Travel / Tatry Mountains Poland / First Snow [29]


It was snowing in Poznań last night! I went to the pub after going to see a film called Once (great Irish film!)...all was fine and well, then when we left, the snow started...and it kept going...and going...and going.

It's mostly melted now, but still, everywhere was white this morning :/

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


To be honest, I just don't like teaching it. Callan's explanations are truly dreadful and outdated, and it seems a fair bet to say that barely anyone could understand it from the grammar questions 'in the book' alone anyway. And I still haven't found a textbook that actually makes it interesting. Until I do, I'm refusing to teach it ;)

I do like revising grammar with people though - it can be good fun to show them different ways in which the rules can be broken in speech, as well as showing them how I'd use the language as opposed to what the rules say. But Callan grammar?...no words can express my loathing for that.

I actually think Callan realised after writing two of the books that he needed to start introducing grammar, but it's clearly obvious that he didn't understand what he was writing about. The 5th stage is so badly written, even for his times.


I'd be inclined to say that any less than 5 is a nightmare, to be honest. I've found that with larger groups (though again, one of my agreed conditions is not to teach book 1 classes!), they're more willing to make comments about the language. But this does depend on the group dynamics - there's a group in my school who have nearly finished the 10th stage, yet you can see the way that Callan just teaches people to be parrots rather than actual speakers. But then again, there's a stage 3 class who are constantly using their knowledge in various ways and it's great fun - so I think it's a personality thing.


Exactly the same method is used in my school. We all teach different things - I'm interested in getting people to use English creatively, so this is what I focus on. Others will concentrate on their knowledge of irregular verbs, others might concentrate on their actual hard grammar knowledge. It works - at least to a certain extent.

I've also started experimenting with different methods in the class - for instance, making people stand up when they have to read. Or making them turn the chairs round to face the wall when doing a dictation. Or even simply making them do part of the class in the corridor - and I'm thankful for having a boss that lets me experiment in such ways.

But the fundamental problem with Callan, at least in my eyes, is the fact that people can get to the 10th stage and still not be able to use the language at all.

Travel / Tatry Mountains Poland / First Snow [29]

It was just on at the local 'art' cinema here. I was dragged along, expecting to hate it...but was utterly shocked at how good it was.

Life / Price of beer in Poland [90]


The problem with Polish beer is not that it's hard to drink, but if you forget to drink water before bed, you end up feeling terribly hungover in the morning. This happened to me yesterday...after a litre of Tyskie :(

Anyway, beer prices are quite fine in Poznań. 7zl is the most you'll pay in any ordinary place or cafe for the usual Lech/Tyskie/Warka. Many places will be cheaper - as low as 4zl on certain nights. But usually 5.5zl is the going rate in an ordinary pub.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


To be fair, the problem lies both with the method and the individual in this respect. It is a rather nice way of teaching new vocabulary, especially as a good school will allow teachers to really explain the words in depth, using whatever means are available. Combine this with adventurous teachers who will promote discussion and a good, inquisitive class and it can work.

But as I said - people can reach stage 10 and still be unable to use the language. In my opinion, it would make much more sense for schools to weed these people out after the 6th stage and make it clear that they have to start putting in the work at home - and not being afraid to remove people from the class/school if they refuse to.

It's clearly obvious in the later stages just who puts the effort in outside the class and who expects miracles from their 4 hours a week.

'Pure' Callan is nothing short of dreadful, though. He's got some rather hilarious rules written in the books that are so obviously nonsense - and any school abiding by them really are just after people's money.


This is the entire problem with Callan. People with a sense of adventure will use the language to make a point, and will use whatever words they can to answer even the most ridiculous questions. But equally so, the dull people will simply want to be parrots - and this is where it fails.

My favourite trick at the moment is to ask some daft questions in among the serious questions - asking someone 'is this a chair?'...getting 'yes, it's a chair' in response...then looking at them with a serious face and asking why. I've had some amusing responses to this, and it makes life far more fun.

