Advice on Teaching English in Poland

Check out the ads running at the moment, Smurf. A decade ago it was as you say - now the best places don't need to fly people in. The places that advertise on tefl.com, Dave's etc are either way out in the sticks or have some other reason that they need to advertise outside the country.

In all my years of hiring teachers in PL, I only ever once recruited from outside, and that wasn't a huge success. I advertised internationally a few times, but most of the replies were from Americans, Canadians, Indians etc and therefore useless for legal employment - that or absolutely green newbies fresh from a CELTA who weren't much use to me either.

The answer for any newbie is simple, you can get straight into language schools without a TEFL if you are a native speaker.
The two tricks are 1) look at local towns around your area, don't focus on the cities.
2) Hunt out Callan, Direct method and or Avalon schools.

Now before all the die hard purists jump down my throat about Direct method vs. traditional method etc etc
Remember the aim of the exercise is to help advise newbies on how to land a job and learn on the job.

In short the Direct Method means repeat, repeat, repeat. It is also known as the Callan method (rather out dated) or Avalon method.
Teacher stands with class of up to 10 students and basically drums in knowledge to the befuddled student.

Example of lesson.

Teacher: Hello

Student: er..eum. Hallo!

Teacher: MY NAME IS JOHN (lots of smiling from teacher and waving of hands)

Student: er..eu.Hallo?

Teacher: NO No..... MY (points to self) NAAAME IS JOOOHN (stretching the vowels, stress on the is)

Student: OH..ah...Miiii (points to self) neeeeme izzz JUUUNE......

Teacher: NO No ah **** it... Ok....start again. Hello. (smiles wearily)

Student: Mi neeem izz June....my neem iz Juuune...

And so on for 45 mins.....

It is very easy to do a monkey can teach this method of English. It will give the newbie classroom face time which is the first hurdle for any would be teacher.

You will soon discover whether you are capable of teaching and teaching well, the essence is the ability to communicate clearly and to motivate the student, you cannot study for them.

If after spending a year or so 'teaching' the Direct method you decide you like teaching and want to continue, THEN invest in a CELTA taught by a reputable provider, research them well. Once you have spent your hard earned cash on a cert. you will find yourself more qualified but not qualified enough for the BIG league EFL market.

So you can now crack on with both the traditional method and the direct method.

45 to 50 zl per hour is a reasonable rate to charge, perhaps as an unqualified beginner 30zl an hour.
Many schools operate from 4pm to 8.30pm full-time is usually 20 per week Monday to Friday and often 4 hours Saturday morning.
So if you clear 24 hrs* 30zl an hour that is 720zl a week, 2880zl a month up to 4,800zl a month before tax depending on your rate and the fluctuation in hours.

Busier schools often do in-company training and private morning 1 to 1 classes, these can bolster your income.
The usual problems are to do with how you are registered by your employer for tax purposes and residency etc.
The duration of a contract is usually 9 months, the number of ******* holidays, Saints Days, general bloody days off which result in pay free gaps, the fickle nature of students not turning up this will always affect you take home pay.

Remember Rule No.1

I do not have CELTA but I think that my IT sales background will be useful if I stick with teaching business English.
I met someone here who has zero experience in sales but is teaching a course in sales and marketing.

The blind leading the blind.

If you don't have a CELTA, then follow Maybe's advice in his post.

Looks that way doesn't it.

It beggars belief that people need advice to get into the bottom end of the profession. The only sad thing is that people are paying money to learn English from some schmuck that needs to ask how to get a job in some language factory.

I read other country forums which discuss EFL teachers and when you read about the EFL teachers in South East Asia you begin to understand the true cowboy nature of the industry.

if you want to become enraged by cavalier teaching attitudes follow the link
khmer440.com/chat_forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27960

Hilarious.

It is rather funny - or would be if those jerks weren't getting paid for teaching. Thailand's a bit the same. Nevertheless there are decent jobs and professional teachers in both places.

