In higher education (especially in vocational higher schools) one of the main tasks of teaching foreign languages is formation of skills necessary for effective oral communication. At the same time, the introduction of the oral part of the exam aims to ensure the consistency and continuity of the educational process, which in case of language training involves some awareness of students about the phonetic system of the language. The article deals with the degree of development of phonetic ideas on the threshold of university by analyzing the testing materials of the exam (oral part) and the results of the survey among 10-11 grade students.

There are considered the new requirements for phonetic skills mastering for effective communication, as well as the modern approaches to phonetics teaching. This article is included into the series of articles concerning the issues of phonetics teaching at the modern stage.