What is a good monthly salary for an English teacher in Poland?

Let me guess: Berlitz, or some lousy Callan/Avalon/Direct Method school. The bottom of the barrel schools. That's less than half the going rate, and with no guarantee per week, that's a truly lousy offer. Plus experience in schools like that won't enhance your CV, and might actually work against you. I would think long and hard before accepting a lousy offer like that.

I wouldn't have to think at all. I'd just say no.

Dominic is right, avoid Berlitz or Callan like the plague, the pay is lousy and it will do nothing for your CV.

What do you base that assessment on? Do you have any experience as a hiring manager?

I for one have great respect for people who go abroad , work for little money and do not run as soon as they face some difficulties but instead stay and make it work. That makes them more attractive to any hiring manager than someone who goes abroad, earns an above average salary and possibly lives in a company apartment. Anyone can do that.

It takes character, guts and strength to take a job abroad that may not pay very well and make it work.

many years in the industry. FWIW, Berlitz and Callan are like jokes.
I have worked for Berlitz when I was desperate, but I certainly wouldnt put it on my CV. Callan I would not touch.
You are right, you have to admire someone with sticking power. But he would be better off getting a qualification and working in a proper language school.

But most of the "English teachers" in Poland do not go back to their country to continue to teaching career. Most likely they are young folks, looking for some adventure abroad, meet new people and perhaps even learn a new language. They don't return home and work as teachers.

I don't understand why it is so bad to be an English teacher abroad and why they are mocked so much. These guys should be respected for having the guts to just pack their bags and go somewhere else for a while. Anyone can settle down after Uni, get a mortgage and do the "right thing". Not many people have the guts to just simply live and do what they feel like for as long as they can.

In my opinion most people who mock them. Most people who advise foreigners to go somewhere else are simply jealous of the fact they do not have the guts to just pack their bags and do what they want.

actually Romek, I agree with you about the adventure aspect.
Nonetheless many English teachers do return home to continue their teaching careers. There is lucrative work at British universities for example, teaching those thousands and thousands of foreign students who are so keen for a British education. A couple of years teaching in Poland would be a good foundation for moving on to the diploma and MA and better bucks. This will not happen if you are an unqualified Callan teacher.

I am not 'mocking' anyone just offering advice based on experience.

Those who return back home to continue teaching, should indeed think about the proper qualifications. But that's a bridge they have to cross when they come to it. First of all, they start off working as teachers abroad. Some may do it for one or two years and then return home or go somewhere else. Others go back home to continue teaching.

But first they should experience the life abroad and then make their decision. It does not help them if some disgruntled people just mock them. Let them do it, give them proper advise instead of scare them, help them to get some experience abroad and then they can make their own decisions.

A know it all like DominicB, who has nothing positive to say based on the fact that he ran some silly group in Wroclaw is neither helpful nor does it help people to find out what they really want to do.

yes he is overly negative about other people's plans and I have said it to him before.
Nonetheless he does offer a reality check.

It's a question of whether you want to shape your career round your life or your life round your career. Personally I prefer to do the first although, yes, there has to be a bit of common sense and application if you have monetary goals that you want to achieve.

To stick more closely to the actual topic of the thread, are there any genuinely useful tips to offer cmc for the next year or two?

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have $20,000 to finish a university degree unfortunately which is required when teaching most places in PL. I have no qualifications or experience, the only thing going for me is my comprehension of the Polish language which is really only helpful for living there.You never know, this one opportunity could open more doors for me=)

In that case you should go for it


Irrelevant to teaching English here (and best sometimes not to tell an employer at a language school that you speak it well). Useful for life though and if you're a citizen it will mean you don't need work permits etc.

Oh I'm not Polish, and I need a work permit...my employer will provide that luckily. I just have studied Polish for a few years. I have some relatives there though.

Are you eligible for citizenship in PL or elsewhere in the EU? That would make things easier - for example you could change jobs without having to return home...

When i first came to Poland I worked as an English teacher in conversational classes for 66 zlotych an hour. I am German so English is my second language, yet i got paid for speaking English to a group of people. At the end of each class they thanked me for encouraging them to use their English. Teaching is not my background either nor do I hold any teaching qualifications.

Go for it and don't let negative people hold you back. I am not a big fan of people saying "go for it" when it comes to risking live savings and investing into a business. But when it comes to getting experience abroad for the sake of enjoying life and seeing something new, why not? Go for it. Let us know when you are in Poland. More than happy to meet with a Canadian for a piwo and talk some hockey. The guys from the US here in Lodz don't know much about it unfortunately.

I am eligible for PL citizenship but it would cost way too much money to get all the required documents and what not so I'm not even going to bother.

I have already accepted the job offer so I guess I'll be there by the summer. Thank god for the currency conversion from CAD to PLN when I get there=)

I'm back. I am planning to apply to schools both in Bielsko and Wroclaw that use a traditional teaching method. By the way, is this method referred to as "communicative method"? What does it entail exactly? I think its basically creating lessons from grammar books; but I am not too sure. I will also look at some Direct method schools just to fill the schedule, relax, and increase the hours. My director of studies says that having a mix of different methods will be good for me intellectually and energy wise. This summer I will do kid camps to beef up the bank account, but next summer I will do the CELTA. How difficult is it? How much does it really cost? I have heard its difficult but rewarding as well. In the long run, preferably in 3-5 years, I want to teach in the Middle East for awhile. I want to come back to Poland with a lot of money. What are the frequent requirements of working in the Mid East?

Yes,The normal one nowadays. But they might not actually mean that, because...


