Language For Making A Legal Claim

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making a legal claim
Teacher’s Notes
later in the lesson. Tell students that each group
Age: Adult
must work together to come up with words, and
Level: Upper-intermediate–Advanced
all members should write these words into their
Length: 60–75 minutes
worksheet. However, at the end of the activity, you
Language Focus: Key vocabulary for talking
will collect just one worksheet from each group.
about the legal system and making a legal claim
Skills: Speaking, reading 3 Set the timer and allow the students to start
Materials: One copy of the worksheet per student, writing words. Once the two minutes are up,
one role-play card for each student for Exercise 4 collect one worksheet from each group and pass
Aims: To allow students to effectively understand it to a different team for correction. Students
and use common vocabulary related to the legal may now use a dictionary to check unfamiliar
system and making a legal claim; to prepare words. Monitor the class closely as they correct,
students for real-life discussions and negotiations taking note of good suggestions. Write these
related to visiting a lawyer and/or going to court. suggestions on the board and elicit definitions
for them. This would be a good moment to focus
on the difference between the words lawyer,
What are red words?
attorney, solicitor and barrister (see Key). If the
Ninety per cent of the time, speakers of English use
word plaintiff has not been suggested by students
just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words
here, make sure to mention it, as it will be useful
appear in the Macmillan Dictionary in red and are
for later tasks. Finally, decide which team had the
graded with stars. One-star words are frequent,
highest number of correct suggestions.
two-star words are more frequent and three-star
words are the most frequent. ‘Language for’ lessons 4 Read aloud the instructions for Exercise 1b
are based on red words and encourage students to and focus on the sample definition given for
improve their English through communicative tasks ‘defamation of character’. Ask students to try to
using collocation and commonly used phrases. come up with definitions for the other terms
in their groups. Monitor them as they do this,
1 Start the lesson by writing the word Court on helping weaker groups by giving some clues.
the board. Ask students to briefly discuss where Finally, elicit the correct definitions.
the local court building is and some common 5 Now ask students to work in pairs. Refer them
reasons why people might need to go there. Elicit to Exercise 2a and allow them a moment to read
three or four examples of such reasons. There is the instructions and definitions. Give them a
no need to be exhaustive here, as the students moment to discuss the question. If ideas are not
will elaborate on this in the next activity. forthcoming, give an example of when a person
2 Put the students into teams of three or four and might make a claim (e.g. after a traffic accident).
Then elicit more examples.
hand out the student worksheets. Read aloud the
instructions for Exercise 1a, drawing attention to 6 Read aloud the instructions for Exercise 2b. Allow
the sample words already included in the table. Try students a few minutes to read the texts alone
to elicit a definition for the word defendant (see Key and then talk in pairs to compare their answers to
for definition), as this word reappears various times the three questions. Elicit answers.
Language for … making a legal claim 1

