The purposes of this paper are to: (1) demonstrate the absolute necessity for foreign language study; (2) dispel some of the fancies or fantasies that have grown up concerning the learning of foreign languages; and (3) suggest various alternative programs in foreign language study and possible ways of implementing them. Some of the fallacious ideas argued against in this paper are: (1) FL study is valuable only for those preparing to teach or become interpreters or translators. (2) North Americans cannot learn foreign languages as easily as Europeans or Asians. (3) All foreigners, especially educated Western Europeans, speak several languages, including English. Also discussed are the ways in which FL study can help students in the goals of learning to live, learning to learn, learning to use language power and learning to make a living. Some of the alternatives discussed for including foreign languages in the curriculum include: (1) the long, uninterrupted sequence, from the early grades through college; (2) a six-year, five-level sequence; (3) the basic four-year high school sequence; (4) a culturally oriented FL course for slow students; (5) prior to the regular sequence, an exploratory language course; (6) the interdisciplinary approach; (7) intensive courses; and (8) languages for particular jobs. Factors in successful implementation are also discussed. (RM)