Small talk as an effective English language teaching technique at a non-linguistic university

The research aims to prove the effectiveness of small talk as a way to teach English to students of a non-linguistic university. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time, an effective way to increase students' communication skills is proposed based on generalization of the experience of teaching English to students of the Russian State University of Tourism and Service and the use of methods of observation and content analysis of recent research. The article reveals the concept of small talk, describes its functions as well as the method and the results of its use during English classes. The reasons that cause difficulties in communicating students in a small talk format have been identified. Before composing dialogues, it is proposed to familiarize students with the functions and structure of small talk, to study the stylistic and lexical features of small talk in the framework of intercultural communication. It has been proven that regular competent use of the small talk technique contributes to the development of communication skills among students, the expansion of their vocabulary, and an increase in their level of social orientation and communicative flexibility. It is noted that the effectiveness of mastering students’ oral communication skills depends on their motivation, language abilities, cultural experience and individual characteristics. The results of this study can be used when introducing small talk technique into programs of teaching English as a foreign language in other non-linguistic universities when working with students from different study areas.