...usually it's a mix of methodologies, techniques and practices. It's sometimes called the eclectic method and sometimes called the British method. A native speaker wouldn't normally give it a name, though you do see non-natives refer to it as the communicative method. It's also sometimes called the communicative approach. It means that the sts speak as much as possible, that it isn't just copying down grammar tables and that (more often than not the trainer presents some language (often a grammar point in the context of a topic and words that are related to that topic),the sts do some guided practice (speaking or writing exercises or both) which the trainer corrects then (provided they've 'got it' they do some freer practice which the trainer corrects less tightly.

There are other things, skills work and listening/reading/text writing play their part and there are models of lesson other than those above (though that is the basis) and it's more or less what you'll find throughout ELT and also in ESP (financial, business, marketing, HR, aeronautical, technical, medical, maritime, military English). It also introduces language points in a specific order (though they do vary from course to course) and the methodology (it ISN'T a method although the roots are in something that was called the Communicative Method or Communicative Approach when new) is constantly developing with goodies like vocab clustering and Natural Order Hypothesis (don't worry yourself about that right now) playing their part.


Almost none of that. The major textbooks are all nowadays based on this approach so you'll find a lot of it is done for you and the entire internet is groaning under the weight of free resources for language trainers. Plus a lot of the textbooks now have teachers websites with downloadable supplementary exercises etc. Good trainers often personalize these and make their own (though pretty well all lesson materials are based on other people's materials, even the best selling textbook are effectively cannibalised

from previously written ones.

If you want to see some fairly 'pure' examples of the communicative approach, some of the teacher training videos from International House etc have made their way to the internet (youtube has plenty of videos of good lessons). There are many, however the International House videos are old-fashioned looking (and in my opinion heavy on Teacher Talking Time) but I can confirm that they're good examples of how it's done.


He/she is right.


Costs vary - check out prices. Often cheaper in Prague, Krakow etc. As for difficult - it isn't so difficult but it is certainly intense. A lot of info and a lot of work crammed into 4 weeks (forget a social life during your CELTA). Yes, it's rewarding.


A degree, a CELTA and a couple of years teaching for the entry-level jobs. Somewhere like KSU in Riyadh may settle for a year (or less at a pinch since they have something like 1000 Instructors, have a high turnover and find it hard to recruit that many in one go). You'll need probably to do a year somewhere like that to get the Middle East experience that better paying/terms & conditions places there (the next level up) require.

A tip. If you're interested in the Middle East, get proof (a reference letter with a rubber stamp/letterheaded paper) from every school that you plan to put on your CV. Other employers on your CV too. Only one at a time needs to go on the resume for jobs of this type. At the moment this official letter letter is mandatory for UAE (plenty of jobs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharja) and maybe Oman (I forget). Language schools are notorious for closing down and this one factor has caused hassle for many (including me).

OP, do you have a first degree? Without that, CELTA is pointless.

You can obtain a degree in Poland for roughly 15000zl from a public university, so that's where your efforts should lie before CELTA.

Yes, teargas, I got a bachelor's degree from an accredited university from the States. Jon357, I will make sure to get a letter head from each school I teach at. Do schools in the Middle East care if I taught at a Direct Method school? Also, what is the salary/saving potential in USD for entry level jobs in the Mid-East? Moreover, what are the possibilities of working in Dubai-its a very attractive place to live?

These forums are for information about POLAND

Sorry about posting irrelevant information. Anyways, when is the best time to send out Applications to schools in Bielsko and Wroclaw? Is earlier the better?

Yes. ALWAYS!

And send again during the summer. They'll have your CV on their desk, will remember you when they get the next one at hiring time (and may have lost your old one. In Poland hiring time tends to be late summer.

Also check out Dave's and TEFL.com

Hello, I am debating with myself whether I should take the CELTA this summer or next year. Is it better to do it early or after getting some more teaching experience? One part of me is saying "go to a small city like Bielsko and teach at a language school which uses different methods so that i can gain experience and save more money due to the city's low costs of living." The other part says take the "CELTA in Wroclaw this August and then get a job there." Getting the CELTA will be a big investment (6,500zl). How much will it increase my earning potential in Wroclaw?

Thanks

I think you should just do it because the schools that will employ you without it will not be great anyway.
Also, it does give you some idea of how to teach English!

Good point! I will take it this August in Wroclaw.

Most probably it won't incease your earning potential at all. Besides, what's the point in employing teachers of English in Poland once the BBC has this excellent teaching website - BBC Learning English. If only people were not so lazy, they could have mastered the English language with the help of the BBC without any need to pay anything to anyone.

trust me it would.
People like doing classes, it gives them a focus. And someone to blame when they do not learn . LOL.

Yes, that`s a big drawback of American education system .

None. You'll still be at the bottom quartile/quintile of income distribution in Poland. At best it'll help you get an already ****** job. That's like if a McDonald's worker or cashier asked if getting a high school diploma or GED will increase their earning potential.

The last thing Poland needs is more LBH English teachers.... there's already enough of them begging the government for an extra hundred bucks a month.

Wrong! As usual, you offer us outdated info. Big city schools suffer from the shortage of English teachers.

Check a few articles -Thousands of vacancies!
polskieradio.pl/9/307/Artykul/2566970,Nauczyciele-potrzebni-od-zaraz-Tysiace-wakatow-w-polskich-szkolach

glos.pl/wakaty-w-oswiacie-miroslawa-chodubska-to-spory-problem-brakuje-anglistow-matematykow-fizykow-i-chemikow

I can`t blame you for spreading fake news coz as a natural born English teacher, I love correcting your mistakes and errors. It is such fun. hahaha

remember the head of ZNP (Mr Broniarz) claiming that teachers wouldn't find work/turn jobless after the educational reforms made by PiS