Learning a new language is always a challenge. A lot of new words, sentence structures and endless grammatical rules - all this must not only be remembered, but learned and learned to successfully apply in practice. However, this process can be quite exciting. Here are some tips to help you learn Bulgarian more easily and positively.
Undoubtedly, for many, the memories of school unsuccessful attempts to succeed in learning a foreign language do not bring any satisfaction. But there are also such daredevils who are able to throw another challenge to fate, since they believe that this time "the wind will favor 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 daily routine schedule and find “vents” in it for language lessons. To learn the Bulgarian language, it is not at all necessary to put aside all your affairs and, having forgotten about everything, rush into the study, as if into a pool with your head. You just need to include lessons in your daily schedule, at those moments when you can study the language together with some other process. For example, during a morning cup of tea or in the evening before watching your favorite series (and someone manages to learn Bulgarian during TV commercials as well).
Pay attention to pronunciation
There are language systems that have rules that determine the placement of stress in a particular word. Bulgarian is not included in the list of such languages. Therefore, it is best to memorize the stress of new words from the very first stages of learning. Many dictionaries and tutorials make life easier for students by emphasizing stressed letters in various ways (bold, capital letters). In addition, each language has its own peculiarities of pronunciation, and Bulgarian is no exception. Therefore, at the beginning of training, it is necessary to pay due attention to the practice of unfamiliar sounds using various methods.
Auxiliary techniques are sometimes time-consuming, but they bring undoubted benefits. As an addition to the main course, it is recommended to supplement Bulgarian language lessons with work with double-sided cards, where on the one hand there is a foreign word, and on the other - its translation. By the same principle, you can work with pronunciation, writing the Bulgarian word on the outside, and the stressed transcription on the inside.
Trial and error
In the arsenal of modern man there is more than onea dozen techniques, following which you can successfully master any language in the world, and sometimes more than one. When choosing one or another method 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 memorize the words by the proposed method. Just remember that each student has their own way of learning, just as each professor has his own way of teaching.
Self-practice
An excellent exercise is a conversation with oneself, which in fact can be an expression of a thought aloud about a particular subject that occurs in real life. Similarly, you can "catch" the moment on the way to work, school or home, mentally describing the surrounding space, the streets along which the path home runs, people passing by, and so on. When practicing the Bulgarian language in this way, you should not think about possible mistakes, since in learning a new subject this is a completely normal process that must be accepted as inevitable.
Summer language schools
Bulgarian summer language courses can be a great chance for many students. 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, an exciting cultural program is added, and the classes themselves are usually held not only in university buildings, but also in the unique Bulgarian nature, surrounded by mountain landscapes.
Most of theseschools include the Bulgarian language for tourists, beginners and continuing education in the program. In the course of the study, the student is immersed in the traditional Bulgarian atmosphere and gets acquainted with the folklore and traditions of the country. An obligatory 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 is the summer language school for?
1. Specialists in this or an approximate area of culture who want to get acquainted with the cultural traditions of this language in practice.
2. Foreign students who want to learn Bulgarian (translators who have recently graduated from a higher educational institution).
3. School and university teachers interested in improving the language.
4. Businessmen and professionals in any other field who need Bulgarian for beginners.
5. For children and relatives of Bulgarians living abroad.
Tips for self-study
Let's list another list of tips-tricks that are successfully used by polyglots 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 road signs, trying to learn this or that word.
Instant practice
Start the practical part as soon as possiblelearning. And it does not matter in what form it will take place - with a teacher, a friend or with yourself.
Parrot method
Working with dialogues read by Bulgarian speakers is one of the most productive, especially in the early stages of learning. The method consists in the fact that the student listens for the first time to a dialogue without text in front of his eyes, trying to understand its content. Listening to the audio for the second time, the student tries to “highlight” unfamiliar words for him, find their translation and try to remember. Memorization occurs by repeating small passages from the 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 any language, but it is also impossible to speak Bulgarian without vocabulary. Learning new words and reading new texts by itself presupposes the cognition of any previously unstudied grammatical constructions or other phenomena of grammar.
False friends
In any language, including Bulgarian, there are words that are 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 eliminate the likelihood of such embarrassing situations, but also add somenumber of useful words. 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 free time
Spend your free time well watching films in your native language, but with Bulgarian sub titles. An alternative to this can be radio in the target language. Moreover, it is not necessary to constantly be in suspense and listen to the meaning of the broadcast, the main thing is that Bulgarian speech surrounds and becomes part of reality (thus laying the foundation on a psychological level).
Word/phrase of the day
Having found a word or a Bulgarian phrase you like, you need to write it down on a small piece of paper and stick it in the most frequently visited place in the house. Every time you pass by the leaves, you should pronounce the words and phrases written on them.
Meeting people
Traveling around Bulgaria, you need to catch every moment that presents itself for the practice of the Bulgarian language. Do not be afraid to seem intrusive, do not hesitate to ask the locals about any minor things (in stores you can ask about clothing sizes, prices, different colors, on the bus - about sights flashing through the window, and on the street it will be relevant to ask if you are holding the right way to a particular destination). Listening to live speech, you can understand how the book version of the Bulgarian language differs fromthe one spoken in real life.
Visualize the words you are learning
Don't try to memorize the Russian translation of Bulgarian words, but, using your imagination, imagine their image or action that identifies 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 "Krusha".
Learn Bulgarian phrases, not single words
Indeed, remembering something that contains a story is much easier. You can come up with, for example, some funny sentence in Bulgarian that can cheer you up, or one that can evoke other emotions. This explains the fact that in language universities, many teachers offer students to memorize entire dialogues.
Work with Bulgarian idioms
Many well-established expressions, when literally translated into Russian, sound quite funny, hence it is quite easy to remember them. For example, the idiom “spit out kamcheto” when literally translated into Russian means “spit out a pebble (or cobblestone)”, when in fact the expression means “blab, give out a secret.”
Instead of a conclusion
Learning a foreign language involves various difficulties along the way, but with hard work on yourself and the ability to use the opportunities provided, success will not be long in coming.
