Abstract:

This article considers the current situation of teaching foreign languages in the higher education where English is taught for specific (professional) purposes (ESP). Modern life demands a lot of extra-curriculum skills that are needed to cope with professional and personal issues, such as informational overloading, high-pressure projects, multi-tasking jobs, understanding international trends, etc. It also includes the skill of being able to observe modern tendencies in professional fields, which is impossible without mastering a foreign language. It is difficult to acquire these skills without the development of digital skills because the majority of current personal and professional activities are digitalized. The issue foreign languages educators are facing nowadays is a conflict between the traditional ways of teaching ESP and digital tools the modern digital world offers. It is specifically important for university students in non-linguistic universities where English is presented as a part of the professional field. When taught traditionally, the course is considered by students as useless and tiring. To overcome this conflict and generate students’ interest in Legal English, the author includes digital instruments to the system of studying ESP at the Moscow State Academy of Law named after O. E. Kutafin (MSAL). The main goal of the experiment was to create special channels to communicate with students in the digital environment where they can actively use all digital tools. Including the studying materials to students’ immediate life experience and the professional field enhances students' interest to the subject. It creates an interactive environment targeted to the expansion of knowledge through English, not just studying a foreign language. The results of the experiment show the enthusiasm students express while studying ESP (in this case - Legal English). The students were keenly involved in the process of broadening their professional skills through technological assets. The article presents the activities and methods the author has developed during the experiment.

Keywords:

English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Legal English, digital environment, digital tools.