THE DIDACTIC ROLE OF HOLIDAY EVENTS AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The article considers the holiday as an effective pedagogical form of teaching a foreign language at a university. The authors focus on festive events held at RUDN University Law Institute by the Department of Foreign Languages. The article reveals the concept of the holiday, its significance, and its impact on students. It is noted that the holiday prepares students for creative, productive activities, helps to solve many specific tasks of education, helps to form linguistic, communicative and country-specific competencies, forms a stable motivation for learning foreign languages, and also provides a stable positive attitude towards universal values, and fosters a sense of patriotism. The authors also underline the importance of university holidays in foreign languages in such a unique multinational university as RUDN University in helping to familiarize foreign students with the history of the Russian state, the feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, as well as with the fraternal ties that existed in that specific historical period with other countries and peoples. Particular attention is paid to such practical and relevant forms of celebrations as Victory Day, Memorial Day in foreign languages, international translator's day, science festivals, thematic days and weeks of a foreign language, quizzes and contests for country knowledge, in particular, a competition of puzzles in a foreign language, allowing students to acquire knowledge about the cultural life of the country of the language being studied, about its traditions and customs, as well as develop the ability to communicate in a foreign language. These forms are always of interest to students: they broaden their horizons and contribute to the development of students' analytical skills, logical thinking, and communicative competence in a foreign language. They also contribute to the unity of the student team and are an incentive for the further development of students' creative abilities. The article emphasizes that the holiday as a pedagogical form of learning plays an essential role in increasing motivation to learn foreign languages and serves as a complement to traditional forms of training and education.