Advice on Teaching English in Poland

I'd actually argue that many schools are looking for reliability more than qualifications. There's also schools out there who want to mould teachers to their way of doing things - rather than hiring people with a CELTA with a set idea on what teaching is. Fair enough, you need qualifications to get into the big, well known schools - but there are so many more schools out there.

The one trend that I definitely see is that schools are less willing to hire those that aren't settled in Poland.

Reliability for sure. They want to know that you are dependable and go along with their plans. I've only been off work twice in the last 3 years so I've proven myself to be reliable. You can't plan for illness sometimes.

Moulding, that's a very good word. I have no desire to be overly moulded and I make that clear. I've never been one for following the rules if I feel I have a better vision. Henry Rollins made a good comment, saying 'it's just another version of how people think you should be'.

Roots are important! My marriage has put my feet on the ground for the near future at least.

mullerriceman - Hey thanks for taking the time to put together a good Poland focused web page for English teaching. It will be bookmarked and will refer to it as I make my plan for later part of 2010. At the moment looking at IH CELTA in Wroclaw at end of summer.... then will see from there.

cheers
Lon

Be prepared to blab away about all manner of nonsense. Remember that lower TTT is preferred. It's not you that needs the language practice. Keep the humour aspect alive, it really draws them out of their shells. Command respect, you are at the centre of the class and need to coordinate.

It seems like an lifetime ago that I started this thread but I thought I'd give a brief update on how I progressed.

I managed to find a part time position teaching English in a private nursery and it was one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had. The kids were aged between 3-6 and I taught basic English with the help of the nursery owner.

The children progressed quickly and were soon rattling off the alphabet, numbers and the usual greetings (even the 3 year olds). I got involved in other aspects of the nursery including going out on day trips, helping parents with business English, private lessons with the older siblings of the kids to help them pass the matura exam.

The culmination of my 6 months at the nursery was a Christmas concert including a rendition of Jingle Bells (in English), now someone must have been cutting onions nearby as I had a tear in my eye watching the kids I'd taught sing their hearts out.

There are going to be people considering a move to Poland and yes teaching English is one of the main options, but it does open other doors. Through contacts made at the nursery I got involved in importing goods from China to Poland, internet marketing and a number of other ventures.

Poland is quite a tough place to manage in, many turn up not knowing the language or any people but for those seeking a bit of adventure and are prepared to make the most of it I'd recommend giving it a shot.

I used to have a boring job in the UK, I'm sure some of you can relate to this... stuck in a rut, doing the same old thing etc. Because of my experiences in Poland I now have my own business, can speak Polish and divide my time between the UK, Poland and Ukraine.

Best of luck for those giving it a go! :)

If you're talking about a teacher in a state school, you might have a point. However, as a native speaker in a private school in a small city of north Poland, I found I was on a higher wage than one of the bigger schools in UK was offering in a prime location (Paignton). Also a hell of a lot more than I earned as a factory temp a couple of years ago.

I've seen offers for teaching in London at 12 pounds an hour. Given that 50zl/hour is easily achievable in Poland, you really have to wonder how much money the UK schools must be making.

Exactly. The Paignton school was 'paying' about 8.45 and hour (it was about 4 years ago), but my Polish wage was over 50zl then.

Also, 50PLN in Poland can buy more than 12 pounds in the extortionate UK can. It's good to ask your school to set up 1-2-1 classes as this gives you the skills of a tutor and is some extra cash on the side.

There's nothing wromg with Katowice. Give me a straight talking engineer/blue collar type over those Warsawians any day of the week.
Mtb, tennis, swimming,skiing, foresting - I like it here thanks :)


Christ - when I was doing the CELTA at Hammersmith college they told me not to accept anything under 25 squid as I'd be undercutting the market,and that was a few moons ago :))

It's just a matter of preference. Do you any Americans there with the initials JS? I don't want to say his name for privacy reasons.

