The article deals with the issue of developing uniform qualification requirements for foreign language teachers as an essential condition for improving the quality of language teaching at tertiary level. University graduates’ foreign language communicative competence is an important factor of the professional activity effectiveness in any field. However, the vast majority of university graduates do not have a good working knowledge of foreign languages which is due, among other reasons, to low level of teaching that does not conform to international standards. The comparative analysis of foreign language teaching standards structure and content led to the conclusion that using international experience in standardising foreign language teaching would benefit professionals implementing similar projects in Russia aimed at developing certification criteria and procedures and contribute to modernising language teaching at university level.