Languages have lost status in the educational system, and oral skills are less effectively and rigorously taught. However, a University of Leeds program providing short, intensive courses in administrative and legal French for British civil servants has been found to be very effective in developing the participants' oral and aural skills. The nature of the course and of its students would make it difficult to transfer directly to college language teaching, but university language departments can benefit from the University of Leeds experience if they are willing to change the structure and content of their curriculum. Departments could design similar intensive courses using texts on tape and in print and requiring substantial independent research and writing on a specific topic. Students should be encouraged to take two courses in different languages, focusing on different topics. Students would be graded on oral skills, written skills, and content knowledge in equal proportions. This approach might mean abandoning traditional humanistic language course content, and all language departments would have to introduce the courses simultaneously for the plan to be successful. Some institutions are already trying similar approaches, and the profession can also learn from their experiences. (MSE)