Forming an innovative professional linguistic personality of law school students on the basis of the synergetic approach

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Forming an innovative professional linguistic personality of law school students on the basis of the synergetic approach

K.M. Levitan, M.A. Yugova

Abstract

The article considers the problems of forming and developing a professional linguistic personality of students in the educational environment of the law school. It focuses on ways and principles of forming a professional linguistic personality of law students on the basis of synergetic approach at a tertiary institution of professional education in Russia. The formation of a professional linguistic personality of a lawyer involves acquisition of a professional language of legal discourse, which in its turn implies acquisition of the professional thesaurus and target competencies not only in L1 (which is a native language), but also in L2, L3, etc. Now that the modern international legal education is facing challenges caused by internationalization and integration of legal systems, the conception of developing professional linguistic personality of law students - with the use of axiological, competency-based and learner-centered approaches - seems to be of major significance. The article focuses mainly on the synergetic model of educational space development that has been actively developed recently and combines main methodological approaches in teaching foreign language discourse at higher schools, including professional focused teaching and the Content and Language Integrated Learning. The article gives the theoretical background as to the definition of the language of professional communication, the definition of linguistic personality and the importance of the concept. The authors also pay special attention to the concept “Foreign Language for Specific Purposes” by the example of the ESP phenomenon (English for Specific Purposes), the main goals and target audience, the specificity of its methodology and conditions for successful ESP learning, parameters and criteria for evaluating the relevant textbooks.

The results of some ESP textbooks analysis presented in the article show that at the initial (propaedeutic) stage the teaching methods offered in foreign language textbooks for specific purposes are based on the traditional system of professional focused teaching foreign languages, and the principles and methods of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) widely used in the European educational science and practice are applied at the advanced stage. We suggest the ways how this theoretical linguistic concept is related to legal education in practice, using the Ural State Law University, which is a prestigious law school in Russia, as an example. The Department of Russian, Foreign Languages and the Culture of Speech of the Ural State Law University has developed a number of innovative programs, courses (involving teaching legal skills, among others), coursebooks and multi-lingual dictionaries of legal terms which help form the innovative professional linguistic personality of law students possessing language competences and such personality traits of students as creativity, critical thinking, reflexivity, assertiveness, responsibility, tolerance, self-actualization. The authors' conception of the coursebook “English for Lawyers” (the level of academic bachelor's degree) reflects the current synergetic approach and is based on the concept of the innovative professional linguistic personality, that implies dialogue of culture and the interactivity of learning process. The content and structure of this textbook is affected by a limited number of academic hours in the bachelor's program and the target audience. Therefore, the structure of the textbook content may be roughly divided into two unequal parts corresponding to two stages of language training: the initial (propaedeutic) stage with its specific methodology of the introductory course and the advanced stage of the CLIL approach. The authors assign primary importance to the issues of selecting language and speech material for the textbook and its didactic arrangement that relies on students' participation and activation, and critical thinking development. The methodology of the research is based on theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison and evaluation) methods. It is concluded that the textbook as a universal tool of foreign language teaching and learning, which is based on the specific pedagogical approach and / or the methodological conception of teaching foreign language of profession, their professional motivation, the students' level of foreign language proficiency, current needs of students and society, as well as linguodidactic models of the linguistic personality, provides the framework that teachers and students have to follow in order to develop an innovative professional linguistic personality of law school students.

Keywords: synergetic model of foreign language discourse teaching; development and evaluation of the foreign language for specific purposes textbook; development of the students' innovative linguistic personality; linguodidactic model of the linguistic personality; content and methodology of the textbook for LLB students.

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ИННОВАЦИОННОЙ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОЙ ЯЗЫКОВОЙ ЛИЧНОСТИ СТУДЕНТОВ ЮРИДИЧЕСКОГО ФАКУЛЬТЕТА НА ОСНОВЕ СИНЕРГЕТИЧЕСКОГО ПОДХОДА

Левитан Kонстантин Mихайлович, профессор, доктор педагогических наук, заведующий кафедрой русского, иностранных языков и культуры речи Уральского государственного юридического университета (Екатеринбург, Россия).

