The problem of bilingualism is one of the most pressing in modern linguistics. The interest of scientists in it is due to some social, cultural and historical reasons, which are mainly the existence of a large number of bilingual and multilingual states, mass migration, as well as the constant strengthening of political, economic and cultural ties between different countries.

The concept of bilingualism is not uniform. It is defined in different ways. Such domestic scientists as L.V. Shcherba, V.N. Komissarov, V.A. Vinogradov, I.A. Zimnyaya, M.M. Mikhailov define bilingualism in their works as knowledge of two languages ​​and proficiency in them. The final formulation of the definition of bilingualism, based on the previous ones, can be found in the works of S.G. Nikolaeva: “taking into account the given general, characteristic and aspect-specific definitions of bilingualism, we can derive our own formulation, according to which we propose to understand bilingualism as unequal knowledge and mastery of more than one national language and their non-simultaneous use in each specific communication situation. One of these languages ​​is and is called the first, the other is the second” [1].

There are also several options for defining a bilingual. Some researchers believe that a bilingual is a person who at least understands a second (foreign) language. Others tend to consider a bilingual to be someone who uses the practice of alternate use of two languages.

A broad approach to understanding the phenomenon of bilingualism implies the interpretation of this phenomenon as proficiency in the native language and, along with this, the basic skills of speech activity in a foreign language.

In scientific literature, two types of bilingualism are distinguished: natural and artificial (educational).

In a situation of coexistence and functioning of two languages ​​in one state, natural national bilingualism is manifested. But, at the same time, globalization serves as an incentive for the development of artificial individual bilingualism, i.e., educational bilingualism. Its study is no less important than the study of the patterns of development and functioning of natural bilingualism [2].

Natural bilingualism can manifest itself when a person communicates in their environment at the everyday level, as well as through sources of digital space created by electronic means of communication. It is important to emphasize that with this type of bilingualism, the second language is not learned artificially, but is acquired naturally.

As for the artificial type of bilingualism, the second language is learned (with the participation of a teacher or instructor), is mastered in a language environment purposefully, and the bilingual person often uses it later to communicate with native speakers, but not on a regular basis. This type of bilingualism is developed in English classes at a university.

Particular attention should be paid in this regard to the ideas expressed by M.M. Fomin regarding overcoming language interference. According to this researcher, this is possible only if the formation of artificial bilingualism in teaching a foreign language is implemented on the basis of an interdisciplinary approach. Moreover, this process should take place within the framework of linguistic-contrastive analysis in combination with cultural-comparative analysis [3].

Thus, when teaching English, it is important to pay special attention to authenticity, to use such teaching materials that would carry a cultural component that would offer the student a number of advantages:

• increasing the level of students’ cognitive activity;
• increasing the level of motivation to study English language;
• improving communication capabilities;
• developing communication skills and abilities;
• motivation to work independently on the English language.

Students’ cognitive interests can be attributed to two directions: on the one hand, there is a desire to broaden their horizons, improve their educational level; on the other hand, there is a desire to learn something new, deepen their knowledge and information related to their future specialty. These areas can be used as a stimulus for learning and a means of increasing interest in the language, provided that the material in terms of content and subject matter is close to the main problems of the major disciplines, contains the necessary minimum of regional studies, helps to broaden the horizons of future specialists and requires a creative attitude on the part of the student [4].

Artificial bilingualism arises in conditions specially created for its study at school or university. However, the requirements imposed on students at these stages differ: the university stage is more focused on the market economy and competition between educational institutions than the stages of school education. It follows that the training of future specialists should not be limited to subject frameworks, but on the contrary, be carried out at a high level and provide opportunities for cooperation with other faculties and, at the same time, with employers. In this regard, it is appropriate to identify the competencies that serve as the goal of bilingual education at a university. These are subject and language competencies. In turn, language competence, being in itself a complex hierarchical structure, consists of linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, discursive competence, strategic competence, sociocultural competence and social competence [1].

The process of teaching a foreign language, in particular in terms of its content, should be considered in two aspects:

• one of the main tasks is the development of linguistic skills in students;
• it is necessary to pay close attention to the language content – vocabulary, a wide range of speech patterns, mastery of various ways of constructing statements.

Language consists of many levels and bilingualism affects each of them.

Phonetics. The study of phonetics includes preliminary preparation, which involves a comparative analysis of language systems in the phonetic aspect. Thus, for the Russian language, unlike English, is characterized by the absence of nasal vowels and diphthongs. This is why students experience a number of difficulties in mastering the phonetic side of the language being studied: they cannot correctly reproduce the number of syllables in a word; they have a certain difficulty pronouncing a cluster of consonants at the beginning of a word; they can mix hissing and whistling sounds; stressed syllables are perceived by them as long vowels or diphthongs (go right dere (there) – replacement of the interdental voiced /ð/ with /d/.

Morphology. Work on morphology includes teaching word formation and inflection. The Russian language is characterized by the change of nouns by gender, number and case, there are differences in the inflection of inanimate and animate nouns. In English, a noun retains only the plural and singular forms, as well as the nominative and possessive cases. Verbs in Russian and English are conjugated completely differently and have a different number of modal and tense forms. In accordance with general psycholinguistic patterns, students most easily learn imperative verbs, as well as verbs in the infinitive form. Students have particular difficulty with the category of the article in English, since it is absent in Russian. This is why students very often omit both the definite and indefinite article in English speech, not finding correspondences in their native language. Other errors in the students’ speech were also noted, which concerned the use of articles. For example, they often use articles and a determiner between an adjective and a noun (nice one kitten, big a girl). There are also examples of students using an adjective with an article, but without a noun (a yummy). In English, such constructions are not standard.

Syntax. Unlike Russian, English syntax is characterized by a two-case system, including the nominative and objective cases. As a result, the preposition plays the main role in the prepositional combination. Another distinctive feature of English syntax is the strict word order in a sentence. In this case, the paradigms of the synthetic Russian language win, and students often violate the word order in an English sentence, without thinking at all about the mistakes they have made (Yummy candy this is).

Vocabulary. Students may have difficulty interpreting the image itself in the process of identifying the object and its display. Ease in name and ease in use are not identical concepts. There is a way of mechanically memorizing words that is not based on personal experience or one’s own feelings and memories. Some categories of words continue to remain labile: the meaning of words can expand or narrow, and also be transferred to atypical situations. For example, the word pupil in the meaning of “pupil” gets a new shade of meaning for a student who has come to see an ophthalmologist. Transitions between active and passive vocabulary are also common [5].

Grammar. Some experts in the field of linguistics believe that the grammar of two languages ​​almost never overlaps, while others believe that students translate certain constructions, adding to one language what is expressed in the other by special categories, but is absent in the first language. The category of plural in agreement with the verb series (Jeans are dirty) is especially difficult for students. To solve this problem, it is recommended to introduce the plural situationally and add the question of agreement each time in all types of activity. Particular attention is paid here to nouns that are always used in the plural (scissors, trousers, pats, jeans) [6].

In conclusion, it should be noted that bilingualism and the problems, principles and patterns described within its framework make it possible to understand the specifics of teaching English in a university setting and to apply appropriate teaching and learning methods.