International inter-associative conference on the history of language teaching. Looking back to understand the present: historical perspectives on language education

On 5, 6 and 7 June will be held at the headquarters of the University of Insubria di Sant'Abbondio in Como, the International Inter-Association Conference on the History of Language Learning and Teaching, this year entitled: «Going back to the past to understand the present. Explore the interactions between socio-cultural and political developments and language education».

The initiative is part of a scientific collaboration launched in 2008 in Granada, and promoted by an international network of associations and research centres among the most authoritative in the field of the history of language teaching: the Interuniversity Research Centre on the History of Language Teaching, the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas, the Sociedad Española de Historiografía Lingüística, the Société Internationale pour l'Histoire du Français Langue Étrangère ou Seconde and HoLLT.net, AILA’s research network on the history of language learning and teaching.

The event will be preceded, on 4 June, by an international study day for PhD students and young researchers: Researching the History of Language Teaching and Learning. A Study Day for PhD Students and Early Career Researchers. The day will also be held at the headquarters of Sant'Abbondio and will represent a valuable opportunity for new generations of scholars, offering a space for discussion and sharing in a dynamic academic context and open to interdisciplinary dialogue.

The International Inter-Association Conference on the History of Language Learning and social, political, economic and cultural dynamics.

In particular, it aims to reflect on how phenomena such as migration, armed conflict, economic transformation, development of communication technologies, language policies, but also gender issues, inclusion and psychosocial well-being, have had an impact on the teaching and learning of languages, determining different approaches, educational materials and educational objectives according to historical contexts.

Starting from the analysis of documents, teaching materials, grammars, testimonials, training programmes, manuals, school policies and editorials, The conference invites participants to consider how the past can provide useful clues for meeting current language training challenges. At a time when educational institutions are faced with increasingly complex urgencies, history can provide valuable tools to critically review current practices and guide future decisions.

Lectures by Professors Carmen Castillo Peña (University of Padua), Marc Debono (Université de Tours) and John Gallagher (University of Leeds) are planned, which will provide food for thought from their respective fields of research.

The conference, organized by the lecturers of the linguistic area of the Department of Human Sciences and for the Innovation of the Territory, in collaboration with the Universities of Bologna and Udine, sees the participation of almost 90 speakers from all over Europe, India and China, and is carried out with the support and collaboration of the National Association of Teachers of Foreign Languages, of Language and New Didactics, of the Italian Association of Phraseology and Paremiology, of the Group of Intervention and Study in the Field of Linguistic Education of Lombardy, of the Research Centre on Linguistic and Cultural Phenomena and of the Italian Association of Anglistic.