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Posts by tankacz  

Joined: 19 Aug 2009 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 17 Jan 2011
Threads: Total: 3 / In This Archive: 3
Posts: Total: 17 / In This Archive: 15 		From: Okehampton, Devon, England
Speaks Polish?: a little but not much

Displayed posts: 18
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tankacz   
19 Aug 2009
Work / Advice on Teaching English in Poland [709]

I am English and have family and friends in Poland as my grandfather was Polish.
I am thinking about trying to get a job teaching English as a native speaker in Torun.
I am due to take a TEFL exam in two months,
I trained as a counsellor in England and was a pro singer for years.
I have no experience or training as a teacher.
I have fallen in love with the town and would love to live and work there.
My friend in Poland has been teaching me Polish for a year via Skype.
My polish is not that good as I am quite a new student.
What are my chances ?
tankacz   
13 Jan 2011
Work / Advice for a worried English stranger / Native speaker who wants to move to Poland [23]

I have been looking around the PolishForums.com web site for general information and tips on Polish grammar and I am hoping that you guys won't don't mind me picking you brain on a more general question.

I have family (all polish speaking and older than me) and friends in Torun and am thinking about moving there at the end of July to find work as a 'Native Speaker'.

I have no experience as a teacher but have recently completed a TEFL course in England. I took English 'O' level
at school but that was in 1986 and things seem to have changed a lot since then !
I am in the midst of learning/relearning the basic rules of English grammar and am struggling with the glossary
involved !
Present perfect continuous. I am sure that wasn't in my English 'O' Level. Lol
I am not a grammar nerd (sadly) and am having trouble remembering even the basics. I realize that I will need
to be doing an awful lot of studying if I have a chance of pulling this off. I am finding it difficult to keep interested when the grammatical terms become, in my view, too technical :-)

My plans don't stem from a burning desire to teach English, more from a burning desire to live in Torun.
My Grandfather was born there and after his death I visited Torun and fell in love with it. I have been told by my friends that one of the jobs I would be most likely to get is a job as a 'Native speaker'.

I have been trying to learn Polish for a year or so and am finding it a bit of a challenge. I only found out today that the poles even decline their numbers ! Which gives you an idea of the level that I am at.

I am being taught Polish my a Polish friend of mine via Skype. She is a Maths teacher and describes my level as intermediate. I however think that she is being kind :-)

So, eventually to my question :

Do you think that it is possible/realistic for a 40 years old woman with very rusty English grammar to move to Poland and stand in front of a lot of enquiring minds, whilst hoping to remember my own name and get through the day ? I have gone into totally new realms of employment in the past and held my own. Eventually doing well but on this occasion I am feeling out of my depth. Is there any hope ?

At school I got the usual 'O' levels, took 'A' level Psychology via correspondence and an advanced cert in Counselling (not sure if that is an advantage or a disadvantage) :-)

I have made a few friends on my trips to Torun, most of them Polish Maths and Geography teachers or English native speakers. I am sure they could help me to get a job. My concerns are in being able to do it well.

I am waking up at night fearful of the day I am asked "Why"
Does anyone have any suggestions or tips that might make me sleep easier or am I biting off more than I can chew ?

Many thanks for reading the post of a worried English stranger.
With kind regards :-)
tankacz   
13 Jan 2011
Work / Advice for a worried English stranger / Native speaker who wants to move to Poland [23]

Thank you so much for your comments. They have been very helpful.
I am not a graduate and I don't think the TEFL course I did was up too much.
It was only a 20 hour course with an optional 80 hours on line.
Some of the people that passed the course I wouldn't have passed, which is
usually an ominous sign.

I believe my intentions are good and my commitment firm but as one of the replies
noted, I so don't want to be ill informed. I'm going to see it though and just try
my best to make it work. I have been invited to the Polish mountains in March as a
'Native Speaker' by my friends school, so that will give me a taster of what I might
face and some pointers on what to work on. The school has also invited me to sit in on
some lessons (English and Polish) to give me an idea of what to expect.

I have some English grammar books that explain the basic concepts quite well. My issue
is with remembering all this 'new' material. I guess I will have to work as hard as I can
and hope to do myself justice :-)

I entered a 'Talent Show' in Torun last year. It took me three months to properly learn, by
heart, the song I sang. That is a month a minute ! Do you see why I am worried. Lol.

The link for it is below if any of you would like to hear it and critique my accent :-)
I was a proffessional singer for ten years but you can't tell from this clip :-0

youtube.com/watch?v=olRfllfJsms
tankacz   
13 Jan 2011
Work / Advice for a worried English stranger / Native speaker who wants to move to Poland [23]

Thank you. So glad you said that. I have the tenses among other things pinned up all around my desk at home and at work. Luckily I have an understanding employer.

I was beginning to wonder if my grammar notes were becoming a little obsessive. Now I am hoping they will serve a purpose :-)
Also in the UK I give singing lessons. Would there be any call for singing lessons (in English) in Poland ?
tankacz   
14 Jan 2011
Work / Advice for a worried English stranger / Native speaker who wants to move to Poland [23]

Thank you so much for your well thought out comments. It has reassured me somewhat. Always good when you are starting to panic ! I have somewhere to live (rent free) for a while when I arrive. My Polish (maths teacher) friend does a lot of private maths lessons and tells me the parents of her students are often asking about extra lessons in English. I have been offered some hours by her school (but not many) and so I am hoping to build an income gradually.

