A native Bulgarian speaker and language graduate, teaching in a relaxed, professional, and engaging way.

Find out more about Kristina

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn it?

  My journey to learning Bulgarian was both quite challenging and exciting. Although my father was born and raised in Bulgaria, I moved there at the age of 7 and was put into school without knowing a single word of the language. After a few months of school, I became fluent. I am eternally grateful for the experience.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  Lýdia Hric Machová is an interpreter, polyglot, and language mentor who has been a big inspiration to me. She is fluent in English, German, Spanish, Polish, French, Russian and Esperanto. As an aspiring interpreter and practicing polyglot, her talent, hard work and enthusiasm to help others learn is what makes her an emblematic representative of language culture for me.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  Many unique Bulgarian words that do not have a literal or even closely translatable term in English come to mind. The word "ailiak", originating from my home town Plovdiv, is one of these words and by far my favourite. It describes the pleasure of having nothing to do, living one's life as one pleases, and enjoying it to the fullest.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Speaking the language has unlocked the door to my heritage and allowed me to connect with my father on a deeper level. It has unlocked the opportunity for me to learn more Slavik languages and to experience a whole new culture. It is also super expressive and a pleasure to speak!

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language, and what can help students with the learning process?

  The main difficulty seems to be the tenses, prefixes and understanding everyday speech. To help students with these points, I encourage listening to natives speak, and exposing yourself to TV shows, movies, and any media in the target language. I also recommend that they ask me as many questions as they can in order to be able to better understand concepts such as grammar tenses and prefixes.

• Could you share an anecdote related to your language learning or your student days?

  Studying two languages at university and speaking three more of my home languages after classes, on some days my brain would decide on its own, which language was to be the one I spoke. During university lectures, I had instances of answering my French lecturer in Spanish and my Spanish lecturer in French, without realizing that they did not understand me. Some of the other multilingual students knew the feeling all too well and would laugh along with me, once we realized that it was the wrong language for the setting. Nonetheless, my professors got used to me using "Si" and "Oui" as an answer in all classes. :)

• How has travel or a specific experience helped you to increase your understanding and appreciation of the language?

  My travels to Bulgaria have greatly aided me in my language learning and were, in fact, the prime cause of how and why I learned to speak Bulgarian. However, I can share a particular experience that has stuck with me over the years. On a flight to Turkey, I remember a flight attendant speaking to each passenger she passed. Each time she spoke to a new person, she spoke a new language and did so fluently. That was inspiring and ignited even more passion in me to learn as many languages as I can and enjoy speaking the ones I know.

• What makes you a Superprof?

  I believe that I have a lot more to learn than I even realize but my image of a Superprof is someone who is determined to help their students evolve within their language learning, do so in their learning style, keeping things light, and fun, while embracing mistakes along the way. After all, mistakes are what help us learn the most. They would also be someone who thinks of themselves as a lifelong learner. For those reasons, I believe I am a Superprof.