Learning a new language is always a challenge. A lot of new words, sentence structures and endless grammar rules - all this must not only be remembered, but learned and learned to successfully apply in practice. Nevertheless, this process can be quite fascinating. Below, we’ll look at some tips aimed at making learning Bulgarian easier and more positive.
Undoubtedly, for many, memories of unsuccessful school attempts to succeed in learning a foreign language do not bring any satisfaction. But there are also such daredevils who are able to challenge one more fate, since they believe that this time “the wind will be favorable to them”. And their faith will be justified.
Organization of the educational process
Time is the most valuable resource. And in order not to lose it in vain, you need to creatively paint your schedule of daily routine and find in it the "window" for language lessons. In order to learn the Bulgarian language, it is not at all necessary to put off all your affairs and, having forgotten everything, rush into the study, like in a whirlpool with your head. You only need to include lessons in your daily schedule, at those moments when you can study the language together with any other process. For example, during a morning cup of tea or in the evening before watching your favorite series (and someone manages to learn the Bulgarian language during television commercials).
Pay attention to the pronunciation
There are language systems that have rules that determine the stress in a given word. Bulgarian is not included in the list of similar languages. Therefore, it is most advisable to remember the stress of new words from the very first stages of learning. Many dictionaries and tutorials make life easier for students by highlighting shock letters in a variety of ways (in bold, capital letter). In addition, each language has its own pronunciation features, and Bulgarian is no exception. Therefore, at the beginning of training, due attention should be paid to the practice of unusual sounds, using various methods.
Supporting techniques sometimes take a lot of time, but they bring undoubted benefit. In addition to the main course, it is recommended that Bulgarian lessons be supplemented with work with bilateral cards, where on the one hand there is a foreign word, and on the other, its translation. According to the same principle, you can work with pronunciation, writing the Bulgarian word on the outside, and transcription with stress on the inside.
Trial and error method
In the arsenal of modern man there are not one dozen techniques, following which you can successfully master any language in the world, and sometimes more than one. Choosing one method or another for yourself, you should rely on the reaction of the brain - is it difficult for him to perceive the structure of the lesson and is it difficult to remember the words by the proposed method. It is only necessary to remember that each student will find his own way of studying, just as each professor has his own teaching method.
Self practice
An excellent exercise is a conversation with oneself, which in essence can be an expression of an idea out loud about a particular subject happening in real life. Similarly, you can “catch” the moment on the way to work, study or home, mentally describing the surrounding space, the streets along which the path runs home, people passing by, and so on. When practicing the Bulgarian language in this way, one should not think about possible mistakes, since in the knowledge of a new subject this is a completely normal process, which must be taken as inevitable.
Summer language schools
A great chance for many learners can be the Bulgarian summer language courses. This kind of “practice-immersion” is very useful, since the language is everywhere (television, communication in shops, cafes, songs in Bulgarian). In addition to the practice of the language, a fascinating cultural program is added, and the classes themselves are usually held not only in university buildings, but also among the unique Bulgarian nature surrounded by mountain landscapes.
Most of these schools include the Bulgarian language for tourists starting and continuing their studies. During the study, the student plunges into the traditional Bulgarian atmosphere and gets acquainted with folklore and traditions of the country. A mandatory point of the program is also a visit to picturesque historical places that emphasize the magnificent beauty of the surrounding nature. A huge plus of summer courses is the opportunity to practice the language with the locals of Bulgaria.
Who should use summer language schools?
1. Professionals in this or an approximate area of culture who wish to learn in practice the cultural traditions of this language.
2. Foreign students who want to learn the Bulgarian language (translators who have recently graduated from a higher educational institution).
3. School teachers and university teachers interested in improving the language.
4. Businessmen and professionals in any other field who need Bulgarian for beginners.
5. Children and relatives of Bulgarians living abroad.
Learning Tips
Let us list one more list containing tricks that are successfully applied by polyglot from around the world.
Road signs
If you already live in Bulgaria, then take a moment and at every opportunity, read what is written on the road signs, trying to find out a particular word.
Instant practice
Begin the practical part of the training as soon as possible. And it doesn’t matter what form it will happen to - with the teacher, friend or with himself.
Parrot method
Working with dialogues read by Bulgarian speakers is one of the most productive, especially in the early stages of learning. The method is that the student first listens to the dialogue without text before his eyes, trying to understand its contents. Listening to audio for the second time, the student is trying to "highlight" words unfamiliar to him, find their translation and try to remember. Memorization occurs by repeating small passages from a text containing new Bulgarian words.
Minimal grammar
The mistake of many beginners is that their classes begin with a collection of grammar rules. It is clear that without grammar it is impossible to learn a single language, but even without a vocabulary, speaking in Bulgarian is also not possible. Learning new words and reading new texts by itself implies the knowledge of any previously unexplored grammatical constructions or other phenomena of grammar.
False friends
In any language, including Bulgarian, you will find words similar in pronunciation to words from the native language. Most often, they have completely different meanings, which sometimes leads beginners to funny (and sometimes stupid) situations. Therefore, it is necessary to start studying “false friends” as soon as possible, since this will not only exclude the possibility of such embarrassing situations, but will also add a number of useful words to the vocabulary. It is also useful to learn how to calculate “false friends” in advance and not to confuse them in the future, since the Bulgarian language itself has many similarities with Russian, and some words are completely similar not only in pronunciation, but also in meaning.
Connect your free time
Spend your free time watching movies in your native language, but with Bulgarian subtitles. An alternative to this is the radio in the language being studied. Moreover, it is not necessary to constantly be in suspense and listen to the meaning of broadcasting, the main thing is that the Bulgarian speech surrounds and becomes a part of reality (in this way the foundation is laid at the psychological level).
Word / phrase of the day
Having found the word you like or the Bulgarian phrase, you need to write it on a small piece of paper and stick it in the most frequently visited place in the house. Each time, passing by leaflets, you should pronounce the words and phrases written on them.
Communication with people
When traveling in Bulgaria, you need to catch every moment that seems to be the practice of the Bulgarian language. Not afraid to seem intrusive, do not hesitate to ask the locals about any minor things (in stores you can ask about clothing sizes, prices, various colors, on the bus - about the sights flickering in the window, and it will be relevant to ask on the street whether you are holding way to a particular destination). Listening to live speech, you can understand how the book version of the Bulgarian language differs from the one spoken in real life.
Visualize the words you learn
Do not try to memorize the Russian translation of Bulgarian words, but, using your imagination, imagine their image or action identifying the word. For example, you need to learn the word "pear". We imagine the object itself - a pear, and associate it with the Bulgarian word "crush".
Learn Bulgarian phrases, not single words
Indeed, remembering what contains a story is easier at times. You can come up with, for example, some funny sentence in the Bulgarian language that can lift your mood, or one that is able to evoke other emotions. This explains the fact that many teachers at language universities offer students to memorize whole dialogs.
Work with Bulgarian idioms
Many well-known expressions in the literal translation into Russian sound pretty funny, hence it’s quite simple to remember them. For example, the idiom “spit the stone” when literally translated into Russian means “spit out pebbles (or cobblestones)”, when in fact the expression means “blab out, give out a secret”.
Instead of a conclusion
Learning a foreign language involves various difficulties on your way, but with hard work on yourself and the ability to use the opportunities provided, success will not take long.