The article is devoted to the realization of the idea of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the system of higher professional education and analysis of new concepts and approaches developed in methodological sphere, taking into account their influence on students' motivation for learning a foreign language. The intensification of educational activities has always been one of the primary objectives of learning in general and, in particular, teaching foreign languages to students of non-linguistic specialties. The author considers examples of approaches and models emerging in the Russian higher school for establishing interdisciplinary connections in teaching professional disciplines and foreign languages and evaluates their effectiveness in terms of enhancing the study of a foreign language by students of technical specialties. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) methodologies are compared to CLIL. The experience of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is considered along with that of other universities in Russia.