You mean teaching at the university maybe? (Scratches head)

Yeah, he does a bit of teaching there too

Only heard of him - never met him. Used to know everybody at the university of Silesia. :) Knocked it on the head, academic teaching was taking too much of my time, I was crap at it, and being an geology graduate I should never have been teaching English at that level anyway.

The bad old days lol

Aha, he might know you then. He's a popular guy and known in K-town

Thread attached on merging:
Teaching english in Poland (Several Questions)

Hi everyone, I've been lurking this forum on and off for about a year now and decided to finally sign up as I have some questions about teaching english in Poland. I apologize in advance, this is going to be pretty long, lol.

First off, I'm a Polish-Canadian, born in Poland, raised in Canada. I speak both english and polish fluently, although my reading and writing in Polish is poor. For some time now I've been considering getting a CELTA certificate here in Toronto. I have a diploma in e-commerce and I earn a pretty decent salary here but, Toronto is expensive and the pay received in Canada is often relative to the cost of living, so after taxes, after rent, food, etc, I don't save money. taking money aside, I just don't like working here, tired of living here as well. I've worked a few jobs over the past ten years (I'm in my late 20's) and nothing is satisfying.

I have read so many different examples of teaching in Poland and they seem to be all over the place, I'm sure a lot of experiences and opinions will differ depending on the individual, but it would be nice to get some more specific answers that I can't find browsing the internet.

Average starting pay?

Does the pay increase over time (if you are worth it)?

Do people ever attempt to make a career out of it?

What happens in the summer when school is out?

Can TESL eventually provide other opportunities if you speak both polish and english?

If things don't work out, how difficult is it to find employment speaking both languages, decent employment?

Is it better to take a course in Poland rather than taking it here?

I heard that some schools provide housing, I wouldn't want to share a flat with anyone so would the school pay for part of my rent if I chose to live somewhere else (assuming they did offer a place to live to begin with)?

Does the school pay for health benefits, does it come out of your pay, or do you have to go out and get it on your own?

How much are avg living expenses in the avg sized city, including food, rent, internet etc.?

Does internet have an upload and download bandwidth limit, and if so, what are the limits relative to the prices?

I know some people will try to tell me that I will earn more living here, but, it's honestly not about the money, as long as I have enough to live, have some fun then I'm good to go. I don't need a lot, I just want a simple life, but I don't want to struggle to make ends meet.

I had a job where I worked about 60 hours a week, the pay was decent, but I had no social life, no time to enjoy anything and over time I've realized that this is something that I don't want, what's the point in slaving so many hours when you never get to enjoy life. I'm not married, and honestly don't wan't to be for at least another five years so worrying about someone else is not a concern, I also have family in Poland, although they live near Rzeszow where I hear the ESL opportunities are slim to none.

any answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

food 20zł per day, room 350zł pcm, flat 1600zł pcm, internet 49zł (6Mb/s download, 512 kbps upload, you have to sign a 1year pact with the devil), Olsztyn 180tyś inhabitants

You will earn more living there :)

It depends where you stay. For many years I was paying 750PLN pcm which included bills and the internet. I still pay under 1000PLN (950). You just need to get lucky but be firm with some landlords. Mine is a legend and there is immense mutual respect for what each other is about.

If it doesn't work out, then you join the queue behind many Poles.

Has it slowed down on the teaching front? I have had a hard time finding anything.

It all depends on the school you are targetting. Some barely have half hours in the summer. I'm lucky that my school has close to full hours. It means that saving becomes that bit easier.

Non-EU teachers are very undesirable at the minute to be honest - too much hassle and paperwork to hire them. I only know two schools in Poznan willing to bother with it!


Warsaw - 50zl/hour. Other major cities - 40zl/hour. Small places - 25zl/hour.


Nope. You will find that you can negotiate up to a set point (for instance, in Poznan, 70zl an hour is the most you'll get from any school whatsoever, and all but two schools don't pay anything near that) and no more. I've got exactly this problem at the minute - I keep being offered work, but nothing over 60zl an hour from schools. It's not bad money at all, but apart from rises for inflation, you can hit this very quickly. It's why most people here long term tend to go completely freelance.