Югова Мария Анатольевна, доцент, кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры русского, иностранных языков и культуры речи Уральского государственного юридического университета (Екатеринбург, Россия).

Аннотация. В статье рассматриваются проблемы формирования и развития профессиональной языковой личности студентов в образовательной среде юридического факультета. Основное внимание уделено путям и принципам формирования профессиональной языковой личности студентов юридического факультета на основе синергетического подхода в высшем учебном заведении профессионального образования в России. Формирование профессиональной языковой личности юриста предполагает освоение профессионального языка правового дискурса, что, в свою очередь, предполагает освоение профессионального тезауруса и целевых компетенций не только в L1 (который является родным языком), но и в L2, L3 и т. д. В настоящее время, когда современное международное юридическое образование сталкивается с проблемами, связанными с интернационализацией и интеграцией правовых систем, концепция формирования профессиональной языковой личности студентов-юристов - с использованием аксиологических, компетентностных и ориентированных на обучающихся подходов - имеет большое значение. Основное внимание в статье уделяется синергетической модели развития образовательного пространства, которая активно развивается в последнее время и объединяет основные методологические подходы в преподавании дискурса на иностранных языках в высших учебных заведениях, в том числе профессионально ориентированное обучение и предметно-языковое интегрированное обучение (СЬІЬ). В статье представлены теоретические основы, касающиеся определения языка профессионального общения, определения языковой личности и значимости концепта. Авторы также уделяют особое внимание концепции «Иностранный язык для профессиональных целей» на примере феномена ББР (английский в профессиональной сфере), основным целям и целевой аудитории, специфике его методологии и условиям для успешного обучения профессиональному английскому, параметрам и критериям оценивания соответствующих учебников. Результаты анализа некоторых учебников по английскому языку для профессиональных целей (ББР), представленные в статье, показывают, что на начальном (пропедевтическом) этапе методы обучения, предлагаемые в учебниках по иностранному языку для профессиональных целей, основаны на традиционной системе обучения профессионально ориентированному иностранному языку, а принципы и методика широко используемого в европейской образовательной науке и практике предметно-языкового интегрированного обучения (СЫЬ) применяются на продвинутой стадии. На примере Уральского государственного юридического университета, который является престижной юридической школой в России, мы показываем, как эта теоретическая лингвистическая концепция связана с юридическим образованием на практике. Кафедра русского языка, иностранных языков и культуры речи Уральского государственного юридического университета разработала ряд инновационных программ, курсов (включая, в частности, обучение юридическим навыкам), учебников и многоязычных словарей юридических терминов, которые помогают сформировать инновационную профессиональную языковую личность студентов-юристов, обладающих языковыми компетенциями, и такие личностные качества студентов, как креативность, критическое мышление, рефлексивность, настойчивость, ответственность, терпимость, самореализация. Авторская концепция учебника «Английский для юристов» (уровень академической степени бакалавра) отражает современный синергетический подход и основана на концепции инновационной профессиональной языковой личности, которая подразумевает диалог культуры и интерактивность процесса обучения. Содержание и структура этого учебника зависят от отведенного количества академических часов в программе бакалавриата и целевой аудитории. Поэтому структуру содержания учебника можно условно разделить на две неравные части, соответствующие двум этапам языковой подготовки: начальному (пропедевтическому) этапу с его конкретной методологией вводного курса и продвинутому этапу подхода СЬІЬ. Авторы придают первостепенное значение вопросам выбора языкового и речевого материала для учебника и его дидактической организации, которая опирается на участие и активацию студентов, а также развитие критического мышления. Методология исследования основана на теоретических (анализ, синтез, сравнение и оценка) методах. Сделан вывод о том, что учебник является универсальным инструментом преподавания и изучения иностранных языков, в основе которого лежат специфический педагогический подход и / или методологическая концепция обучения иностранному языку профессии, их профессиональная мотивация, уровень владения иностранным языком студентами, современные потребности студентов и общества, а также лингводидактические модели языковой личности. Этот учебник обеспечивает основу, которой должны следовать преподаватели и студенты для развития инновационной профессиональной языковой личности студентов юридических вузов.

