Functional and corpus linguistics in health professions education research: The study of language in use

This chapter discusses two approaches to linguistics that health professions education (HPE) researchers can use to make sense of the educational contexts they study: functional and corpus linguistics. It introduces functional linguistics, including a brief history, and then explores both existing and potential HPE work across the three metafunctions of language this theory proposes: representational, interpersonal and textual. The chapter then introduces the discipline of corpus linguistics and its origins and methodologies, briefly reviews work done in HPE using its methods, and discusses some of the tools and proficiencies readily accessible to use in HPE. Finally, researchers can partner with applied linguists: interdisciplinary linguistic scholars who are trained to use linguistics to address real-life problems. Many universities have applied linguists in their school of humanities or social sciences who would be interested in learning about HPE and collaborating.