International House - Kracow school - any chances of being offered a job there

Hey Rich,
Did ya enrol at IH Krakow? I'm having the same dilemma.
Are there any past students who can advise? Any recent students?

I did my CELTA there. The tutors were amazing and the course was brilliant.

HOWEVER...there were some issues. The governing body who came to inspect us found that we hadn't observed enough of other teacher's lessons to tick their boxes.

Personally, I don't know where they would have fitted this into the course without taking out a useful input/tutorial session. Plus, watching the experienced teachers we did observe didn't actually help, because those teachers had obviously settled into their own styles of teaching and were actually doing things we were being told not to do on our course! - Good way to pick up bad habbits really!

Secondly, there were issues with being ripped off, because anyone who had come from abroad was made to pay more than they should have.

Thirdly, there were problems with the accommodation that the school owners didn't seem to care about. For example, in our flat the washing machine stopped working so money was taken out of our deposits for it, the cooker's extractor fell off the wall in the night ...and money was taken out of our deposits for that too! (We later found out from meeting a guy who'd been in the flat before us that the same thing had happened to him!)

In the guy's flat, one guy had a broken sofa bed to sleep on (ended up sleeping on the sofa in a girl's bedroom instead as it was so uncomfortable) and another guy got serious bed bugs from his bed!

We were virtually paying the same rent as we pay in England so it wasn't a good situation...but we can look back and laugh!

Declan's scarves are always amazing.
And camp as Christmas.

I took my CELTA at IH Wroclaw 2 years ago.

I enjoyed it very much. It was hard but not impossible. I didn't always like the instructors but I chalk that up to them using British methods.

I am glad I took it. It would have been hard to teach without it. You will learn much.

lf99

I didn't end up enrolling there because of this problem. International House HQ in London confirmed that they had been disaffiliated, Cambridge aren't returning my emails, but "IH" Krakow are still saying that they're planning to run the summer courses, so perhaps they'll resolve any problems with Cambridge by then. At the moment I'm not taking any chances and I'm applying to IH Wroclaw instead. Wroclaw does seem to have a better reputation anyway.

If looks say anything about a program then IH Wroclaw looks decent. Building is right behind Nathans Hostel right on the edge of Old Town; 5 min walk from market square. I dropped in on the school in early April while I was touring in Poland. At the moment trying to decide between Wroclaw (Krakow is out) and IH Budapest... though I would like to work in Poland.

Just need to do the dam application and grammar "test".

Dear all,

Thanks for these posts this seems to be by far the best way to learn what is going on!

I booked to attend the CELTA course in June '10 with IH Krakow, I have paid my deposit and booked flights and then just had a 'funny' feeling about IH Krakow. I have since looked on a few forums and heard some bad stories about them and now I see that they have been disafiliated with IH Worldwide and as you say post leader; are no longer listed as a Cambridge CELTA centre.

I rang IH Krakow this morning to find out what happens next. They assured me that they have been able to go ahead with the May CELTA course and they are working towards still being able to run the course in June, but at this moment in time they are unable to confirm anything in writing. However, I was assured they would be writing to all concerned once they have some news.

I have emailed Cambridge ESOL this morning and am awaiting feedback on what my next step should be. I rang IH Worldwide and they just said (quote) "affiliates of IH can choose to become disaffiliated at anytime, it is their choice...", but they would not say whether or not the choice was theirs or IH Krakow.

If anyone else has more news, or even better is in the same position as me, please can you get in touch via this forum. Any news/updates would be gratefully received.

Kind regards,

Ali

Hi,
Just joined the forum to seek info on CELTA courses offered in Poland. and like "Aliloveskrakow" had almost signed up for the IH course in Krakow.

Can anyone help me with information about what is the demand for Native Speakers of English in Poland and whether Non Eu candidates stand a chance, given the problems of work permits?

I am from India and though English is not our national language I was raised speaking English and well for personal reasons I am looking to move to Poland, and hope to secure a job in field of teaching languages.

The biggest barrier i foresee right now is the work permit ! and whether it is a common practice for companies to actually invest time/money in securing permits for non-eu citizens.

Any info in this regard would be helpful!

Cheers!

I would very much imagine that the only reason IH Krakow is not a member of IH anymore is that the people in Krakow no longer paid their affliation fee. Look at what IH is happy to let schools get away with: pretty much anything apart from not paying the affliation fee!

