This article discusses the experimental study of the variation of the use of phraseological units in English language in public discourse. Public discourse contains relevant and extensive research material, as there are still no clear boundaries drawn between the Internet and public discourse. The material of the research was taken from YouTube as the most popular and diverse media platform. The analysis of experimental data presented in the article allowed to identify the most specific models of constructing phraseological units by non-native speakers and draw conclusions about the specifics of superimposing structural features of the phraseology of the Russian language on the processing of the PU of the English language. The results of the study demonstrated the frequency of the use of units in the English discourse do not influence their recognition and correct use among non-native speakers. Processing of experimental data let us conclude that phraseological models of native language influence the process of English phraseological units modelling.