Ключевые слова: синергетическая модель преподавания дискурса иностранных языков; разработка и оценка учебника по иностранному языку для профессиональных целей; развитие инновационной языковой личности студентов; лингводидактическая модель языковой личности; содержание и методология учебника для студентов ЬЬВ.

Introduction

In the recent decades, the emergence of the anthropocentric paradigm of scientific knowledge in linguistics has been followed by the introduction of new concepts and the terms defining them. The term “linguistic personality” occupies the central place in this paradigm as it is the comprehensive idea that runs through every aspect of the language learning and stands forth as a subject matter of the interdisciplinary human studies.

This problem is important today because of the growing social demand for those professionals who are able and ready to actively participate in intercultural communication in the context of their own professional activity that is aimed at steady development of their own personality and nation. Intercultural communication as one of the cornerstone elements of the innovative professional linguistic personality determines their competitiveness at the internal and external market.

The leading idea that makes the modern foreign language teaching and learning work is based on the synergetic model of educational space development. It has been actively explored recently and combines main methodological approaches in teaching foreign language discourse at higher schools, including professional focused teaching and the Content and Language Integrated Learning. This synergetic model adequately reflects linguistic, psychological and pedagogical aspects of foreign language for specific purposes teaching and course design - communicative ontology of the language, its epistemology, methodology of foreign language teaching - that allows to explore effectively the interaction of many factors in the educational process in order to achieve the maximum pedagogical effect [1]. For example, the content and structure of the ESP course is affected by a limited number of academic hours in the bachelor's educational program.

However, while studying the university course of foreign language for specific purposes there can be some difficulties with forming a number of professional skills, namely: searching and selecting information in a foreign language; processing and editing the information from foreign sources based on the discourse operations: conducting the qualitative analysis of foreign language information in order to distinguish facts from assumptions and personal opinions, and to make innovative projects successful; determining the goal and objectives, making plans, assessing their own foreign language activity and reflecting on it. Hence, the students' objective is not only to master the language, but to reflect themselves as bearers of traditional and innovative culture by demonstrating the innovative activity in order to realize and develop their professional and personal potential.

A language is a means of interaction between a person and environment and an intermediary between them. It performs the functions of a conductor of professional knowledge, helping form professional communicative competence. A number of Russian scholars differentiate among three-levels in the structure of linguistic personality: verbal-semantic (lexicon), linguo-cognitive (thesaurus), and motivational. The development of these structural components determines the formation of the professional linguistic personality [2, 3].

The language of professional communication is a combination of phonetic, grammatical and lexical means of a particular language (i.e., a national language) that serves the purpose of verbal communication within a certain community when this community is characterized by the unity of professional activity of its individuals and by the system of specialized terms. Professional communication correlates with the institutional discourse in many features, which makes it possible to relate a number of real communicative situations to a particular sphere.

Any professional linguistic personality is formed in educational and real-life professional communication through the lens of individual specific professional discourse, which, in its turn, is determined by goals and objectives of a professional activity (a law-related activity, for example).

In our case, legal discourse involves legal education, research activity in the sphere of law, law-enforcement, law making, consulting, organizational and administrative activities.

In a particular communicative situation, its organization and conditions of communication require a person with a developed linguistic personality to choose specific linguistic means and communicative strategies that appear to be the main factors of successful communication in any professional sphere. When means and strategies are chosen correctly, professional necessity can make individual specific features of a linguistic personality step back and follow recognized rules. For example, a judicial decision should be generally characterized by the unity and inner logic of development that is provided by standard syntactic constructions. The vocabulary of legislative acts should also correspond to the rules of law terms usage, while its grammatical basis should comply with the rules of sentence structures, which should correspond to the rules of formal logic [4]. Thus, any communicative act (oral or written) reflects the professional level and special features of the cultural development of a linguistic personality.

Methodology

Following the axiological, competency-based, personality- and activity-oriented approaches, the linguistic personality of law students may be defined as a subject of communication and professional activity on the basis of possessing linguistic competencies and reaching a required, adequate level of language usage. The developed professional linguistic personality enables law students to be a part of a socio-cultural environment of legal discourse and participate effectively in its development. At the same time, such students are capable of reflecting critically on new information and on their own verbal behavior.

