The article deals with the role of concepts and terms in academic/educational seminar discussions. Analysing the transcripts of three academic levels of seminars concerned with he discipline of terminology, the author concludes that at the lowest 'proseminar' level terms and concepts are barely discussed, whereas in doctoral seminars nearly 40 % of terms identified are concerned with such issues, reflecting in all likelihood the crucial role of concept development in doctoral theses and novice-expert differences.