A review of the situation of modern language teaching in western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, West Germany, and the United Kingdom) looks at the demography and multilingualism of the region, the organization of school systems in those countries, and the status of school-based modern language instruction at each educational level. The concept and the realities of international cooperative planning for language instruction are discussed, and the international roles of English, French, and Esperanto are explored. Issues such as the role of language in international understanding and the concepts of language utility and difficulty are also addressed. Finally, the responsibilities of the individual governments with regard to languages and access to language instruction are examined, as well as the tasks faced by the European Community as a whole. (MSE)