I will be taking equipment so that I can eventually do some gigs to supplement my income if necessary. A local guitarist, with a lot of musical contacts, has agreed to play for me if required. I will need to learn some gig related vocabulary (what to say in between the songs) and am hoping that will come naturally with time.

I was thinking about advertising 'Conversational English' lessons - one to one - and see where I go from there.
As newbies go, I have quite a bit of support in one way or another and am hoping this will be a new and exiting period in my life.

I will miss my family and friends in England but have somewhere to return to if it doesn't work out. So essentially I have very little to lose. It can just feel a little daunting at times but what is life with out fear :-)
tankacz   
14 Jan 2011
Law / GBP to PLN: Best way to get good exchange rate? [22]

Hi there.
I am moving to Poland in July and will be setting up a bank account there.
I will be taking a few thousand in GBP. What is the best way for me to do this and get a good
rate ?
Straight into the bank, change at a Kantor, or is there a better way ?
Many thanks :-)
tankacz   
20 Jan 2011
Travel / PKP (Polish National Railway) is a turn off [47]

I think that the trains are great ! Ok, they might be less clean than some others but I find them charming. The trains in the UK are usually clean but very,very expensive and it is possible to pay a fortune for a ticket and have to sit in the isle on the floor due to lack of seats. The seats are smaller and people are squashed together to get as many on the train as possible.

The Polish trains are the same as the UK trains years ago. They may be old but they have much more room, have individual carriages and run mainly on time. In the UK the trains are often late (sometimes by hours). 'Leaves on the line' can cause a delay and if it is snowing forget it.

Maybe I have been lucky. I usually run the route from Warsaw or Poznan to Torun and have found the trains to be very punctual. I could be accused of merely reminiscing about a blast from the past but I really look forward to using the Polish trains when I am in Poland and recommend it to others :-)
tankacz   
20 Jan 2011
Life / Anyone else suffering from mosquito bites in Poland? [52]

Merged thread:
Allergy to mosquito bites...any advice ?

What I have tried so far :

Wrist and ankle repellant bands.
Mosquito repellant sprays and wipes.
Anti allergy tablets and cream.
Putting either scotch tape/nail varnish/tiger balm on bites.
Staying in a dawn and dusk.

I will be moving to Torun in July/Aug and the Mosquitos have given me a hard time in the past.
Is there any thing else I can try to minimize the chances of being bitten or to relieve symptoms once I have been bitten ?

I realize the obvious answer is to live somewhere without mosquitos but I want to move to Poland and hope the little blighters won't make it too impossible for me to stay. What time of the year do they turn up and for how long do they stay ?

Any advice greatly appreciated :-)
tankacz   
4 Mar 2011
Life / Top-up Poland mobile phones [11]

Merged: Top up mobile phones in Poland? It's working in England.

Hi All.
I will be moving to Poland this year and will need a Polish phone number.
I recently tried to acquire a polish 'pay as you go' sim card and was told that the phone
number would only be active for one month.
If I wanted it to be active for longer I would need to get a contract phone.
Does this sound right ?
I have a 'pay as you go' phone number in England and simply put money on it when ever I want.
Any suggestions ?
tankacz   
4 Mar 2011
Law / GBP to PLN: Best way to get good exchange rate? [22]

Thank you for your advice :-)
I took some money to Poland recently and opened an account with Millennium. (the only bank that would open an account with only a passport as required documentation)

I will need to take some more money to Poland in a few months. Now that I have a bank account would it make sense simply to transfer funds from my English bank account or do the same thing at the kantor ?
tankacz   
4 Mar 2011
Life / Top-up Poland mobile phones [11]

Would you recommend getting a contract phone as I will be living in Poland full time ?
The reason I was dubious is the last time I had a contract phone in England and used it abroad (as I might this time) the bills were huge !

I was also hoping to use a dual sim phone so that I could keep my english sim in the same phone - any thoughts ?
tankacz   
4 Mar 2011
Work / Price of live entertainment in Poland (Torun) [4]

Hi All :-)
I recently sang (as a favor) at a polish birthday party and was asked by the owner of the venue if I would do a paid gig for him later in the year as a solo act, using backing tracks.

The problem I am having is that I have no idea what to quote him !
I have worked as a solo singer and with bands for years in the UK and have tried to ask some of the local musicians in Torun what the average rates are and although they tried to be helpful they were a little tight lipped about cash.

One of the local musicians told me that the music scene in Torun almost always acoustic and I should get a guitarist rather than a full band if I wanted to use it as a way of making extra cash.

My last duo in the UK consisted of myself and a lead guitarist using backing with the vocals and lead guitar pieces taken off the track. The local musician led me to believe that this might not work as well in Torun. The owner of the venue mentioned above however wanted to book me as a solo act.

Any ideas on how I can find a ballpark figure for solo/duo/small bands in the Torun area ?
I have tried to goggle it (in English) but to no avail.
Any thoughts ?
tankacz   
7 Mar 2011
Work / Price of live entertainment in Poland (Torun) [4]

That is what I am trying to get an idea of :-)
In the UK I usually 2 x 1 hour sets approx. Sometimes less but rarely more and I charge £200 GBP. (for a duo) and about £150 for solo work.

I am assuming that this will be different in Poland and wondered if anyone had any idea of how different ?