Some policy is first created then implemented. Other policy has a way of making itself known through the back door. This article describes the implementation of a slowly emerging language policy at the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, Portugal, starting before the Bologna Process led to curricular reform and a restructured social balance in higher education, and leading up to current practice. This account includes early grass-roots movements clamoring for institutional language support and English classes voluntarily taught over several years in varying modalities, curricular and extra-curricular, and other English classes for faculty, students, and campus staff, among other variations on a theme. The administrative perspective is considered along with teaching and learning perspectives on the resulting academic support initiatives. The theoretical basis takes account of EU directives as well as guidelines from the Council of Europe and concepts related to the "learning society".