IEM Students Create Characters for Their Own Businesses in English Class

First-year students fr om the Institute of Economics and Management (IEM) at Tomsk State University (TSU) took part in a masterclass titled "Unlock the Secrets of Compelling Storytelling!" Together with students from other TSU faculties, they created their own stories and presented them in English. The masterclass, based on the Storyline methodology, was conducted by TSU Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) instructors Tamara Budlova and Olesya Pyanzina.

The workshop was held as part of the 35th anniversary International Scientific Conference "Language and Culture: Milestones, Traditions, Innovations." Participants included students from IEM, the Higher School of Journalism, and the Faculty of Foreign Languages. They were divided into teams, with each team inventing a story about the development of a local business—such as a coffee shop, a flower store, etc. For their collaborative project work, participants were given creative materials and small dictionaries with essential Business English vocabulary.

— The Storyline method involves participants not only thinking through the general concept of an enterprise but also the personalities of its employees, founders, and even customers. They create these characters from craft materials. Then, they tell the business's story, supplementing their narratives with visual aids. The key is that the entire process, from discussing the idea to presenting the company, is conducted strictly in English. This helps break down the language barrier and teaches students to speak a foreign language without fear of making mistakes, says Tamara Budlova, Senior Lecturer at the FFL TSU.

The motto of the Storyline method is "Structure makes freedom," meaning complete absolute creativity within a clear methodological framework. Both the organizers and participants noted that working on the project not only develops English speaking skills but also collaboration, team spirit, and an interest in entrepreneurship.

— Our project was a French-style bakery. The unique twist was that the owner, my character, was actually a Mexican man named Jose Ascaraga. Every year, for his birthday, the bakery would close and transform into a Mexican cuisine cafe. How this would work in real life is, of course, unclear, as it's unlikely anyone in a French bakery would know how to cook Mexican food. But in our story, it turned out to be very fun, and we presented it all. Everyone had their own character: Jose Ascaraga – the leader, that was my role. There was also a baker, a marketer, a cleaner, and other characters. It was really fun to invent the whole story, and I also liked that students from different faculties participated, shared IEM student Andrei Pasechnik.

Earlier IEM held this event in the form of a competition wh ere lecturers of the institute selected the best projects.