The University of Colombo offers a proficiency course in English, with special emphasis on legal terms, throughout the four years of the LL.B. degree programme. Undergraduates who wish to improve their skills in the English language are encouraged to follow this course. The course is compulsory for all those who do not show the required competence in English upon entering the Faculty.
On entering the Faculty all new undergraduates are required to sit for the English Language Placement Test conducted by the Department of English, University of Colombo. Undergraduates are then grouped into three levels based on their performance. All these undergraduates must then follow the Intensive Course in English, which is conducted for a period of four weeks. At the end of the Intensive Course another test, the New Admission Test, is conducted and the undergraduates are grouped afresh into three levels based on their performance at the test.
Undergraduates who obtain a mark of 80% or more at the Placement Test and the New Admission Test are exempted from the Intensive Course and the English Course.
Law undergraduates are required to follow the English Course of the level into which they have been grouped throughout the academic year. The examination paper in English for each level is held along with the year-end law papers. The English paper is counted as a compulsory paper. All 1st Year undergraduates offering English for the examination, regardless of the level into which they have been grouped, must also sit for the compulsory grammar paper. As in the law subjects, two assignments must also be submitted for the English course.
The Faculty encourages undergraduates to attend the English course and to derive the maximum possible benefit.