To achieve a competitive advantage for Russian specialists in the international labor market, knowledge in the relevant professional field is required. The article identifies the main difficulties that arise when students master vocabulary on their specialty in the process of studying a foreign language at a non-linguistic university, as well as the ways to overcome these challenges. For more productive work with linguistic material and mastering an active professionally oriented vocabulary by students, it is proposed to follow the principle of sufficiency and to use the method of phonetic association for material selection, study, consolidation and complete learning. The research methodology is based on a systematic approach and includes the following methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, statistical analysis. The research material is the responses of the 2nd year students at a non-linguistic university (mastering vocabulary on specialty). As a result of the empirical study, it was revealed that when using these methods, students’ knowledge acquisition increases. The strategies presented in this article for studying professionally oriented vocabulary and developed with the consideration of educational material volume and the number of hours allocated by the discipline program, seem to us to be the most effective for students to master the necessary stock of active vocabulary. In general, the authors came to the conclusion that these techniques contribute to the formation of the necessary competencies and prepare students for interaction in their professional field.