The stereotypical English teacher in Poland


I've closed the polls that I have had running over the last few weeks since it looked as though they were reaching saturation point regarding the amount of voters (over 50 was the final tally). Despite some problems with Google 'losing' some votes and then finding them again, I think the results of the polls reflect a hypothetical character, which in many ways seems familiar to me! and hopefully to other English teachers in Poland also :)

For those who missed the introductory post about the polls, I published 10 or so polls over the past few weeks aiming to ascertain what life is like for English teachers in Poland. Questions included things such as ' How much money do you earn', 'How much beer do you drink' etc...

I also hope that the result of these polls will give a better consensus view concerning what life is actually like for an English teacher in Poland than current information out there. I get many emails every week asking for info and I loathe to direct people towards 'PolishForums' which seems infested by a few people determined to brandish Poland and the English teaching profession as something of a waste of time.

So here we go...
The 'average' English teacher in Poland...

1. Won't have a recognized teaching certificate,
2. Will spend less than 30mins preparing for classes,
3. Will teach around 20hrs per week,
4. Will earn between 3000-4000PLN monthly,
5. Will pay around 900PLN rent,
6. Will study another language (probably German),
7. Will speak Polish at A2 level and will consider it a very difficult language,
8. Will consider Poland a viable long term career and residency option,
9. Probably won't drink but if they do, will drink between 6-10 beers per week,
10. Favourite beer will be Lech.

8 comments:

  1. Wow.

    To be honest, when I saw the title of this blog post, I did NOT expect this! I thought, "Eh, English teachers are the same everywhere ..."

    Absolutely fascinating that the typical English teacher in Poland studies German and is a light drinker. In Korea, the typical English teacher majors in alcoholism and not much else.

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  2. I am also amazed by the lack of drinking...

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  3. Me too, i drink far more here than I used to in England. Seems I am not 'average' though as I don't study German, have a CELTA and get paid waayyyy below the rest of you! shame :(

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  4. The trend is certainly alarming.

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  5. @Ruth - but I think I remeber you said that your accomodation is provided free or something? if so, that's a HUGE saving :)

    @Eve - Thanks for the comment on the tweet - How much Korean do you speak?

    @X - The lack of beer drinking is indeed alarming

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  6. I speak only the bare minimum of Korean (hello, thank you, please, etc.). One of my students reminded me that I promised to learn Korean, though. So, I guess if I'm going to stay here I better get on that. Looks like stick figures to me, though.

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  7. Point 9 is the funniest :) Zero or ten!

    How many people did the poll?

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  8. prob won´t drink...wow, good for them!

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Everyone is welcome to make a comment. It's a free world after all :) the only thing I ask is that if you're going to write something nasty please have big enough balls to include your name and email address.