A Study on the Effectiveness of the TV Series of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)” In Learning Legalese through English Vs Malay Language Subtitles among Law Students

English has become the working language of legal study in Malaysia, yet law students must still master a dense professional register, “legalese”, that classroom hours alone rarely cover. This study examines whether the legal drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (SVU) can support that learning, and how the choice between English and Malay subtitles shapes the experience. Drawing on Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, the research asks why law students prefer English subtitles, what linguistic challenges they meet, and how they perceive the show’s English legalese. A qualitative design was used, with semi-structured interviews conducted with five law students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam and analysed thematically. Participants showed a clear and consistent preference for English subtitles, mainly because the show’s terminology mirrored the language of their coursework, felt more accurate than Malay renderings, and spared them the effort of mental translation. They still met difficulties with fast courtroom dialogue and terms specific to the United States legal system, which they managed by pausing to look words up, inferring meaning from context, and rewatching scenes. Students perceived the legalese as demanding but rewarding, describing the viewing as a “semi-educational” activity that reinforced classroom learning. The findings suggest that authentic legal drama, paired with target-language subtitles, is a useful supplement to formal legal English instruction.

legalese, subtitles, legal English, second language acquisition, Law & Order: SVU

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