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 DIPLOMAS IN BULGARIAN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY FROM SOFIA UNIVERSITY AND SEAL OF BILITERACY AWARDS

On October 9, 2022, the following students took the Bilingual Seal Test and successfully passed the B2 level. Congratulations on the excellent results!

Zornitsa Stoyanova Victoria Lountchev

Kalina Mihova Isabella Zhelyazkova

Aleksander Dimov Monica Ivanova

Yasen Dimitrov Dara Mashova

Nikolai Ulevinov Alexander Moev

On September 7, 2020, students passed the Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction test - B2 level. Congratulations on the great results of the students:

Eduard Tsvetanov - C1

Daniel Flaschenburg - B2

Alexander Vlasakov - B2

On September 14, 2019, the Second Session of the Seal of Biliteracy Program was held at the Bulgarian School. There were 6 children who successfully took the test:

Adeline Vidolova - C1 Adela Cronk - B2

Ivaylo Mihalev - C1 Renee Cronk - B2

Christopher Eaton - C1 Stephan Shishkov - B2

Three of our students showed up for the second time to earn a C-Level (Advanced) Diploma. The test, which was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education, is made by the Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski" and consists of four parts: reading, writing, speaking and listening, the duration is 4 hours. The children receive two diplomas from Sofia University - in English and Bulgarian.

The test is valid for life with no expiration date.

Proficiency levels are synchronized across all participating languages, so there is a unified categorization system. In Massachusetts, these are the levels and the corresponding seal:

B1- Threshold competence - "Seal of biliteracy"

B2 - Good Competence - "Seal of biliteracy with distinction"

C1- High competence (optional for receiving the seal of biliteracy)


More information about the levels can be found here: http://www.legacy.deo.uni-sofia.bg/alte/index.htm

A good podcast explaining what the seal is and specifically about the Massachusetts program:

The first session of the Seal of Biliteracy Program was held in January 2019 when several of our students were awarded diplomas from Sofia University in recognition of their excellent Bulgarian language proficiency: Anna Atanassova, Christopher Eaton, Ivaylo Mihalev, Neda Stoeva, Petya Stoeva, Alexander Stoyanov, and Teodor Todorov.

These students received this internationally recognized certificate and will be further awarded with a Seal of Biliteracy. These recognitions of achievement could help with college admissions, earn college credit, and even be useful for future employment. These diplomas honor the students but also acknowledge the overall achievements of our school.

For more information about the exam and certification, you can contact our academic director, Sylvia Mihaleva: sylvia@bg-school.org.


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ADVANTAGES OF THE SEAL OF BILITERACY:

  • Addition to the student’s achievements report when applying for university

  • Certain universities and programs recognize it as a class or 3 credits  

  • The exam grade is recognized for the matriculation examination in Bulgaria by the MES

  • Incentive for the child to improve their knowledge of Bulgarian

STUDIES SHOW THAT BILINGUAL CHILDREN TEND TO:

  • Perform better in school

  • Achieve higher exam results

  • Learn a third language easier

  • Develop stronger literacy skills in the language being taught if they have a solid foundation in their mother tongue

  • Develop more flexible thinking as a result of comprehending information in two different languages

  • Learn to read at a faster rate

  • Get better at solving problems and show more creative expression

  • Be more tolerant of others