This article is devoted to the problem of building professional competences for the teaching profession. The paper highlights four main groups of professional competences: cultural and linguistic competences, linguistic and didactic competences, social and educational competences, professional and educational competences. It presents a brief summary of key skills a person should possess to be a competent foreign language teacher. Foreign language teachers should act as professional inheritors, critics and interpreters of knowledge and culture when teaching students. They also have to be able to communicate clearly in the language of instruction, using correct grammar, in various contexts related to teaching. Moreover a foreign language teacher should adapt his or her teaching to the needs of students with various disabilities, integrate ICT in teaching activities, cooperate with school staff, parents and students in pursuing the educational objectives, collaborate with the teaching team in developing programs and projects when teaching students. The article attempts to identify learning situations that are appropriate to the students concerned and the subject content with view to developing the competences targeted. The study can help in designing and modelling the educational process within the frameworks of the competence approach.