The article deals with the problem of training students in listening comprehension and note-taking during lectures as an academic discourse genre. These skills are considered as components of nonlinguistic students’ meta-subject competence. The paper defines the notion of “meta-subject competence” and describes its functions in the educational process and professional activity as well as validates the didactic preconditions for developing this competence in Foreign Language classes and also in Russian and Speech Culture classes. The authors emphasize the meta-subject potential of these disciplines for professional education. Different teaching stages and types of skills and abilities are considered. The exercises in listening and note-taking are presented as examples that illustrate theoretical statements. The authors suggest using basic techniques of note-taking for interpreting (interpreter’s shorthand) to train the lecture note-taking skills. These techniques are multifunctional and can be used while listening to the academic discourse in the native and in a foreign language with the aim to understand the material and to reproduce it in one’s own learning, scientific and professional activity. Types of lecture notes, which are differentiated by semantic compression extent and design, are mentioned. Special attention is paid to the students’ ability to reproduce the lecture in their own statements. Therefore, the exercises should be communication-oriented and motivate students to further use the source text information. The authors come to the conclusion about the important role of the humanities and special disciplines co-ordination in developing meta-subject competences.