An Outline of Technicisation Theory
http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=KGFFBP5070UJDFM8
  access restricted (by the publisher) to members/subscribers/customers only
  peer-reviewed

Soheili, A., D. Barjasteh, and Laila Al Qadhi
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
2001

Abstract:

Teachers and researchers in the field of Technical English have always been concerned with the nature of this subject, its major characteristics, and its chief uses in Science and Technology. Obviously, less time and efforts have been spent on how technical English is learned, particularly in situations where foreign students have to relate their limited linguistic knowledge to meaningful realizations of the language system in technical texts of immediate concern to their specialist studies. This research is an early effort to show how technical English is learned and, more specifically, what relevant factors are involved in the overall learning process.