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Posts by Sparkle_Ravelle  

Joined: 10 Jan 2010 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 30 Sep 2011
Threads: 4
Posts: 11 		From: United Kingdom
Speaks Polish?: no
Interests: rock/metal music, cinema, visiting historical places/museums, socialising, snowboarding

Displayed posts: 15
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Sparkle_Ravelle   
30 Sep 2011
Work / Krakow Salaries Getting Lower? Only Kids Want Lessons?? [6]

Well, it's that time of year again...looking for a teaching job in KRAKOW, (I would rather be in a different city with my Polish man, but he has a good job here & a contract). Problems? Yeah!

Apparently less adults are wanting English lessons these days, schools are losing students and concentrating on the kiddie market (I'm not good as a teacher of little kids). Does anyone else find this to be true?

And....wages! Ha! Comically low. I have 3 years of experience, and when I finished my CELTA I was told unexperienced/newly qualified teachers could expect 45zl per hour. As someone with a CELTA and 3 years of experience, last year I was given 42 zl/hr (gross) at a reputable school.

Now, I'm being offered 36-37 zl per hour gross at my interviews!

What is going on?!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
4 Jun 2010
Language / Polish Slang Phrases - Elephant Me! - Huh?!! [14]

Hey, I came across this the other day:

Ze słownika polskiego emigranta

youtube.com/watch?v=hzMTvcYncDc

It seems a lot of Polish words have doubel meanings ;) But what does 'Elephant Me' mean??!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
3 Jun 2010
Life / Polish men mostly have short hair, why? [43]

I do think you're all over thinking it :p

I haven't noticed any difference between Polish and any other European country/Canadian/American - basically, if they're into rock/metal music, they tend to have long hair ...if they're not they don't!

Of course, just as in England, regardless of music taste some guys shave their heads when they start to recede too much or if their jobs don't allow it.

There's really no difference!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
3 Jun 2010
Life / Polish men mostly have short hair, why? [43]

Depends where you're looking I guess. Most of the Polish men I know have long hair.

All the members of Vader have long hair...Behemoth...Nomad...most of Blindead...I could go on...(these are metal bands by the way)

Go into Grafitti or Ragnarock in Lublin, or Klub Studio in Krakow on a metal night, you'll find a sea of hair :)
Sparkle_Ravelle   
3 Jun 2010
Language / Recommended for learners: Michel Thomas Method Polish Audiobook [60]

Geez! All this from someone recommending 'learn Polish' CD.

I've tried it, the teacher is as far as I can tell, a Polish woman. She has a Polish accent. She speaks good English and speaks Polish in a clear manner helping you with word order and pronunciation. The students on the CD (it's made like you're the 3rd person in her class) are English and Canadian or American.

End of.
Sparkle_Ravelle   
2 Jun 2010
Language / When do you use 'się'? And what does it mean? [37]

Another example:

1 - prowadzić = to drive, to ride
2 - prowadzić się = to behave, to conduct (like: to ride yourself)

Ahhh! Interesting. You really have to think outside of the box when translating Polish to English, no wonder googletranslate can't cope!

Many thanks everybody for your help!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
12 Feb 2010
Work / Is it normal for companies/schools in Poland to be rude? [116]

Hi. I gained my Cambridge CELTA in Poland recently, with a distinction grade. I also have a lot of prior EFL teaching experience. I'm now back in the UK but interested in getting a job in Poland to come back...I miss the culture and my Polish friends (who used to live in the UK).

I've only applied for three of the advertised teaching jobs so far...heard from 2...

One school interviewed me, pretty much offered me the job and said that their next step would be to take up references from my previous employers and CELTA Tutor. They took references (at least from my previous employer - we became friends so he tells me when an employer has approached him for a ref and forwards a copy to me)

However, after that I didn't hear anything from them. I've emailed them, but still had no response.

Another school arranged a telephone interview with me yesterday at 9am and didn't phone.

Is this normal behaviour for schools in Poland? One of my friends says yes, but I find it hard to believe that a company could be so rude!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
12 Feb 2010
Work / International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there [59]

All the job offers I've seen are offering around 1,800 gross and an apartment but you pay your own bills...and that's all over Poland, not just Krakow. It's an existence.

I'm a native speaker with 4 seasons of summer school teaching experience and a CELTA at grade B and yet I'm not being offered any more than that. I've even had two schools offer me a telephone interview, set a time and then not phone...

One school interviewed me, took up references afterwards and then didn't bother to contact me again! (I'm friends with both of my referees so I know when references have been taken and what has been said about me). I emailed them to find out if there were any problems and have had no reply. Apparently if they find a teacher with an MA or whatever in the meantime, they just don't contact you.

If you want to earn a decent enough wage and be highly respected as a teacher - go to Asia - Korea, Tawain, etc. Qatar are offering salaries of £25,000 tax free with free accommodation - you'd be hard pressed to spend £5,000 of that over the year.
Sparkle_Ravelle   
9 Feb 2010
Language / What does 'inflected' mean? [4]

ahaaa! That's great, thank you very much. And gigdictionary's very useful :)
Sparkle_Ravelle   
9 Feb 2010
Language / What does 'inflected' mean? [4]

Hi, I've just come across a note in my language book that states that 'Polish is a highly inflected language so has a much freer word order'

My problem is that I've never actually heard this term 'inflected' - at first I assumed it meant something to do with the pitch of your voice....but this sentence doesn't seem to...and any google/wikipedia 'explanation' I can find seems to be written for someone with a PHD in linguistics.

Could anyone explain to me in easy/laymens' terms what 'inflected' means and why it is different to English? :)
Sparkle_Ravelle   
22 Jan 2010
Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]

Again, I ask the same annoying question; How many out there who claim to know and love English are familiar with Shakespeare, Gilbert & Sullivan, Flanders & Swan, Tom Lehrer, Mark Russell or any number of other great wordsmiths of the English language?

Flanders & Swan? 'Ma's out, Pa's out, let's play rude. Pee po belly bum drawers'
Ha! Brilliant!
Sparkle_Ravelle   
10 Jan 2010
Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]

Although the English language is somewhat "imperialistic" in this respect...

Well, you see there are more English speakers than Polish speakers in the world...it's the most widely spoken language. It's that simple.

Every 'young' Polish person I've met (age range from teens to early 30's) has told me they think Polish is a riddiculously hard and complicated language and so maybe that's why they've been trying to incorporate easier, more universal words and grammar useage into their system....

but this is happening in England with the English language too - we now have 'Americanisms' and 'Hinglish' and even 'Ponglish' !