Position vectors, homologous chromosomes and gamma rays: Promoting disciplinary literacy through Secondary Phrase Lists

Abstract

The pedagogical approach of Disciplinary Literacy has been gaining recognition in secondary schools internationally. It shares much with English for Specific Purposes, though as yet there have been few interdisciplinary connections. This paper draws on ESP corpus research to produce innovative resources for developing disciplinary literacy, i.e. the Secondary Phrase Lists, a set of discipline-specific lists containing content word phraseology across multiple subjects. The current study builds on two recent trends in wordlist research. Firstly, there has been a debate over the extent of a general academic vocabulary, which has led to a focus on discipline-specific pedagogical wordlists. Secondly, there has been a movement toward capturing phraseology. The SPL combines these two trends. Furthermore, the paper contributes to theory as well as practice. The extent of a general academic vocabulary has been questioned by previous research that has found vocabulary and lexical bundles vary so much by discipline that a discipline-specific approach to vocabulary instruction should be adopted. The current study explores content word phraseology (e.g. gamma rays) and reports disciplinary variation greater than previous phraseological research into lexical bundles, suggesting limited general academic vocabulary for phrases of this kind, thereby supporting the need for discipline-specific resources that capture them.