For learners in vocational education, acquiring the specialized language of their field is important in facilitating the ability to communicate appropriately with colleagues and customers. Spoken and written discourse in a range of workplace settings has received some attention, but less attention has been given to discourse in vocational…

Prior studies indicate that vocational students' literacy practices are more demanding than is generally recognised. Employing a view of literacy acquisition as socialisation, we investigated the literacy practices of trades training in Carpentry and Automotive Technology, by interviewing tutors and examined course books and student writing. A…