ABSTRACT
The vocabulary of different subject areas has nuanced differences and how we think, speak, read and write as a historian, or a scientist or a mathematician, has some crucial differences that we must recognise. This perspective on literacy and vocabulary is best termed as 'disciplinary literacy'. This chapter focuses on vocabulary from a more precise 'disciplinary literacy' perspective. Part of the problem with the focus on vocabulary and language is that it is lumped in with 'literacy across the curriculum'. In science teaching and learning, we see categories of vocabulary across the different disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology. Vocabulary knowledge is most obviously paramount in the learning of a modern foreign language. Teaching vocabulary by topic or in lists is common, given taking on a vast number of words and their meaning in a short space of time is imperative to success for children learning a new language.