In foreign language teaching at a higher school, modern researchers distinguish two main trends - professional focused teaching and the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The goals, principles and models of teaching, which form the basis of domestic textbooks, are noted to characterize mainly the Russian system of professional focused teaching of foreign languages, while most foreign textbooks are created as a part of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The question why the ideas of CLIL, which are actively used in the foreign educational systems, do not become widely used in the Russian education, is explained, as a rule, by the established traditions of the university methods of teaching foreign languages [5].

The theory of professional focused teaching of reading special literature that emerged in Russia in the middle of the previous century was gradually developing, and today it examines not only the professional focus of the content of texts and textbooks in general, but also the formation of professionally significant foreign language skills (Z.M. Tsvetkova, S.K. Folomkina, T.S. Serova, A.A. Rybkina, and others) [6].

The definition of Foreign Language for Specific Purposes is a highly debated issue, foreign research and methodological literature explores the content of this concept using the example of ESP (English for Specific Purposes). The debate dates back to 1970-ies, when the term “special” had to be clarified: whether it applied to the language or to the specialized aims of ESP. The word “special” was suggested to understand as “special” purpose for which learners learn and not the “special” language that they learn.

The authors of the first definition stated that ESP should be understood as an approach rather than a product. They argued that students' needs are the foundation of ESP, referring to the language required and the learning context. Their needs are perceived as the reasons for which students are learning and it means that they are different, so their learning purposes will vary, too [7].

Methods of teaching ESP has been in the focus of debate and discussion for many years. The core issue of these debates is whether or not there is a special methodology of ESP and whether such a methodology is needed. ESP is claimed to need the following conditions for language learning: acculturation based on the idea of social and psychological integration of learners into their target discourse community; input devoted to discussing and acquiring the language and speech material necessary for subsequent step-by-step ESP acquisition; interaction as the main means of creating the communicative situation of success in the course of ESP learning [8-10].

Five main objectives in ESP teaching can be highlighted: revealing subject specific language use; developing target performance competences; teaching underlying knowledge; developing strategic competence; fostering critical awareness [10].

The above mentioned requirements with the relevant changes can be attributed to evaluating and designing the modern Russian textbooks of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes. The main evaluation criteria should be: target group and learning objectives; the author's conception; the content and structuring of educational material, its methodological organization as the basis for developing target competences of students' innovative linguistic personality; didactic realization of the author's conception (learning objectives, types of texts, consistency, diversity, communicative and problematic nature of the assignments); transition from managed to independent learning; control and self-control (self-reflection) of the development of students' linguistic personality.

Research

The content analysis of several textbooks of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes published by Russian and foreign authors shows that most of Russian textbooks belong to the trend of professional focused teaching of foreign languages, while textbooks of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes published by foreign authors - to the Content and Language Integrated Learning. However, we should admit that there are Russian textbooks that put the CLIL approach into practice. Below we give the examples of these textbooks:

Pluzhnik I.L. Legal English: English textbook for law students (upper-intermediate and advanced levels). The textbook is designed for law students mastering their English. It includes authentic materials on the theory of law and legal practice, and uses teaching methods that effectively develop the professional skills of a lawyer. The goal of the textbook is the achievement of an advanced level of English language skills in the field of jurisprudence in all types of speech activities (reading, listening, speaking, and writing). All the texts are authentic and taken from different sources, including textbooks on law, monographs on different branches of law, British newspaper articles, records of interviews with native speakers and lawyers, records of witness interviews in police, detention reports, samples of legal documents (contracts, wills, etc.) [11].

Khomyakova N.P., Rekosh K.H. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: Textbook of Legal French. As the authors indicate, this textbook of the legal French language is addressed to students of law and political science departments and universities, where legal disciplines and foreign languages are studied. The purpose of the textbook is to improve the skills of reading and understanding legal texts in international public and European law, as well as the skills of translating, summarizing, professional focused speaking and listening. At the same time, the task is to acquaint students with the original materials of the “European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”. The textbook contains the Convention and its Protocols; a case study reflecting how the European court works, and illustrating how the case law is generated by the Convention; audio record of the report made by the international expert on human rights; creative assignments of searching the Internet for information about the activities of the European Court; glossary of legal terms in three languages: Russian, French and English in order to better understand the meanings of key terms, and legal linguistic comments [12].

