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A NUMBER OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL developments and pressures seem to be building up in ways that challenge college foreign language (FL) departments to (re)consider the place of FL study in educational decision making. Central questions about the role of FLs in higher education and the educational purposes, goals, and outcomes of FL study are being revisited. In our conceptual space, several constructs have solidified to guide that critical examination. Among them are terms like accountability and assessment, accreditation and certification requirements, curriculum reform and program articulation, heritage language learning and multilingual literacy, program goals and outcomes, social responsiveness and security needs, and local and national standards. In their breadth and depth, they point to key areas where we need to focus our attention and engage in spirited discussion.Perspectives will contribute to the discussion in two stages. In this issue of the MLJ , the focus is on the link between educational goals of FL study and the dominant professional metaphors that have guided our thinking and our pedagogies. In Perspectives, MLJ, 90 (4), the focus will turn to how collegiate FL programs specify the learning outcomes they intend for their students at different turning points in their programs, how they assess outcomes, and how they evaluate their programs' ability to achieve congruence among these diverse areas and, as necessary, fine-tune their educational actions.

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