Intensive methods are considered in the methodology as a special training system that differs in a number of ways from traditional methods. Intensive methods are mainly aimed at mastering oral foreign language speech and at learning a large amount of educational material in a short time and with a significant daily concentration of teaching hours. The article provides a brief classification of most known intensive methods of foreign language teaching. The main factors that confirm the effectiveness of intensive methods of foreign language teaching for an adult audience are outlined. The problem of systematizing information by type of intensive training and identifying the most effective training technologies is still relevant. The authors tried to trace the development of intensive methods from the beginning of their formation — more than two hundred years ago to the present.