Job Discussion Forums

[housedog11]

I am applying to work at Angloschool in Warsaw. I really don't know much about the school other than the information they have given me and their website.

I am just curious if anyone has any prior experience or knowledge of this school and how it might be working for them.

Thanks for any help!

http://www.angloschool.com.pl[/url]

[naturegirl321]

I'd also be interested. Just got a job offer from them. They found my CV on TEFL.com

[Karjalainen]

Hello,

I received exactly the same email today so I too would appreciate any information on Angloschool, positive or negative.

Thanks in advance

Karjalainen

[naturegirl321]

They emailed me back quickly. Want to talk to me before they can give me other teacher�s emails. Anyone know about this school?

[blackcorsair]

Same request. Has nobody out there heard of this school?

[George Best]

I haven't worked there myself but have a friend who worked there this year for 2 months only.Why becuase the Director bullied her and made her life hell.And her friend also left the school one month later.The teachers are literally running out if the school.

This school has a number of schools or centres around Warsaw and so you will spend a lot of time travelling around Warsaw to get to your lessons and the day is extremely exhausting and tiring.

Also, the Director picks you up on the smallest detail of your lesson content or lesson preparation and is constantly organising meetings with you to go through your lesson palns and preparation.

From what my friend said to me about the school, you should avoid this if you have any self respect.

[blackcorsair]

Thanks Georgey. I kind of guessed that it was that way by the persistence of their emails and the reluctance to give out info regarding salary and the whereabouts of classes. Sod running round town like a travelling salesman. Was last in Warsaw in the mid nineties. I wonder if it's any less grim a city now.

[biffinbridge]

Warsaw is still as grim as it was, but just add UK prices for going out. A pint of Guiness in my UK local is 15Zl...in Warsaw 20Zl. A double whisky in my local is 10Zl..in Warsaw probably 30Zl. A meal in a Chinky or Indian in the UK anout 60Zl...probably the same in Warsaw. Cinema tickets in the UK about 28 Zl..Warsaw, 25 and so on. I found Warsaw absolutely soulless with no vibe at all when I lived there in 2006 and I can find a party anywhere.
Anyway I've ranted on an on about my amazement at Polish greed and overpricing...overheads aren't going up that much to justify the price hikes and with consumer goods..I'm not sure that it is always demand lead. How a bar can be selling Tyskie for 7Zl one week and 12 the next defeats me...it's more like every rynek is a kind of oligopoly and price collusion is going on.
The Hotels have just changed their old Zloty prices into Euro prices.... and you still get a pillow case big enough to use as a sleeping bag.
They should never have rebuilt Warsaw...it's nearly as ugly as Bratislava.

[sparks]

Warsaw isn't so bad. I used to think the same as Biffinbridge before I made the move the capital. The nightlife isn't centralised like other cities, it can be annoying getting around, traffic is bad, the architecture ranges from pretty modern, to grimy blok grey. They continue to build pop-up apartment complex neighborhoods everywhere around the center. There are a fair amount of interesting things to do though, a free ice rink in the center, lots of gyms and swimming pools. Of course the money is good here, you don't just have to teach at private language schools, or do time-wasting business classes at 7:00 a.m. It's not very touristy, unless your on a stag weekend looking for brothels, in which case there's plenty to do.

[Mr. Kennedy]

I worked for Angloschool in the pre-accession days, so I can only base my opinion on my experience back then.

Firstly, we received almost no in-service training. You may think that for newly-qualified, inexperienced teachers, it would be a necessity, but all we got was a session on how to use realia in kids' lessons. Now that the school is EAQUALS-certified, I assume things have improved.

Secondly, there was very little support from the management, who would jump to conclusions about your teaching based on hearsay. I admit I was only learning the ropes at the time, but guidance was lacking when I could have done with it.

It's true the day can be exhausting if you're travelling to a centre some 50 minutes away from your flat, but that wasn't an issue for me. If anything, I enjoyed the variety of teaching at four different centres a week, and each of them was well equipped. I also found the majority of colleagues to be supportive and helpful; it was a pity some of them weren't responsible for kids' groups, or exam groups. The DoS oversaw practically everything, and we seldom saw her during either semester.

I got to like Warsaw as a city, although sparks is right about the nightlife not being centralised. All the most popular clubs are far apart from each other, meaning if you can't get into one, then you need to take a taxi to try and get into another. Good thing I had some Polish friends who knew the best places to go on any given night.

My advice is to ask about training, but also to find out whether the school can help you open a bank account (they flatly refused when I was there, claiming it was too complicated for non-Poles), and whether you'll be paying tax or just be given cash in an envelope (I got the latter). Looking back now, having worked for four language schools around Europe, I can state that Angloschool was my least enjoyable experience. If you do accept an offer, treat it as a stepping stone - few if any of the native speakers stick around longer than two years.

