Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Thanks for the information. I think I will go in August then if there's nothing in April. I have read that most teachers get around 50z an hour, but have read different things about tax. after all deductions are made some people claim they only see about half their gross wage, then others say they only get 1/7th of their wages deducted. Can you clear up with me exactly how much is deducted from wages?

Callan teachers get paid around 30z an hour I have found. Not a bad wage I guess, but if they are only offering 20 hours a week it isn't that much.

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

So by your calculations, on 120,000 a year umowa zlecenie contracts would earn somone 5100 a month, whereas umowa o dzieło would earn someone 8907 a month. How about the standard umowa o pracę contract, how much would someone earn on that one?

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Thanks for the information, its pretty much what I needed to know. However, a change of circumstance may be happening. My girlfriend will have enough money to go to Poland at the end of January and really wants to get away from here (I live in Luton, a s-hole).

With this recession happening its very hard for me to get a job here, so I don't mind leaving for Poland whenever. So will it be hard for me to get a job as a Callan teacher between the end of January and lets say the end of May? That will be the only teaching job I could apply for seeing as I was going to take CELTA in July.

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Luckily I do not have to pay any rent in Krakow, my girlfriend has a flat on Al. Pokoju all paid for. I have been talking to her today about what if I cannot get a job in Krakow etc, and we decided that if I could get a job somewhere relatively close then I should. I read on one of these forums that it is hard to get a teaching job in Krakow if you are inexperienced, whereas smaller towns would be easier as they are less popular. Somewhere like Gliwice maybe!

We predicted I would spend about 1000z a month living there, thats 400z for food, about 200z for the flats bills and 400z on 'other'. That would mean I could stay there for 4 months unemployed. So, its pretty tight! Our main worry is that fact I have not got much money and am inexperienced, though I guess that doesn't matter too much with the Callan.

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

So, if all goes to plan I will go to Krakow and visit every single Callan School in the city and hopefully get a job. If not lets assume I go somewhere like Gliwice and get a job there. This would mean I have to pay rent, which I think is cheaper than in Krakow, yet the wages are about the same?

From what I read the Katowice area has very cheap housing yet people have about the same wages as Krakow, my girlfriend says its cheap there because no-one likes it and its ugly. But if they pay well and the accommodation is cheap then thats all fine with me! I was even looking at Kielce, but apparently the average wage there is little over 1000z a month compared to about 3000z in Krakow. Does the average wage in an area even affect how much a Callan Teacher would make?

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Hmmm, Krakow doesn't sound so nice to work in, but it has to be done! Yeah that would be great if I could speak to someone who taught there.

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Yeah I thought it was nice when I visited, nightlife weren't too bad either. Plenty of students around to try give private lessons to!

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Yeah, i'm sure a lot of people are advertising for private lessons, i have seen a lot on Gumtree. Maybe i'll make some professional looking leaflets with a company and print off about 2500 of them! Even making a quick website with 'past students' of mine on there haha.

The nightlife is a bit different to England I think, here we have huge superclubs, in Krakow it seemed it was mainly bars. The best place I ever went to was when I lived in Nottingham.

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

Thanks very much for all the information provided anyway. I'll let you know how it goes with everything, if you have anything more you can tell me in the future, i'm always willing to listen to advice. Thanks again

Work / Advice on WHEN to go to Poland to teach English [30]

I did some research on jobseekers allowance, I would only be able to claim it if it was contributions based, I would get nothing with income based allowance!

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

Isn't Top English School a callan school? Its listed on the callan website, if it is then you don't need any qualifictions to work there

Life / How much do you spend a week (or month) on food shopping in Poland? [19]

100z between you? thats very cheap if so! i like the polish pate, and i don't have to worry about the fat being 11 stone (70kg)

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

The boss took your money? How the hell does that work? How much was the pay per hour then?

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

40 is pretty good. So Callan Method really does take no preparation then. So how much preparation goes into teaching normally? Lets say you got 25 hours contracted at a school teaching English, how many hours would you actually be preparing for?

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

How about a non callan teaching job? How many hours a week would you spend preparing for that? Preparing is like working for nothing really isn't it? So even though Callan pays less, does it work out to be the same in the end because of the amount you prepare for the lessons?

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

Do you know roughly on average how many minutes you spend preparing for 1 hour of teaching?

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]

Go visit all the schools in person. Thats what I will have to do this Thursday

UK, Ireland / Free Flights at Ryanair?! (UK / Poland) [39]


'Here, thats me in that mad mile high club'

'you were only in there yourself'

'ai!' (yes)

'you clatty bastard!'

my dads scottish so i can understand that haha.

Work / New English 'teacher' in Poland (I have no qualifications). [119]

I'm in kinda the same boat. I am in Krakow now, I will take the CELTA in July back in England, my local college does it for very very cheap.

How do you prepare your lessons jesse? Which resources and materials have you been using

Study / Looking for English Language schools in Katowice [48]


No it didn't, none of the Callan schools here were hiring, they said to come back and reapply in May or August. I will take my CELTA before then and repply for all schools, not just Callan. I have been teaching students privately, I have a hell of a lot of material to work from. Pretty good.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

I have watched videos and it seems very easy. All I have to do is talk a lot. I'm not a shy person and find it easy to talk to most people so I guess this would help.

Best advice for the interview?

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

Show an inane side ay. So show I have a personality inside me and that i'm not just trying to be formal and polite for the interview. Thanks for the advice Seanus.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

Yeah its in Krakow, at MAK school.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]


No idea why she wrote that, I commented on my FRIENDS video. I'll link you it if you want. You'll never believe he isn't polish haha. The school is in Nowa huta, I visited the school on Al. Pokoju last month but there was nothing going. This is the first I have heard from any of the schools I have visited since being in Krakow, I have been getting by with private lessons.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

I heard its a bad place, hopefully not worse than the area of Nottingham I lived in, now that was dangerous! Thanks, i'll take Seanus' advice, I really need a job here and I prefer Callan Method to the standard way of teaching.

And thanks to Wyspianska! I even apologised to her last week in a private note for telling her to shut up and that she would love me... such a grudge over silly internet chat!

Its at the end of the week. I don't even know how to get there, but I'll get a tram to the end of Aleja Pokoju and try find it from there.

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

Sorry i've not been on the net much the last week or so! My 'training' wasn't really training, they just made us observe a few classes now and i'm being thrown in at the deep end and i start teaching classes tomorrow. They havent even given me a manual to prepare from or anything, I am expected to just go in tomorrow and know what I am doing, I hope it goes well!

Work / Interview at a Callan School [204]

i'm in krakow. yeah i thought it was silly, basically on one day he spoke to us for a couple of hours about the callan method and the school etc, then the 4 candidates were told to come in to observe some classes being taught. i came in and watched 4 classes then on friday the 4 of us had to teach each other plus the headmaster. i got chosen, as did a polish girl, 2 others got rejected through a very bad performance. TBH my performance wasn't great and i really want more practice but i start tomorrow! i am downloading some manuals now but the torrent got stuck, so now i got audio books going. i do not even know where the class is at, i just have to go in tomorrow, pick up the manual and somehow try to ask them the questions without reading the manual?! i do not know what the manual says so how the hell am i meant to act natural? i will have to stand there like a fool literally reading from the manual.