Advice on Teaching English in Poland

Many places

I was one of the writers of the new method but it has been put on the back burner for the time being. Avalon is not that popular I've heard. A nice name but devoid of content is the word on the street.

As for the Trinity, it's globally recognised so can be taken in so many places.

Right now I am planning on taking the CELTA course in Wrocław in July. Will this leave me enough time to find a position for the fall?

It's a 1-month course so u'll be done in August sometime. It depends on the school u apply to. The starting times aren't streamlined. Oct is common although most schools offer summer work

Everyone you can make decent to great money teaching English in Poland provided that:
You know how to teach
Stay long enough to build up your private clients.weekly
I worked 30 hrs. for a school and about 10 hrs weekly private.
I averaged about 1200pln to 1500pln weekly.
But it took two years to build my private clients.
I loved teaching in Poland I was well respected and enjoyed my time so much I may go back.


Prague is great wonderful city too many tourists though. My advice if you are confident about your english abilities is get your TEFL online for about $250. Then go to Prague and have fun. I recommend the school in Krakow for basic Polish lessons they are great.

polishcourse.com
anyone wishing candid real advice without the meddling of the uninformed feel free to e-mail my account and I will answer you as soon as I can.

I'm highly sceptical of online courses as there is no substitute for real contact and classroom exp. I am assessed by 42 different criteria and the great majority must be demonstrated in a classroom setting. Teaching is an art and its essence shouldn't be diluted by doing online courses.

Online courses should be seen as gathering info but should not be taken too seriously.

Online courses serve their purpose which, as you say, is nothing more than info gathering introduction to the world of ELT. That said, a full 120 hr cert with a whopping 6 hrs of observed TP is not considered as anything more than an initiation into the art of teaching English, if indeed it is an art.

I agree, the CELTA or Trinity courses are far from ideal but they are entry level courses b4 embarking on a DELTA or MSc. To be frank, in my experience in 4 different schools, observations are not that regular anyway.

CELTA gave me a further schooling but I wouldn't say it was worth 950 quid. Especially given the hugely varied nature of teaching. They are just letters when u secure employment. I've had to change tack so many times in teaching. Any course that indoctrinates u in one way of teaching isn't giving u a full picture. U almost inevitably have to retrain anyway.

I have spent very little time at the ELT chalk face over the last ten years or so, which I am grateful for. If I do decide to go back into the classroom at some point in the future, I really think I would rather just teach Callan or some other Method than fart around with whatever the latest approach in ELT is. I just cant be bothered with all the crap that comes with it. It's not worth the effort. Perhaps its best if I leave the teaching to others ;)

It's ur call but choose wisely if u do put ur teaching boots back on. Choosing the right method is key

hi,
I see that you have a DELTA. Did you find the course very intensive? I am thinking about taking such a course, but i am afraid it would be too hard to study for a DELTA and teach at the same time. Would you recommend it?

Alessandra

this is my address

sweetmanalessandra@yahoo.co.uk

Who has a DELTA?

I like Delta too, but lately I am more inclined towards Ridgid and DeWalt
ridgid.com
dewalt.com/us/core

That's because you are a tool.

Harry, how do u imagine ur typical Polish student to be?

Upper management in a medium to large-sized company. But then I specialise in that.

I don't mean that. Sorry, I was ambiguous. I mean as a language learner.

Do you have to have a university degree to teach English in Poland? What if you are currently studying but you have some sort of TESOL/TEFL/TESL certification?

Go for it. You might not walk into a job as quickly as someone who has a degree, or have as many options open to you. Then again, it might make no difference at all. There are plenty of schools desperate for a native speaker on their teaching staff

Cool, thanks VaFunkoolo. Any specific advise for would-be english teachers without college/university diplomas would be welcome.

Probably easiest to find a job once you're 'on-the-ground'. Present yourself well, up-date your CV (resume) and do the rounds of schools in the area. You are more likely to find work at certain time of the year than others - start of the academic year is best.

When does the academic year start in Poland? I think I'm going to try a two-pronged approach:

1. Apply to various language schools et al
2. Advertise as a private tutor for individual tutoring, group tutoring, conversation, etc.

Thread attached on merging:
Teaching English in Poland

Hi everyone... i'm from Canada and i've been thinkin about traveling overseas to Poland and teaching English. I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about this topic, such as the pay and opportunities....

Hi with respect this topic has been covered over and over again. If you do a search in the top left hand corner you will be able to find all the info you need :)

there are a lot people on here that don't spell English words correctly... i'm curious how someone can teach English while they need much improvement themselves. i'm curious because i'm from Canada and am interested in teaching English in Poland but if they accept any kind of teacher, whether they know the language perfectly or not, than i don't think it is worth any of my time..

and thank you uk i'll look into it! :)

I guess it's the Internet hun, and people don't bother so much one they are writing and it's a different kettle of fish when it's your jib. I am a proofreader here in Poland and I make mistakes from time to time, but I changed hats when it came to writing on the net lol :)

You are, are you? I'm curious about people who don't use capital letters correctly. Drop the 'tude, it's unbecoming.

To which the reply is

Do I look like a fukin dictionary?

My emphasis. Easy to make a mistake, innit.

i totally agree, i can't stand people who teach english that don't speak the language properly themselves. I have always been interested in teaching english abroad, Poland would be one of my first choices as i already teach a number of people basic everyday (what i would call usefull) english. I've always thought you have to be a teacher lik Seamus??? am i wrong??