September 26^th was proclaimed a “European Day of Languages” in 2001 and since then the celebration of this event has become an important part of the language learning process at Kazan Federal University. The aim of the European Day of Languages is to alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding, as well as to encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.

One of the events dedicated to the celebration was the round table discussion on the topic “Globalization at the present stage: the linguistic aspect”, held among the students of the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication. Students made presentations about different languages, paying special attention to the official languages of the UN. The discussion was held in English language and the great role of English in the process of globalization was also a topic of a debate. At the end students came to the conclusion that nowadays learning foreign languages, especially English, is essential, but we should never forget that globalization leads to the extinction of some languages, and we are in charge of the protection of our native language.