Natasha Costello, co-author of Practical English Language Skills for Lawyers and a legal English educator, discusses career pathways to teaching legal English. In this episode, Natasha shares insights into learners' needs, lesson content, and resources for anyone interested in exploring teaching legal English as a career.
Getting into teaching
Natasha recounts her transition from a solicitor to a senior lecturer, where she taught law and legal skills. Relocating to France, she discovered a niche in teaching English communication skills to French lawyers, leading to her legal English education career.
Relevance of English for French lawyers
Natasha explains the growing necessity for lawyers to use English, mainly when dealing with international clients where English serves as a lingua franca. This necessity is driven by global business interactions and international legal practices.
Paths into teaching
Natasha identifies two main groups of legal English learners: legal professionals and university law students. She explains that educators can come from various backgrounds, including law, business English teaching, linguistics, or even translation.
What Legal English involves
For legal professionals, lessons may focus on preparing for client meetings, writing emails, contract drafting, and other specific legal tasks. University students may focus more on vocabulary and grammar, but practical scenarios and elements of legal systems, history, and politics are also integrated.
Lesson example
Natasha describes a lesson focused on contract law. She teaches the vocabulary of contracts and the grammar needed for giving legal advice, using real-life scenarios to help students practice this language.
Natasha Costello is a legal English educator based in Paris. She has over 20 years of experience teaching law students and legal professionals. Natasha is passionate about bringing the real world of legal practice into the classroom. She recently co-wrote, with Louise Kulbicki, the book ‘Practical English Language Skills for Lawyers: Improving Your Legal English’, which helps students practise language and workplace skills simultaneously. Natasha regularly presents at conferences about teaching legal English and is on the Board of EULETA, the European Legal English Teachers’ Association.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
TRANSCRIPT
Watch with closed captions.
SUPPORT
Say thanks by buying us a coffee here.
JOIN OUR EVENTS
Upcoming lives and workshops
LEARN HOW TO PODCAST AND MORE HERE.
CREDITS
Producer Laura Wilkes
Editor Haven Tsang
Thanks to our inspiring guest, Natasha Costello.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free