Legal discourse comprehension analysis in Pakistani academic listening situations

The purpose of this research is to find out law students’ level of competence with reference to listening skills in Pakistani academic settings. For this, four areas of listening were taken into account: a) listening to lectures, b) listening to classroom presentations, c) listening in group/pair work, and d) listening to judges in mock oral arguments. After a review of literature in the field of listening, survey questionnaires were distributed among two population groups: teachers of law and recent law graduates. Information was gathered regarding the existing level of competence of law students in listening skills required in academic legal situations. Data were analyzed quantitatively. The significance of the research is that teachers and course designers can have useful information in terms of setting priorities related to selecting and designing materials, and subsequently, sequencing and grading contents in their respective roles.