The language of academic subjects
This page lists linguistic studies on the language (vocabulary and grammar) of individual school subjects. Please tell us of any gaps. Many of the references come from Hood, Susan. 2019. Appraisal. In Geoff Thompson, Wendy Bowcher, Lise Fontaine & David Schönthal (eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Systemic Functional Linguistics, 382–409. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Science
- Integrating linguistic analysis into science pedagogy. A short article by a science teacher, Sally Zacharias.
- Why words matter in science. A blog by a science teacher, Amanda Fleck.
- Banks, D. 2008. The Development of Scientific Writing: Linguistic Features and Historical Context. Sheffield: Equinox.
-
Halliday, Michael & David Butt. 2019. Language and science, language in science, and linguistics as science. In Geoff Thompson, Wendy Bowcher, Lise Fontaine & David Schönthal (eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Systemic Functional Grammar, 620–650. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Halliday, Michael & James Martin. 1993. Writing Science: Literacy and Discursive Power. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
- Halliday, Michael. 1988. On the language of physical science. In M Ghadessy (ed.), Registers of Written English: Situational factors and linguistic features., 162–178. London: Pinter.
- Hao, J & Susan Hood. 2019. Valuing science: the cooperation of language and body language in the cultivation of scientific values in undergraduate lectures. Journal of Pragmatics 139. 200–215.
- Biber, Douglas & Bob Gray. 2010. Challenging stereotypes about academic writing: complexity, elaboration, explicitness. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 9. 2–20.
- Mathematics
- The importance of language analysis to mathematical, quantitative and compuational sciences. A short article by a Professor of Mathematics, Paul Glaister.
- O’Halloran, K. 2005. Mathematical Discourse: Language, symbolism and visual images. London: Continuum.
- English
- Rothery, Joan & M Stenglin. 1997. Entertaining and Instructing: Exploring experience through story. In Frances Christie & James Martin (eds.), Genre and Institutions: Social processes in the workplace and school., 231–263. London: Cassell.
- Macken-Horarik, M. 2003. Appraisal and the special instructiveness of narrative. Text 23. 285–312.
- History
- Coffin, Caroline. The Voices of History: Theorising the interpersonal semantics of historical discourse. Text 22(503–528).
- Coffin, Caroline. 2006. Historical Discourse. London: Continuum.
- Matruglio, E. 2010. Evaluative stance in the humanities: expectations and performances. In A Mahboob & N Knight (eds.), Appliable Linguistics: Texts, Contexts and Meanings., 168–184. London: Continuum.
- Geography
- Poles apart. Closing the vocabulary gap in geography. A blog by a geography teacher, Hayley Mallinson.
- Multi-subject
-
- Quigley, Alex & Robbie Coleman. 2019. Improving literacy in secondary schools. Guidance report. London: Education Endowment Foundation.
- TeachitEnglish and OUP: Why closing the word gap matters. Vocabulary resources for English, Maths, Science, History, Geography
- Root Words, Roots and Affixes A list of Greek- and Latin-based roots, prefixes and suffixes for use in teaching adolescents.
-
Shanahan, Cynthia, Timothy Shanahan & Cynthia Misischia. 2011. Analysis of Expert Readers in Three Disciplines: History, Mathematics, and Chemistry. Journal of Literacy Research 43. 393– 429.
- Shanahan, Timothy & Cynthia Shanahan. 2012. What Is Disciplinary Literacy and Why Does It Matter? Topics in Language Disorders 32. 7–18.(all subjects)
- Beck, I, M McKeown & L Kucan. 2013. Bringing Words to Life. 2nd ed. New York: Guilford Press.(vocabulary across subjects)
- Christie, Frances. 2012. Language Education throughout the School Years: A functional perspective. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. (Science, history, English)
- Schleppegrell, Mary. 2006. The Language of Schooling. A functional linguistic perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. (Science, history)
- Non-school subjects
- dentistry: Crosthwaite, Peter & Lisa Cheung. 2019. Learning the Language of Dentistry. Disciplinary corpora in the teaching of English for Specific Academic Purposes. John Benjamins.
