Advice on Teaching English in Poland

Chromium I'm new here and would like some help please. It's to do with this topic of conversation but I'd prefer to make contact by e-mail if that's ok?

I would appreciate if you could e-mail me at: marisa.bertonesi@fsmail.net

thank you!

Chromium you seem to be using your examples as an example for the whole of Poland and this is absolutely incorrect in what you are saying. You do not need a qualification in order to get a job in teaching in private schools in Poland as long as your educational background is good and your accent is not bad you will be able to find a job quite easily. I have been living and working here for seven years now and I have met many successful English teachers working without a qualification, even ones with their own schools and being very successful at it. Please, all I am asking is be a little bit more objective in your posts, because you seem to be giving incorrect advice here.

Well being poor and teaching English in Poland sounds right nice about now.... car bomb just killed another member of parliament down the hill from my town... nice sonic boom sound... new something was not right...

be nice I think Chrimium and and ukpolska both have good information to share... perspective or situations may be different.

out of here in a few days...

I have been talking to a Polish man from Wroclaw today as he has been employed on a temporary bases at my place of work. Besides from telling me that there may even be really two million Polish who have gone overseas recently to find work we turned to the subject of employment in Poland. He told me that teachers of English in Poland earn £300 per month and even he said for such a poor sum of money he would not consider it for himself. How can someone work for a month and earn less even that Job Seekers Allowance is in the U.K.? You are never going to buy a house or a flat or bring up a young family on that sort of mony, are you?

Most native speakers working full time earn well above 3000zl a month!

I do not know what the polish zloty is worth but 3000zl per month is still near on nothing. Just think that a Pole in England is entitled to a free council house and put the whole thing in to perspective!

3000zl would be for native speakers working in smaller town and not major cities

Average rent for a flat in a smaller Polish town would be around 800zl

Food and bills a further 500zl

Spending money around 1700zl

Chance to visit a new country, learn a new language and experience a different culture priceless

Seems a fine way to spend a year or two!

How many hours of work does this all involve?

20-24 45 minute lessons a week. It works out at around 10-12 euros an hour.

You are right, but from the posts from most of the other people on this particular forum, they are simply asking about how to teach in Poland, and I am trying to give them simple advice. Obviously, if one has the educational background to teach, then that person does not need the CELTA or equivalent to teach here. But, if they do have the educational background here, they wouldn't be asking how to get a teaching job in Poland, would they?

The vast majority of teachers in private schools have at least the CELTA or some sort of educational degree. Most teachers here do not fit your profile; however, as you have rightly pointed out, there are exceptions.

So, what I am saying is not wrong at all, and it applies to the overwhelming majority of native English speakers in Poland in private schools.


You're right, it's 2 years, not 3.

HI.I would live to teach english in poland.Presently I live in Brazil.any advice

In your opinion.

But I am sorry I have to disagree as I have met many natives without a CELTA or some sort of educational degree who are excellent teachers.


This is absolutely not true as many private schools will employ natives without qualifications for conversation lessons. I don't know where you are chromium but I have taught in Krakow, Lublin and Warsaw and the same rule applies in each city.

Ok, that's true, but how many schools have enough conversation only classes for a teacher to have enough hours to live on? In the 4 schools I've worked for in Poland, the answer is zero. How many conversation classes does your school offer?

Also, I am not saying that the teachers without some qualification are not good, or even excellent, teachers. They very well may be, but you seem to think that getting a CELTA would not help in getting a teaching job at a reputable private school. My assertion is that it does indeed help.

You may know many such teachers, but what do you think the ratio is of unqualified native teachers to qualified ones at private language schools? At the school I work for, and for the other 5 in its network of schools, the answer is 0/~ 95.

I admit I was wrong in encompassing everybody.

you dont need a teaching qualification to get a teaching job in poland

there are many schools, normally in smaller cities, who jump at the chance to have a native speaker on the staff

the celta or tcl cert is normally needed for a job at a more 'professional' or 'reputable' school

teaching english is a mugs game

why don't you all visit Daves ESL Cafe and see the forum on Poland.

loads of info on it.

Thread attached on merging:
TESOL Teaching English in Poland

I'm sure this has been covered before.

Are there many opportunities for teaching English in Poland. My idea is to start basic. Eventually I plan on getting the TESOL business certification and doing Business English Training. I have a degree in business with a minor in computers.

Any ideas and help would be appreciated!