Dear all,

In follow up to my last post 'Aliloveskrakow'. I have just received an email from Cambridge ESOL, which I am very pleased about. It reads thus;

"Dear edit

Your enquiry has been forwarded to me by colleagues in Cambridge

We are working to ensure that there is CELTA provision in Krakow for the dates you mention (subject to minimum numbers being reached) and will be in contact again very soon to provide further details

Best wishes

edit

edit
Regional Manager"

This has set my mind at ease and hopefully for others too if they have found themselves in the same boat. I really hope the course does go ahead, as I am really very keen to get started!

Regards,

Ali

I wondered why the links just died! Surely Cambridge ESOL wouldn't care less about whether they are affiliated with IH or not? Its one of those things I guess .. either they are working through formalities or the dis-affiliation is a sign of deeper concerns.

There is a certain degree of demand for non-EU speakers. Not much, given the hassle involved, but some schools are willing to bother.


Some schools do, usually bigger ones.

But. And this is the big but. Polish people almost universally deride Indian speakers as being incompetent, useless and unable to speak English properly. Regardless of your own ability, you will always be seen in Poland as "haha, they don't speak English properly" - your only real hope is to find a job in a State school, in which they will take anyone with a teaching qualification and a Masters degree. But the salary on offer is so incredibly low that it's unlikely that a foreigner could survive on it.

It's probably not what Indians want to hear - but Poles have picked up on the British derision towards Indians and pretty much have the same attitude - that Indian English is nothing short of horrible.

And they're right. Indian English is ******* terrible!

You very bad man. Most bad.

Seriously, though, they're OK just it seems the whole country uses a 1948 syllabus. It must be the only country in the world where "how do you do?" is still regarded as the "most" standard greeting for English speakers.

For you guys thinking about Krakow CELTA I was checking out the IH site and it seems Ih krakow is no more. Also at the CAmbridge site looks like the Celta courses are also defunct there. Seems the new CELTA centre is the British Council and they will be doing the courses from now on. here's a link to you can trust but confirm ;) ____.britishcouncil.org/poland-celta-krakow.htm

I can confirm for a fact that the CELTA course at International House, Krakow is really and truly over. I was there in April 2009 and I think they had a good course it was just the school that was breaking down in terms of facilities - that was pretty obvious.

I would recommend people check out the International House website ihworld.com to see that there is no such place as International House Krakow anymore. So I guess that is the end of the CELTA course as well !

Sorry you're right I should have finished off my little story about my experience with CELTA!

Well, IH Krakow are now Instant English and no longer offer the CELTA course, they did offer to transfer my application across to IH Katowice, but I wasn't able to do that as I'd applied via an Agent; Cactus Language and they made alternative arrangements for the course to be held elsewhere; The British Council (please no horror stories!) offered the same dates/same costs and all correspondence is flowing freely so I (stupidly) envisage no further problems... Although I've yet to secure my accommodation!

IH even very kindly transferred my deposit to the British Council rather than return it to me in England whereby both sides would have incurred bank charges.

So all in all, just a slight hiccup and nothing to worry about, for me, I mean. Except that now someone is bound to post something worrying about the British Council!

I read on another forum, that people were very happy with the service and tuition they received from British Council in Krakow.

Thanks Terri that is very reassuring to know :)

I done my Celta in March 2010 at IH Krakow...The facilities, accommodation were badly organised but the tuition from Declan Magda and Basia was excellent I would have to say. I understand that they have since moved to the British Council in Krakow to continue with CELTA teacher training. Because I can personally vouch for those tutors ( they were extremely helpful throughout, and always willing to assist when students, especially me, were having problems time-managing themselves throughout the intense course. I had almost quit and was encouraged to continue by the tutors who really are interested in the wellbeing of the students and getting them through the course successfully...) Then I would recommend that people that were otherwise going to IH, should go there instead. Krakow is an excellent place to do it and I believe that the BCc entre is right on the main Square. The problems I had with IH Krakow were almost entirely to do with the state of the accommodation, it was really uncomfortable and this coupled with the stress of the course meant a lot of insomnia for me which negatively impacted on my overall performance without a doubt. Anyway I passed in the end and can wholeheartedly recommend the new British Council tutors that have come from IH.

I don't think there is all that much more they have to do. They have to send you an offer of work so you can get work papers.

Once you are in country all they have to do is give proof of income and another thing or 2.

It's really not that much extra work.

The non-EU person has to do all the work. I have a binder full of papers they asked for.

