Abstract

While great strides have been made in the past few decades in historical research into the teaching of several European languages to nonnative learners, historical-oriented research into English language teaching (ELT) is still in its infancy. Historical investigations have often tackled the more general issue of ELT approaches and theories. Fewer studies are, however, yet available about actual ELT practices in specific contexts. As a first step in the investigation of Italian ELT practices, a project has been launched at the University of Milan aiming at the creation of an archive (as both a physical repository and an online database) of ELT materials published in Italy in the 20th century. This article introduces the proposed archive (ITALY ELT ARCHIVE) against the background of the history of foreign language learning and teaching in Italy in the last hundred years and previous attempts at creating historical archives of language learning/teaching materials.