Having said this, I'm becoming rapidly of the opinion that Callan is for young people. I've seen so many older people struggle with it that it's obvious that while the structure appeals, the actual 'method' is simply too flawed for people to benefit from it. Younger people however will appreciate deviating from the norm and have much less expectations of what it'll do for them - and these are the people it works for.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


Yup, or even better, the old bag in one of the groups who complained about not being able to understand my accent, complained about not being corrected enough (she's bad enough to the point where demanding complete correctness would take all week!) and complained about everything else. The temptation to tell her to simply shut up and accept that she'll never speak as good as me is..well...overwhelming at times :P

It's very telling that in our most advanced (nearly at the end of stage 10) group - the older ones are very bad at using the language and almost never ask questions, while the younger (20's/30's) ones are forever enquiring and probing into the use of the language.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


The old bag in question even tried to tell me that my pronouncation of 'am' was wrong.

Definitely one of those 'errm...look out of the window...try not to laugh in her face...' moments. It transpired that she didn't even realise that American and British accents are significantly different.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


I had an individual lesson with one guy that took his grammar very seriously. He was rubbish at actually being able to complete grammar exercises, but anyway.

I was speaking to him as you do, not in any formal lesson context, but rather just to assess his ability to speak the language. All was fine, until he suddenly stops me and informs me that I've been mixing up the past simple and the past participle. Cue a look of 'huh...?' - followed by him pointing out examples where I had been using them wrongly.

Absolutely unbelievable - so I took my revenge and gave him half an hour on how we can mix them up freely in speech and it's unlikely that anyone will care less.


Problem is, again referring back to the old bag - she couldn't understand the most basic principle that if she was struggling with my accent, she'd probably struggle in the UK full stop. I've got your generic Mile-End accent (you know what I mean :P) and talk quite clearly when teaching, so...

I've taught some fun classes on the diversity of English, though.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


I'd never give a job to someone from Dundee! I'd be scared that he would steal everything from the school, or that he wouldn't bother to take a bath for several months.


No homework too with Callan, don't forget that ;)

(having said this, it's a toss up as to who is more irritating - those that do nothing but memorise the answers word for word, or those that don't look at anything English related between classes)

Law / Warehouses in Poland [4]

If there are such warehouses, why aren't they selling the products in Poland?

There's a hysterical 'chinski market' in Poznan near the PKS station which sells the kind of garbage that you'd expect in the worst of the worst pound shops in the UK. For three times the price.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


I was starting to get worried... :P


To be honest, I don't know. I like my school, and so far this week, I've been teaching an equal amount of Callan and non-Callan - and even the Callan classes have been...shall we say not 'pure' Callan ;) I'm not bored senseless yet, so that's something to consider - and to be honest, many schools in Poznań appear to have an absolutely dreadful atmosphere. Better to be teaching Callan among other things in a good school and environment than to go elsewhere and end up thoroughly miserable, I think.

Having said this, if I was forced to teach Callan as he intended it, I'd have gone mental by now. Thankfully, my school allows me to do different things - I made an entire class face the walls to do a dictation, for instance. Worked a treat, too :D

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


No, please, anything but this. I can't stand him anymore :(

Actually, I'm starting to think that if you take the non-grammar parts of Callan, combine it with proper grammar teaching (or heck, just working your way through Murphy!) and with teachers who can adapt easily and can ask thought provoking questions, then it might just be a successful formula.

But it would require teachers who can think outside of the box - anyone without imagination would surely fall down on the altering-Callan question part, and poor teachers would struggle with effectively teaching the grammar.

Having said this - we're doing a variation on this with one class, where they get simply the new words from Callan each class, combined with grammar teaching, conversations and a reading/dictation each time. It seems to work, but this could be because they're an adventurous group who aren't afraid to talk. It wouldn't work with old Polish hags, I think ;)

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


The female Morningside accent is probably almost perfect for such teaching - if you think about how soft and melodic it is, it's incredibly nice to listen to and almost soothing in a way.

West Coast can be a nightmare though, I know a guy from Fort William who speaks what sounds like the bastard love child of someone from Shetland crossed with an Irish person. And the Gaelic speaking areas? No way, they sound like Americans at times :s

But I find the ones who are complaining about accents to be poor learners in general - I had a couple of guys yesterday who were completely terrified of having me teach them. By the end, they said that I've got the clearest accent out of anyone teaching them. But the aforementioned old hag had problems - coincidence or not that she's also one of the worst students?