Law and Law Enforcement in the USA: textbook / compiled by S.K. Gural, V.M. Smokotin, L.G. Mayer. The textbook is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students of law schools and language departments, as well as those who independently learn English and have reached an appropriate level to work with authentic language materials. The authentic texts from original sources are thoroughly selected and enable students to explore various aspects of the US legal system, including the work of the legislature, legal proceedings, features of the professional language of lawyers, and requirements for the training of specialists in the field of jurisprudence. The textbook uses the interactive method: after the pre-text and posttext discussion of problems related to the topic students have enough material to write an essay or a composition. Group work includes role-playing that allows students to demonstrate their abilities in the field of public debate, interviewing candidates for the police service, drafting a lawsuit complaint, preparing a new bill, etc. [13].

Debra Lee, Charles Hall, Susan M. Barone, American Legal English. Using Language in Legal Contexts. The textbook is authentic in itself and developed to help non-native speakers improve their ability to understand and communicate in English with their legal counterparts around the world. The text is an introduction to basic legal information and the U.S. legal system that addresses the major areas of law and provides actual cases and statutes so that students can become familiar with legal syntax and legal vocabulary. The textbook provides the students with the exercises that develop the ability to read critically, write well, synthesize sources from research, and speak concisely and clearly [14].

Amy Krois-Lindner, Matt Firth and TransLegal, Introduction to International Legal English. This textbook is an intermediate level course for law students or newly-qualified lawyers who need to use English in their legal work or studies. It is suitable for classroom use or self-study, the course prepares learners for using English in a commercial law environment. The textbook contains authentic legal texts and case studies supplied by TransLegal®, Europe's leading firm of lawyer-linguists; the course is aimed at developing an understanding of the law and consolidating language skills. It features both academic and professional contexts and maybe considered a good basis for preparing for the Cambridge ILEC (Cambridge International Legal English Certificate) examination [15].

Amy Krois-Lindner, Matt Firth and TransLegal, International Legal English. The coursebook is designed for those students who need to work in the international legal community and is ideal preparation for the ILEC examination as it contains exam practice tasks, exam tips and a practice ILEC test. It is suitable for classroom use or self-study and includes authentic legal texts and a number of authentic case studies which allow learners to consolidate and practise what they have learnt. The exercises in this book contain language and grammar patterns helpful for students in expressing their ideas. This book teaches students how to explain specific features of their legal systems to foreign colleagues and clients, how to speak about laws in plain English, how to avoid problems with legal terms from different legal systems. Online task-based exercises linked to every unit of the book improve students' ability to conduct web-based research. The course is aimed at working out important professional skills: writing letters to clients and case briefs, interviewing clients drafting contracts and other skills essential to lawyers in both common law and civil law jurisdictions [16].

All the above mentioned textbooks have proved themselves remarkably effective and enjoyed well-deserved recognition among students and teachers. Our University uses them for teaching senior students of the International and State Law Institute, students of the Institute of Additional Education, and postgraduate students.

After our country's joining the Bologna process and introducing the respective Federal State Standards for various levels of higher professional education it was necessary to solve the problem of adequate textbooks for every level of higher education, first of all, for the most popular academic degree - the bachelor's degree. professional linguistic synergetic education

Our experience at the Ural State Law University shows the following: Undergraduates study foreign languages - English, German, French for Law. The courses are aimed at developing the professional linguistic personality of law students and are skills-oriented but the first year students do not always understand the essence of their future career, so a lot of extra work and explanation has to be done by the lecturers teaching the courses. Our Department of Russian, Foreign Languages and the Culture of Speech has created textbooks and terminological dictionaries for students of law: English-Russian and Rus- sian-English Law Dictionary published in 2014 [17]; its predecessor, the multi-language English-German-French-Russian dictionary of law (with legal terms explained), that was created as a result of close cooperation with legal experts; the coursebook “English for Lawyers: Textbook for Academic Bachelor Students” published in 2016 by one of central publishing houses in Moscow; and the project under way is the textbook “English for Lawyers: Textbook for Students of Secondary Professional Education” [18].

