citizenship through pedagogical strategies that, for example, question our relationship to regulation, affirm the appearance of ‘the common good’, support the principle of equality of opportunity and encourage a sense of critical engagement.
During the first lesson, the precise modalities about the content, the evaluation criteria, the interrelationship of the subpoints, the organisation and the course will be explained and provided via a vade mecum (changes are always possible). The vade mecum therefore contains all concrete information and is a binding document. This also applies to working students.
We work with authentic (professional) texts, audiovisual documents and vocabulary exercises on Canvas. The legal jargon is taken from the handbook À la découverte du français juridique (Elke Weylandt & Liesbeth Vandenbulcke) and consists of 7 modules, arranged according to different themes and branches of law. All teaching materials are made available, to the extent possible, on Canvas.
Students' attendance during the working classes in Français juridique is compulsory. Students who are unwarrantedly absent during classes will be referred to the 2nd session. In case of more than 3 lawful absences, the student will also be referred to second session. With regard to substantiating absences at evaluation moments and their proper conduct, please refer to art. 111 and 112 of the Education and Examination Regulations with the faculty additions of the Faculty of Law and Criminology regarding medical certificates.
To pass this course, some conditions apply:
Learning outcomes:
General competences:
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
A plagiarism detection system will be used when submitting the written version of the ‘plaidoyer/réquisitoire’.
There will be no communication on partial marks during the semester.
In case of unwarranted absence during an evaluation moment, the student is immediately referred to second session time. In case of legitimate absence (see conditions in examination regulations) during an evaluation moment, the student must inform his/her respective teacher in advance. Please note that there is no catch-up time for the written test (vocabulary test).
Students who wish to take part in the second session must notify their respective lecturer by e-mail at the latest 1 week after the official announcement of the marks via the faculty. Late notifications will not be taken into account and will invalidate the right to participate in second session.
No partial exemptions will be transferred after second session.
Special arrangements are provided for working students, which are handed out and explained through a vade mecum at the beginning of the semester.
Info regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence: specifically for the oral presentations, the use of AI is allowed to a limited extent, provided that the student does so appropriately, reports on it openly and does not use the AI itself as a primary source. More detailed instructions on this will be included in the vade-mecum. Generally, we also refer to the conditions formulated in the faculty's examination regulations, specifically this sentence : "The student may not present work generated by AI as his own. In no case may reference be made to primary source material where the work and source citations have been generated by generative AI applications and these applications are not mentioned. Any source to which the student refers must have been consulted, reviewed and processed by the student himself in support of his work. (...)". In other words, it is crucial that the student's work represents his or her own research and reflections on the topic. Teachers must be able to assess the student's own skills (including mastery of the topic, language skills and critical thinking), as well as his or her skills in handling Chatgpt or other digital tools.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Laws: default (only offered in Dutch)