BRIDGING THE GAP IN LEGAL ENGLISH: AN ESP NEEDS ANALYSIS OF UNDERGRADUATE LAW STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This quantitative needs assessment explores undergraduate law student's perceptions of gaps in Legal English proficiency at the College of Law, Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF) in Pakistan. This research grounded in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) paradigm and the necessities-lacks-wants (N-L-W) model proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987). This study used a 5-point, 19-item Likert-scale questionnaire in four thematically distinct sections: Section A (Lacks in Oral/Speaking), Section B (Legal Reasoning Baseline), Section C (Perception of Gap and Necessities in the Curriculum and Courses), and Section D (Readiness for Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and Wants). The data was collected from (N = 193) undergraduate law student's and purposive sampling technique was utilized. SPSS was used to calculate descriptive statistics, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with Tukey HSD post-hoc tests, and Pearson bivariate correlations. Findings show a distinct hierarchy of need, with Section D (MALL readiness and wants) having the highest composite mean (M = 3.65, SD = 0.82), followed by Section C (Gap/Necessities; M = 3.28), Section B (Legal Reasoning; M = 3.06), and Section A (Oral Lacks; M = 2.93). ANOVA detected significant differences between proficiency groups on Sections A and B (p < .05), and Tukey HSD post-hoc analysis indicated that Beginner students had significantly more lacks in oral skills than more advanced students. There were no gender differences. Legal reasoning and oral lacks were most strongly correlated (r = .632, p < .01), while the strongest cross-domain correlation was between perceived gap and MALL readiness (r = .568). These results support the need for a contextualised, mobile-enhanced Legal English course to meet the Pakistani legal needs.