The relevance of studying the problem of English language learning in engineering universities stems from the increasing demands on the proficiency level by employers and the inadequate number of academic hours devoted to the subject in university curricula. To overcome the challenges in training engineers with high proficiency in foreign language communication, we need to explore existing approaches to foreign language teaching and analyze their impact on educational quality. The aim of this article is to make a comparative analysis of two teaching methods (the grammar-translation method and the direct immersion method) to identify the most effective way for acquiring new English vocabulary and its practical application in oral communication. The experiment involved two groups of participants from the minor degree program "English for Professional Translation in the Field of the Oil and Gas Industry" at Kazan National Research Technological University. The main results showed that the group taught using the grammar-translation method demonstrated higher results in vocabulary acquisition compared to the group that employed the direct immersion method. This indicates the significance of explaining lexical units in the native language when learning foreign languages. Surveys also revealed that while the immersion method was more engaging for students, it caused discomfort due to the exclusion of their native language during the learning process. The theoretical significance of this work lies in confirming the necessity of researching and analyzing various approaches to foreign language teaching in higher studies, which can broaden the scope of contemporary methodological practices. The practical significance is that the findings can be useful for educators in developing curricula that promote more effective student learning by balancing interest and comfort in the language learning process. Future research may focus on optimizing approaches based on the needs and preferences of students, thereby enhancing the quality of the educational process in the field of foreign language professional communication.