Students from Bulgarian schools abroad may also obtain internationally recognized certificates through DLTCE, Sofia University. Certificates are valid indefinitely.
The test complies fully with CEFR and ALTE standards. DLTCE is the only full ALTE member in Bulgaria and a two-time recipient of the ALTE Q Mark for B1 and B2. ALTE is a non-governmental organization with participant status at the Council of Europe and consultative status with the UN on language policy issues. ALTE members are the most famous European language testing institutions like Cambridge English Assessment (Great Britain), Goethe Institut и TestDaF Institut (Germany), CIEP (France), Insituto Cervantes (Spain) and many others.
Only language tests that comply with the 18 ALTE standards can receive approval from the relevant national institutions in Europe. The only full member of ALTE from Bulgaria is the Department of Language Teaching and Continuing Education at Sofia University, a two-time holder of the ALTE Quality Mark (Q-mark) for levels B1 and B2.
In order to comply with the established standards for certifying language proficiency, in March 2017 an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria and Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” whereby Sofia University, through the Department of Language Teaching and Continuing Education, was entrusted with providing methodological support as well as conducting Bulgarian language exams for Bulgarian schools abroad.
Bulgarian is included in the Seal of Biliteracy program in the U.S. states of Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, the District of Columbia, etc. Many students from the USA and Europe have successfully taken the exam remotely and received their internationally acknowledged certificates issued by DLTCE.
The DLTCE certificate is included in the admission score calculation when applying to Bulgarian universities
GROUP EXAMS FOR STUDENTS FROM BULGARIAN SUNDAY SCHOOLS
In order to facilitate participation in Bulgarian language proficiency exams for students from Bulgarian Sunday schools, DLTCE establishes administrative centres in locations where larger groups of candidates are expected.
Establishment of an administrative centre/AC/ for conducting remote exams for Bulgarian as a foreign language for Bulgarian Sunday schools /BSS/
- Administrative centres are established through the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Rector of Sofia University and the head of the respective partner institution.
The agreement is concluded for a period of 1 (one) year and is automatically renewed if at least one exam session has been conducted during the term of the agreement.
An independent exam session is conducted with a minimum of 6 candidates.
- After signing the agreement, online training is conducted for:
– preparation of candidates from Bulgarian Sunday schools for the exam levels;
– stages of organizing the exam session and the responsibilities of the administrative centre;
– familiarization with the details of conducting online Bulgarian language exams;
– DLTCE, with the assistance of the administrative centre, organizes training for invigilators and technical staff related to the conduct of the exams.
Every candidate wishing to take an exam follows the procedure below.
Preparatory stage
a/ Registration on the website bg.e-learning-deo.uni-sofia.bg. Registration includes the following steps:
– After clicking “login” (top right of the website), the candidate enters a personal username and password. It is important that these are remembered by the candidate, which ensures uninterrupted access to the platform during the exam.
– “Login” is clicked (under the password), after which a registration form appears for registering on the website (but NOT for the exam!!!), in which all fields marked with an asterisk must be completed.
Registration on the website allows candidates to do exercises as well as sample tests. The exercises, sample tests, and diagnostic tests for determining the level of Bulgarian language proficiency are located on the home page:
http://bg.e-learning-deo.uni-sofia.bg/course/view.php?id=47 and
http://bg.e-learning-deo.uni-sofia.bg/course/view.php?id=48.
All candidates and Bulgarian language teachers receive access to the modules “Training materials in Bulgarian as a foreign language” and “Practice exercises in Bulgarian as a foreign language – levels A1–C2”, as well as to a free sample test for the desired level.
The following modules have also been created:
– “Teaching materials for Bulgarian Sunday schools”
– National Science Program “DEVELOPMENT AND CONSOLIDATION OF BULGARIAN STUDIES ABROAD”
The diagnostic tests are without a password, free of charge, and mandatory for candidates.
Registration on the website is NOT registration for the exam!
b/ After a final decision to take the exam, the candidate pays the exam fee by bank transfer and scans the payment document.
To clarify details regarding the organization of the exam, the exam coordinator from the Sunday school contacts the DLTCE exam administrator Penka Mihaylova
pepileila@abv.bg.
Exam fee
For students from Bulgarian Sunday schools – 129 euros per candidate payable to DLTCE, Sofia University. Postal costs are at the expense of the Bulgarian Sunday school. Certificates may be collected from DLTCE.
For external candidates – 200 euros (excluding postal costs).
Fee for one sample test – 10 euros.
Fee for issuing a certificate in English – 10 euros.
The fee is transferred to the bank account of Sofia University – DLTCE account. It is possible for the Bulgarian Sunday school to pay the candidates’ fees with a single bank transfer.
IMPORTANT: The deadline for payment of the fee is 20 calendar days before the announced exam date.
IMPORTANT: The host organization may require candidates to pay an additional fee in its favour to cover costs for invigilators, etc.
Exam document
Each candidate who successfully passes both exams (written and oral) is issued a certificate of proficiency in Bulgarian as a foreign language. The document has a registration number and the candidate’s photo, is issued in Bulgarian and English, has international validity, and is valid indefinitely.
Technical requirements for conducting the exam
The exam is conducted on desktop or laptop computers, but NOT ON MOBILE DEVICES (smartphones or tablets!!!)
Required software: Internet browser, Teams
Required hardware: keyboard capable of typing in Cyrillic, mouse, webcam, microphone, and headphones.
Exam coordinators
At the host organization – appointed by the exam host
In Sofia – Penka Mihaylova, DLTCE–Sofia University
Both coordinators resolve all issues related to the exam with mutual respect for the interests of the host organization and the examining institution DLTCE, Sofia University.