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[connor_bok]

A word of caution to any teachers considering work at ILT (Inter-Lang & Text) in Krakow.

The place looks good out the blocks, even a little absurd: music in the bathrooms, marble floors, the latest twisty IKEA vases with smelly stuff in them. But if you're half decently qualified and are looking to work in a place that treats you professionally with an okay atmosphere, I'd give this place a wide bearth.

ILT is a rotating door of disgruntled, indifferent and mostly termporary staff who see the place as no more than a means to an end. The ADOS is frustrated, over-worked and very insecure. He treats the place as his personal fiefdom and can only talk with enthusiasm about his cat or teachers' disorganised files - even over a drink. Native speaker teachers are viewed by him as threats and he schedules them accordingly. I know of only one native � part-timer � who's managed to deal with him with anything more than curt civility. Although, having said all this, his antics were the one source of regular gossip-entertainment teachers had in an otherwise gloomy, literally and figuratively, staff room.

The administrative team don't speak English and despite contractual confidentiality regarding teachers' pay, they counted and distributed wages in the reception publicly and often acrimoniously. Okay, this is a petty gripe as I was always paid. But I was also almost always paid incorrectly, 50 zl one month, 60 the next and so on for one year. Trying to resolve this in pidgin English or Polish is not a comfortable experience and soon the eyeballs start rolling everytime you step through the door.

What got under my skin the most was the owner. I have never met such a disingenuous and pompous individual in TEFL. One of his policies was to pay teachers 50 percent of agreed rate if students, groups or 1-to-1s, didn't for whatever reason show up, be it on-site, off-site, early morning or late evening. Another was to pay teachers for non-contractual 'volunteer' workshops based on student attendance. So, end-of-semester time, when students are studying for exams or going on holiday, you might understandably have only two attendees, meaning a whopping 20zl for a workshop you've probably spent a couple hours preparing. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think this is standard practice in Krakow or anywhere else. To top it off, he claims these policies were suggested by the teachers! His guile, scarves and analogies - English is an ocean, and German is a sea, blah blah blah � are wasted on the language business.

I've been teaching for a fair number of years in Poland and have had good experiences. But the year I spent at ILT was so unpleasant that it took a while, at a normal school, to get rid of the disillusion I felt. So, if you're offered work here, I'd keep it as a last resort. You're better off going for a real cowboy outfit, where you can kick-back and enjoy an easy life for a couple zl less until something better rolls along.

Generally, Krakow is a fun place to work and live as a language teacher, just not at ILT!

Happy hunting!

[JPM]

Just posted this on another message, but here it is again,

I've taught at ILT for two years and am very happy there: great ICT equipment, clean, modern, spacious classrooms, helpful office staff (yes, they speak Polish, but so do I), very good pay and a professional, hands off boss. I can't agree with what the OP has written. The school has been open for years and currently has the highest intake it has ever had, supposedly in a year of crisis.

There are several native speakers working at ILT, all well qualified and professional teachers who could work at pretty much any school they liked, if things really were that bad.

Anyway, maybe not everyone's opinion, but I just wanted to give the other side of the coin.

Having lived and taught in Krakow for five years, I'd say it was one of the schools to go for, not avoid.

No, I'm not the school's owner. PM me if you like.