The market in Poland is a strange mix - in Warsaw it's getting like Western Europe with higher standards expected and fewer jobs. In the countryside, they'll still take anyone. Provincial cities are a mix, but more and more there are plenty of people chasingthe same work with the obvious effect on wages.

I was dismayed to read here about English lessons sold by something called Groupon which means that the language school in question is charging very little and packing as many into the room as they can.

I am not relying on this person for advice but find it sad that this person is teaching a subject with zero knowledge.
But that is why I am also considering possible jobs at start-ups in Berlin that utilize my business background.

Just do what it takes to get your CELTA. It only takes a month and it isn't prohibitively expensive. Just because you speak the language doesn't mean you're in any way ready to teach it. Get some proper training so that you can do decent work and feel some pride in what you're doing.

I did get "proper training" already and I do not think that a CELTA will enhance my resume. I also take great pride in my work which seems to be rare among language teachers.

Did you?

What was it?

TEFL training in Toulouse.


I'm not blind and the reason that I chose Berlin is because it is the start-up capital of Europe. This makes it an ideal place where I can teach business classes. I have a resume that proves that I have talent in that arena already. The CELTA is not nearly as valuable as the experience that I already possess.

I'd argue to the contrary, but really, my opinion doesn't matter anyway. Any prospective employer, however, will definitely not see eye to eye with you on that. You possess business experience but not teaching experience, and you don't have any reputable teaching qualifications (i.e. CELTA). Business experience doesn't mean a thing if you're not a good teacher, and CELTA is the most recognised programme for teaching you how to be a decent teacher. It's much easier for a school to train a good teacher to teach business English than it is for them to train a businessman to be a good teacher. And CELTA is very good at what it's designed to do; I was already a trained and experienced TESL teacher when I did my CELTA, and I still found it a very valuable experience.

in terms of finding a job, which u say u haven't been able to do, then obviously it is.
how did you do 'tefl training' and not do the CELTA anyway - was it one of those 2 day courses or something?

In Europe, there are two papers that matter in the eyes of prospective employers of first level teachers. The CELTA and the Trinity TESOL. If you don't have them and the school is in an area where you're spoiled for choice, like most major cities in Europe, then the CV can go straight in the bin. What's the point in taking a chance on someone who did a Mickey Mouse course when you can have someone with a certificate that means something for the same price?


If you have the resume that proves it, why did you head to Berlin, a city with massive debts, rapidly rising rents and no real business culture except what the federal Government has? Start ups are start ups, they don't have money to waste on business English classes, they need every cent they have.

Why don't you just tell the truth and admit that you went to Berlin because it's fashionable and you'd read about it in some fashion magazine back home?

Ally, hindsight and what you wanted are sort of spinning your wheels now. Try to focus on a workable plan.

With training background and a decent TEFL (what sort of course was it?), get some CV's out to the schools and get a job to build up the experience. IIf I were you I would also consider Ukraine. Although the economy is a bit off there these days and you need to be sure to get your visa/work permit committed. YOu might also try the chain schools over in Poland. Empik, Speak-Up, etc. Work a year, get some experience and then go for the Business English posts if you are sure you want to stay with it.

Ukraine, or even medium sized towns in Slovakia will be more than hungry enough for native speakers. I can't imagine there are many native speakers in places like Kosice or Nitra, yet these places support quite a lot of life. Even places such as Olomouc or Ostrava in the Czech Republic could be an option.

Ostrava? That may not be such a good idea. Good English department at the Uni from what I've heard.

I have lived in Europe for 18 months and came here to visit. I do not read fashion magazines and have other interests. I enjoy Berlin because the quality of life. But your pathetic assumption is sad, really.

Are you even legally resident in Europe?

Yes. I also spent time in pastry school and plan to work in both areas eventually. I'm not sure why you think this is any of your

concern.

it is good to have more than one plan ally, but honestly the CELTA is a great door opener if nothing else.