[joannajs]

Well, since the stories seem to be pretty old, I figured I can shed some more recent light - I still work there
First of all, ALL new teachers get a 2 week long induction training, informing them of what kind of people they will be likely to teach, schemes of work, supplementary materials etc. Every step of the way they are informed they can contact DOS or Head Teacher for help, phone numbers included. Still, it's obvious that having no teaching experience might make your work difficult - common sense, isn't it? Throughout the years several teacher left us, because their life plans changed (so yes, we do hope to work with mature people who can commit themselves to teach here for a year!), health problems (not caused by the director, though - and yes, it was the director who herself rushed this colleague to the hospital) and apparent inability to cope with the demands of the job. The "nasty" DOS supposedly "picking on details of your lesson plan" is actually discussing it with a teacher trying to support and give guidance. Angloschool is a private language school and students vote with their legs and semestral evaluations - if there are issues, the management is firs and foremost trying to help you. Also they encourage you to do peer observations.
Angloschool has several centers in Warsaw, most of which are located in Zoliborz area (northern Warsaw), though there is one in the suburb, and one in the southern part of the town. So yes, you should expect to teach in more than 1 center during the week, perhaps even two, guess that's reasonable from the point of view of the school in case you are sick - then it doesn't ruin the operations of a center.
You get assistance in renting the apartment, having taxes done, visa issues but I may not have full knowledge about that. Also, in comparison to other schools, you get your money paid in a timely manner during those monthly meetings somebody was complaining about (devoted to current school issues, methodology trainings and financial stuff).
And perhaps one last remark: they have this kind of weird expectation here that you will come to work (Mondays included ) so it may not be the best place to work if your intention is to party and drink 24/7. Warsaw is probably not as touristy as other cities but still there are some good clubs here and places to go, so it's not as bleak as some describe it. If you have any further querries, contact me by e-mail and I'll try to be of help

[sharter]

Who can be arsed to travel about a city, teach in different centres and be bothered by a DOS? For a cruddy private language school wage.....forget it. No doubt there are split shifts etc.........screw that.

If you're going to teach in Poland, for god's sake, teach in a nice place like Poznan, Wroclaw, the Tri-City, Torun or Krakow. Warsaw is a dump and I know that because I had a flat there in 2006.

And, students resign for a lot of reasons, not just crappy teaching. Nowadays many run out of money and dump the 2nd semester. Others go abroad and work in the UK etc and earn and learn.

I've been a qualified teacher and teacher trainer for 15 years. Many Polish bosses interfere like hell because they care about profit margins and not quality development. Nuff said.

[maniak]

[joannajs]

Frankly speaking, I'm wondering what world you live in, guys. Some of the natives we get here can't set up their checking account in a bank, and for some weird reason they want to be paid in cash - so be it. Every singe native gets a generous medical and dental insurance package- and I'm not talking about the state run NFZ one - for free and a furnished apartment with internet access to be shared with a roommate - also for free. They earn decent money and for all these, yes, we do expect commitment and engagement in your job. Sure students leave for various reasons, but we should all try to motivate them to stay - for their and our own good. No students=no money, da?
BTW I'm not the school owner

[sharter]

Shared accommodation for adults......that's just a sad reflection on the way EFL teachers are seen as backpackers by most schools nowadays. Students share houses, people who work shouldn't have to.

Free health and dentistry......even my ex-wife, who is Polish pays for pretty much everything for herself and my son. What do you mean by generous? In my current post I have BUPA worldwide emergency evacuation and repatriation as well as free private treatment for cancer etc.

In my experience, Poles are generally very loyal to their teachers even when they know they are novices. What makes them complain is the way they are treated once language schools have their dosh. Moved to different classes as others shrink, changing teachers, discovering that the free conversation class promised by the promo stuff isn't with a native speaker etc etc. Exam class students are the exception to the rule as they often get uptight if their teacher doesn't know his/her stuff. Rightly so.

Then there's the split shift thing;totally ridiculous as is the running about a city in the middle of winter.

Nope that's it for me. Poland's a cool place to go as a newbie when most are footloose and fancy free , but it's really not a place to do all the normal adult stuff in. Get married, have kids and you'll see.....it'll be a constant struggle financially. That situation has got progressively worse.

I've lived in Poznan, Warsaw and Bydgoszcz and have been going there since 95. Private language schools the world over are generally really shabby no matter what a wide-eyed Yank 'doing Europe' may feel.

I'm not sure that the market really needs native speakers any longer.

Just going to jump off the balcony................