Job Discussion Forums

AussieDave · Joined: 12 Feb 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Long Beach, CA

I lived in Krakow last year for a couple months and am really thinking it's a good idea to go back. However, after looking at some threads in the Poland/Czech Republic site it appears quite tough to get a TEFL job there in these times as it is the middle of the school year.
My situation is
-Australian/US citizen
-Bachelor's Degree
-Looking to get TEFL certified in January/February
-no teaching experience

I met some new TEFL teachers from the USA in Wroclaw in September and they advised of that they were making decent money 4000zl per month - tax free no less so it's definitely possible.
Anybody know about whether schools would sponsor you for a visa?

Any advice on courses which may guarantee a job temporarily, or any other helpful advice would be great.

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

If you want a job guarantee, you might want to consider Caledonian school in Prague. They offer a generic TEFL training course that fulfills the basic requirements: 100+ hours on-site, and teaching practice on real students. I think you can find them pretty easily if you google.

They've been around a relatively long time, and I think most people were pretty much satisfied with the training. The jobs are with their own schools, and might not be in Prague, but outside. I've heard mixed reviews over the years regarding accomdations and salary, but you're looking for just a few months, and it might be an ok way to start out in the area.

Otherwise, Prague's a hotbed of training centres, and so far as I know, they all meet the general standards. You can also find training courses in Poland. I mention this one only because they are advertising for teachers, and I remember that they usually 'guarantee' positions for grads of their course.

The thing working against you is that most contracts in Europe are Sept- June, and there's little work going July/August - this is true in Europe generally.

Reputable schools in both the Czech Rep and Poland can help you get the ball rolling on work visas, but be prepared to be dealing with loads of red tape and hassle - !