People do, but they tend to gravitate towards public institutions. It depends really - but if you're looking for the serious money, Europe in general isn't the place to go.


You starve. I have work all through the summer (ah, the joys of being freelance) - but many teachers don't.


In all honesty, if they consider you Polish, then you'll struggle without a Masters degree. Any decent job will require it as a de facto standard for a Pole. Of course, you can find other things - but it's very difficult to do so.


Generally, it's best to be on the ground.


Schools that do that tend to be located in backwater places. As for the second part of your question - it's all up for negotiation. Very often, school directors simply have the use of a flat from friends. But don't expect accommodation to be included at all.


Most schools won't pay for it.


In Poznan a week -

food - 100zl
rent - 250zl (for a studio apartment about 20-30sqm)
internet - 60zl
public transport - 20zl
utilities - hmm...maybe 50-75zl a week?


I'd actually say the opposite - it's often very easy to find work in small cities. Natives are few and far between, and while you won't get paid much (25-35zl an hour), living costs are laughably low.

a good point. I have a friend setting up a school in Krosno where there is not much competition. I spent a weekend with the American dude who set up the schools in Nowy Targ and he was doing quite well.

not only is it easier to find work but you become some sort of local celeb. what is more business people seek you out and ask you for your advice, which is rather flattering however once they find out that you are not related to royalty and do not know dozens of would-be strategic investors then the novelty wears off

' it is big fish in a little puddle' syndrome so milk it for all you can

What schools are those?

Program-Bell and Empik. Some other schools do get work permits for their teachers, but these jobs go to people "on the ground and in the know".

I will not go back to Poland without a job or papers. I don't plan on being asked to leave again. Is it more difficult, yes. Is it impossible, no. There are well over 2000 schools in Poland that teach English.

I have experience, CELTA and a degree.

True - but bear in mind that the vast majority are very small schools without the resources to commit to a non-EU teacher. For instance, as part of the work permit application process, you must tell them explicitly how much you intend to pay them and what kind of contract they'll have. Sounds great, huh? But schools don't want to commit to anything, especially with the proposal to stick VAT onto education too.

There wern't that many non EU teachers coming before. It's too bad the whole system is such a cluster f**k!

If I wanted to go to asia they would even fly me there.

I know I am not entitled to anything but why do they make it so difficult.

To be brutally honest, the system does the job that it's supposed to do - discourage people from hiring non-EU citizens unless they really bring something that can't be found within the EU. The process is actually rather straightforward - but complex and time consuming, thus ensuring that people only bother for the best.


The reason for that is simple - there's huge demand and not enough teachers. In Poland, natives aren't really massively in demand, and there's an oversupply in places like Krakow.


It's all about encouraging people to hire within the EU rather than outside it. I'm actually surprised that they grant work permits in the first place for non-EU teachers in major cities!

Thanks a lot for answering all my questions delphiandomine, I really appreciate it.

Oh, be careful mate.

I've lived here in Poland for 7+ years, and have worked for quite a few private language schools and in the end, to be honest, I've opened my own. (joshlangaugecenter.com)

and be careful mate, be careful.

As a foreigner, there are simply many things that we don't know. Every other school I've worked for - I've been taken advantage of. In the end, my contracts put me at around 20 zl/hr which seems ok, but as a professional and talented teacher it's an insult when the Polish teachers whose English is at a much lower level than my own - both in terms of language and methodology - earn on average 50 zl/hr in my town. I don't know what about larger towns, but that's generally the way it's worked here.

Last April while applying for my residency permit (again) I found out that my previous school had me sign something which obligated me to pay ZUS (social insurance, retirement, etc...) on my own. I had no idea about this of course - a new arrival here in Poland. 6 years later, I ended up with a fine and paying interest of more than 5,000zl. Basically - they screwed me over by lying to me.

If you don't need the money - then dude, just do private lessons in a pub as you'll meet people and you won't have to deal with the dishonesty that goes on with lots of these second-rate schools who are doing everything they can to make their last groszy off you.

Hope that helps.