Dr. Botyu Shanov’s German Textbook in the Context of Bulgarian Linguistic Didactology

Abstract

Dr. Botyu Shanov's German textbook is a contribution to historical studies of foreign language teaching in Bulgaria; it provides important evidence reflecting to a considerable extent the major problems of Bulgarian linguistic didactology in the first half of the 20th century and it can be interpreted with regard to the goals of numerous studies in the vein of modern linguistic didactology. The textbook comprises 33 lesson units which introduce students to “traditional” elementary level topics: the classroom and objects in everyday school life, color terms, some character traits, clothing, numbers, etc. The textbook also provides a general overview of basic elements of German grammar in the form of short unit notes.