Meet part of our team
David Davidov
English and Greek Teacher
Founder and Director
David studied BA Linguistics at Bangor University in Wales. He has been a teacher for six years.
He taught English at the English Language Institute at the American University in Bulgaria between 2021 and 2025.
David specialises in rapid fluency improvement.
He founded Speakeasy in 2023 with the goal to provide the highest quality language instruction using a blend of innovative and traditional methodology.
Elena Voynova
English Teacher
Exam Preparation Specialist
With a degree in English Philology from Sofia University and over 30 years of experience—including 25 years at the AUBG English Language Institute—Elena brings premier academic expertise to our team.
She specialises in all levels of General English, Academic Writing, and expert exam preparation for IELTS, CAE, and SAT. As a dedicated educator and curriculum designer, she is passionate about giving students the practical language skills and confidence they need to succeed in higher education and beyond.
Olga Karmatskikh
English Teacher
Olga graduated "Philology" in Russia and has over 20 years of experience in translation and teaching, including at the English Language Institute at AUBG.
She specializes in teaching English to teenagers and adults and holds the internationally recognized CELTA certificate (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), which certifies the highest standard of methodology and practice in teaching English as a foreign language.
Oleg Aleksandrov
German, Norwegian, and Bulgarian Teacher
Oleg studied MA Scandinavian Studies at Sofia University and did his PhD at South-West University. He is currently doing an additional specialisation in English instruction at Trakia University. He has participated in many international conferences and exchange programs across Europe.
Oleg has more than 12 years of experience as a teacher in schools, universities, and online.
Slavina Yanakieva-Davidova
English and German Teacher
(Children)
Slavina studied BA Applied Linguistics at South-West University in Blagoevgrad, and MA English Language and Intercultural Communication. She has taught English and German for 5 years.
Slavina taught English at the English Language Institute at the American University in Bulgaria for 5 years and German at South-West University for 4 years.
She is inspired by her classes with the youngest students who are only just starting their exciting learning journey.
Donal McKenna
English and Italian Teacher
Originally from Dublin, Donal lived in Rome for almost 15 years, where he owned and managed a translation company.
He is currently doing a MA in Teaching and Education at Trinity College, Dublin.
An experienced entrepreneur, he is eager to inspire students who want to broaden their horizons by honing their English for the business world.
Alex Hristov
English Teacher
Alex was born and raised in Canada. He lived there until the age of 25.
Graduated with a MA of International Relations from Hame University, Finland.
He is passionate about teaching English, because he believe it opens doors to excellent opportunities worldwide.
Monika Popova
English Teacher
Monika is a student at the American University in Bulgaria, where she is pursuing a double major in Business Administration and Psychology, along with a minor in Integrated Marketing Communications.
She taught English at the AUBG English Language Institute in 2026 and brings valuable experience from internship programs both in Bulgaria and abroad.
Monika strives to create a calm and supportive environment where everyone gains confidence, overcomes the language barrier, and truly comes to love the English language.
About Us
Welcome to Speakeasy:
An innovative language school, focused on real learning.
One of our core beliefs, which is scientifically proven, is immersion—communication and instruction in our classes is 100% in the language you are learning. This helps learners to “switch” to thinking forming sentences in English, rather than simply translating from their native language.
Our classes are organized so that learning happens efficiently and effortlessly, guaranteeing rapid progress. We prioritize practical skills and use custom exercises to fill in gaps in learner skills, quickly balancing their skill profile and enabling them to continue learning at higher levels.
Our mission
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To provide quality language education at an affordable price.
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To boost learners' confidence in their speaking and writing abilities.
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To help people succeed in reaching their language goals: exams, career growth, etc.
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To inspire people to learn beyond the classroom and broaden their horizons.
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To eliminate the stereotype that learning is boring and tedious.
How Speakeasy Helps You Become Fluent Faster
Stop Translating. Start Speaking.
Traditional schools teach you about English in Bulgarian. We teach you to think in English.
Most students spend years studying grammar rules, yet they freeze the moment they have to speak. Why? Because they are trained to be accurate, not fluent. At Speakeasy, we flip the script. Our classes are designed to hack the learning curve, helping you "unfreeze" your speaking skills in weeks, not years.
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Individual attention. Lessons tailored to your needs.
Classes at other schools are typically quite large and learners rarely get the chance to speak and practice what they have learned. The large audience can also cause people to feel shy, which further diminishes their learning experience.
Group classes have between 5 and 10 learners, which allows each person enough time to practice speaking, to ask follow-up questions, and to communicate with everyone in the group.
Another benefit of smaller groups is that the teacher can pay more attention to each learner's individual skill profile, and thus give detailed personalized feedback, maximizing the efficiency of class time.
Our teachers identify learners' strengths and weaknesses, so they can carefully tailor materials and lesson structure to your needs.
For example, if you are already very fluent, but consistently make grammatical mistakes, more focus is placed on filling in the gaps in your problematic areas.
Likewise, if you struggle speaking, despite a vast vocabulary and perfect grammar, we prioritize practicing speaking in our classes.