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


The newbie teachers at my school (Polish) are on that per hour. In all honesty, I'd recommend exploiting the situation for what it's worth. There's always ways and means to do so, and to pay you 25PLN/hour is simply insulting.

But then again, it is March...perhaps simply accepting this for now might not be such a bad move, but I'd keep applying elsewhere and see if anything else comes up.

As for the crisis? What crisis? We actually seem to have more private classes than before in my school ;s

Work / JOBS IN Hp AND GOOGLE IN WROCLAW [17]

If you're talking about needing to make 1000zl a month, then you'll struggle. Polish universities don't understand the need to schedule classes at sensible times, so you might find yourself with two evening classes and two afternoon classes - thereby cutting into the hours that you can actually work.

10zl an hour should be easy though.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


And of course, the second that you get a better offer elsewhere, feel free to take it to them (after being paid!) and tell them that they need to either better the offer or you'll leave. If you've got a better offer one week before payday, you can just be conveniently 'sick' for a week while you work at the other place to make sure that you get paid.

Certainly, don't hold any morals - they'll unlikely have any morals when it comes to you, so there's no harm in screwing them over if needs be.

As for the expectations - it does depend. If you can do whatever the hell you want in the class and you're not being held to doing things 'by the book' - then it's no big deal and you really don't need to be trained. But if you're being expected to teach perfect 'method' lessons (like a certain DoS in Poznań!) without knowing the material, then don't take it seriously and be ready to quit at any moment.

25PLN an hour might not be a terrible deal if the school is ten minutes walk away and you've got the freedom to piss about as your conscience dictates ;)

(incidentally, my golden rule is as follows : if the school has a well stocked library of textbooks and other materials, including things that the teachers have written, combined with free access to a photocopier as you need it, then it's likely to be good. If they don't have these things, then be very careful...)

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


It depends on the attitude of the school and teachers too, really. I could name a school in Poznań where any creativity on the part of the teacher or the students is frowned upon as NOT BEING PART OF THE METHOD! - but thankfully, my school realises that keeping people happy is the key to success and ultimately more money for everyone.

Part of this is undoubtably recognising and encouraging 'different' answers to reflect reality - and skill on the teachers part in being able to change the questions without thought. One of my favourite tricks is to take them physically outside of the classroom to illustrate the difference between inside and outside, for instance.

This is where the usefulness of the method is so subjective - I think it has its use in teaching beginners, particularly young people who might be struggling in school. But it's useless beyond stage 4 or so - the grammar explanations are so badly written beyond that point that they simply have to be shunned or laughed at.

But I think I'm lucky in that my school encourages this. For instance, lately, I've noticed a lot of people mixing up is and are. So, I've been on a mission to check every single beginner class for this - and I'd like to think that it's working. It certainly seems to be, but we'll see.

(incidentally, as an aside...I had to take an exam with a rather dire/boring/dull/whatever group last week. They'd just finished stage 3 of the book - and they all passed. Yet more proof that for many of these people that complain about accents, the problem isn't with the teacher, but with the individual.)

Work / JOBS IN Hp AND GOOGLE IN WROCLAW [17]

There's people working on public road projects in Poznań that are earning less than that - for a job that is physically demanding and exhausting.

Life / Driving lessons, poznan [12]

The one mentioned is a good one, although pricey (1700zl) if you're not taking the classes in Polish. My girlfriend's with them at the minute and she has no complaints, and the guy running the school is a very straight forward, no bullshit kind of guy.

Be warned though, you need to have a sworn translator present during the test - and these aren't cheap at all. I was quoted 120PLN for an hour's translation, for instance.

Life / Driving lessons, poznan [12]

That's not inclusive of the test costs - just the 30 hours of theory, first aid and 30 hours of driving.

But if you speak Polish, then you can get driving lessons in Poznan for as little as 950zl all in.

Life / Driving lessons, poznan [12]


Can be, but it depends on the test centre.