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Language for ... www.macmillandictionary.com
Teacher’s Notes
7 Refer students to Exercise 2c and tell them do a role-play with three such roles. Put students
to work in pairs to complete it. Set a time into groups of three.
limit of about five minutes to do this task.
Remind students to look at the context of the 11 Hand out the role-play cards for Exercise 4.
highlighted words within the texts to help them There are three different possible role-plays, so
to understand their exact meanings. This is assign Situation 1 to the first group, Situation 2
particularly important for words which have to the next, and so on. Within each group, hand
quite similar definitions (e.g. correspondence and out the role cards randomly. Once this has been
records). Finally, elicit answers. done, tell all students to read their role card but
not to share any of the information with other
8 Refer students to Exercise 3a. Ask them to students, apart from the title of the role (judge,
complete this task individually, again setting defendant or plaintiff). Tell students that if they
a time limit. Once the time is up, ask them to don’t understand words on their role card, they
compare answers in pairs and then quickly elicit should raise their hand and ask you. For these
all correct answers. challenging words, write them on the board and
9 Before beginning the next task, prepare students elicit or give a definition.
by asking if they have ever got lost as a result of
12 Once everybody is clear about their role, tell
using incorrect GPS or an online location app
them that they have a few minutes to individually
(such as Google Maps). Try to elicit a story from
prepare for the hearing. Judges may want to
a particular student. After this, read aloud the
write down possible questions to ask, and
instructions for Exercise 3b. Again, ask students
defendants and plaintiffs may want to prepare
to complete the task individually and, once
documentation that they can use as evidence
finished, to compare answers with another
(e.g. they could write out an imaginary receipt,
student. Remind them to refer to earlier tasks
etc). Then tell groups that they have about seven
in the worksheet to ensure that their suggested
to eight minutes to complete their role-play.
answers are accurate. Finally, elicit answers.
Remind them that all students should talk, and
10 If possible, show an image on the board of a encourage them to elaborate on the information
simple legal hearing which includes a judge, a from the role card. Monitor them as they do this,
defendant and a plaintiff (e.g. https:// and take notes of good language and possible
img-aws.ehowcdn.com/750x428p/s3-uswest- errors. When there is only a minute or so of time
1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/ left, tell the class that the judges must make their
getty/23ee0acb65994b06ae19fa8b814a71d2). Ask rulings. Once the role-plays have finished, decide
students to name the roles which they can see which group has had the most dramatic hearing.
in the image (they may just use the word Did any of the judges make a shocking ruling?
lawyer but try to elicit the words defendant Then provide feedback on the role-plays. This
and plaintiff – e.g. The person on the left is the could lead to a class discussion on what sort of
one who decided to make a claim so he/she is rulings would generally be fair in each of the
called the …). Tell the students that they are role-play situations.
going to

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Teacher’s Notes
13 Refer students to Exercise 5. Again in pairs, give b. Meanings
them a few minutes to talk together using the
to
be in breach of contract = to fail to do
question prompts. Encourage them to use new something that you have already agreed
language from this lesson. Monitor and take to do as part of a formal contract
notes. Finally, provide feedback on impressive
handling
stolen goods = dealing with money
language that you have heard being used.
or other types of property which you know have
been stolen or obtained in a dishonest way
KEY:
motoring offences = crimes specifically
1a. Suggested answers: related to driving a vehicle, such as a car, a
Crimes
– assault, burglary, fraud, motorcycle, a lorry, etc. Examples include
hijacking, murder, pick-pocketing, speeding, careless driving, driving without a
shoplifting, smuggling, terrorism, etc licence or insurance, drink-driving, etc
People
who commit crimes – burglar, civil
law = the part of law that deals with
criminal, hijacker, murderer, pickpocket, disagreements between private persons (not to
shoplifter, smuggler, terrorist, etc be confused with criminal law, which deals with
crimes and the punishment of criminals)
Roles
in court – attorney, barrister, clerk, defence
lawyer, jury members, plaintiff, prosecution nfair dismissal = when a worker is fired
u
lawyer, solicitor, usher, witness, etc* from their job in an unjust (and illegal) way
to
sue = to make a legal claim against
*Note: Potentially confusing role titles someone, usually to get money from them
defendant = someone who has been accused because they have done something bad to
of a crime and is on trial or has had a legal you (the legal claim is called a lawsuit)
claim brought against them in a civil court
2a. Suggested situations in which people make a claim:
plaintiff = someone who brings a legal
traffic
accident; personal injury due to the acts/
case against someone else in a court
negligence of another person or an organisation;
Differences between British and medical malpractice; construction workers
American English: lawyer failing to complete a job as planned; architects
badly designing a building; selling goods which
In both the UK and the US, lawyer is the general
break soon after the sale; a business which
word for a trained legal adviser. In the UK, a lawyer illegally steals clients from another business
who usually works in an office but may also work
in some courts of law is called a solicitor. Lawyers 2b. Berta doesn’t mention a legal professional.
who do most of their work representing people in Gail went to court.
court trials are called barristers in England and Douglas mentions the cost of going to court.
advocates in Scotland. In both the UK and the US,
counsel is the formal legal word for a lawyer who
is representing people in court, and in a US court,
you might call them counselor. A lawyer in the
US is also sometimes referred to as an attorney,
especially in formal speech or official letters.

