The article deals with the actual problem of improving the knowledge of a foreign language in adults who have a relatively high educational and professional level. The authors analyzed the programs of additional education for the study of foreign languages developed and implemented at the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training at the Ural Federal University. The aim of our study is the idea that adult learning a foreign language becomes more effective in the formation of the individual educational trajectory. The need to learn a foreign language arises in different categories of adults. Adults sometimes come after a long break, learn new knowledge at different rates and have their own goals and objectives in the learning process. Based on the survey and individual interviews, a study of the goals of learning a foreign language, the types of additional education after graduation, the necessary skills for development, the preferences for learning methods was conducted. The listeners of the first program were University teachers with the level of knowledge B1 and aimed at writing scientific articles and speaking at international conferences. The listeners of the second program included University employees with the level of knowledge A1-A2, whose goal was to develop and expand the vocabulary necessary for social communication. The third group consisted of teachers of foreign languages with a high level of proficiency in languages C1-C2, who wanted to undergo advanced training and get acquainted with new methods and features of teaching the theory and practice of translation. Within each program, individual educational trajectories were proposed and active and interactive teaching methods were used. Analyzing the results of training, the authors note that the individual educational trajectory combined with active independent work contributes to improving the efficiency of learning a foreign language.