The two parts of the driving portion of the test need a sworn translator. There's no way round this - it's enshrined in law.

As for 38% failing - is 250zl a time really going to break the bank?

Law / Bailing out the Polish Zloty.... [11]


It's falling again, down to 4.72. The interest rate has been cut, governments are falling elsewhere in Eastern Europe and well - I think everyone is just waiting for some sort of collapse in Poland.

I'm not even certain that Poland can afford to defend the Zloty at the moment. ZUS has a shortfall of 5 billion Zloty and this will need addressed - so defending the Zloty might not be possible.

Travel / Ukraine / Poland border travel [12]

To add to this, you're allowed 90 days out of 180. It's not always a guarantee that you'll be picked up on this - but there are some ways round this.

In my humble opinion - the best bet would be to go to the UK. It's highly unlikely that there will be any exit checks if you go overland/sea - the French just don't care enough, especially in Calais. I'm not certain, but I suspect that the Dutch don't bother either on the Hoek van Holland/Harwich crossing.

Once you get into the UK on a 90 day stamp, you should be able to return to the US without any problems. Then, because of the lack of exit checks from Schengen - you could 'accidentally' deface the stamp from the UK with water, so that the date isn't visible on the entry stamp. Then you can return to Schengen for another 90 days without fear - and this time, get legal ;) If they do ask, all you have to do is tell them that you returned via the UK or Ireland and there'll be no way of checking.

But I urge you to sort the situation out as a matter of urgency, and see an immigration expert as quickly as possible. If you get stopped by the border guards (and they do patrol randomly inland since Schengen came in!) and it's discovered that you've overstayed, deportation/ban from Schengen will surely follow.

As for checks on the Ukraine border - the Polish exit checks may pick you up, but you'd almost certainly be picked up on the return into Poland for having overstayed if there was a pair of entry and exit stamps.

Law / Polish VAT on passenger transport by EU coach company [3]

I believe so - I was recently reading something similar and although I can't recall the specifics, there was mention of the VAT being payable at the Customs terminal in Swiecko.

Work / I have a "zero" chance to succeed in Poland - I do not have a degree! [93]

As I see it, the whole problem in Poland is that it's simply far too easy to obtain a Masters level degree in the first place. It's absolutely ridiculous that someone can be walking around with a Masters level degree - yet they might have obtained pathetic grades their entire way through.

The fact that there's many people out there with a Masters working for less than a Callan teacher gets says a significant amount about the actual value of the degree to employers - and proves that it's simply an idiotic mentality towards higher education being a good judge.

I've actually heard of one English school in Poznan that values a degree in any subject as being worth more than the CELTA. I don't understand it.

Work / I have a "zero" chance to succeed in Poland - I do not have a degree! [93]


It is very disconcerting, because many of these people are qualifying with a masters degree without any industrial experience whatsoever - I'm constantly hearing about people who have just finished a Masters degree who simply know absolutely nothing about how their profession works in the real world.

Something else I notice is the tendency for the lesser public universities (like the 'University of Life Sciences in Poznan' to bulk up the Masters with all sorts of absolutely useless modules with no relevance to the subject studied. To me, this simply devalues the qualification even further. It's fine if it's optional - but their horticulture programme for example has many absolutely worthless core modules across the 5 years.

At the very least, they should be imposing tougher requirements to go from an undergraduate degree to a postgraduate degree.

I do notice that many Poles simply do not understand that if everyone has a Masters degree, then the degree itself becomes worthless.


This is the other huge problem with the Polish system. I remeber two incidents very clearly in the UK to do with cheating.

First one, we were about to start the Standard Grade exams. We were sat down and told by our PSE teacher at the time that if any of us were caught cheating, or helping someone to cheat - then it would be instant failure in the exam and possibly a failure across all the exams. It was also made very clear that anyone caught cheating wouldn't be welcome in the school in future.

Second one, we were just starting my degree. First day, we were told very bluntly that if we were caught cheating, then we would lose all the credits gained to that point and probably be kicked out of the uni.

