After spending the summer of 2017 in Alaska, I was jazzed about learning Bulgarian. Many of my coworkers from Eastern Europe were learning to speak English, and I wanted to be a part of the language learning!
My colleague Miroslav was the best tutor when it came to learning Bulgarian words. I primarily learned phrases that were relevant to my job as a server, including "fork spoon knife," "it is sunny today," and "Martin I swear to god I will kill you." (More relevant than you would think.)
After leaving Alaska, however, I realized how difficult it was to find resources for learning such a minority language. There were limited websites and learning programs, and I could not just ask my co-workers for translations anymore. I had already intended to travel to Bulgaria after graduation, however, and wanted to be able to converse when I got there.
So began the self study.
How to Teach Yourself a Language
My primary resources to pull from were google translate, quizlet, and a free app called "Mondly." Between these three resources, I was able to accumulate 500 words in 5 months - I have 400 mastered so far!
The free version of "Mondly Bulgarian" teaches you approximately ten words per day. Each of these words I added to a free flashcard app called Quizlet.
Here is the link to my study set if you want to see the progress I have made so far - this deck is constantly updating as I add more vocabulary.
When there were words or phrases that I knew would be important but that Mondly had yet to teach me - such as "I am from America"- I would put these phrases into Google Translate. I know Google translate is not the ideal way to translate anything, but with caution I found it to be relatively accurate. To double check every translation, put in one word at a time to see if the words individually add up match the phrase as a whole.
Ultimately, this is not a method that will make me fluent in Bulgarian, but should allow me to get along fairly well in normal day to day situations. I look forward to the immersion experience of Bulgaria where I will be able to finally put this to language to use!
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