Extract from the preface : [...]The comparative perspective allows the identification of convergent and divergent features in teachers’ training. For example, the various degrees of autonomy of individual teachers is one dimension of differentiation between national systems. Furthermore, as Odile Blanvillain points out in the afterword, although school organization and teacher training are guided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in general terms, in actual fact they are heavily dependent on national policies and contexts. Beyond borders, progress is being furthered by lifelong learning — now compulsory in the Russian Federation, but virtually non-existent in France. [...]