Course Content
"Applicable for Civil, Criminal, Family Courses"
This course is designed with a dual purpose: helping the attorneys initiate and/or improve their personal and professional Spanish language mastery and becoming sufficiently aware of Mexican legal norms to know what expectations typical clients from Mexico have in mind when they come in for legal services.
Grammar and Language Skills:
Advanced beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
In this section of the program, Spanish grammar is offered to each participant for the first 2 hours every morning, at the level of his/her starting proficiency. The grammar levels coincide with the proficiency of the student and move forward from that point. Each student will be evaluated prior to the course to determine his/her level of proficiency for placement.
For the advanced beginner, or the student who has studied Spanish primarily in the present tense and has words and phrases but does not consider himself/herself ‘fluent’ beyond simple phrases and ideas, the course will be directed to enhancing fluency and vocabulary as well as additional verb tenses. These students will progress rapidly into the intermediate level or thereabouts due to the knowledge already held in the language and desire to move forward. There will be a mixture of English and Spanish to insure that the student comprehends totally the information offered in areas of legal/cultural knowledge.
For intermediate students, the intensive language curriculum will be tailored to the more advanced proficiency and will include specialized legal vocabulary and conversational exercises relevant to the interaction with Spanish-speaking clients and the Hispanic community. The same interactive opportunities with Mexican colleagues, as described above, are included, but in an appropriate, more advanced, mixture of Spanish and English.
For advanced students the language classes will focus on advanced grammar as well as specialized legal vocabulary e.g. idiomatic legal phrases and terms of art. The interaction with local professionals will include visits to private and governmental offices or tribunals, exposure to legal forms used in different areas of practice, and opportunities to audit a law class at the University. All meetings will be conducted in Spanish.
Cases:
Se Habla…La Paz has designed hypothetical legal cases presentable at the 3 different languages levels, advanced beginner through advanced. The legal content is geared to general practice, e.g. divorce, accidents, immigration, employment, work accidents, leases, etc. Included in all 3 levels of language proficiency is the same content of legal information. The difference between the 3 levels is the manner in which the information is presented. For example, advanced intermediate level will have the material presented in present tense Spanish, with English translations of the material where needed; intermediates will have a higher grammatical complexity with little or none of the material in English; advanced will be offered with advanced grammatical structure and more complex vocabulary without English translation.
An essential point is that all students will receive the same contextual materials in order to insure that all are exposed and have the opportunity to come away with the same information, regardless of the level of language expertise.
Vocabulary:
Se Habla…La Paz has designed an extensive vocabulary list, practice in pronunciation and an introduction to concepts and formats that do not necessarily exist in both legal systems. For example: salaried worker, owner, employee, shift, bonuses, pay, income, raises, jobs, Christmas bonus, social security, contractual workers, benefits, layoff, termination, vacation pay, resignations, retirement benefits, liability, insurance coverage, worker’s compensation. This vocabulary is taken from actual cases.
Culture and Structure:
Se Habla…La Paz will introduce cultural information that relates to the legal system and the civil system in Mexico describing the common social mores of the Mexican people as they interact with and utilize the legal system.
Interactive scripts:
Se Habla…La Paz uses use role-playing and interactive scripts with legally-related topics: Work and auto accidents, leasing, immigration, inheritance, drunk driving, child custody, child custody payments, sexual harassment, domestic violence, etc. These interactive scripts are offered in the particular level of Spanish in which the participant is working.
Unique Materials:
There will be materials to practice reading and pronunciation using realistic stories involving clients in their attorneys’ offices. In this aspect of the curriculum, we have a great deal of resources to give the students access to specific vocabulary.
Se Habla…La Paz has a comprehensive team of highly qualified instructors to teach the beginning to advanced student. The staff will assist every student in exploring the city and surrounding pueblos during leisure time. This small, private language institution also helps every student with setting up sightseeing tours, extracurricular activities, shopping excursions, etc. The hallmark of this highly effective and intensive language program is the personal attention given to each student to help them achieve their language goals.