While developing the textbook “English for Lawyers: Textbook for Academic Bachelor Students” our writing team relied on the following methodological principles:

The combination of professional focused teaching and the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in teaching Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes (synergetic model of learning).

Dialogue of cultures as a philosophy of modern foreign language education that implies perceiving culture through language and learning language through culture (including legal culture).

Development of innovative linguistic personality of students based on linguo-didactic models worked out in the Russian methodology of teaching Russian and foreign languages.

The use of innovative educational technologies: project activities, case study, problem-based learning, cooperative learning, critical thinking technologies based on Bloom taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation), incorporating of authentic audio and video materials, control and diagnostic tasks and tests into the educational process [19].

The conceptual idea of our coursebook is primarily based on the synergetic model of educational space development that is actively developed by prof. S.K. Gural and her scientific school. This conception has great pedagogical potential and combines the main pedagogical approaches, methods and principles of teaching foreign languages in the Russian system of higher education [1. P. 93-96]. This synergetic model adequately reflects the system of education in the modern electronic educational environment of the university and means “including both the subjects of the educational process - teachers and students, and assignments from textbooks and coursebooks for students that require access to various Internet resources” [20. P. 91].

Besides, the authors followed the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standards and the specificity of the target audience. The foreign language proficiency level of law school students, which is usually heterogeneous (the majority of students come to a non-linguistic university with A1 level, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), and a limited number of academic hours at the undergraduate program predetermine the structure of the textbook. When selecting the content, we bear in mind that a coursebook is a route map in the learning / teaching process, and take into account the target audience, the duration of the course, the basic law disciplines, the content usefulness, and the language acquisition process.

The coursebook consists of four parts and appendices based on the language and speech materials that grow in its complexity through the coursebook and allow students to develop both General English and Legal English language skills. Each part consists of the units, that are divided, in their turn, into the themes (subunits) and sections. The first three units (About Myself and My Family; Legal Education in Russia and Abroad; Studying Law in Russia and Abroad) reflect the topics related to professional focused teaching of foreign languages at a law school, and the other five units are arranged according to the topics related to the Content and Language Integrated Learning in teaching Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes (General Outline of the Country; Government and Politics; Legal Systems (Major Legal Systems of the World, the Law and Judiciary in the UK, the Law and Judiciary in the US, the Law and Judiciary of the Russian Federation); Branches of Law (International Law and Human Rights Law, Contracts and Torts, Employment Law, Company Law, Family Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law and Criminal Proceedings); Legal Professions (Role of Lawyer, Barristers and Solicitors, Judges in the USA, the British Police Service, Employment); Lawyers and Clients (the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the Barristers' Code of Conduct, the SRA Handbook, Job Interview)).

At the beginning of each theme (subunit), there is a list of keywords and word combinations that are accompanied by their transcriptions and their translations into Russian. Each section is devoted to the particular aspect of language learning: Pronunciation Practice, Vocabulary, Grammar, Reading, Watching and Listening, Speaking, Writing. The system of communicative activities includes different assignments for developing language and speech skills, they are created on the basis of professional focused texts and authentic professional content oriented texts. At the end of each part there is Glossary, Bibliography and a list of Internet resources.

The content and structure of the coursebook, its methodological organization are adequate to the structure of the linguodidactic model of the linguistic personality, which connects the knowledge of the language organization with the types of speech activity, and represent the linguistic personality in its development. All the assignments and communicative activities of the textbook are designed to create conditions for the communicators to move towards each other in their communication and for the various aspects of communication to transform, which leads to the development of an intercultural linguistic personality. This requires the participants of the educational process to be interactive, to comprehend the linguistic and cultural differences, to use theoretical ideas about the structure of the linguistic personality and the elements of each level of this structure [21].