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Teacher’s Notes
2c. 1. claim form 3a. 1. claim form
2. correspondence 2. entitled to
3. entitled to 3. legal fees
4. legal fees 4. report
5. evidence 5. sued
6. hearing 6. correspondence
7. to sue 7. hearing
8. to accept liability 8. bank statement
9. ruling
3b. 1. made
10. registered post
2. sue
11. bank statement
3. entitled
12. compensation
4. ruling
13. records
5. breach
14. to repost
6. liability

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ROLE-PLAY CARDS 1
Situation 1: Washing machine drama!
You are the judge:
You are very busy (this is your seventh hearing this morning!). You haven’t had time to read through the
information to prepare for this hearing. Allow the plaintiff to explain the situation. Then allow the defendant
to explain their side. Ask questions to both. Also ask them to show you evidence to support their arguments.
Remember, your final decision needs to be based on the evidence and not on subjective factors. In the end,
make your ruling.
The possible rulings are:

• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £400.
• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £400 plus emotional damages* of £10,000.
• The defendant doesn’t need to pay the plaintiff anything.
• The defendant doesn’t need to pay the plaintiff anything and is entitled to emotional damages of £10,000
from the plaintiff.
* emotional damages = compensation which a person receives due to stress or sadness caused by another person

You are the plaintiff:
Six months ago, you bought a second-hand washing machine from the defendant. You paid £400. As soon
as you started using it, you noticed that it made a strange noise. After two months, the washing machine
stopped working completely. You want to sue the defendant for a full refund of your money.
Remember to bring to the hearing any records or other evidence which will support your claim.

You are the defendant:
Six months ago, you sold a washing machine to the plaintiff for £400. You had originally bought the machine
just a year previously for £900, so you think that you sold it for a fair price. The machine had always worked
perfectly, except for a small noise that it used to make while operating. The plaintiff now says that the
machine doesn’t work and wants to sue you for £400.
Remember to bring to the hearing any records or other evidence which will show that you are innocent.

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ROLE-PLAY CARDS 2
Situation 2: Kitchen disaster!
You are the judge:
make your ruling.

• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £3,000.
• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £3,000 plus emotional damages* of £10,000.
from the plaintiff.

Six months ago, you hired a builder to install a new kitchen in your house. You paid £3,000 for this service.
When the kitchen was completed, it looked perfect, but you soon began to notice some problems. One of the
pipes leaks water, two of the lights on the ceiling don’t work and the doors have fallen off two cupboards! You
want to sue the defendant for a full refund of your money.

You are a builder. Six months ago, you installed a new kitchen in the house of the plaintiff. You agreed to
complete the job for £3,000, but soon realised that it was going to be a difficult task. Many of the materials
which the plaintiff wanted installed (e.g. pipes, cupboards, etc) were not the correct size for the kitchen. You
did the best job that you could do, but you warned the plaintiff that the kitchen would not be perfect. The
plaintiff now wants to sue you for £3,000.

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ROLE-PLAY CARDS 3
Situation 3: Hairdresser’s horror!
You are the judge:
make your ruling.

• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £2,000.
• The defendant needs to pay the plaintiff £2,000 plus emotional damages* of £5,000.
from the plaintiff.

You are a hairdresser at a salon named KUTZ. A few months ago, the defendant came to the salon as a
customer. The customer asked for a haircut but didn’t give you very precise instructions. You did the haircut
as well as you could. A few days later, your boss showed you an Instagram post by the customer. The post
contained a photo of the customer and the caption Don’t EVER go to KUTZ. Rude staff with no talent. Terrible!
#worsthaircutEVER. Your boss pointed out that the customer had over 50,000 followers on Instagram. This
affected the business badly, and your boss fired you. You now want to sue the defendant. You have asked for
£2,000 in lost salary, and you think that you are entitled to some extra money for the stress that you suffered.

