On December 5th was held at the Iskra Municipal Library the first session of the Italian language cafe, organized by The (Y) Volunteers team. A free and open initiative in the cultural agenda of Kazanlak, where participants can improve their Italian language skills, meet new people and discover the culture of Italy.

Surprisingly, we have discovered during these months how Italian language and culture can be familiar to people in Kazanlak and in Bulgaria. Many have shown great interest in the study of the language and more than once we have met people who can speak Italian or even have lived in Italy. Inspired by this situation, the project was designed with our intent to create a comfortable and informal environment, “outside the classroom”, where participants can practice Italian by talking to each other and through activities and games to learn while having fun. The best location to give life to this idea was the Municipal Library of Kazanlak, that made available for us one of its rooms, helped us in the organization of the event and provided us with the material.

Language Cafe is structured into different activities to practice Italian language and discover the culture of the Bel Paese in a playful way.

The session, led by native Italian volunteers, usually starts with activities more focused on language, such as “La griglia di parole” (word grid), where participants have to match words in Italian -greetings and frequent expressions, names of family members, numbers or basic verbs- with the corresponding Bulgarian translation.

There are also activities to go deeper into the culture of Italy and discover its heritage. For instance, through its gastronomy and traditional ingredients, as in “L’assaggio bendato” (fold blinded taste), or its popular music and soundtracks, like “Sarabanda” (guess the song).

The third and final part is devoted to traditional games that have been reinterpreted for the occasion, like the “Tombola” or “Battaglia Navale”. The first one has become a geographic version to familiarize with cities over the Italian territory, while the famous battleship game has been played with names and colors, instead of letters and numbers, to practice basic grammar structures.

Language Cafe is held monthly at Iskra Municipal Library of Kazanlak. Join us to chat with other language speakers, taste traditional food, watch movies, listen to music, play games and take part in this learning and exchanging opportunity at 360° degrees. Everyone is welcome at Language Cafe, no matter your age or whether you are a beginner or fluent speaker.

For more information, contact us info@ydcma.org or follow our Facebook page (@theyouth.info)