Get ready for TOLES with Legal English Centre BeoLingua
BeoLingua Legal English Centre has been an official TOLES (Test of Legal English Skills) exam and training center since 2013. For all information about the Foundation, Higher and Advanced exams, please contact Legal English Centre at office@legalenglish.co.rs.
TOLES
TOLES exams and materials were created in 2000, at the request of a major commercial law firm in London, who needed a reliable method of testing the English of international interns and associates in its offices. Many law firms have experienced law graduates coming for job interviews with certificates proving that they can speak and write English very well, but then struggling with their day-to-day work. Actually, they are not prepared to use English in commercial law. Although they are fluent, they are not accurate. They know academic vocabulary and register, but not the terminology and register of the real job. TOELS materials teach the practical legal English required by law firms.
TOLES materials teach practical language and skills required for day-to-day work in a commercial law office. TOLES provides internationally recognised certificates for legal English.
Organisations and institutions that have used TOLES exams to test their applicants’ level of English are: Allen & Overy, Freshfields, Linklaters, Clifford Chance, European Court of Justice, European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, The Law Society of England & Wales, EY, KPMG, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Siemens, DuPont and Carlsberg.
The three levels of TOELS exams are TOLES Foundation, TOLES Higher and TOLES Advanced.
TOLES Foundation
TOLES Foundation exam is the starting point for learners who wish to begin acquiring professional legal English. The exam focuses on absolute accuracy in written English, not on fluency. This means that successful learners need to consolidate basic grammar and use correct vocabulary.
When they attend a preparation course, learners acquire the vocabulary of company documents, commercial contracts, financial documents, intellectual property agreements, and other areas.
The goal of the preparation course is to allow learners to get a solid foundation on which to build the language and communication skills employers require. Having analysed the writing skills of thousands of lawyers and the texts they write daily in their offices, TOLES has created a programme that helps learners eliminate mistakes one step at a time so they can reach the required standard.
TOLES Higher
TOLES Higher further develops the language skills and grasp of practical legal vocabulary acquired at Foundation level. Higher takes learners to the next level and requires them to be able to work with more complex authentic legal documents and scenarios.
The exam at this level also focuses on accuracy in grammar and requires attention to detail.
The exam consists of two parts – Reading/Writing and Listening. The Reading/Writing requires a more active use of language than the Foundation exam, and it requires the candidates to deal with complex case studies, parts of contracts and formal letters. It tests practical and useful legal vocabulary and demands a good knowledge of relevant language registers. The Listening part tests the level at which the candidates are able to communicate with co-workers or clients. This exam also focuses on practical knowledge needed for everyday work and not on theoretical knowledge.
All preparation materials are based on examples suggested by some of the world’s leading law firms.
TOLES Advanced
TOLES Advanced is considered to be the golden standard when it comes to legal English achievement. It was created and developed in consultation with a major commercial law in London. This is why it has gained trust of those who employ lawyers throughout the world as a measure of practical, applicable skills and understanding of the business context and clients’ needs.
TOLES Advanced measures the candidates’ language skills against those of lawyers who are native English speakers. Exam preparation strongly focuses on the vocabulary and grammar necessary for drafting contracts, writing memos and handling client correspondence, as well as on the contemporary style used in world’s leading law firms. Successful candidates need to know the differences in registers and be aware of how important absolute accuracy in writing is.
To succeed in the Advanced exam, serious and intensive preparation is needed. Our Legal English Centre has designed a comprehensive preparation course for TOLES Advanced that gives candidates practical knowledge applicable in everyday work. Apart from a detailed analysis of the language structures and grammar, vocabulary and collocations required for this level of professional communication, the preparation includes forms of writing and relevant styles and registers.