The Council of Europe's "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" is rapidly becoming a powerful instrument for shaping language education policies in Europe and beyond. The task of relating language policies, language curricula, teacher education and training, textbook and course design and content, examinations and…

The scientometric study of scientific output through publications in specialized journals cannot be undertaken exclusively with the databases available today. For this reason, the objective of this article is to introduce the "Base de Datos de Investigacion en Orientacion Vocacional" [Vocational Guidance Research Database], based on the…

The atlas offers a cartography of language functions, quantitatively measured in vitality rates, for Western Europe. The atlas has three parts: vitality by language; vitality by domain; and vitality by country. Eighty-three minority languages are covered. Domains considered include: global; religion; schools; mass media; administration; courts;…

Recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (33rd ordinary session) concerning minority languages and dialects in Western Europe are outlined. One recommendation is that governments adopt the policies of educating preschool children in their own dialects and of bilingual instruction from primary through higher education.…

Discusses the problems encountered in defining a language minority. Lists four basic criteria common to all language minorities: (1) self-categorization; (2) common descent; (3) distinctive linguistic, cultural, or historical traits related to language; and (4) social organization which places the group in a minority position. (SED)

Discusses and evaluates currently accepted theories of ethnic or linguistic identity and maintenance. Lists factors which have a bearing on the long-term fate of a minority. Analyzes the data for the European linguistic minorities using the data matrix reported by Erik Allardt in his monograph on ethnic revival in Western European societies. (SED)

Summarized are the proceedings of a 1984 public hearing held in France by the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe to discuss the need for a legal instrument guaranteeing the defense and promotion of the heritage of the regional and minority languages of Europe. (RM)

Currently, no machine translation (MT) system is capable of successfully imitating the behavior of a human translator, and there exists no formal description of what an MT system is supposed to do. The biggest problem in practice is disambiguation. However, various types of existing systems do help reduce language barriers, even if they are poor…

The Commissioner of Education offers summary statistics and discussion on state school systems' enrollment, average daily attendance, school property, teachers, revenues, and expenditures. The commissioner also includes University College School, London; Master W.H. Widgery's report on the International Educational Congresses held during the Paris…

The report presents data and discussion on U.S. education across sectors, as well as the work of the Office of Education. Among topics covered are a progress report by the Commissioner of Education; Office of Education management; the career education in educational reform; higher education, including student financial aid and the Talent Search…