SIMON first joined the British Council in the summer of 1999 in Istanbul, where he worked for four years as a teacher and senior teacher. From there he went to France where he worked as assistant manager at the young learners’ centre in Paris.
Simon came to Bulgaria last year. As the Teaching Centre Manager, Simon is responsible for meeting the British Council’s stated aims in terms of output. “We have a statement of purpose which involves building mutually beneficial relationships between Great Britain and the rest of the world. One of the ways we do that is by propagating English, to allow people to maximise their opportunities, for example by learning English so they can go to Britain and study.”
There are a variety of reasons people learn English, says Simon and “I’ve got to make sure that happens. I’ve got to make sure that the teaching is up to scratch and that the centres are up and running- not just in Sofia, but in Varna as well.”
I asked Simon about the courses that the British Council offers. “The most popular course we offer in terms of numbers is general English. We also provide exam preparation courses, English business courses and a range of business workshops focusing on business skills that are delivered by trainers who are specialised in that field. They cover things like negotiation skills, customer service, and project management. We also started a new range of courses recently, in April.” These courses are specifically for people who wish not to focus on grammar or writing, but on their ability to speak fluently.
“One of our achievements is diversifying the range of courses we have available. The speaking courses have proved very, very popular. We were expecting a handful of students to be interested; in fact we had about 75 students turn up which we weren’t expecting! So, that obviously went down well. I think that the young learners will also be a success.” 
The new summer programme of young learner courses is for children aged between 8 and 15 and will start on July 11. There will be two different courses designed for a range of ages and levels, one focusing on children’s literature and one based around a popular film; children will also have the opportunity to make their own video or drama performance. Each course will last one week. Ben Plummer is co-ordinating the new programme. The aim of the courses is to “develop a positive attitude to English, while developing English ability”, says Ben.

The British Council is offering Sofia Echo readers the chance to win one of the new young learner courses. In order to enter, just answer this question: In which two cities in Bulgaria does The British Council have teaching centres? Fax your answers to 9443937 or e-mail features@sofiaecho.com

For more information go to: www.britishcouncil.org/bulgaria
Free demo lessons for the younger learner courses will run for two weeks prior to the start of the course. For more information call: 942 4300