About the name

The title for our project is an Old English term that translates literally as ‘a storehouse of words’. It is found in a passage in the poem Andreas, where we are told that: ‘ongan ða[...] reordigan, wordlocan onspeonn’ – Then [he] began to speak, to unlatch the storehouse of words The phrase ‘wordlocan onspeonn’ is equivalent to ‘reordigan’ and means speak, but it also carries the sense of opening the mind (‘onspeon’ means unclasp, unfasten), which together with the concept of a storehouse of words seems an apt metaphor for a language teaching and learning tool.

About the Project

The Wordloca programme, created by graphic designers, Parade Design, resembles an Anglo-Saxon manuscript, so that as students turn the pages of the manuscript to work through each lesson, they encounter not only comprehensive grammatical explanations, and an introduction to the cultural and literary context of Anglo-Saxon England, but also original manuscript illuminations, cartoon images and recordings which create a stimulating, integrated learning environment.

The wordloca team consists of

Directors:

Katie Long: Katie is a Teaching Fellow in Old and Middle English literature at University College Dublin, where she teaches Old and Middle English language and literature at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research interests include Old English poetry, in particular, wisdom poetry, but also include Norse language and literature and Modern English grammar and dialects. Katie is responsible for grammar and exercises.

Juliet Mullins: Juliet is a Lecturer in Old English at University College Cork, where she teaches Old English language and literature courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research interests include Old English but also Latin, Norse and medieval Irish literature and culture. Her love of languages extends from the medieval to the modern. Juliet is responsible for contexts, texts and vocabulary.

About the Project


Design

Parade Design is a Dublin-based graphic design and web-development agency. Our services include: website design, applications, CD-ROMS, printwork, corporate identity and branding. We pride ourselves in creating user-friendly, attractive design that is tailored to the individual needs of the client. For further information, including client list, please visit our website www.parade.ie

Recordings:

James Daly
Reelgood Facilities

Readers:

Mary Clayton (UCD) Alan Fletcher (UCD)

UK Advisor:

Philippa Semper (University of Birmingham)

Cartoons:

Julianne Knowles (freelance)

Wordloca has received funding from a President’s Award for Teaching and Learning (UCD) and from the National Academy for NAIRTL (National Academy for Integrating Research and Teaching and Learning) www.nairtl.ie