Looking for accommodation & teaching job in KATOWICE

Okay so my name is jack im 19 years old and I moved to katowice on my own 1 month ago, I am currently living in dabrowka mala about a 5-10min drive from the centre.

1 week into my stay and I already have a contract with one of the biggest english schools, with branches all around poland.

I am now looking to rent a room somewhere else in katowice???
I am a non smoking, tidy person, and would require somewhere to park my car.

I am also looking for polish students to teach on a one to one basis.

where are you from Jack?

Im from the uk, (Milton Keynes)

Here's some very friendly, free advice.

If you expect to find students, remember that they'll be looking at your language very carefully. Most Polish students (except the stupidest ones) would never go near a "teacher" who writes like this -






Think about it, eh?

Its a forum not a test ;)

I agree Jack!! Some ppl on the forum need to chill out with the biggoting!

Might want to consider that if you're looking for students, they're not going to bother with someone who can't be bothered to write properly. I mean, it's up to you -but Polish people generally regard poor orthography as being a massive failing.


The what?

Are you sure it's not a franchise? A driving instructor with no English paid 17,000 PLN to one of these outfits and opened a school near where I live. The logo was ripped off from the Rolling Stones.


Why not have a nice break here and then go back to MK to finish your education? If you really want to teach, you need to take a CELTA course. Poland is full of qualified Polish English teachers, not to mention plenty of foreigners like us. The market is tough and you are likely to get only bits and pieces of work from cowboy outfits. Sorry to sound harsh but these are the hard facts.

I'm also pretty certain that they'll take advantage of him, being so young.

I'm beginning to think that, to become a teacher of English in Poland, the main qualification required is not a CELTA, but poor grammar and spelling.

At least that's what I've gathered from the numerous "I want to teach English in Poland" posts on here :D

It must be they gave me a job? only 15-20 hours a week but it's enough to pay my rent and run my car, so i'm here to stay :)

Let us know when you get paid, eh?

(heard a story a while ago about some very young teacher working nearly 100 hours, then getting told to ***** off" by one dodgy school owner)

I'll be sure to drop a post. ;) It's suppost to be on the 10th (suppost)

No offense but "teaching "( singing a few songs )Polish toddlers or baby sitting them in English would be suitable but please stay away from teaching English to anyone above 5 years old.

I just can't imagine myself learning Polish with someone who cannot write Polish properly, does not have experience and just wants to be my teacher for money because he speaks his mother tongue.

Let professional teachers of English teach Poles properly and offer your services at a Pub or at a shop needing English speaking staff for instance.

You cannot have a degree at 19 and you really must have one for teaching. A CELTA is an investment in teaching and should be taken seriously. You cannot just skip the queue in the way that you did. There are more qualified Polish teachers that could get the nod.

People, let's just take a moment here to consider what's going on: 19 and here with his own vehicle with hopes to "find some polish students on a 1-1 basis."

There's a good chance he's got Polish roots i.e. his name is Jack and at 19 why the heck would he be here if it weren't for that? He's got someone funding him on his year off before Uni. He's just looking to meet and shag as many young women as he can with this particular venture.

The last one I'm sure of and it'll really only be those people that might "warm up to him." He'll have his fun and hopefully not make a mess of anyone's life or waste too many people's money.

Ok thought I better clear things up after the last 3 posts,

No I don't have polish roots.
No I don't have anyone funding me, although I did come here with £1000, I would only have money sent from england in an emergency.

No I'm not on a break from uni, nor do I intend to ever go to uni or further my education in any way.

YES I am working at an English school in Katowice, teaching students from 17 to around 40.
I also now have a few private students that I met through students at my school.
YES I am here to stay and I did come here on my own and the oh so very young age of 19, why?..... why not?

If anyone has any problems with this? I would be happy to meet in Katowice to discuss this further, Instead of you guys just ******** behind your forum :)

It's OK Jack, they are like the old men in the gallery in the Muppet Show, jealous of your youth and optimism, especially the English teachers among them.

Take care, and have fun...

Oh and Seanus, I have known a fair few excellent teachers of English with no degree, although it certainly is more unusual.

It is unusual, yes. They can teach Callan but not much more as they haven't really learned systematically like a degree trains you.

Let Jack learn by himself. After all, life is not a meritocracy in practice and he may be getting some good experience. It's not like politicians or business folk do things by the book so why the feck should we? You take what you can get :)

Thanks Rozumiemnic, it's good to know theres still a few people with a mind of there own :)

It gets better, doesn't it :)


Now, why am I so surprised to learn that. Maybe you should give our old chum Chris Bradbury a ring, he might be willing to put some work your way :D


A thread entitled "Expats: Would you have moved to Poland if it was full of fat/ugly women?" is long overdue, lol.

