Abstract
Semi-technical vocabulary, a type of vocabulary with both a technical and non-technical meaning (e.g., colon: part of the large intestine; punctuation mark), is an area of controversy owing to disagreement over its definition and characteristics. While it is widely held that learning technical vocabulary is critical for learners of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), several studies have also focused on semi-technical vocabulary because these words often have multiple meanings, depending on the context, and may therefore be harder to learn and understand than purely technical words. This study aims to revisit semi-technical vocabulary in medicine to address these controversial issues by re-evaluating a 595 semi-technical medical word list developed by Hsu (2013). A core meaning-based analysis identified 302 potentially confusing semi-technical medical words. These are mostly mid-frequency words; some are academic and low-frequency words. The findings also revealed pedagogic challenges associated with word form frequency-based lists deserving of further research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
