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What was your first EFL job in Poland?
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auhruh



Joined: 01 Aug 2013
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mitsui wrote:
Yes, he left for Moscow then moved to the Gulf. Can't say I blame him.
Drinking there must be a little tough, especially during Ramadan.
Can drink a Guiness in under five seconds.

He must have left Warsaw in 2003-2004. Left Kielce in the rear view mirror.


Left in 2006 for Frankfurt, then Moscow in 2008 then Abu Dhabi in 2009 and worked in Dubai since 2011, but currently spend two weeks a month in Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon. Live in Abu Dhabi with wife and kid Shocked

B-Boy, drinking here is not tough at all. Can get anything here. I bought a bottle of Zoladzkowa Gorzka for 5 USD here yesterday. Very Happy
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mitsui



Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok.
Where is your spouse from?

Yeah, as some people say, long term, Poland is a place where the pay is not so good.
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dragonpiwo



Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin

PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:24 pm    Post subject: ha Reply with quote

People who stay in Poland are love refugees. In fact, many haven't really taught much elsewhere.

I'm working here right now and although I love the place, the money is simply dreadful, the demands high and the support nil.
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simon_porter00



Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 505
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A quick question, and my intention is not to be difficult, i ask out of genuine curiosity. When you say support of course there are two kinds (if not more) administerial and professional. Administratively, some support would be nice or even knowledge re: processes but in most schools - the BC being a noteable exception - this is minimal.

Professionally, though, what kind of support would you hope to receive? As i remember, you are a cambridge examiner, have umpteen years experience, most likely have a DELTA etc. No-one says that they know it all, nor can anyone hope to, but i was wondering exactly what kind of professional support would benefit you.

For example, most of today's DOSses would have limited experience and a lot are simply useless. There aren't many dinosaurs like us on the market, and of those, some are set in their ways. Outside of a new course e.g. CELTYL (which you're not interested in) or a specific area of English language interest is theree anything that would help? Conferences?
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dragonpiwo



Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:15 am    Post subject: erm Reply with quote

I was referring to admin and logistical support.
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dragonpiwo



Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:01 am    Post subject: re Reply with quote

Re the professional development? I am not after that. That said, getting used to teaching little groups in-company has taken some getting used to. It's years since I've had 4 or 5 students. It really changes what you are able to do in class wrt activities and my timing is a bit off as I tend to let successful activities roll on.

The students are 99% great.

Look, I haven't set myself up as this is only something I'm going to do for a few months, so I'm working for a big school getting farmed out. It's not a living wage long-term. If I were to return here for good, the only way I'd do it is by committing to the self-employed, in-company teaching full-time. From what different clients have said, there aren't many native speakers around who are any cop.

I think that the Middle East has also made me expect more out of employers as we are generally looked after out there and money is never an issue.

My wife and I rarely go out but we still manage to average about 7,000Zl a month spending. Even though I am working (part-time granted), my savings are going down every month. That is clearly not sustainable.
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Janek



Joined: 25 Sep 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Krakow, Poland

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 8:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

xxx

Last edited by Janek on Mon Feb 02, 2015 9:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have never taught English in Poland, but I visited a lot as a student. Last time was December 1967 !

I am stuck in the Gomulka-Gierek Era !
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depechemodefan1966



Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 71

PostPosted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 5:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My first one, was one of the reasons why I left Britain. It was at a Callan school in Jastrzebie Zdroj. The director guaranteed at least 20+ hours a week. It turned out that I was lucky to get half that. He met me at Katowice airport, which he said was only half an hour away, but turned out to be an hour and a half. I immediately distrusted him the moment I met him. He greeted me with his cheesy smile and everything about him was fake. My distrust in him turned out to be justified as what he had promised in email correspondence reflected very little in reality.

There was another Brit there and we got on great, which made working at the school more bearable. Working with the director was a complete nightmare. One minute he was Mister Niceguy, the next, like Hitler. I hate working with people like that. After seven weeks, I had had enough of his behaviour and walked out. My mate did the same four days later. In the space of less than a week, he lost two native speakers, which was a disaster given the method employed at the school.

Speaking of the Callan Method, I would rather poke myself in the eyes with a blunt stick than go through teaching like that again.
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dexterity



Joined: 16 Nov 2013
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm still kind of a newbie on these forums. My very first teaching job was at a language school based in Radom in 2013, but my wife and I were mostly at the satellite school in Kozienice.

We were expected to play games and come up with all manner of activities while the Polish teachers decided what textbook they were using, and I still remember how hard it was to hide the indignation when my boss announced that she would be observing me on my first lesson with the book even though I had been teaching for three weeks. It's definitely not a place I would recommend for a first time teacher, and certainly not a place for people in the LGBT community -- going to Poland is iffy as it is. We posed as friends when we applied for the job and asked for a 2 bedroom flat so we could keep up appearances, but it's hard to say for sure whether they knew everything or not.

We moved to Gliwice at the end of 2013, started with Speed School of English and never looked back. We did some ToC work with Level at the same time and made a fairly comfortable life for ourselves.

If it weren't for the fact that she and I both have student loans to pay *shakes fist* we would not have come back to Canada after only 1 year.
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wojbrian



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ligua Viva based out of Zielona Gora.

I worked in Lubin.

Like all schools there was both good and bad.

I ended up getting asked to leave the EU for a year because they did not do some of paperwork. Like most Polish business owners they thought they knew more then they actually did.

However, I was always paid on time on correctly!
They also left me alone and did not micro manage.
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No Place Like Home



Joined: 27 Apr 2016
Posts: 20

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Arrived in 1999 as a freshly qualified TEFL teacher to teach an intensive business English course at a company in Raciborz, no resources, most of the materials missing, no support.

Moved to a private language school for 2 years after that then switched to the State system where I'm still employed to this day. My years in the State sector have given me a solid pension, paid holidays, valuable qualifications (MA and Ministry of Ed Certification) and generally a better salary these days.

I've taught all ages from 6-retired in PSP, PG, liceum, college and uni with some hours at language schools to supplement my pay. Currently live near Opole, one of only a handful of native speakers who've stuck around for the long haul (besides a 2 1/2 year sabbatical in the ME).

Best decision I ever made was to get out of private schools, and every time I am lured back from time to time for a year to be faced with drama queens, unprofessionalism, terrible support and even worse pay, I am reminded why Laughing
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