This paper presents a study designed to contribute to discussion on best practice in the design of Institution Wide Language Programmes (IWLPs) and their role in increasing the number of students studying foreign languages in Higher Education in Anglophone contexts. Using a longitudinal case study, it reviews the first three semesters of an IWLP delivered in a university in the Republic of Ireland between February 2021 and May 2022. The findings indicate that a student-centred, pedagogically innovative IWLP, incentivised via certification and extra credit, can enable and motivate some students to continue with the study of a language at university. This represents one way to build on foreign language proficiency developed within both the school system and the home, in line with national language policy objectives.