The HLT ideas were disseminated in pre-digital print media, much of which is now unavailable. The information in this field is fragmented and often not online. It is important to capture and make this material widely available online for current and future language teachers to study and build upon. The HLT. Digital web platform aims to provide a variety of opinions from HLT experts, enabling practitioners to understand and select relevant ideas for their contexts. We've created a simple "map" to help users navigate HLT. It provides initial information and recommendations for further study. The key parts are:1. Gallery of HLT practitioners, including expert profiles, article links, and book lists. 2. Videos of HLT practitioners answering teaching questions. 3. Digital Archive showcasing materials donated by renowned HLT practitioner Mario Rinvolucri, enabling users to study his unpublished manuscripts, teaching notes, and ideas as part of their research. HLT.digital aims to become the ecosystem for the international community of HLT experts, language teachers and language students.
We aimed to digitise and preserve a body of knowledge on Humanistic language teaching (HLT) as an approach to language teaching that places the ‘whole person’ at the centre of the learning process. HLT emphasises personal development, values, wellbeing and learner autonomy in language education. This information is increasingly relevant for online teaching. HLT influenced classroom practices worldwide over 50 years ago, with a wealth of published materials exploring learners' feelings and experiences. Many of these ideas have since become standard practice. HLT was conceived for pre-digital classrooms, but its relevance is greater for online, blended or hybrid learning. Issues it explored, such as learner wellbeing, social interaction, emotional engagement, motivation and autonomy, are heightened in digital contexts. Our primary target groups were in-service and pre-service language teachers in Europe. Secondary targets included teacher trainers, academics, retired teachers and others interested in student-centred learning approaches. The ultimate beneficiaries are language learners in Europe, taught by teachers better understanding their individual needs and autonomy.