Course description
Key Reference Works
Course materials produced by the teacher will be provided.
Material from the following will also be used in class:
· ????? ??????-???????, ?????? ??????????, ????????? ?????????. ?? ??????
?????????. ????????? ???? ?? ????????. ?. ???????: ??????????? „?????”, 2004.
· Eleonora Ivanova. The Bulgarian Language in Practice. Sofia: ????, 2000.
· Papanchev, George D. Colloquial Bulgarian. London: Routledge, 1994.
· Holman, M. & M. Kovatcheva. Teach Yourself Bulgarian. London: NTC Publishing
Group, 2005.
· Pashov, P. & al. Learning Bulgarian. Sofia: ST. Kliment Ohridski Univ. Press, 1995.
· ?????, ?. ????????? ???? ?? ????????. ????? ????. ?. ???????: ?????, 2000.
Students will find the following useful for independent study:
· Ronelle, Alexander. Intensive Bulgarian: a textbook reference grammar. Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
A list of relevant websites and online reference materials will be provided at the start of the
course.
Students will require a dictionary at an early stage in the course. The following are
recommended:
· Atanassova, T. Bulgarian-English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Sofia: Nauka I izkustvo, 1980.
· ????????? ?. ? ??. ?????????-????????? ??????, ?. 1-2. ?????: ????? ? ????????,
1987 – 1988.
· ???????, ? ? ??. ?????????-????????? ??????, ?. 1-2. ?????: ????? ? ????????,
1987 – 1988.
· Bojanova, S. et al. English- Bulgarian Dictionary. Sofia: Gaberoff, 2001.
· ?????, ?. ????????? ????????? ??????. ?????: ????? ? ????????, 1987.
· ?????????, ?. ????????? ???????? ??????. ?????: ????? ? ????????, 2002.
· ?????, ?. ???????????? ? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ????. ?????: ??
„??????? ????????”, 2002.
NB: Students will be informed at the start of the course which textbooks they should
purchase.
Course Details
Title BULGARIAN AS A NEW LANGUAGE
Duration Taught in the Autumn and Spring Terms
Availability Open to students of most SSEES taught postgraduate programmes, including MA and MRes
Prerequisites Open to students who have no knowledge of Bulgarian
Course Leader Dr Iliya Nedin
Aims
The course aims to enable students to:
· develop competence in and use of Bulgarian to a pre-intermediate level
· develop basic communicative skills of aural comprehension and oral production
· develop the comprehension skills of reading, retrieving key information and translating
from Bulgarian, through the use of a range of stylistically diverse materials, drawn in the
main from contemporary sources
· acquire the basic writing skills necessary to facilitate language learning and support a
period of study and/or research in Bulgaria
· develop a knowledge of grammar and syntax, lexis and register, as well as language
awareness and language learning skills
· study a wide range of authentic language materials and acquire a deeper knowledge and
understanding of Bulgarian life and culture through the materials studied.
Outcomes
On successful completion of the course students will have acquired:
· a grasp of the basic grammatical structures and vocabulary of Bulgarian
· comprehension of written Bulgarian at a pre-intermediate level
· the ability to communicate in Bulgarian in straightforward everyday and study-related
situations
· the ability to retrieve information and translate accurately
· time management skills and the ability to work to deadlines.
Teaching
Classes meet for four hours each week over twenty teaching weeks (80 hours of contact time).
Additionally, students will be expected to spend, over the whole teaching year, an average of
four hours’ independent study per contact hour.
In class, students will be presented with the grammar and vocabulary of Bulgarian ab initio.
Communicative, reading and vocabulary building skills will be extended through a range of
exercises, work with authentic texts and training in the effective use of a dictionary.
Assessment
Coursework
The regular, punctual and satisfactory completion of weekly assignments is a prerequisite for
completion of the course, but does not contribute to the final assessment. Students’ progress
is monitored by means of regular tests, exercises and home assignments.
Students are also required to compile a portfolio of materials, in Bulgarian, relating to their
individual area of interest. This is monitored by the teacher and its satisfactory completion is
a prerequisite for entry to the examination.
Examination
The course is examined by means of an oral test (25% of the overall mark) and a three-hour
written paper, normally held in May.
The written examination consists of two sections and is worth 75% of the total mark:
Section One:
· Task A (30% of the overall mark): a text in Bulgarian of 450-500 words for summary
in English in 150-200 words
· Task B (20% of the overall mark): a section (120-150 words) of the Task A text for
translation into English.
Section Two:
· a comprehension and information retrieval task consisting of a passage in Bulgarian
of approximately 400 words, followed by questions in English, to be answered in
English (25% of the overall mark).
The use of dictionaries is permitted in the written examination.
