Europe
Online English lessons for children in Bulgaria: from Cyrillic to the English alphabet
Quick answer
In Bulgaria, English starts in the early primary years, often alongside learning to read Cyrillic, and 1-to-1 online lessons add speaking time. CurioKids teaches children aged 4 to 12 in live, 1-to-1, 25-minute online lessons with a real teacher. If lessons for families in Bulgaria haven't opened yet, our Bulgaria page has a waitlist.
Children in Bulgaria are taught English from the early primary years, often while they are still learning to read Bulgarian in the Cyrillic alphabet. Switching between two alphabets is very doable, but a few look-alike letters cause slips, and a class leaves little time for each child to speak. Live 1-to-1 lessons online help with both. This guide explains the alphabet switch, the grammar that differs, and how to choose and pace lessons.
- By CurioKids teamHow we write our guides
- Published
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- 8 min read
Key takeaways
- English is taught in Bulgaria from the early primary years, so many children meet it while still settling into reading Bulgarian in Cyrillic.
- Some Cyrillic letters look like English ones but stand for different sounds, such as Р, В, Н and С.
- Bulgarian puts the definite article on the end of the noun, so English the in front of a word takes practice.
- Short, regular lessons with plenty of speaking suit young children better than long sessions on a screen.
- In a free first lesson, watch whether the teacher gets your child talking early and adjusts to their level.
On this page
When do children in Bulgaria start learning English?
English is taught in Bulgaria from the early primary years. The exact starting year, the number of lessons each week and the topics covered can vary, so your child's school is the best source for what their class is doing now.
For many children, those early years are also a time of settling into reading and writing Bulgarian, so a young child may be getting used to two alphabets at once. Most children manage this well, especially when the English side is introduced through sounds and play rather than lists of letters. What a busy classroom cannot easily offer is time for every child to speak, and that is where 1-to-1 practice adds the most.
What changes when a child moves from Cyrillic to English letters?
Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and English in the Latin one. Many letters are simply different shapes, which children learn as new. The tricky ones are the letters that look the same in both alphabets but stand for different sounds. A child reading quickly may give an English letter its Bulgarian sound, or the other way round.
| Bulgarian letter | Bulgarian sound | Looks like English | Which makes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Р | r | P | a p sound, as in pen |
| В | v | B | a b sound, as in bag |
| Н | n | H | an h sound, as in hat |
| С | s | C | a k or s sound, as in cat or city |
| Х | a throaty h | X | a ks sound, as in box |
| У | oo | y | a y sound, as in yes |
These slips are a sign of a careful reader using the rules they know, not of confusion. Learning English letter sounds one at a time, with plenty of practice reading short words, keeps the two systems apart. Phonics is built on exactly that idea, and what are CVC words shows the simple three-letter words most children read first.
Beyond single letters, English spelling is much less regular than many children expect. English has many vowel sounds, and they can be written in several ways, so patterns such as ee in tree and ea in sea need to be taught, not guessed.
Why does English the feel back to front for Bulgarian speakers?
Bulgarian has a definite article, but it is attached to the end of the noun. English puts the as a separate word in front: the dog, the window, the teacher. A Bulgarian-speaking child knows the idea but has to move it to a new place, so the is often dropped, especially in longer sentences.
English also uses a and an for things mentioned for the first time, which takes a while to feel natural. Short, repeated phrases in games (a red car, the red car) help more than grammar rules at this age. A teacher can quietly repeat your child's sentence with the missing word added, so they hear it without feeling corrected.
What should English lessons look like at different ages?
Children aged 4 to 12 can all enjoy English, but the right kind of lesson changes as they grow.
- From 4 to 6. Songs, puppets, pictures and lots of listening. The aim is to love the sound of English, not to read it yet.
- From 6 to 8. As Bulgarian reading settles, English letter sounds can be added, with special care for the look-alike letters above.
- From 8 to 12. Real conversations about hobbies and favourite things, short books, and the confidence to write a few sentences.
How much screen time is right for online English lessons?
A live lesson is very different from watching videos. Your child is talking, answering, pointing and playing with a real person, which makes it active screen time rather than passive viewing. A 25-minute lesson is short enough for young children to stay focused from start to finish.
To keep a healthy balance, set the lesson at the same time each week, switch off other screens before it starts, and follow it with something active or outdoors. Online lessons and screen time has more on how to think about it.
What should I watch for in a free first lesson?
A first lesson tells you a lot if you know what to look for. Does the teacher get your child talking within the first few minutes? Do they adjust when something is too easy or too hard? Does your child leave the lesson smiling and keen to come back? Does the feedback afterwards describe what your child actually did?
Sit nearby for a young child, but let them answer for themselves. Our checklist of what to look for in a free first lesson goes through each point, and safety explains how we protect children in lessons.
How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Bulgaria?
CurioKids gives children aged 4 to 12 live, 1-to-1 online English lessons with a real teacher, 25 minutes each, in the CurioKids online classroom with video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Most children start with Phonics Starter; a child who already reads can be placed straight into a CEFR-based level after the free first lesson. Phonics Starter is our 52-lesson reading course, from letter sounds to reading sentences. Teachers can't teach until our team has confirmed a background check and they have signed our teaching agreement. Lessons happen only inside the CurioKids classroom, and your child's teacher gives feedback after lessons. See our levels and safety pages for more.
For a child who reads Cyrillic, Phonics Starter introduces English letter sounds one by one, which gives time to the letters that look like Bulgarian ones but sound different.
Visit our Bulgaria page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Bulgaria haven't opened yet, the page has a waitlist: leave your details and we'll let you know when you can book your child's free first lesson. Plans for families in Bulgaria are priced in euros: see the prices for Bulgaria.
Frequently asked questions
Is it confusing for a Bulgarian child to learn two alphabets at once?
Most children manage two alphabets well. A few look-alike letters, such as Р and В, cause slips for a while, and these fade with steady practice in reading English sounds.
Why does my child read the English letter P as an r?
In Bulgarian Cyrillic the letter Р stands for an r sound. Your child is using the rule they know from Bulgarian, and learning English letter sounds directly sorts it out.
Why does my child leave out the in English sentences?
Bulgarian puts the definite article on the end of the noun, so putting the in front of a word is new. Hearing it often in short, repeated phrases helps it stick.
Is an online lesson too much screen time for a young child?
A short live lesson is active rather than passive: your child talks, plays and answers questions. Keep it at a fixed time each week and balance it with play away from screens.