Learning to Teach (and Teaching to Learn): Volunteering in a Bulgarian High School

When I signed up to volunteer in Bulgaria, I didn’t know exactly what I’d be doing—just that I wanted to help, learn something new, and throw myself into a totally different environment. A few weeks later, I was told that I would be helping teach German and English at a high school, and I thought: How hard could it be? I’m a native speaker, after all. German is my first language, I grew up with it, and I had just spent the last two years living in England. Surely I could help some teens with pronunciation and vocabulary. Easy, right?

I forgot one tiny detail: I don't speak Bulgarian. And as it turns out, many of the students didn’t speak English very well either—which, until now, had always been my safety net abroad. What followed was a crash course in hand gestures, patient repetition, and creative multilingual chaos.

Lost in Translation

Walking into my first classroom, I felt like I had landed on a different planet. The teacher introduced me (I think?) in Bulgarian, and all eyes turned to me. I smiled and said “Hallo!” Some students smiled back. Others kept on talking to each other. A few clearly had no idea what was happening.

At the beginning, not knowing Bulgarian was overwhelming. Many students didn’t speak English well, and I definitely didn’t speak any Bulgarian. The first phrase I started to recognize was, fittingly:„Аз не разбирам“ (Az ne razbiram) – “I don’t understand.” They said it a lot. So did I—in my head.

But slowly, I picked things up. Words I heard every day started making sense. With one student, I even started a collection of useful sentences to say in specific situations. Teachers and students taught me holiday traditions, local foods, and what the different name days meant. I even began to recognize commands and casual phrases around the school.

Not Quite a Teacher, Not Quite a Student

At just 20 years old and having only recently finished high school myself, stepping into a classroom full of teenagers felt more like rejoining my peers than stepping into a teaching role. I was close to their age; too close to feel like a figure of authority. In the beginning, I honestly struggled to tell students what to do (or, more often, what not to do). It felt awkward trying to say, “Please put your phone away.” And many of them didn’t exactly make it easy: some barely looked up from TikTok, others constantly whispered answers to each other during quizzes. Tests sometimes felt more like team activities than individual assessments.

But slowly, with time, I found my footing and started to feel more comfortable in the classroom.

Teaching German, Relearning German

One of the unexpected challenges? I hadn’t thought about German grammar in years. So when students asked questions like, “Why is it dem and not den?” or “What’s the rule for Dativ again?” I found myself googling German grammar explanations. Once, while correcting tests, I even had to call my mom to ask if a sentence sounded right.

I realized that speaking a language and teaching it are very different skills. Still, we found ways to make it work: we played vocabulary games and laughed a lot when things went wrong. There were bright moments, especially with the students who made the effort to talk to me. Some were genuinely curious about Germany, language, and travel. One girl even brought me a tiny jar of borov med—a delicious type of pine honey her grandmother had made.

Oddly enough, the two classes I grew to like the most were the ones everyone warned me about—the ones other teachers labeled as “the worst.” They were loud, chaotic, and not always prepared, but the students in those classes were the most eager to talk to me and the most curious about Germany, life abroad, and language in general.

Making a Difference, Even in Small Ways

One of the moments I felt most proud was helping four students prepare for their German B1 oral exams. We spent weeks practicing together, working through nerves, tricky vocabulary, and pronunciation drills. When I found out that all four of them had passed, I was honestly so happy for them. It reminded me that even with limited time in each class, showing up and supporting someone consistently really can matter.

What I'm Taking With Me

This experience was challenging, and it often felt outside of my comfort zone.

But it was also humbling and meaningful. I learned:

• How to teach without really having been taught how to teach.

• That being close in age to your students can be an advantage—once you find your voice.

• That the “worst” students on paper can be the most enthusiastic, thoughtful, and curious.

• That it’s okay to not know everything, especially when you’re willing to learn alongside others.

  
  

This experience reminded me that volunteering isn’t just about giving—it’s also about learning, receiving, and growing. I came to help teach German, but I left with a whole new appreciation for language, resilience, and connection.