Teaching English in Poland
Once you've got a job!
Congratulations
Before the semester starts (assuming you're living in a perfect world and the DOS is organised) try to find out the following so it's not a surprise when you get told at the last minute:
- If you have to write reports and when
- If you have to do counselling and when
- If you have to do parent’s evenings and when
Your working day
In an ideal world, you’ll work in blocks. That is to say blocks of hours e.g. 3 lessons back to back. In a school this should be fairly easy to organise as you'll be teaching classes on the school's premises, one after the other. If you’re teaching in-company, organising such 'blocks' is a bit harder. Do the best you can when classes are being given to you, but be aware the amount of time you waste on trams and buses over the course of a week could total anywhere from 5-25 hours depending on where your school sends you. The famous 'split-shift" will be at some point inevitable, so try to negotiate a bit of common sense into your schedule and balance this against the needs of the school. If you’re in your first year you’ll probably be eager to please but just be aware that you really don’t want to fulfil lessons one after the other on different sides of town. It gets very tiring after a semester. Trust me.
Your teaching experience in your first year will be one of learning, so get to know the culture of teaching within Poland, what the students are like, what the management is like and try to accept less than favourable conditions with a smile. If you’re willing to go out of your way in most cases it’ll be recognised even if it’s not welcomed or congratulated. And if word gets back that you're any good, you'll be in high demand.
Changing attitudes towards native speakers
Many years ago, a native speaker was something of a novelty and as such you could get away with a lot of things that you cannot get away with today. Why? Many reasons:
- Poland in the EU. Lots of people now cross borders into Poland. Simply speaking, Polish people are now used to seeing foreigners.
- Professionalism. Schools used to be proud to have a native speaker. The fact that s/he looked like a hippy, stank of cigarettes and alcohol and turned up late was of no consequence. Now, due to many more native speakers and professionalism of the schools in maintaining their image, schools won’t hire people ‘here for the chicks and cheap alcohol' anymore (applicable in the main cities anyhow). The schools that do, will pay you abysmally poor wages.
- Quality of Polish native teachers. Polish language teachers do a 5 year philology course which teaches them theory and nothing else. Now Polish teachers go abroad, have observed their more relaxed foreign teacher colleagues and can now teach with a smile on their face and with a bit of character.
- Quality of Polish native teachers 2. Polish students can now speak English better. Many teachers came out of 5 years of study only able to speak at FCE level. Many more graduates nowadays can speak English fluently or slightly short of fluent.
- Simple economics - demand & supply. There are many teachers, both native and Polish. If you are unreliable, not worth the cost or not effective in the big cities you're replaceable. Be warned.
- Stag parties. British idiots come to get drunk and prat around. Funnily enough Polish people tired of this behaviour very quickly and now groups of natives are not welcomed in many places. We have, if you will, an appalling stereotype.
