The goals of most foreign language (FL) instruction in higher education within the United States are built around three main components: (a) the acquisition of the knowledge of language skills for general communication use; (b) exposing learners to other cultures and ideas; and (c) fostering an appreciation of differences in cultures and ways of thinking. While each of these are certainly noble outcomes and likely meet the needs of the majority of university level FL learners, they remain quite broad in terms of what it is a learner will actually be able to do with the language once they have left the classroom. This is especially true for those of us faced with learners who have specific and sometimes immediate language needs that require more than generalized or dispositional knowledge alone. For these learners, Language for Specific Purposes courses provide an invaluable alternative or supplement to general language courses.The goals of most foreign language (FL) instruction in higher education within the United States are built around three main components: (a) the acquisition of the knowledge of language skills for general communication use; (b) exposing learners to other cultures and ideas; and (c) fostering an appreciation of differences in cultures and ways of thinking. While each of these are certainly noble outcomes and likely meet the needs of the majority of university level FL learners, they remain quite broad in terms of what it is a learner will actually be able to do with the language once they have left the classroom. This is especially true for those of us faced with learners who have specific and sometimes immediate language needs that require more than generalized or dispositional knowledge alone. For these learners, Language for Specific Purposes courses provide an invaluable alternative or supplement to general language courses