Leaver and Shekhtman (this volume) state that in the USA “few students achieve Superior and Distinguished levels of proficiency in any foreign language.” Thompson (2000) finds in her sample of fourteen students that after five years of study 22% achieved Superior proficiency in speaking, 35.7% in reading, 14.3% in listening, and none in writing (pp. 264–271). Clearly, time on task alone is insufficient for reaching the Superior/Distinguished (SD) level. What is needed, as noted by many authors in this volume, is direct instruction, cultural experience through in-country study or work or its equivalent, and attention to the development of specific aspects of the components of communicative competence.

Since teachers are the product of this educational system, it is safe to assume (and our personal experience bears it out) that teachers of foreign languages do not themselves always possess SD-level proficiency. That, of course, raises the question: what proficiency is sufficient to teach a foreign language? The answer varies, depending on the level taught and the approach used. Some teachers would argue that they have been able to meet the needs of their students, even though they themselves have never exceeded the Advanced level of proficiency. Such teachers are probably teaching in a traditional program, focused on developing students' knowledge of the Russian linguistic system. For example, in the traditional organization of American university foreign language departments (especially languages other than Spanish and French), faculty have often been linguists with mostly theoretical knowledge of the language, rather than with well-developed oral and aural skills.