The faculty and administration at Drake University made the decision in 2001 to alter radically how language instruction was delivered and received, beginning by disbanding the long-standing Modern Language Department. The dissolution of the department and the new pedagogy caused ripples of concern and shock among language instructors and instructors from other disciplines at institutions of higher learning throughout the country. However, the established pedagogy underpinning the new approach remains unexamined, as does its successes and failures, despite the fact that the consequences of the choices made 17 years ago may help inform decisions other institutions are making today. This study examined three questions: (1) On which pedagogies and organizations was the Drake University Language Acquisition Program designed? (2) To what extent was the new program successful and for whom? and (3) What implications does this "experiment" have for language instruction moving ahead?