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Department of Methodology of
Foreign Language Teaching
Faculty of Classical and Modern Philology
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"
The establishment of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is directly connected with the need to prepare qualified teachers capable of carrying out the long-standing efforts to build an independent and self-developing sustainable national educational system reflecting the aspirations of generations of patriotically minded Bulgarian scholars and fighters for political and spiritual independence. The curriculum of the newly opened Higher Pedagogical School in 1888 included, in addition to the general subjects Pedagogy and Psychology, taught by Yosif Kovachev (1839–1898) and Dr. Ivan Georgov (1862–1936), also philological‑methodological disciplines such as Principles of Linguistics taught by Dr. Aleksandar Teodorov‑Balan (1859–1959), Greek and Latin Grammar taught by Nikola Mihaylovski (1818–1892), French Language and German Language, whose lecturers were the Francophone Ivan Danev (1853–1891) and the German‑trained Dr. Ivan Georgov (1862–1936). These foundational pedagogical‑psychological and philological subjects marked the beginning of academic linguodidactic training for future teachers of classical and modern languages in Bulgaria.
In 1921, the agrarian government of Aleksandar Stamboliyski created the “Internship Institute” at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, which was tasked with organizing the specialized teacher training of students during the last two semesters of their studies. Among the first instructors in foreign‑language teaching methodology were Hristo Uvaliev (French), Petko Tsonev (foreign languages), Max Bazala and Nikola Tumparov (modern languages), Nikola Kostov (living languages), Maria Dzhananova (Russian), Evgeniy Teodorov and Slavi Chaushov (German), and others. The Internship Institute was closed in 1949, when the Academic Council of Sofia University adopted updated programs for the Faculty of History and Philology in accordance with the new Law on National Education. These programs began to be implemented in the 1949–1950 academic year. Lecture courses in foreign‑language teaching methodology were introduced for Ancient Greek and Latin (Yordan Bratkov), French (Slavcho Dimitrov), German (Ana Ilieva), English and Russian (Dr. Maria Dzhananova). Later, additional instructors were appointed: Nadezhda Radulova (English), Pavel Patev (French), Margarita Kavaleto (Italian), Margarita Tosheva and Valentina Tserel (German practicum), and Hyusein Mahmudov (Turkish language and literature).
In 1955, the “Department of Methodology” was established, uniting all methodology instructors from the Faculty of Philology under the temporary leadership of Lozan Nitsolov. The initial members of the newly formed department included Dr. Maria Dzhananova (Russian language and literature methodology, 1949–1960), Slavcho Dimitrov (1950–1955) and Pavel Patev (1953–1993) (French methodology), Ana Ilieva (German methodology, 1948–1979), Nadezhda Radulova (English methodology, 1949–1957), Stoyko Kabasanov (Bulgarian methodology, 1952–1973), Kiril Babov (Russian methodology, 1953–1987), Vasilka Vasileva Tatarova (Russian methodology, 1952–unknown), Yordan Bratkov (Classical languages methodology, 1952–1956), and Nina Komarova (Russian and Serbo‑Croatian methodology, 1951–1969).
On 10 August 1965, the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria issued a decree establishing the Faculty of Western Philologies with seven departments. Due to the lack of a habilitated instructor, the opening of the Department of Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology was delayed for several years. On 12 February 1969, the prominent Germanist and translator Prof. Stefan B. Stanchev (1906–1982) submitted a proposal to the Academic Council to establish such a department.
The first head of the department was Prof. Ana (Anka) Dimitrova Ilieva (1969–1978), under whose leadership new curricula were developed and the main priorities of the department’s teaching activities were defined. She promoted the idea of practical orientation in foreign‑language teaching and introduced “the observation of positive educational practices” as a leading linguodidactic method. Prof. Dr. Pavel Patev served as the second head of the department (1978–1991), strengthening its authority and preserving its integrity through challenging times. He directed the department’s focus toward research and the preparation of new teaching staff, organized a system of continuing‑education courses for teachers, supervised young scholars, proposed many colleagues for habilitation, and actively participated in reviewing the relevant procedures. Under his leadership, the department expanded and developed into a national center for foreign‑language teaching methodology.
The third head of the department was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Petrova (1991–1996). She aligned initial teacher training with changes in state requirements and educational policy. During her term, the department launched a major project to create a national “Entry‑Exit Level” for foreign languages in the Bulgarian educational system. At the suggestion of Prof. Pavel Patev, the key linguodidactic terms “verbal action” and “entry‑exit level” were defined (1993).
The next head was Prof. Dr. Sc. Todor Shopov (1996–2003), who continued the successful traditions of his predecessors and skillfully adapted the department’s activities to the new educational context, significantly expanding international cooperation with leading European and American academic institutions. He became the first Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences in the department for his work A Study of the Post‑Method Condition of Teaching English as a Second Language. Pedagogical System (2016). During his term, the Bulgarian‑Swiss project “Language Portfolio” (1999–2001) was implemented with the active participation of the department’s Francophone instructors. In 2001, Todor Shopov, supported by Dimitar Veselinov, launched the innovative “Pedagogical Portfolio”, developed by the entire department. A scientific project was prepared, piloted in 2002, and its initial results were presented at a symposium during the May Days of Culture in 2003 (Dimitrova, Cholakova 2003, 77–78). He also initiated the master’s program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology.
