Abstract
The methodology of teaching different types of phraseological units of English is discussed language. Phraseological units, the meaning of which is difficult to deduce from the lexical elements that compose them, are highlighted. It is argued that a full-fledged lexical competence includes possessing a certain number of stable phrases of the studied language. A methodological approach is proposed that allows the use of phraseological units as material for activating communicative competence. After the appearance of the phraseological unit, its literal translation is given, then it is carried out oral discussion of what this phraseology can mean. During the discussion (including erroneous and inaccurate interpretations), communication participants identify semantic nuances for themselves that will help them develop language thinking and language guesswork. At the last stage, students are asked to recall a Russian phraseology with the same meaning. The procedure was successfully tested in classes with students of a language university.