When preparing a coursebook, our writing team paid special attention to the selection of lexical material, since the formation and development of a lawyer's professionally competent linguistic personality is impossible without future specialists assimilating the thesaurus of their specialty, which is the core of special knowledge, an essence of the academic discipline in a concentrated form. Not only the linguistic context of a word, but also its emotive and cognitive contexts should be considered as an object of research in the development of the linguistic personality of law school students. At a law school, this can be done while teaching a “Language for Specific Purposes” course or a course in the students' mother tongue (i.e., Russian, in our case). For example, one day during a lecture a teacher offered the students to answer the question that had been posed to a representative of the Russian Investigative Committee who had spoken about a technogenic disaster in the Moscow Metro. The question was “What does “technogenic” mean?” The answer was expected and given on the basis of the context and etymological analysis.

The linguistic consciousness of a Russian law student can develop in close connection with the cognitive and emotive aspects in the process of constant verbal activity in the Russian and foreign languages in interaction with the environment. Here, a foreign language is reasonably considered to be only a means of professional activity, of interaction with people and ability to participate in the transcultural communication, but also the means of understanding one's social identity, developing one's own verbal intellect in order to understand the surrounding reality, including the various ways of conceptualization. Compare, i.e., how one concept is formed in different languages: Rus.: страх (fear) - страхование (insurance); Eng.: sure - insurance; Ger.: sicher - Versicherung.

The importance of specialised vocabulary is not in doubt. It may refer to understanding, learning and expanding the vocabulary, appropriate use of words and expressions in the context, etc. Several types of vocabulary can be distinguished: high frequency words (or core vocabulary), academic vocabulary, low frequency words (or subject-core vocabulary) and proper nouns. To prepare learners to deal with the vocabulary is the task of the textbook and ESP teachers. When teaching and learning the vocabulary in any form of language, it is necessary to take into account content choice and sequencing, format and presentation, monitoring and assessment [22]. As for content choice and sequencing, the writing team of our coursebook focused on the quantitative and qualitative composition of the vocabulary that was initially determined as a result of cooperation of lecturers of law subdepartments and teachers of foreign languages, and formed the basis of the English-Russian and Russian-English Law Dictionary for students of legal specialties. The principle of format and presentation refers to various teaching and learning techniques used in the process of developing the ESP materials. In order to monitor the students' progress and to identify which areas of the coursebook require modification, and to assess how the vocabulary has been taught and learnt we use the observations of learning activity and achievement tests.

The materials selected for the coursebook reflect real-life language, offer update professional-focused information that can be used outside the learning environment, and stimulate cognitive processes. For our textbook we get the authentic materials from various sources: encyclopedia, university lectures, valid Internet sites (e.g., of governmental bodies, law schools, professional bodies, etc.), videoclips that can be used for educational purposes (e.g., from Youtube), etc.

The assignments and communicative activities of our coursebook are designed to create the educational (artificial) language environment close to real world communication and real world needs. The heart of each theme (subunit) is the text devoted to its subject-matter. The before-text tasks and after-text tasks are based on the principle “from simple to complex” and aimed at generating the utterance, they are organized gradually from the word and sentence to the super-phrasal unity. The interactive teaching methods that accompany these tasks make every teaching / learning situation focused on the learners and involves the students as active participants in the learning process; improve the critical thinking skills that are the essential elements of the innovative linguistic personality; motivate students to learn both foreign languages and law disciplines; create learners-friendly classroom environment; develop intercultural communicative competence of the students and basic IT skills; form the skills of independent learning and self-study.

It should be noted that the critical thinking of teachers and students plays a very significant role in the process of learning and teaching a foreign language for specific purposes, since it is reflected in the educational process, the nature and sources of knowledge, and the methods of their presentation. Bloom's taxonomy (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation) can serve as an auxiliary tool for the classification of various aspects of the knowledge assimilation and a criterion for evaluating this assimilation. The three last elements of the Bloom's taxonomy are relevant to critical thinking skills. While carrying out the assignments aimed at developing the skills of critical thinking, law students learn to articulate and defend their position on legal issues, make right decisions based on their beliefs, avoid inaccurate judgments and unreasonable decisions, which is especially important in court disputes and other professionally significant communicative situations [23].

To define criteria for assessing the development of professionally focused linguistic skills of the law students, we base our conclusions on scholarly works of the individual intelligence structure and the Bloom's taxonomy as well. After analyzing features of structural organization of individual intelligence and conditions for personal intellectual growth, we come up with the system of indicators in Table [24].