A few months ago, you decided to get a haircut at a salon named KUTZ. You told the plaintiff (a hairdresser)
that you wanted to try a new, shorter hairstyle. The hairdresser cut your hair but you hated the new style. You
were furious. You have over 50,000 followers on Instagram and your appearance is very important to you. In
anger, you posted a photo of the haircut on Instagram. You included a caption to say that KUTZ is a terrible
salon. The post had a negative effect on business for the salon and the hairdresser was fired. The plaintiff now
wants to sue you £2,000 for lost salary, as well as some extra money for emotional stress. A local newspaper
has reported on the situation and, as a result, you have lost 3,000 followers on Instagram.

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Worksheet
1 Warmer
a. You have two minutes to complete the table with as many relevant words as possible. You may use
British English or American English.
Crimes People who commit crimes Roles in court

drug-dealing a thief a judge
stealing a defendant

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Worksheet
b. Legal language can be complicated. The list below shows some common reasons to go to court in the
UK. With your group, guess the meaning of each and try to define it in simple language. For example:
defamation of character = The crime of saying false, negative things about

another person.
We can guess the meaning by focusing on the -fam- in the word defamation: it is the root of the words
fame or famous and is clearly negative due to the prefix de-.
to be in breach of contract =
handling stolen goods =
motoring offences =
civil law =
unfair dismissal =
to sue =
2 Text
a. In legal English, it is very common to use the expression make a claim. This has different possible
meanings:
• to make an official request for the right to something (e.g. The war forced Rashad to leave his country
and make a claim for the right to stay in Britain.)
• an official request for money that you believe you have a right to (e.g. Vanessa bought a second-hand car,
but it had lots of problems and so she made a claim against the man who sold it to her.)
Can you think of common situations where people make a claim?
b. Read about three people who describe their experiences of making a claim. Then answer the three
questions at the end.
Douglas, 49
I’m in the middle of a legal procedure at the moment. A few months ago, my employer asked me to
start working nights. I refused, and he fired me. I spoke to a lawyer about it, and she told me that I could
take the employer to court for unfair dismissal. She said that it’s a breach of contract because my work
contract hadn’t mentioned any requirement to work nights. So, next month, I have a court date to try
to sue the employer. The legal fees are quite high, but there’s a strong chance I’ll win the case and get
financial compensation. And it’ll feel good to let the employer know that he can’t treat workers like that.


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Worksheet
Gail, 29
I once had a problem with a landlord* who refused to pay me back my deposit. Luckily, I was able to
talk to the free legal advisor at my local city council. The first thing I had to do was to send a letter by
registered post requesting the return of my deposit. The landlord didn’t respond, so I then needed to
email the court with a claim form and my evidence (the rental contract, a bank statement, previous
correspondence between the landlord and me). The court finally got back to me with a date for
a hearing.
In court, the judge quickly reviewed the evidence. She made her ruling against the defendant,
ordering him to pay me the full amount of the deposit within a month. It was a stressful process, but
worth it in the end.
*a landlord = a man who owns a house, flat or room that people can rent (female: landlady)

Berta, 38
A few years ago, a flight I had booked got delayed. Nightmare! I was on my way to my sister’s wedding,
so I had to book an alternative flight to make sure I got there on time. The airline said that I wasn’t
entitled to compensation because the delay had only been for three hours. I was furious and decided
to make a claim against the airline for the cost of my original ticket. Luckily, I hadn’t deleted any of
my flight tickets or credit-card receipts. I found out that I needed to contact the Aviation Authority to
report the problem. They provided me with an official claim form to send to the airline, along with all
my written records. And it worked! Within a few days, the airline agreed to accept liability and paid
me back the price of the ticket.


