Job Discussion Forums

[tbiehl2000]

I heard there are 72 language schools in Krakow so I dont expect anyone to know it all, however...


Which schools are best in terms of teacher support and development?

Who pays best?

Any schools offer housing?

Or anything else you think might be helpful. Thanks.

[tbiehl2000]

Ok this post has been up for a while but no responses. I interviewed at the MIssion and they offered me 25 pln per 45 min. Very low and I suspect they were expecting me to counter offer.
I did a 90 min conversation class at Felberg and they paid me 70 pln. MInd you this is under the table money. Prolog school wants me to be legal and told me they pay 34 pln per 45 minutes and that's net and not under the table. Anyone else?

[Michael Gaylord]

tbiehl2000:

My 2 cents on the salaries: 25 pln, wow, I thought I was making "the worst" wage for a native speaker, in Poland (35/gross/50min), in a smallish city in Wielkopolska. However, if you make over 30, and the school pays the ENTIRE rent (as does mine), living isn't too bad here. I know of people paying 6-700PLN/mo. for rent. Just make sure that the school can guarantee a minimum amount of hours (i.e. 18 or more per week). Privates seem harder to get in smaller cities, although the cost of living is, of course, much lower. Still, I'm leaving this school after my contract, because I know I can do better.

Mike

[Brooks]

I have heard the Stairway School is good.

[gregoryfromcali]

It depends on what you are looking for.

If you're serious about teaching Gama Bell is a good school. Not only is the pay good but there is a lot of training and support for new teachers.

But you have to remember the better pay, the higher the standards, the more they expect from you as a teacher.

[MarkStevens]

I heard Empik was considered the best. I work for them, and they're very nice people, but slightly disorganised. Not too hot on on school/teacher communication, but basically fine. Am starting with Profi-Lingua this week, who apparently win second prize. Seemed to have their sh*t together when I went for the interview.

[Brooks]

yeah, Gama Bell is a good choice.

When I visited, I heard that meetings were on Friday evenings. That wasn`t too popular obviously. But better than having them on Saturday or Sunday.

[gregoryfromcali]

[gregoryfromcali]

[gregoryfromcali]

[Brooks]

well I guess they changed the meeting times since lots of teachers grumbled. I visited back in 2003.

[gregoryfromcali]

[Brooks]

I taught at a Polish university. In Japan I teach at a high school.

Some Poles are lazy and some try really hard.
But compared to where I work in Japan, I would say the Poles I taught seemed to make more of an effort. Poland is in a transitionsal phase and there is opportunity, but Poles have to work hard, and some work more than one job.
Poles don`t have a sense of entitlement (except some at the British Council, from what I have heard).

Many Japanese don`t have a hungry spirit, but Poles generally do.
Lots of Poles are looking to the future.

Many Japanese are looking backwards, by contrast.


Polish students are more demanding, which is good and bad. It does force the teacher to try harder.
But I definitely left Warsaw with a sense of accomplishment.

Teaching in Japan is definitely more challenging. In Tokyo, lots of people are cold, unfriendly, shy, etc. which forces the TEFL teacher to think of different ways to teach and get the student to talk.
I have had frustrating times. But enough good times that I am still here.
Japan has an island mentality and likes to keep the world at arm`s length.

In Poland, Polish people can just cross the border and speak another language.

[gregoryfromcali]

Yes, I find it interesting how different ESL is in different parts of the world.

As each place has a different ways of doing things and it allows the teacher to learn more tools for a variety of situations.

I had been teaching children for a number of years even before ESL. But it wasn't until the first time I came to China that I started to learn how to teach young children.

In China we play a lot of vocabulary retention games and games that focus on structure.

It's not so much that Chinese children are shy usually, but they can be a little shy when it comes to speaking English. But as soon as it turns into a game all bets are off. The children are running around the classroom yelling out English words and trying to outscore the other team.

I took these games back to Poland and not only did the kids learn a lot faster but they also wanted to come to my English classes versus being made to.

I do like the way things are organized in Poland around the Cambridge exams. I generally think of the FCE as an intermediate level, but if a student continues on beyond the CAE level they can usually handle a wide range of situations using formal and or academic Britsh English.

Where as in China the classes vary widely. You may be teaching an IELTS class and then teach a lesson on collquial American English right after it. Or even an English class for ship building.

I have even had some conversation classes with 80 middle school students, although I'm not sure it they learned anything.

It's generally a fun place to teach. The children treat you like you're their uncle or aunt, the teenagers are usually better behaved than in Poland and the adults will invite you to sing kareoke with them.

In China good teachers can go far. A teacher with only a couple of years of experience can easily become a DOS here.

But I imagine like Japan a lot of students rarely use English outside of the classroom so progress can appear relatively slow but most Chinese students are ambitious. It's fair enough to say that the Chinese are obsessed with learning English.

There is even a game show where young people compete with each other by debating in English. It's like a speaking exam, the better their English the better their scores are.