Tips and advice from the teacher’s and students of Edno School
Written and photos by Edno School, edited by Scott Green
Edno School is a Bulgarian language and culture school based in Sofia. We offer online and face-to-face courses to learners of all ages, and we absolutely love what we do, and we do everything possible to help our students succeed! But let’s face it – The Bulgarian Language is only spoken by 15 million people in the world. It is not like knowing French or English, and it probably makes little sense to invest time, effort, and money into learning it. A lot of people aren’t going to learn Bulgarian. But… A lot of people are.
How to understand if you need to study Bulgarian?
As a language teacher with over 11 years of experience, I can honestly say that there is no right answer to the question – Should I learn Bulgarian? The real question you need to answer is “Do I truly want to learn Bulgarian?”.
If your answer is “NO”, please try NOT to be consumed by guilt. It doesn’t matter if you speak Bulgarian or not (as long as you can survive without it). It doesn’t offend the locals if you only know a few words and phrases. It is none of our business really. Learning a foreign language can and should be pleasant, but it is also a huge commitment, which usually takes years to accomplish.
If you are somewhat unsure whether you want to learn Bulgarian but you are open to the possibility, then I have some advice for you: Give it a try! In any way you find appealing – learning from friends or family, using self-study resources, having a private teacher, or joining a group course. Try it with an open mind while holding tight to some realistic expectations. You cannot learn the whole language in one course or after a few months of private tutoring.
What to consider?
Be aware of:
- your own learning style
- your access to materials and resources
- your previous experience learning languages
- your actual needs and goals
- your true motivation to keep going
No one knows you better than you know yourself and this will make all the difference. After all, you may fall in love with learning Bulgarian or hate it completely, but this may change as time goes on. If you are certain you want to learn Bulgarian (all the way to Future Perfect Tense and understand the difference between пиша, напиша, попиша, препиша, запиша, допиша, изпиша, изпопрепиша…), then you will. It is that simple.
The other important question is “How?”. I already gave you the answer above – know yourself as a learner. This will determine how you learn best.
Great tips from the students of Edno School who have mastered Bulgarian:
- Take ownership of your own learning. It is you who will do the work and reap the benefits. Your school, teacher, textbooks, and YouTube videos are only tools to help you succeed.
- Know yourself as a learner and be open to change.
- Break down learning Bulgarian into specific goals and stay focused.
- Practice and study every single day – 20 minutes a day is more than enough.
- Challenge yourself to speak Bulgarian with strangers and in unfamiliar settings, even if you feel unprepared.
- Keep track of your progress and reward yourself for all the progress you have made. Trust me, it is there even if you are too desperate to see it.
- Find your language family – someone who speaks Bulgarian and is patient enough to only speak Bulgarian with you, teach you new words, gently correct your mistakes and explain them.
- Enjoy yourself because learning is meant to be pleasant and fun!
At Edno School we do not have a magical solution for learning Bulgarian. But we absolutely love working with people and helping them achieve their goals and hopefully feeling at home in Bulgaria. If you’d like to check out what we do, click here. We’d love to hear from you!
Disclaimer: This article was created in partnership with Edno School because they have proven to be an expert in their field. As our goal is to provide our community with the most accurate information, if you find some inaccuracy or any outdated details, please let us know at [email protected], if possible with links to the correct official resources, so that we can verify and update the publication. Thank you.