No offence to the expat posters on here though, especially those who I respect, but you have to admit... this is the main reason a lot of these guys suddenly develop "an interest in Poland" :)

OP: Expecting to teach English with (a) no higher education and (b) poor grammar/spelling is laughable. As someone else said, it shows a lack of respect; it's a dreadful "colonial" attitude, implying that being British somehow makes you better than the natives, and they should be somehow be "grateful" for your presence. Those days are long gone. It's sad that someone your age has that attitude; you should know better. I imagine that you will soon be horrified to meet Poles with better written English than yours.


True, but if language teaching was all about "being a native speaker", we wouldn't need degrees in education/pedagogia. My most recent Polish ex had poor English, and wanted me to teach her. I agreed (to some extent), but explained that I could only teach her how to say/write things, not necessarily why we write/say certain things - that's where teachers come in. I can teach my own professional speciality, but I'm not a teacher (I do have a "teaching qualification" though, but it doesn't mean I can teach anything else).

OK Sid, you might have a point or two there.
Still Jack will find his own way......one day he will be in class and some student will chirp to him...."is that verb transitive or intransitive?" and he will be like...er..... what's a verb?

hmmm....school director will be delighted...


no Seanus I have met a fair few who have never been near Callan, they were just highly effective TEFL teachers in steady employment. They were quite exceptional tis true.....

often a degree trains you to feel superior for no real reason.

Jack, this is a forum where anyone who plays within the rules is entitled to contribute.

Katowice is a miserable and grey city on a par with Aberdeen, my home city. It's about as green as a smoke-filled dump.

A degree helps you with critical thinking and broadening your mind. Some teachers are good without possessing degrees but they are in the minority. Some teachers with DELTA and MSc qualifications are hopelessly over-analytical so it just goes on a case-by-case basis. A higher education is preferred, we should agree on that much.

I joined this forum in the hope that I could find a larger flat to rent,
You have all made it clear that I have no hope of getting anywhere on this forum.

So I will be leaving here now, but no I won't be leaving Poland or what i'm bieng paid to do here
whether I be literate or illiterate.

Thanks for nothing guys :)

Jack

That's a little unfair, to say the least. Several posters above, including me, are English teachers in Poland. Most, if not all of us, have studied hard and gained years of experience in teaching. When we hear about people with no qualifications or the desire to gain them enter the market we feel that the status of our profession may be undermined.

It is a certainty that Jack will have several students whose command of English is better than his. How is he going to be of any help to them?

Imagine this were about any other job. Accountancy, say. I arrive without qualifications announcing my intention to start work as an accountant. I am functionally innumerate, but what the hell. I have no intention whatsoever of improving my education, and if other accountants don't like it, I'll offer to meet them and "discuss it further".

What's a gun doin in yer trousers? It's for protection. Protection from wut? Zee Germans? ;) ;)

Good luck, Jack. It may be a rough ride but that's life. Let me know if you get to meet Jeff, a cool American that lives in K-town :)

that's right....one colleague I had the pleasure of working with for one summer had the DELTA and MA, yet turned up late for every lesson, unprepared and eating a cake.

And she was so up her ass about her quali's!!
'People skills', cultural awareness and respect are sooooooo important.
She was a racist biatch too, and would spend the break moaning about 'bloody ungrateful Chinese'.
Still I had the last laugh when all her students gave ME all the little gifts they had brought over from China for their teacher...hehehehee!

You have NO idea of my current level of English, and if the way i rite on sum 4rum is the way u go by, then great ;)


Ahhhhh MK isn't too bad, and honestly I don't think Katowice is that bad :) there is one main street in the centre that has all the pubs clubs, but I can't remember the name of it.

I've only been here a month anyway haven't seen much yet, I'm still getting myself settled, But I'm only 35km from Auschwitz so i want to visit there at some point.

Then you should save the "text-speak" for other threads.

If you're going to post about teaching English, it gives a bad impression of you. A lot of people have a bad enough impression of young people as it is (like a friend who interviewed someone once, and asked them if they could work Saturday mornings, and the interviewee replied "nah I ain't on dat fam" - I kid you not!).

Better to learn to use the text-speak only when it's appropriate, and people will respect you more ;)

it's not about any other job though iis it?
most of us rushed through a virtually useless 4 week course and since then have learnt 'on the job' - am I right or am I right?..;) OK since then you may have improved your quals, but you could never have done that without that on the job training...I pity my students from those days, and so should you if you are honest.