RIPS Law Librarian Blog – Jennifer E. Chapman: “I teach my students to expand their search vocabularies and think carefully about the search terms and phrases they use during the research process. It’s important that I also think carefully about the words I use when teaching and expand my teaching vocabulary…Since language is “the medium through which law does most of its work” and is integral to teaching and research, this experience made me think about the words I use to teach legal research.[1] I wondered how I can thoughtfully examine my language choices to ensure I’m effectively conveying information in ways students will comprehend and not alienating students by using terms and jargon without offering clear explanations. I also wondered how my own language choices could emphasize the need to expand search vocabularies.  All of this is  important for teaching first-year law students, especially as we are faced with trying to teach them how to effectively and efficiently use new and quickly evolving technologies. These students are already cognitively overloaded from learning the “language of the law” in other classes and navigating the law school environment. They may also not feel comfortable asking for clarification…”