The article describes the features of teaching English lexicology to Chinese students at a Russian university based on a nationally-oriented approach. The ability to find language parallels testifying language universalism, as well as features specific to each language contributes to the non-mechanical study of the English lexical structure, allows students from China to see English vocabulary as a logical system, recognize basic lexical patterns and regular phenomena of semantics, more deeply understand features of English nomination and phraseology. The article discusses a number of differences and similarities between phraseological systems and borrowings of the English and Chinese languages, as well as some techniques to improve the quality of English lexicology classes in a Chinese audience.