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The use of corpus-informed language in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) / English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching has considerably grown over the past two decades, especially due to the proliferation of course book material based on corpora. However, in terms of learning approaches to grammatical items, much less has been published commercially to train teachers in the use of corpora and their exploitation. DDL (Data-Driven Learning) techniques are still something to foster and publicize for ESP scenarios, since DDL tends to work as a productive method among learners whose L2 courses usually present specific (academic or professional) purposes in language use, as previous studies have shown. This paper deals with DDL as approached via hands-on concordancing by university students in the double degree of Business Administration and Tourism (B/T) in our institution. The targeted linguistic items were accessed via form-focused activities (e.g., noticing usage differences with verb tenses and synonymous verbs). Two grammar tests were administered to compare their results with another group that focused on the same grammatical points as delivered by an upper-intermediate, corpus-informed, textbook. The statistical findings reveal that the DDL group performed slightly better in the acquisition of such grammatical points, whereas most students felt that lexico-grammatical knowledge had been gained by relying on DDL to discover and apply usage patterns. Grammatical study may thereby evolve as a different perception in their minds due to corpus data exploitation and teacher-mediated discovery.

The study of scientific and technical language, where metaphor is central, is enriched by the cognitive linguistics approach. This paper is based on the research project that culminated in the Bilingual Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Metaphors and Metonymies, developed to depict metaphorical terms and mental mappings, thus unfolding cognitive metaphors in science and technology. Although terminological metaphors as a whole exceed widely in number those that constitute part of conceptual metaphors, the importance of the latter radicates in its relevance as a constitutive element of scientific thought and language. Focusing on the analysis of metaphorical terms from earth sciences, agronomy, and mechanical engineering, the study reveals the presence of several conceptual metaphors, typified as ‘humanizing’, ‘organicist’, and ‘objectual’, according to their source domain’s nature. The work presents some very productive conceptual metaphorical patterns found in knowledge representation in engineering, in English and in Spanish, and shows evidence that metaphorical reasoning is a mechanism present at the core of creative scientific development albeit certain socio-cultural variations. This contribution opens a door for further research on the role of metaphor in constructing meaning within all branches of science and technology, as well as on the study of knowledge representation variations in different languages and cultures.

Though intercultural competence (ICC), community service learning (CSL), languages for specific purposes (LSP), and heritage learners (HLs) have respectively received increasing attention by language scholars within the previous twenty years, much remains to be done in the way of research concerning the relationship between them. The term HLs is used by academics in the United States in reference to students with previous knowledge of the target language and culture as a result of their cultural heritage and upbringing. This article considers the relevance of CSL to HL intercultural competence through a discussion of a 2015 community service learning project and study titled Creating Communities, Engaged Scholarship (CruCES). The project involved students and faculty from the University of Memphis, local non-profit organizations, and community members from the linguistically and ethnically diverse neighborhood of West Binghampton in Memphis, Tennessee (USA). CruCES sought to build capacity and foster community through the development of sustainable micro-economy projects centered on the arts. During the project, students also participated in a study on ISD. This paper considers the implications of the study’s findings for HLs specifically. In total, eight of the fifteen participating students self-identified as HLs. The CruCES project outcomes and study data for participating HLs are most telling with regards to their unique subjective positioning and language learning. Specifically, the study found that participating HLs demonstrated a higher degree of cultural sensitivity at the outset of the project and experienced an increase in self confidence and self-esteem related to the purposeful application of their language skills. A transformational experience for many of the HLs, the CruCES study findings hold significant implications for the development and integration of CSL in LSP courses and HL education.

This special issue of Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos takes a broad view of the field of languages for specific purposes (LSP) that includes the characteristics of language in specific areas of study, adaptation during the translation process and the teaching of specialized courses. The seven papers in the present issue of the journal discuss innovative practices and findings in linguistics, teaching and translation in a variety of fields, such as engineering, medicine, business and education.

What we nowadays term “front matter” was conceived of in the past as a direct address to the reader. Over time, standard formulae were developed and certain rhetorical devices consolidated. Despite the evolution in the style used for the transmission of scientific knowledge, late modern authors were familiar with the highly conventionalised patterns of prefaces and dedications and left any traces of “discursive freedom” for their scientific works. This paper revolves around the either parallel or divergent development of prefaces to scientific works and the body of the texts themselves. For this we have analysed samples written by women between 1700 and 1900 in the Coruña Corpus of English Scientific Writing. The study of some linguistic elements generally admitted to express or denote involvement have rendered a decline in the use of involvement features but opposite frequency of use of the same features in both prefaces and actual works. Unexpectedly, the overall frequency of these features is higher in the texts than in their corresponding prefaces.