TOLES - The World's Leading English Exam for Lawyers, Law Students and Legal Translators
Syllabus and Materials
TOLES Foundation Examination syllabus
Introduction
TOLES means Test of Legal English Skills. There are three levels in the TOLES examination series. The TOLES Foundation examination is level 1.
The TOLES series is structured as follows:
- TOLES Advanced (Level 3)
- TOLES Higher (Level 2)
- TOLES Foundation (Level 1)
The TOLES examinations differ from general English exams as they specifically measure an individual’s legal English skills. The exams are designed to measure proficiency in authentic rather than artificial legal contexts. For this reason there is a strong focus upon practical and authentic tasks and upon candidates having a good grasp of terminology from the outset.
About the TOLES Foundation examination
The major aim of the exam is to ensure that all students of legal English have the basic, essential foundation upon which to build in future. It is a general weakness of the legal English community worldwide that students are asked to complete challenging tasks without due preparation. In this context, the TOLES Foundation examination is a vital part of student development for students who are at all levels of general English and a helping hand towards successful learner independence.
As the focus of the TOLES series of examinations is on authenticity and accuracy the process of focus upon and familiarisation with legal style begins with this preliminary exam. Candidates are challenged to recognise their own common mistakes in the examination, as well as being required to identify accurate preposition and collocation within a legal context and particularly within the context of written contracts.
The TOLES Foundation examination is modern and up-to-date. It takes account of significant language reforms in the English legal system and the legal profession’s continued movement towards clearer use of English as recommended on Legal Practice Courses at all major UK universities and legal training centres.
Requirements
The TOLES Foundation examination requires little or no knowledge of English law or American law. It specifically requires a largely passive knowledge of terminology and a sensitivity to use of register in the following general areas:
- fundamental vocabulary derived from specific areas of law. These are:
- Contract law
- Employment law
- Business and company law
- European Union law
- Banking and finance
- Intellectual Property law
- The law of Tort
- Property law/real estate
- the vocabulary needed for candidates to compare the legal professions and systems of England and the USA with their own
- the vocabulary essential to understanding written contracts
- the vocabulary essential to understanding oral contracts
- an accurate use of prepositions in all areas of legal communication
- a passive ability to identify mistakes common to non-native speakers
- a demonstration of reading comprehension skills within a legal context
- an active use of the accurate structure of simple sentences
- an awareness of the formal style of written contracts
Grammatical accuracy within a legal context is assessed throughout TOLES Foundation. The examination does not test grammar in a more general way. Where possible, the TOLES Foundation exam avoids challenging use of grammatical structures. Use of the perfect tense, the passive and conditional sentences is very limited.
Examination questions
The examination is divided into 10 sections. Candidates are required to be able to deal with the following styles of question in the examination:
Section 1: Examine groups of four words and identify within each group which one does not belong to the same subject area of law as the other three. (5 points)
Section 2: Look at a short sentence and identify the error. (5 points)
Section 3: Examine pairs of sentences and for each decide which of the two sentences uses the preposition correctly. (5 points)
Section 4: Read a short passage and answer true or false comprehension questions. (5 points)
Section 5: Read a jumbled conversation between two people. Sort the conversation into the correct order. (8 points)
Section 6: Read some words and short phrases and sort them according to the correct subject area of law under the headings provided. (12 points)
Section 7: Read sentences and fill the gap with an appropriate word from those provided. (10 points)
Section 8: Read a short extract from a contract. Match the underlined words in the text with the definitions provided. (10 points)
Section 9: Read the text on a specific legal topic. Provide the 10 words that are missing from the text. The first letter of each word is provided. (20 points)
Section 10: Read the newspaper article or similar text. Answer the comprehension questions that follow using a full sentence. (20 points)
The time allowed for the TOLES Foundation examination is 90 minutes.
All candidates will receive a certificate. The certificate shows a candidate’s score expressed as a percentage and an explanation of what that score means in terms of legal English skills.
Study materials
The following materials are all of use for candidates who are preparing for TOLES Foundation:
The Lawyer’s English Language Coursebook
ISBN: 978-0-9540714-3-1
Author: Catherine Mason and Rosemary Atkins.
Publisher: Global Legal English (available 2007)
Description: A specialised coursebook in preparation for TOLES Foundation and TOLES Higher. Contains Audio CD and answer key.