Because you asked for advice and information it is a critical concern. If you have been inside the Schengen Zone for 18 months illegally you have a whole different set of issues which you will have to face when you attempt to go to work or take on students.

I actually wanted to avoid cities like Berlin but I came here and loved it. But the opportunities in the start-up community are limited.
Many of the companies should probably not get funding. I need experience teaching before I invest more in education. I will probably look for a job in South Korea. I actually prefer teaching children therefore a CELTA will not help. I need both experience and a full teaching certification to get that type of job.

maybe build up some teaching hours with private 'conversation' English?
for an example of my very own conversation learning system, pm me.....

If you plan to make hundreds of pastries and not sell them, why not line them all up in a room and teach them English. English speaking pastries would go down well I'm quite sure.

I like your idea but I actually make French pastries. Unfortunately I would lose money in that scenario but I do think that people who want to learn how to cook as well as improve their English might be willing to pay. I only bake for friends since legally you need a separate kitchen if you want to sell baked goods. ;)

[quote=thetenminuteman]If you have the resume that proves it, why did you head to Berlin, a city with massive debts, rapidly rising rents and no real business culture except what the federal Government has? Start ups are start ups, they don't have money to waste on business English classes, they need every cent they have.

No real business culture? That sounds very much like what I hear from people who live in Munich. The start-up market will continue to mature and while some people think that this city is full of lazy artists, I know that is not true. There are people who come to this city to make their mark and reinvent themselves. You seem to know nothing about the start-up world or Berlin. I never said that I planned to teach English at a start-up. You seem to make too many assumptions and then respond based on those faulty ideas.

There's a reason why international flights connect in Munich and Frankfurt and not Berlin.


No-one goes to Berlin to make their mark unless they already have funding behind them. See also : artists, writers, etc.


I know enough to know that Berlin is not the place to be if you want to do business. It seems that several months on, you still haven't learnt that.

By the way, do you have a valid residence permit for Germany?

Here go again the snobs with their CELTAs. Let me straighten you out a bit. I chose to do the more expensive TEFL course instead of the CELTA in Paris, because it was a better course. It was two weeks longer, had more trainers teaching it, and the teaching practice was much longer. Later, an employer in Paris found me for a very lucrative job. See, how little you know.

For Ally, the smart choice would be Korea, where there are lots of jobs where you work with kids, less pretense, and they value Americans since that is the place where their kids will most likely study later. The initial job might not great, but once you establish and make some contacts, you can do very well. Here, the pay keeps going down and she will not save a penny.

Agreed. CELTA, DELTA, TESOL and TEFL are major components of the alphabet soup of the ESL industry.

They all work for different people. I chose the TEFL and haven't had a problem finding work when I wanted it. II am well aware that there are a couple of places which use it as a qualifier but don't think I have ever cared about working at a place like that for one reason or another. In a similar fashion, I have seen ads specifying age, sex, nationality (not for legal reasons) and other qualifiers as conditions of employment and consideration.

You can work with any of them in most situations although it's always possible you'll miss a screening due to others in the stack having one or another preferred qualifications in the eye of the hiring manager or owner.

As long as there was some student contact (usually 10 hours or more) and 100+ hours of classroom instruction that should get you into most applicant pools.

All that said, I'm thinking about a CELTA this summer. The paper is irrelevant but I enjoy meeting a new group of teachers and trainers. If I was in a place where TEFL classes were common (like Prague) then doing another TEFL would be fine as well. If I was 15 years younger I would go back and complete another BA in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Social Studies and combine it with my other education then work the International Schools circuit.

So, a good TEFL or CELTA work fine. The MA-TESOL and DELTA are great for those making a life-long career out of this as well. Other combinations work based on the individual.

As for Korea, the base qualification I am aware of are a valid BA. I am sure there are some schools which have requirements but if you want to teach kids you can work in Asian public schools easily enough without anything more. CELTA and TEFL classes are taught in Korea and in Japan if you decide you want to upgrade your skills and add some paper to your CV.

Good luck.