The fifth head was Prof. Dr. Daniela Stoycheva (2003–2011). Under her leadership, the department maintained its established pace of development, despite the fact that practical pedagogical modules were no longer recognized as in‑class workload and external instructors had to be hired.
The sixth head was Prof. Dr. Sc. Dimitar Veselinov (2011–2019), who led the department during a difficult period but successfully addressed the challenges and preserved the unity of the team amid accreditation pressures and increased external competition. In 2016, he became the first representative of the department elected Doctor of Philological Sciences in the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philologies for his work A Theoretical Model for Cumulative Lexicography of Words of Foreign Origin in the Bulgarian Language. He accredited the master’s program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology and the doctoral program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology in professional field 1.3. Pedagogy of Teaching… (Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology). He expanded both programs to include all languages taught in the faculty. At the end of his term, he proposed an epistemological transition from foreign‑language teaching methodology to linguodidactics and linguodidactology, arguing that the field had earned recognition as an independent science with both fundamental and applied potential.
The seventh head was Prof. Dr. Milena Yordanova (2019–2025), later elected head of the Department of Turkology and Altaistics (2025). A distinguished Turkologist and Altaist, she also actively engaged with contemporary achievements in linguodidactology and their implementation in academic practice. Under her leadership, the department prepared the accreditation documentation for the master’s program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology in an Intercultural Environment and the doctoral program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology, both of which received the highest accreditation score in 2020 among all programs in the faculty. She secured recognition of practical pedagogical modules as in‑class workload and launched the master’s program Foreign‑Language Teaching Methodology in an Intercultural Environment, attracting many candidates from Greece and Bulgaria.
Since October 2025, the head of the department has been Prof. Dr. Sc. Magdalena Kostova‑Panayotova, a scholar with extensive academic, teaching, and administrative experience. A longitudinal overview of her work outlines a specialist with an impressive scholarly record and notable competence in selecting philological, linguocultural, and linguodidactic research topics, as well as in literary history, theory, and criticism. Under her leadership, the accreditation procedure for professional field 1.3. Pedagogy of Teaching at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is being prepared.
Since the introduction of the university course in foreign‑language teaching methodology in 1949, the number of past and present full‑time instructors has exceeded 40. While initially instructors were appointed only for English, Latin, German, Turkish, and French methodology, today the department covers methodology for 19 languages (English, Arabic, Armenian, Danish, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Latin, German, Modern Greek, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Ancient Greek, Turkish, Urdu, French, Hindi, Swedish, Japanese), along with new subjects such as informatics, information and communication technologies in education, and digital‑environment work in the context of foreign‑language teaching. The teaching staff organizes and conducts pedagogical training for all students in the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philologies, as well as in joint programs in the Faculties of Biology, History, Geology and Geography, and Chemistry and Pharmacy. Additionally, around 50 school‑based teachers are hired annually to participate in classroom observation, ongoing pedagogical practice, and internship practice.
The department also functions as a scholarly council for foreign‑language teaching methodology within the faculty. Over the years, numerous dissertations in fundamental and applied linguodidactology have been developed and defended: Pavel Lazarov Patev (1972), Maria Asenova Petrova (1980), Vera Georgieva Despotova (1981), Pavlinka Stefanova Stefanova (1986), Lili Petrova Savova (1988), Daniela Toteva Stoycheva (1989), Todor Krumov Shopov (1992), Dimitar Veselinov Dimitrov (2002), Irena Boyanova Stankova (2010), Maria Todorova Neikova (2010), Viktor Georgiev Monev (2010), Nevena Georgieva Sultanova (2011), Aneliya Ivova Kremenska (2011), Anna Hristova Evstatieva (2012), Ivan Stoyanov Merdzhanov (2013), Zarina Yuleva Markova (2013), Ivanka Natova Natova (2015), Petar Dimitrov Todorov (2016), Raya Petrova Zhivkova‑Krupeva (2020), Gloria Kostadinova Bakardzhieva (2020), Nikolina Marinova Iskarova (2020), Reneta Viktorova Valkova (2020), Anatoli Vasilev Deshev (2020), Nikos Andreu Filipu (2022), Mikhal Valeriev Pavlov (2023). Thanks to its academic authority and the democratization of international scholarly relations, dissertations have also been prepared and defended by seven foreign doctoral candidates: Rabeya Begum (Bangladesh, 1995), Valentina Ilieva (North Macedonia, 2008), Davut Aktash (Turkey, 2011), Yunhun Sun (China, 2011), Vesna Prodanovska (North Macedonia, 2016), Mirela Alhasani (Albania, 2019), and Dimitrios Galanos (Greece, 2020).