Criteria for assessing the formation of professional linguistic personality

To practice the development of necessary skills to communicate effectively within the profession or, in other words, professional linguistic personality, a diversity of methods are recommended to implement in class by using the textbook, in particular the textbook “English for Lawyers: Textbook for Academic Bachelor Students”.

Listening practice tasks in this textbook are based on the authentic materials (video presentations, advertisements, interviews, lectures, formal announcements, etc.) and the teaching techniques used to develop listening skills include listening for gist, listening for specific details, gap-filling, summarizing, multiple choice, etc. The techniques used to advance speaking skills comprise asking and answering questions, describing life stories, schemes and pictures, presentations, roundtable discussions, role-plays, project works, dialogues, discussions based on case study, making reports. Reading practice is based on the authentic materials or their adaptations (academic publications, law publications, newspapers, letters, internet blogs, reports, official documents, educational resources of governmental organizations). The most common techniques and methods used to improve reading skills are the following: jigsaw reading, understanding main ideas, understanding details, matching, making questions, answering questions, multiple choice exercises, gap filling. Writing assignments are based on such techniques as working on a model text, guided writing, sentence completion etc., and include writing different types of personal and business e-mail letters, essays, compositions, reports, memos, summaries. The techniques chosen to teach the productive language skills are aimed at teaching the following standards of speech: logical structure, reasoning, conformity to linguistic oral and written norms and ethics of communication.

Through the tasks, assignments and activities aimed at developing a particular speech activity we suggest the following techniques for class interaction: whole class work, group work, pair work and individual work.

Didactic methods such as cooperative learning proved to be very effective, when a group of students from 2 to 5 students work on one task or project, write business letters and resumes to study or work, dramatize and role- play, take part in round-table discussions and conferences, make presentations, deal with case study and jigsaw activities. These methods of teaching and learning contribute to encouraging the cognitive motivation of students, stimulating the students' foreign language speech activity, advancing their innovative professional way of thinking, and developing the law students' professional linguistic personality. These methods based on the theory of contextual education ensure the personal participation of students in mastering their professional activity as part of human culture and mean not just mere reproduction of the familiar social experience, but its enrichment due to creative development of the personality of the future lawyer [25].

Conclusions

The innovative professional linguistic personality of law students in the educational environment of a Russian higher institution of professional education is formed on the synergetic approach, which is based on the harmony of professional focused teaching foreign languages, and the principles and methods of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and the polylingual basis, which implies acquisition of a set of competencies by law school students. Among these competencies are literate oral and written speech in the Russian and foreign languages, the ability to translate legal texts adequately; the ability to participate in intercultural communication; critical reflection on the newly acquired information; the ability to manifest oneself verbally in the socio-cultural environment of a legal discourse, following the standards of speech (logical structure, reasoning, conformity to linguistic oral and written norms and ethics of communication).

There are special criteria to assess the level of formation of future lawyers' professional linguistic personality at a higher institution of professional education.

In order to achieve qualitative results in forming the future lawyers' innovative professional linguistic personality, it is important to use the entire pedagogical potential of the educational process to the full extent: cognitive, communicative, instructional, cultural, organizational, and administrative means.

There are several methodological conditions essential for successful implementation of the suggested linguistic and methodological conception. Among them are:

the students' subjective experience in understanding the role of a language as a symbol of culture and in realizing the axiological nature of verbal communication;

implementation of personal and professional demands in the educational process to develop motivation to learn the Russian and foreign languages;

the use of interactive technologies for more effective development of goal-oriented competencies of future lawyers, etc.

The role of the ESP textbooks as the most crucial ingredient of the educational environment is determined by the synergetic approach that shapes the conceptual idea of the learning process and helps fulfill the pedagogical potential of the educational process at a law school.

The textbook also foregrounds the new aspects in teacher training related to mastering innovative pedagogical technologies and methods of organizing intercultural exchange as an integral part of the educational process. The teacher acts as an integrator of the comprehensive interactive educational process by gradually implementing the textbook content into it, which provides the highest synergistic educational effect of the triad interaction: teacher - textbook - student.

References

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