The functional aspect of assessing the language for specific purposes at Law Departments

The paper analyzes an evaluation system of law students’ LSP level that is developed and introduced by the author in Petrozavodsk State University. The development of such an evaluation system is determined by the necessity of making the assessment of law students’ foreign language competence more systematic, objective, communicative, individualized, covering all language skills, less stressful and including self-evaluation. The paper draws attention to the functional aspect of the evaluation system as the functions of the assessment are responsible for the correct arrangement of testing, evaluation impact on the learning process, students’ motivation, grading and skills development by means of testing procedures. The author visually presents the application of the assessment functions at different stages of the learning process and their role in entry, formative, progress achievement and summative assessment. The paper also examines other aspects of the evaluation system – aims, developed skills and evaluation criteria.