Job Discussion Forums

[JessicaW]

So here�s my story� I�m a 22-year-old Canadian female with a bachelor�s degree and a TESL certificate. I don�t have an EU passport, although I am of Polish heritage. (Still looking into my eligibility for Polish citizenship.) My Polish language skills are pretty basic/rusty but I plan on taking Polish lessons ASAP.

I don�t have any direct teaching experience, except for the 25-hour practicum during my TESL course. I do have the option of either volunteering through a Canadian government-run English language school program or getting part-time paid ESL work for a local school board in the next 3 months, so that could help to pad my CV if necessary.

Ideally, I am planning to move to Krakow in January 2010. Before leaving, I would like to have (at the very least) a potential job offer or 2. So far, the only school I have seen posting openings recently is Lincoln. From what I�ve read on this forum, they sound like a pretty good school to work for. However, I�m open to working for any school and also doing some private lessons on the side. I would prefer to teach adults, including businesspeople, or young adults. Don�t think I could handle children though!

I chose Poland because a) I�m Polish; b) I want to become fluent in Polish; c) I studied at Jagiellonian University for 4 months in 2007; and d) I plan on applying for a 2 year master�s program at Jagiellonian next September. I have a couple of friends who are currently studying at Jagiellonian, as well as a few contacts (professors and the like), but won�t really know anyone my age, especially fellow ESL teachers.

Does anyone currently work at a private language school in Krakow? If so, which one and would you recommend it? How much (net) do you make per month? Is it contract work or temporary? Does the school provide any benefits/bonuses (insurance, return airfare, vacation, rent, cell phone, etc.)? And if you know of any furnished apartments for rent near the rynek, or need a roommate, please do comment!

I have a ton more questions, although they escape me at the moment. I know I can�t send or receive PMs yet, but if you don�t want to post in this thread for whatever reason, feel free to contact me on facebook: Jessica Wroblewska.

-Jess

[justflyingin]

[JessicaW]

[Master Shake]

Hi Jessica,

Try a city other than Krakow. There are lots of beautiful cities in Poland that have far fewer native speakers than Krakow - Wroclaw, Gdansk, Torun, Poznan, etc. Sounds like your heart's set on Krakow, but starting a teaching career there could be tricky. As justflyingin wrote, there are an awful lot of native speakers in Krakow already.

[dynow]

jessica, have you been to the other big cities in poland? if not, it's worth a look-see. Krakow is the native speaker epicenter of Poland, so going to another city would already make you much more marketable. if Krakow is your main goal regardless, you could always start in another city, gain some experience and then move. or, look for a school chain that is in both cities, and transfer after a year or so.

I'm in Wroclaw, and native speakers are still very rare here, especially Americans. i spent 1 week last month firing out resumes/advertising on the net, and I picked up contracts with 2 new schools immediately. bulka z maslem.

[Toad]

Hi Jessica,

If it helps any, I'm about to leave my job because I'm returning to the UK. I've only been here a few weeks and its family reasons I'm returning and nothing about the job.

The school teaches the Direct and Callan method and I have to say the manager, other teachers and students are all great to work with. From my experience having a pleasant manager is quite rare in Poland.
The direct method doesn't have to be as boring as people say, this school encourages engagement with the students and encourages students to personalise responses instead of following the exact script - which can create some very entertaining experiences.

The school is in Bytom, near Katowice about an hour from Krakow. I might even be able to set you up with a cheap flat too (but I have to say it's a cold flat because we only have electric heaters - but it would serve the purpose whilst you find somewhere better)

my email address is [email protected] if you're interested and I can put you in contact with the manager.

Tony

[JessicaW]

[JessicaW]

[JessicaW]

[Toad]

HI Jessica,

Bytom is a small town but part of a large network of towns in Silesia. Like you, I was also set on krakow but there are so many natives there...

I lived in Gdansk for 9 months, it's a great city. If you go there I can offer some advice and pointers, maybe some contacts to help you along.

Too look out for: Speak Up in the old town, if the DOS is still Natalia, watchout - she's a dragon, a nasty piece of work. She got quite nasty with me simply for asking if i could observe other teachers to see how they did things. She also quite literaly screamed at me across the school for allowing a student to leave a class 10 minutes early - even though we finished all the material, and extras and the students asked to leave... aparantly I was supposed to tie the students to the chairs.

Look at The New school of England in Sopot, the owner Vaughan, is a really nice chap also also jointly runs an English language pub quiz in a local Scottish style pub.

If you need it, I can also give you the number of my old landlady who was wonderful and understanding, she even let me pay the deposit in installments.

Anyway, if you need assistance in Gdansk, let me know and I'll see how i can help.

Tony

[JessicaW]

[hrvatski]

If you have a little experience and you're a relatively normal reliable person, it shouldn't be that hard to get a job in Krakow, particularly if you're there on the spot.

In January you'd have to pick up a lot of bits and pieces (privates, business work, 1 or 2 groups in a school) to earn a living, since all the good full-time stuff is mostly taken before the beginning of the academic year. This can be time consuming to commute between clients and a heavy workload with many different levels and needs. You may get lucky and find someone has freed up their position at a school though.

Personally I'd wait until August when Poland looks glorious and schools are beginning to employ.

[dynow]

[simon_porter00]

513 posts and I'd say 75% of those must be some kind of whinge or other moan!

I've got a car, two summer wheels on the front, 2 winter wheels on the back. A new set of rubber is worth more than the car so no point in buying any.

You just know the weather is bad in Warsaw when everybody obeys the speed limit voluntarily. Mind you my windows remain fogged up 95% of the time so I'm blissfully unaware of what's going on around me.

[sparks]

The driver's side windshield wiper snapped right off yesterday because I was too lazy to clean the snow from between the mask and the windshield. The old man from the car parts shop near to where I live actually came out into the snowy, rainy muck, figured out what kind of new wiper would fit on the car (he didn't have the exact kind), took his wrenches and whatnot, pried the old one off, bolted the new one on and gave me advice on getting an original, if I want. He charged me no more than for the parts he replaced. How's that for helpfulness?