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Worksheet
Questions:
Which person …
… doesn’t mention a legal professional?
… went to court?
… mentions the cost of going to court?
c. For each of the definitions below, select the corresponding term in bold from the three texts.
1. the document a person fills in to start a civil legal case =

2. the letters (and possibly emails) that someone sends and receives =

3. to have the right to do/have something =
(to be) (something)
4. money that a lawyer charges for their services =

5. facts, objects, documents, etc that help to prove whether someone has committed a crime =

6. a meeting in court to find out the facts about something =

7. to make a claim against someone, usually to get money from them because they have done something
bad to you =
8. to admit that you are legally responsible for causing damage or injury, or for paying something =

9. an official decision made by a court or by someone in a position of authority =

10. a system for sending letters and parcels, for which you pay a small insurance charge to be certain that
they are delivered safely =
11. a document that shows all the money that went into or out of your bank account during a particular
period of time =
12. money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them =

13. information kept (in documents, in files, etc) about something that has happened =

14. to tell someone in authority about a crime =


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Worksheet
3 Language in Use
a. Complete the missing words using one letter per gap.
1. Individuals who wish to start a legal proceeding must first complete a _ _ A _ _ / _ _ R _ and submit it to
the court.
2. The judge reminded the journalists that the famous actor was _ _ _ _ T _ _ _ / _ _ a fair hearing, so they
needed to avoid publishing unproven rumours and gossip.
3. When Rebecca was taken to court by her landlord for missed rent payments, she lost the case and was
ordered to pay £5,000 and also her landlord’s _ _ _ A _ / _ _ _ _ .
4. As soon as Oleg realised that his passport had been stolen, he immediately went to the police station to
_ _ _ _ _ _ the theft.
5. In the 1990s, a woman in the US successfully _ _ _ D a fast-food restaurant for $2.7 million after she
burnt her legs with extremely hot coffee that she had bought there.
6. Most of Geraldine’s _ _ _ _ E _ _ _ _ _ E _ _ _ with her ex-husband was via WhatsApp, so her lawyer was
unsure if the judge would allow this to be used as evidence.
7. Bill recently made a claim against the architect who designed his house. The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ has been
scheduled for 19th September in the local court.
8. In the claim against her landlord, Najya provided the court with a _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ T _ _ _ _ _ , which showed
that she had paid her rent every month and had never missed a payment.
b. Read the story about a claim for money. Complete each gap with one word that you have seen in
this lesson.
Several years ago, a woman in her twenties was hit by a car in Utah (USA). Soon after, she
(1) a claim against Google. She said that she had been trying to walk to a
certain address using Google Maps on her smartphone. The map showed her a route at the side of a busy
highway which was not suitable for pedestrians. This was where the accident occurred.
Her intention was to (2) Google for over $100,000. Her lawyer argued that
she was (3) to such high compensation to cover her very large medical
bills. The judge considered the claim but made his final (4) against
the defendant. This decision was based on various factors. First, Google Maps had shown an on-screen
warning that the directions might not have been correct. Second, the judge found that Google was not in
(5) of contract because it didn’t have a one-to-one relationship with the

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Worksheet
defendant. Finally, the judge pointed out that if Google accepted (6) in
this case, it would open the door to a flood of claims by drivers and pedestrians.
The woman received no compensation.
4 Communication
Work in groups of three. You are going to take part in a legal hearing. Read the role card which your
teacher gives you. Then begin the role-play, remembering to use new language from this lesson.
5 Discuss
Work in pairs. Discuss the questions below with your classmate.
• Have you ever participated in a legal hearing? If appropriate, describe the experience.
• Can you think of a time in your life when you wanted to sue somebody? Explain.
• What type of personality is it necessary to have to work as a lawyer? What about as a judge?
• Some countries, like the USA, have a very strong compensation culture. What do you think this means? Is
your country like this?
• Do you know any famous legal cases in which the plaintiff received a lot of money in compensation?
• Can you think of any famous people who have been sued? Explain.
• Consumer rights are the rights which a person has (usually to exchange a product or get a refund) after they
buy a product or pay for a service. Does your country have strong consumer rights? Explain.
• Can you think of any films or TV series which are about lawyers or court?
Red Words
defendant** correspondence** lawyer*** right(noun)***
breach** to report*** to sue** clerk*
evidence(noun)*** barrister* ruling(noun)** compensation**
to entitle*** claim(noun)*** liability** jury**
attorney* hearing(noun)** solicitor**
dismissal** record(noun)*** fee***

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making a legal claim