The article considers learning as a system and emphasizes that its two main organizational components are learning and teaching, and interprets students' learning activities as activities aimed at achieving the goals of the learning process. It is acceptable to include cognitive needs, learning motives, learning objectives, tasks, and learning activities in the structure of training. It is accepted that knowledge and the process of learning this knowledge belong to the sources that create cognitive interests and needs. Based on the analysis of the research materials obtained, the authors make the following generalization: regardless of the level of perception of the activity, the understanding of the goal always remains a necessary feature of it; In the absence of this sign, human activity, especially learning activity, cannot exist. It is also concluded that the functional structure of learning activities includes the following stages: 1) introductorymotivational stage; 2) operational-cognitive stage; 3) control-evaluation stage.