In anticipation of the New Year and Christmas holidays, the Irkutsk National Research Technical University (INRTU) announced the All-Russian linguistic competition of fairy tales in a foreign language among students and schoolchildren called "Christmas holidays in my educational institution". The event itself took place in December, and in January the participants received long-awaited certificates and diplomas.

This unique event gave the contestants the opportunity to show their creative imagination, talent as a writer and designer, creating original fairy tales in a foreign language (English, German and Russian as a foreign language), the action of which takes place within the walls of their favorite university during the Christmas holidays or during the academic period. The goal of the competition is not only to stimulate the literary creativity of students and schoolchildren, but also to create a festive mood, fill the university atmosphere with magic and the expectation of miracles.

The competition was held in two stages. In the first, participants presented written versions of their fairy tales. Jury assessed literacy, style and originality of the idea, as well as creative approach to design. At this stage, the work of Paula Andrea Rodriguez Serrano from Colombia was noted, as the student showed imagination and demonstrated a high level of artistic design.

At the second stage, the jury assessed the oral presentation of the fairy tale, mastery of words, fluency and literacy of speech, and the author’s ability to expressively express his or her thoughts in a foreign language.

SPbGASU was represented by students Sofia Myagkaya (Faculty of Economics and Management) in English, Matvey Gurtov (Faculty of Forensics and Law in Construction and Transport) in German, as well as foreign students of the Preparatory Department Kaya Tendai (Zimbabwe), Martina Kojovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), El Far Wasim (Palestine) and Paula Andrea Rodriguez Serrano in Russian as a foreign language.

Sofia Myagkaya, Matvey Gurtov, Kaya Tendai, Martina Kojovic and El Far Wasim advanced to the second stage, while Kaya Tendai and Martina Kojovic became prize winners of the competition, taking second and third places, respectively.

In the fairy tale by Sofia Myagkaya called “Inspiration”, our students’ favorite tree helped a student of the Faculty of Architecture create an outstanding project and successfully pass an exam with a strict professor.

Matvey Gurtov presented the fairy tale "Die Idee" ("The Idea"), in which the main character, a law student, proposed a new progressive idea and helped catch a robber who tried to steal a Christmas tree on the eve of the holiday.

El Far Wasim wrote a fairy tale, “The Miracles of the Ghost Professor,” which teaches us not to try to change the past or predict what will happen, relying on technology and machines, but to value the present, because our future depends on it.

The main character of Kaya Tendai's fairy tale "Chido and the Magic Gift" realizes that she can communicate with animals. Since animal tales are popular in Tendai's home country, he decided to write his own story about a rabbit who becomes an enchanted present and makes it clear that true love knows no bounds.

Martina Kojovic called her fairy tale "The Star of Friendship", and the heroes of this work were groupmates and even teachers who had to solve a difficult problem together. In the end, everyone understood that "Christmas is not only about gifts, but also about joyful moments that we share with those we love."

The foreign language fairy tale competition opened up new opportunities for creative self-expression for the participants and contributed to the development of their linguistic sense and creative thinking.

"Participation in such a creative competition allowed me to expand my vocabulary in English and helped develop my imagination. The competition provided an opportunity to improve my writing skills and reveal my creative abilities," Sofia Myagkaya noted.

"I am happy to have received a second-degree diploma and am grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a competition. I express my deepest gratitude to my teachers who guided and encouraged me throughout this competitive journey," said Kaya Tendai.

“The competition was a great opportunity to practice the language while showing off my creativity,” said Martina Kojovic.

We congratulate all the winners and participants and wish them further creative achievements and victories!