The article presents studies of barriers to learning a foreign language and possible ways to overcome them. The relevance of the problem is proven by the analysis of modern processes of globalization and their influence on the demands placed on future specialists. An analysis of psychological-pedagogical and scientific-methodical literary sources of domestic and foreign authors, who studied various aspects of the emergence and overcoming of foreign-language barriers in the educational process of modern higher education institutions, was carried out. The purpose of the article is to analyze the barriers that arise when learning a foreign language and to determine ways to overcome them in the conditions of modern institutions of higher education. The content of the concept of psychological barrier in the context of learning a foreign language is specified. Having considered the available definitions of barriers in learning a foreign language, the authors state that the barrier in foreign language communication is an internal obstacle of a psychological nature that prevents the successful implementation of a certain activity. The article is devoted to the problem of overcoming language barriers by students of non-linguistic specialties when learning foreign languages. It is emphasized that the elimination of language barriers is the main a condition for optimizing the teaching of foreign languages in a technical university. The main causes of communication failures. Recommendations are given for organizing the educational process in foreign languages taking into account the language barrier factor.