Theory, Practice or an Impracticable Combination of the two? Contradictory Ideas in Nineteenth-century Ministerial Syllabi for English in Italian Technical Schools

This contribution deals with the impact that the institutionalisation of modern foreign language teaching in post-Unification Italy had on the contents and the teaching approaches adopted in the new national education sector. Two official syllabi for the teaching of English as a foreign language in higher-rank state technical schools (istituti tecnici), issued in 1876 and 1886 respectively, are examined with the view of identifying the general ideas, continuities and changes in the approaches to modern foreign language teaching as endorsed in the official governmental documentation.