The institution of professional standards for Adult ESL is one of the most influential developments in Canadian second language teacher education in recent years. As a major innovation in practice and values, this initiative has interesting implications not only for the content of the standards themselves, but also for the process by which the change is being accomplished. In particular, heterophilous communication (communication between individuals or bodies with different group affiliations) has played a significant role in both the definition and the diffusion of these standards. While some differences in approach may still be observed, in general a remarkable level of support has already been achieved and there is every reason to anticipate that the professional standards movement will continue contributing to the evolution of second language teacher education programs and to the profile of the profession cross the country.