Аннотация:The present-day situation with FLLT in Russia stems from various historically and culturally determined traditions which can be summed up as follows:
1. Depth, Perfectionism, Deliberate Anti-pragmatism.
2. Solid Theoretical Basis.
3. Mass Production of FLLT in the Soviet period.
4. Teacher Orientation. Under Soviet rule the traditions were strengthened and formulated as pivots of FLLT.
These were certainties to be followed faithfully and blindly. The whirlwind of Post-Soviet period swept away most of the old ideas and introduced new polarly opposed ones which could not help causing confusions. The changes and innovations in the sphere of FLLT in Russia brought by the new times (omitting those shared with the rest of the world: the advance of New Technologies, globalization consequencies, etc.):
1. A great variety of motivations, goals, demands, types of learners, language teaching materials and methods.
2. A “discovery” of the cultural barrier, a burst of interest in Cross-cultural studies, the revival of “dead” languages.
3. An intense interest in non-verbal means of communication.
4. A conflict of cultures between teachers and students.
5. Introduction of Russian National Exam. Finally, the major, starring, title role that professional communities are called to play in the development of FLLT in Russia. It is our cause to replace the governmental orders of the old times with the ideas developed by professionals in language learning and teaching, especially as our profession is unique in the sense that we are both foreign language teachers and learners.