The Daedalus Vocabulary Acquisition Project was launched by Professor Mary Daly, Principal of the College of Arts & Celtic Studies in the premises of the Applied Language Centre (ALC), Daedalus Building on Tuesday 25 October 2005.
Established in Spring 2005, the Daedalus Vocabulary Acquisition Project has a twofold aim. It will conduct research into the acquisition of vocabulary for the purposes of teaching and learning and will contribute to the development of taught postgraduate programmes in English Language Teaching (ELT) in the ALC. The work of the Project is directed by an international team of academics and researchers drawn from the fields of applied linguistics and language education. It is hoped that this initiative will enhance the research profile of the ALC and respond to the growing need in Ireland for postgraduate courses in the broad field of second and foreign language education. A research/project officer has been appointed to implement the programme whilst simultaneously working towards the fulfillment of a PhD in the area of vocabulary acquisition in English as a second or foreign language.
Prior to the launch the Research/Project Officer on the Daedalus Vocabulary Acquisition Project, Rachel Allan gave a seminar on the topic ‘Investigating the acquisition of new vocabulary: which tasks help and why?’ There was a good attendance, which included staff members and students of the ALC and representatives of the School of Languages, Literatures and Film. The session was chaired by Michael McCarthy, Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham and a member of the Daedalus Vocabulary Acquisition Project management team.
Pictured at the launch are Rachel Allan (Research/Project Officer), Prof Mike McCarthy (University of Nottingham), College Principle Professor Mary Daly and ALC Director Mary Ruane.
