2002. The IV Moscow “Lingua” Conference in Foreign Languages. Registration done. And then — the real (almost) detective scientific work began.
My friend (a gold medalist, by the way, proud of her!) and I decided on a research project: to compare the lives of an average Russian and British school student. Habits, studies, mindset. Abstract sociology? Not quite!
The internet was a luxury back then, not a given. So our main tools were a notepad, a pen, and sheer audacity. We personally surveyed students from our school, a neighboring one, and then went for the big leagues — British schools. To avoid being mistaken for kidnappers luring kids with candy, we managed to get monthly passes. We even visited the embassy school — that was next level.
Every day after school — not home. We’d run to the next school, hunt down British students, ask questions, and meticulously jot down answers. Then spent nights crunching the statistics. It was pure field research, no Google Forms or online surveys.
The result? We delivered a full report on mindset differences. And got a participant certificate. Didn’t win a prize — was a bummer, but not the end of the world.
The real victory came later. Our research got noticed and was included as supplementary teaching material for schools with advanced English programs for several years after. Our manual, “analog” work became part of the curriculum. Now that was something.
This experience taught me the main thing: to understand an audience, sometimes you need to put the gadgets aside, look them in the eye, and ask a question in person. And for a good idea, you can get a pass anywhere — even into a British school.
