ENGLISH STILL PROFITABLE IN POLAND?

In the early 1990s knwoign english or, betetr yet, beign a antvei sopeaker was a huge asset. Teaching English was a goldmine, and it was said that up to 10,000 native speakers of English had come to Warsaw alone. Obviously far more Poles know English at present and some of the novelty may have worn off, but can English still be a good livelihood in Poland? Would that be in teaching in schools or private courses, home tutoring or work in banks and other businesses? If someone is out of work in Leeds or Wilmington (Delaware), would you advise them to come to Poland based only on their native-speakership?

I like your anagrams ;) Did a teacher teach you those? :)

No, I'm in trainign fro teh Itnernationla Typo Olympcis!

Sorry, I'm only a teacher, I can't help you ;)

I don't know about still being profitable in Poland but it should be profitable in the UK. There's a call for private, flexible tutors here.


No. They should really have more reason than that to re-locate from the USA to Poland.

Hmmm... it's a living! if u wanna try sumthing different... come 2 Poland :)

It's still highly in demand as a service. More and more people are signing up for courses. Profitable? For some, yes. I don't like the ring of that word tho. I'm not in teaching to make (a) profit.

First, I wouldn't suggest that anybody move to Poland if they're not serious about learning the language. No matter how many people know (or think they know) English if you don't know Polish here, you're marked out as a victim (or burden to people who have to coddle you and do things for you).

Second, I would have thought the market is saturated but I only teach at the uni and am not interested in private stuff.

My intuition tells me that 'more and more' people signing up for courses indicates that the courses aren't doing much good.

I teach because it's a bit like being Santa Claus. Every day I give these great little presents to my students. Maybe it's only a few words of vocab, or maybe it's the understanding of a difficult grammatical structure. Either way; the look on the face of understanding is worth more than dollars.

I do earn a good enough monetry income too. But if you like teaching, then do it anywhere. If you want to try Poland, why not...

Good post.

If a person is serious about making a difference then they'll move to Poland properly not just to make a quick zloty.

Are the classes in Poland flexible? Here it's difficult for a lot of my Polish friends to get on English courses because they are in school/college hours and their places of work can't be flexible around that.

On the first point, so beautifully put mafketis. One of the truest of truisms on the forum. When I use English, they frown as they know I know Polish. My fiancee has upoważnienie to represent me at various places. I'm not fluent in Polish and I don't want to make any mistakes or misunderstand even slightly. They are quite pedantic here.

We all know that the courses aren't clasically geared towards real learning, now don't we? ;)

PD, classes aren't the model of flexibility. Today's hectic world has meant that more and more pops up ad-hoc thus shaking things up. Compromises can be hard to come by.

My experience is that language schools in Poland don't have any interest in any progress of their students. It is a real business. Warsaw has more than 300 schools - there is a big bubble as well as in Cracow. I am sure that in cities like Cracow the oversupply will prick the bubble. The better schools will survive, unprofessional schools will disappear. Nevertheless it's worth teaching there.

In the school i teach at in Krakow, it's all about the students. The teachers are really committed to them, and alot of times you make good friendships with the students because they know your doing your best for them.

I know, that's why I earlier said:


;)

If I was thinking about moving to Poland just to teach English I would think about it and set myself up as a tutor here instead. :)

I wouldn't mind tutoring in the future, back home.

The market will become more competitive. Since January 1st citizens from Eastern countries such as Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova will be allowed to work in Poland without current constraints and limits. The Polish authorities put a lot of stress on teachers of English from these countries. They won`t need any work permits or licences to teach in Poland.

poradaprawna.pl/artykul.php?id=9537

Let them come. I am not afraid of competition. I have already established my reputation after having taught for 17 years now.


Ooops... One day you may learn you are already married to her after she represents you in the church with your permission. :):):):)

Didn't think of that :)

The relevant churches will be duly consulted :)

But they will teach English with Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovian(sp? ) accents surely ?

Far better to have an English teacher who sounds English, or an English teacher who has the same accent as their pupil if as I presume you are Polish and speak English with a Polish accent which is surely more preferable >

It always makes me smile when you hear someone from another country <i.e. Not UK> speak English with an accent which isn't their own.

It's definitely going to have to be your USP ! <g>

p.s. The Scottish accent is alright here as well cos Seanus is Scottish ? Lol :)

:)

I don't really have much of an accent tbh.

It's mild and easy to follow :)

See I knew that :)

My Mom could never understand people who spoke with Glasweigian accents. Sometimes Liverpool and Birmingham accents as well if they spoke too fast.

