| Summary: | In the process of studying a foreign language a student develops a conceptual view of the world similar to that of a native speaker’s. The structures of basic second language concepts formed in the process of education manifest certain differences from the concept structure in a native speaker’s perception. Similarities in the perception of a legal concept nucleus in the mind of a foreign language student and a native speaker play an essential role in legal communication, since inaccuracy of perception and misunderstanding may result in negative legal consequences. The authors believe it is important to make a point of associative-verbal networks which include different foreign language legal terms and are fixed in the minds of students who study legal English and the Anglo-American legal system. The purpose of the study is to reveal how well associative-verbal links and structures of legal concepts have been formed in the minds of law students, who study legal English and the Anglo-American legal system, as well as to examine the principles according to which associates get fixed in their minds. As a research method the authors applied a free associative experiment, since this is the easiest way to establish links between ideas and concepts in an individual’s mind.
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