Abstract

The teaching of foreign languages for specific purposes has a long tradition in the Italian school curriculum. This article presents a study aimed at exploring how the teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) evolved in the context of technical education over a period spanning from the first Education Act in 1859 to the end of the 1990s. The study had a dual focus: the analysis of the goals and methodologies for foreign language teaching for professional purposes as outlined in the National School Syllabuses, and the way these goals and methodologies were implemented in the general design of English textbooks for business-oriented schools published in Italy. The study is part of an ongoing research project that involves the creation of a historical archive of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials published in Italy in the twentieth century. It is hoped that the results of the study will provide further insights into the development of the teaching of ESP in the Italian school context and contribute to a reflection on the main methodological changes it went through in the past century.