BLOOMER ACADEMY: EXPRESS YOURSELF WITH EASE AND CONFIDENCE

Learning a new language is not a task – it is a journey. With this idea in mind, Theodora Valcheva, founder of Bloomer Academy, has created an outstanding experience that inspires and motivates both children and adults to master new languages.

Bloomer Academy offers online courses in English, French, and Spanish, as well as online classes that prepare students for their state exams in Bulgarian language and literature, and foreign languages.

With its individual approach, one-on-one lessons, small group sizes and encouraging environment, Bloomer Academy is the perfect place for you and your children to learn new skills and gain valuable competencies.

We spoke with Theodora Valcheva to learn more.

What makes Bloomer Academy stand out?

What makes us stand out is our perception of effective education, our concept of how one fruitful learning environment should look like in our day and age. This vision is entirely entwined with our approach towards every student who has put their trust in us.

What makes us different is the belief that the greatest effectiveness is achieved not by forcing knowledge through various methods but by inspiring and motivating. Our approach is not only entirely student-centered but also individually tailored so it naturally creates a strong teacher-student bond. This helps create a learning environment where the learner feels respected, because we value their time, and understood, because by getting to truly know each one of them we help them use their strengths to overcome their weaknesses. We make sure our students feel safe to make mistakes and learn from them and we focus on both short and long-term results.

Learning a new language is not a task, it is a journey. It is a dive into an entirely new world, where everything is unique and we make sure to set the right expectations for our students. Often, the idea, which many sell, that one or another language is very "easy", actually creates a perfect ground for frustration in kids and adults. It is important to remember that everyone's pace and rhythm are different and we, at Bloomer Academy, cherish that. Expressing yourself in a new language is not only about learning new grammar rules and new vocabulary. It means to think in that language, which takes much more than taking regular classes and doing your homework. It means to live with this language and this requires strong desire, perseverance and love for the language which we strive to cultivate in our students.

What is the best form of learning a new language – individual or in a group setting?

It comes down to personal preferences, past experience and most of all to the student's unique needs. Our experience throughout the years shows that most of the students look for individual lessons due to a variety of reasons but mostly related to different levels of dissatisfaction with group lessons. That is the reason why we, at Bloomer Academy, focus on an individual form of learning so we can ensure that every student gets the attention and support they need. Exceptions are the group lessons dedicated to preparing students for the National External Assessment, as well as for the State Maturity Exam in Bulgarian language and literature where we found that working in small groups of three to five people tends to be more fruitful and enjoyable for the students.

What are the advantages of in-person and online education?

The truth is that there is no difference in the quality of teaching regardless whether it is online or in a classroom. Our teachers are teachers not only by education, but firstly by heart. Teaching is their calling, they are passionate and they don't spare any effort when it comes to passing on their knowledge nor is this limited or dictated by the environment they teach in. In fact, teaching online allows us to reach more people, and makes it possible for students from different cities and even countries to learn with and from us.

Long before Bloomer Academy was founded I was already developing and teaching online lessons and the idea of bringing like-minded teachers together is what brought Bloomer to life. At the same time Covid-19 happened and it just sped up the process. People needed less convincing about the advantages of online education, in fact, they were requiring it, so I guess the timing was right as well. People who value their time quickly realized that it is actually time-saving and is much more convenient for them.

We have students from abroad preparing for exams or certificates, bilingual children who want to learn Bulgarian better and professionals who need to improve their English, French or Spanish language skills. And all this is possible thanks to the online environment in which we inspire them to want to know more and to be better than they were before.

What is the most important thing we should know about Bloomer Academy before enrolling in one of your language courses?

We don't make promises that it will be easy or you will start "speaking in a month". But what we do promise is that we will be by your side every step of the way to improve your language skills; that we will teach in a way so you understand the language and believe that you can speak. We promise that we will use your time effectively and you won't get lost in a group, in unproductive learning patterns and empty words. We promise that the teacher you learn with knows you, not just your level.

If you are looking for a place where you can study smartly, with your own pace and with a teacher who understands you, we will be more than happy to welcome you.

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