Brian

I've been teaching here in Poland for over 3 years now. I work for Profi and Britam currently and also worked at Speed Callan. I was a trainer in Callan. I also have 2 years of experience in the now bankrupt NOVA but I enjoyed it out there. I have found the CELTA to be largely redundant here, some nice extra letters after the name but of minimal practical value. It just showed me how MSc and DELTA teachers teach. I scraped through my CELTA but who gives a Castlemaine XXXX? Target a school and find out their requirements. Any advice, I'd be happy to help

what course books are used at profi seanus?

English File, English in Mind, FCE Masterclass and CAE Result

and whats the attitude towards TCL examinations - are they being taken or is it predominantly cambridge?

The industry in Poland has a predilection for Cambridge courses. I get the chance to teach CPE privately which is a challenge at times. I'm teaching from this CAE Result book for the first time. Before that, it was CAE Masterclass in Callan. I hope to teach LCCI here but the relevant opportunity hasn't cropped up as of yet

which particular programmes?

and are you noticing english language schools breaking away from teaching english and branching out into a broader range of (vocational) subjects - secretarial skills, IT etc etc

sorry for the barrage of questions but they relate to a conversation i had earlier in the day which sparked an interest - i hope you dont mind

thinking of teaching BW?

not if i can possibly help it

They haven't specified the exact nature or outline of the course but I expressed my willingness last May when I was interviewed for the job. I did Management at Uni for 4 years so it would be nice to apply some of the things I learned. Language teaching is becoming more functional/practical but the branching out process has been tentative. I find there to be a nice blend between grammatical aspects and vocational topics, they are often interspersed and not so mutually exclusive. Secretarial skills hasn't popped up so far, it could be a topic of conversation. I taught IT but at such a basic level. It was one of my stronger subjects in my undergrad. I have to coordinate the workload with my co-teacher so there is limited latitude really, mild deviations from the book so far but that may change. Any other questions? I have to hit the sack soon

and how exactly do they manage that when you have to register then wait on a waiting list they dont get readily handed out you know ... i have been on a council housing list 5 years .... and nothing ... so to say polish people get free council house is incorrect!

lol - not now, no... and i wouldnt want to keep you up

thanks :-)

Be sure about securing a place first and read up on ur rights as a foreigner here. There have been numerous cases of jobs being offered, the paperwork apparently finalised, and the plugged being pulled very late into proceedings, i.e when the teacher has moved country. There was a thread about it. The teaching itself is quite straightforward if u r used to it. I've learned to use my discretion more, e.g the book prescribes pairwork but I do small groupwork etc. What more can I say?

Will,
In regards to "I'm in the US, finishing my last year of graduate school, and I am thinking about going to Prague for a TEFL certificate and then to Poland. Is it true that English teachers are paid so little? I had thought that they make a good salary by local standards." Native English teachers make on average 3x more money than a local teacher. I to Canada returned from Poland from vacation not too long ago. I sat in on classes at a private school and really enjoyed it. The PAY is very good compared to the standard of living. Poland is the highest paid TESOL teachers in Eastern Europe. Also, the usual ratio is that you make 3x+ than the cost of living.

Michal is the only poster on this thread who knows what he's talking about. Wages are terrible. I had to pay my school to hire me and I pay them every month for the privilege of teaching there. I ran out of my savings so I've been sleeping in the streets. Right.

I did my CELTA last summer at Bell in Warsaw and found a job with them in Gdansk. It was cheaper to do the CELTA in Poland than in the US, including airfare, so that was a no brainer and I wanted to take the course in the country where I wanted to work. As a first year teacher I make 2400 zl a month (that's on a contract-I teach 22-24 hours a week)) and another 125 zl for every Saturday I teach. Saturday class is three hours-I included that in my total weekly hours. I live in a small flat about five minutes from school and Old Town. Rent is 700 zl plus utilities, phone, internet, etc. It comes to about 1100 or so every month. I got a good deal on the rent because while the location is primo the school has had a contract with the owner for some time so he doesn't raise the rent, and that's happening everywhere in Old Town. The school also helped me with my application for a residency card-invaluable. The salary increases as you get more experience. Seems fair to me.

I have met teachers at other schools in Gdansk who make more than I do without any qualifications. It's possible. I've gotten calls from other schools asking me to teach various classes such as business English-I already do that through my school-but there's always been a time conflict. I'm a whole lot older than the rest of you good folks here and my experience in sales and sales management has led to a couple of fun in-company jobs teaching management-all through my school. I love teaching and I love being in Poland, especially here in Gdansk.

That's my experience so far. Just my 2 gz.

The school also helped me with the application for my residency card.