But in Poland, it seems the general punishment is simply to fail the person on that particular test. People seem institutionalised towards cheating, and they don't seem to understand that it devalues the entire system.

There's also, from what I can tell, a shocking lack of accountability when it comes to universities. We were told at my uni that we had to keep all our work as the external assessors could demand to see it at any time - and it could potentially be remarked. Here, it seems that once you've been given a grade, then the grade sticks no matter what - and the concept of second marking seems to be very alien to them.

It's sad, and I think it's a reflection of the general 'People vs The State' hangover from communism.

Work / I have a "zero" chance to succeed in Poland - I do not have a degree! [93]


It's starting to be recognised as such now, I think. But it depends on the institution - some seem to still be doing 5 years rather than 3+2, but the big ones seem to have changed over.

I did see something very sad yesterday. I was teaching a class of 15 year olds, and decided that after they did a test, they could play hangman for a bit. I opened the book, found a suitable phrase and started...only for one kid to try and cheat when my back was turned. For his mistake, I made him stand up and talk about cheating, and made the second hour of the class about cheating.

The tragic thing was that out of a class of 8 kids, all of them admitted to cheating. Even the quiet as a mouse, obviously intelligent girl in the class admitted to having cheated on quite a few tests.

The systematic nature of cheating combined with a complete lack of remorse and punishment is terrifying. There seems to be absolutely no realisation on the part of many Poles that everyone having a magister combined with having cheated means that these qualifications just aren't as valuable as elsewhere in the EU - yet many people seem to be incredibly defensive about the actual worth of their qualification.

But I blame this at the door of the education system here.

Work / I have a "zero" chance to succeed in Poland - I do not have a degree! [93]


I would actually be quite interested to study this in depth - of course, 8 children don't represent the entire country - but when these 8 children are talking openly about cheating and how they do it despite knowing that it's wrong...then wouldn't you be disturbed, too?

The overwhelming opinion amongst Poles I know is that cheating is rife and acceptable - and this is reinforced by teachers not punishing it more severely. I'm told that even if a teacher wishes to severely sanction a cheat, it's often overruled by management because having failures in the school isn't good.


I wasn't talking about native speakers. I know someone who doesn't have a masters degree, yet pulls 30zl an hour for teaching Callan. Meanwhile, many Masters graduates are working for 1500-2000 an hour. Something is wrong here, no? It can only point at an overqualified workforce - and should serve as a warning that having a nice piece of paper doesn't mean that you're actually got any skills.


Academically, it's quite tough, I don't dispute this. The fact that the system often relies on cheap ways of teaching with some ridiculous methods such as requiring students to buy the professors book means that it's not an easy ride academically - but by 'easy', I mean that you can obtain one despite getting crap grades the entire way. It is complete nonsense that someone who obtained 3's the entire way through their 5 year magister can now be considered to be a Masters graduate. In my opinion, this is where the system is fatally flawed.


This is what people have generally said to me - that it's simply now in the Polish nature to cheat where they can. Certainly, given that the current generation of teachers have accepted cheating as being natural, then it would seem that the only real hope is for a systematic realisation that cheating isn't acceptable.

The sad thing is that the faults in the Polish system (little academic integrity, masters being easy to obtain) could be fixed relatively easily.

Work / I have a "zero" chance to succeed in Poland - I do not have a degree! [93]


Oh, I can't possibly comment on the US - I can only compare it to the UK, where cheating is seen as far more of a serious offence than in Poland. Certainly, people in Poland talk much more openly about cheating, like a badge of honour if you will.

Coursework in the UK has the problem that 'pushy parents' will often do it for the children just to ensure a high mark. Which I agree, it's cheating too - but very few people will cheat in tests/exams.

The amount of pressure to succeed is ridiculous in Asia though, I'm not surprised in the slightest that they have sophisticated means and ways of doing so.


It goes on there, too? It's a dreadful practice in my opinion - effectively, you're just buying the grade. I can understand if your lecturer is a world expert and his book is the definitive source - but how often is that really the case?

Law / Paying Tax For The Self-Employed In Poland (Yet more Questions...) [16]

How much are you paying for an accountant Seanus?