Oh yes it is. I've just recently applied for a work permit for someone, and the bureaucracy involved is unbelievable.

For a work permit to be granted, the employer must -

Place an advert in the Urząd Pracy. This must be placed on the EU-wide job offer system, and you must consider any applicant for the job. They will only grant the paper saying that they couldn't find anyone after the search is completed - so this is a good month.

Then, they must take the paper and go to the relevant office with copies (all translated by a sworn translator) of any relevant documents such as diplomas, along with copies of your passport and some other things.

Then you must wait - it can easily take a decent amount of time. They can also refuse it on many grounds!

Obtaining a work permit is *not* a formality for schools - which is why most of them don't bother. It's the reason I can't give an American friend of mine a job - I could do with him to give a few classes, but as he needs a work permit, it's not worth it for 4 hours a week.

Or of course, they can hire a EU citizen who can turn up and work. Who gets the job?

it is rather unrelated but still amusing

back in 94 there was a guy from New Zealand who was the DOS over at IH in Wroclaw. nice enough guy but dyslexic.
He ordered several thousand leaflets to promote the school and took responsibility for proof reading them

they all said International Horse

how I laughed

What a pain in the A$$!

So it is basically the same system that's been in use for 15 years. Not much hassle really, just one well drafted job offer notice and a bit of waiting.

Hello, there is a new CELTA centre in Krakow with the same trainers (Magda, Declan ,Basia) as used to be in International House, Krakow. It's at the British Council and the facilities are a real upgrade compared to the previous centre with IWBs and the accommodation is also very plush. There is also the prospect of the DELTA possibly starting up there in the next year or two. The dates are on the BC website for 2010 are

20 Sep - 15 Oct
20 Oct - 19 Nov
22 Nov - 17 Dec

and for 2011
6 Jan - 2 Feb 7 Feb - 4 Mar 7 Mar - 1 Apr 4 Apr - 5 May (5 wks) 9 May - 3 Jun
6 Jun - 1 Jul 4 Jul - 29 Jul 8 Aug - 2 Sep 5 Sep - 30 Sep 10 Oct - 8 Nov 21 Nov - 16 Dec
see here britishcouncil.org/poland-celta-krakow.htm
Hope this helps,
dextercool

Just found this forum, and wish I had been able to find it earlier to tell you all that yes, the CELTA course is alive and kicking in Krakow! Just NOT at what used to be International House.

The CELTA course has indeed moved to the British Council, which is loads better for all the reasons DexterCool describes above, and also because it's in the main square of Krakow (unlike the previous venue) which makes studying and attending the course there much more pleasant all round :-)

The trainers have moved, along with the course. I did my CELTA with these people once upon a time and they are absolutely fantastic, well worth recommending. It's also worth noting that the fact that the course has moved is nothing to do with them and is all the fault of IH Krakow - I hope the trainers will be much happier at the British Council because they deserve it.

As for working in Poland, I would agree with people who've already commented here and say that it is a great plave to live and work. The pay is not huge, when you compare it to Asian countries, but for lots of native speakers, a year in a central eastern country is all about exprerience. I moved here 8 years ago and haven't looked back, but then, I did marry a Pole, so my situation is slightly different.

I would also echo the idea of working in a small town. There are lots which are very close to Krakow (my town is 20mins out of the city by bus - that's less than it takes some who live "in Krakow" to get to the centre!) so I can make use of the entertainment and shopping whenever I like, but I'm fully soaked in Polish culture, which doesn't always happen when you spend all your time with the English-speaking community in the city. The chances of you learning Polish are not high either. Come to the small towns! Plenty of work here! :-)

Caz

Hi Im Heather,

I'm from New York and am currently taking the CELTA in Katowice. The school is great. All the equipment works and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The accomodation is also quite nice. The flat is huge, clean, modern and is a five minute walk from IH. Katowice is also a nice little city. There are two nice shopping centers, a great little market square and the Mareatska (not sure I spelled that right) which is a strip of pubs, clubs, shops and restaurants which is also a five minute walk from IH. Also from the market square there is a coach bus that runs from Katowice to Krakow on a daily schedule. Its about an hour and 20 min. ride. If you want to be in Poland and want to do CELTA I recommend Katowice IH. I've been hearing some dodgy things about the school run by the British Council, CELTA students showing up drunk for teaching practice and such, and still passing. My tutors are tough but also supportive and sensitive to how difficult the intensity can be. You will be expected to work hard and put your best professional foot forward but you will leave a competent and confident teacher.