Just like most Polish teachers, especially in primary schools, teach English with a Polish accent.
What`s the difference then?? Eastern languages are similar to Polish, so there won`t be any harm.


That would be an ideal situation. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them and those who come prefer to teach in big cities, ignoring villages and towns.


I have never heard of this teaching theory.. :):):)


Yes, I speak English with an accent. I belong to this generation of teachers who couldn`t go to England or USA freely to practice pronunciation, they hardly had a contact with foreigners and didn`t have an access to audio exercises.

However, my accent is still nothing compared to that of some of my teachers at the university, especially, the old ones, educated right after WW2. :):):)


Foreign accent makes people smile everywhere. What do you think I do when I hear a foreign accent in the Polish language???


I don`t know this USP.


Are you English that you laugh at Scots?

In my textbooks published in Great Britain, but primarily in England, Scots are a bit laughed at. E.g., when they introduce a topic of a country boy who is afraid to go to a new school fearing his mates might tease him for his accent, the boy says about his problems with a Scottish accent.

Also, in another exercise, when they talk about Britain`s national parks, they mention the Hadrian Wall and the woman laughs hysterically saying it was used to keep the Scots out.

I guess the English have a tendency to look down on Scots, don`t they????

In the film Trainspotting young Scots talk about it.

Variety is the spice of life. Those accents can be tricky.

It has been said that the salary of teachers hasn't risen like it has for the vast majority of workers in other areas. Well, let's assume that 2,600PLN is the national average. 2.5 times that isn't bad.

It's about time management and combining schedules. Luck plays its part.

Probably true for most of the countries, apart from Russia don't you think ?

Russians have a very strong, hard <or even harsh accent> it's different to the Polish accent. I can tell people's accents immediately <lol> even if they have been in the UK for a very long time. I can differentiate between German, Russian and some other Eastern European Countries but I have to admit I have never spoken to anyone from Moldavia . I met my Moms <Ukranian> friend in Poland <she had lived in Poland for the last 30 years> but I could still tell she wasn't a native Polish person, it was tiny things that most people wouldn't notice.


Yes, I can see that :) I was being a bit tongue in cheek there :)


LOL :)


I'd love to hear that :)


Unique Selling Point........every product or service , if it is marketed correctly usually has one.

Definition:
A Unique Selling Proposition definition can be summarized in one short sentence; Why buy yours instead of the others?

sbinfocanada.about.com/od/marketing/g/uniquesellprop.htm

<reasonable explanation in that link >

It's the catchy phrase at the end of an advert that most people remember.......some people get paid to spend all their days thinking up USP's :)


I was not laughing at Scottish people. I realised when i wrote the post that Seanus is an English teacher. Hence the comment :) Seanus knows I was joking not laughing at him , there's a difference :)


Not at all. However, I wasn't born in England so cannot talk for the English but I was born in the UK :)

:)

I know, Lir.

You are sound :)

Many arguments in my school revolve round whether or not I have a strong Scottish accent..but bearing in mind that I've got the generic Bridge of Don/Cults/Westhill Aberdeen accent, you probably can guess that I don't either :P

Having said this, I do talk ridiculously quickly if I'm not thinking :s

Oi, Seanus...reckon we could sell a few rowies/butteries/rolls/whatever the hell they're called here? :P

Rowies are a southern word. We say butteries up north. Which part of Aberdeen are you from?

Butteries would go down well here :)

Lir, it depends. This is probably right for the older generation who as Pawian said couldn't get abroad from Russia either. Like my first teacher in high school was Tatar... her pronunciation of let's say all -ing endings was so disgusting that I still wince when recall it. As a result I didn't have any desire at all for learning English in school and left it with the maximum what I could "this is a cat" and stuff like that.

The teacher I began with three years ago was Ukranian-Russian which is the same as he spoke only Russian had very unaccented English. He was young and could pratice it with native speakers. One more thing to mention is that Polish schools will be always able to decide on who hire.

It is a matter of quality. And teaching is also a matter of character. If you have no passion, let it ...and by the way ...native speakers are not always better...it is nonsense.

And I know some of those adventurous guys who teach in Warsaw and who try to catch some Polish girls. Mostly they fail...

During my 17-year-old career I have met two teachers from the East. One was a Russian woman who married a Pole and settled in Poland. The otehr was a Ukrainian lady but with some Polish roots because she spoke Polish quite well. She sent the money back to her family in Ukraine.

Both were very nice agreeable ladies.

It has certainly become less profitable for many due to firms not attaching a high priority to English lessons. Still, it depends on where you put yourself.