The article analyses pressing problems, which external students face while learning German as a second foreign language. The factors that influence the level of teaching and learning German due to time limits, groups non-uniformity, motivation to learn a second foreign language have been analyzed. Certain methodical aspects of teaching German as a second foreign language, which help to make the learning process a student-oriented one, have been considered. Terms «external studies», «extra mural education», «extra mural educational technologies» have been specified; the problems of extra mural education in language universities have been under discussion as well as a possibility to make the process of education individual-oriented while working with non-uniformed groups and especially urgent issue on effective organizing students’ self-study. The ways to solve the above mentioned problems of learning have been provided using the experience of German and Roman Philology Department by introducing an on-line course of German as a second foreign language for external students. The course is developed in accordance with the program of foreign languages for language universities and is oriented to form a foreign communicative competence and allows to organize external students’ self-study effectively. The course described above is a didactic system including the following functional modules: information and content-related, control and communicative. The course structure is supposed to have complex and differentiate approach to teach external students as well as to put into practice the student-oriented approach.