Problems encountered by one small liberal arts college foreign language department in gaining and maintaining academic acceptance and support for business/foreign language courses are discussed. The initial challenge was to persuade the administration of the suitability of specialized business courses in a subject field (languages) viewed largely as a service area, at least in the lower level courses. The response offered was fivefold: (1) the language needs of graduates entering the business world are oral/aural as contrasted with the written language needs of the natural and social sciences; (2) the international business person needs more thorough cultural orientation; (3) international competition for business requires that graduates have better skills to deal with the interaction of language and cultures in their careers; (4) individuals' aural/oral skills must be of high quality to obtain employment; and (5) the audience for such courses in the college was found to be large. Other aspects of the program include constant monitoring of the international trade situation and upgrading of the curriculum, use of community resources, maintaining a balance between specific business applications of language and general proficiency, ongoing program evaluation and interdepartmental communication, and feedback from graduates and employers. It is noted that support and cooperation from the business department have been crucial to program success. (MSE)