Teaching in Poland offers a unique portal to living and working in Europe. Teachers immerse themselves into a world of old meets new: candlelit cafes, rustic restaurants, medieval town centres, breathtaking architecture juxtaposed against hopping night clubs, intricate and sophisticated transport systems and modern office complexes.

With a full week of orientation in the incredible city of Kraków, a paid placement teaching in Poland and all the support you need prior to departure and from our awesome in-country team, you’ll make an enormous impact in the lives of your students. There are opportunities to expand into other job sectors in Poland following your teaching career, and opportunities to become an EU citizen.

Our internationally accredited online TEFL/TESOL course is highly interactive and personalised to ensure our students are fully prepared to start teaching by the time they graduate, with one-on-one practical sessions and a highly interactive discussion forum.

Through TravelBud’s program, you’ll be able to teach English in Poland for a year or more where you’ll earn up to $1100+ USD per month, fully immerse yourself in Polish culture and embrace a life-changing experience which will make you grow as a person.

All you need to qualify is to have a bachelor's degree in any field of study (but not required for a legal work permit (2 years of work experience is required to replace a Bachelor’s degree if you do not hold one) and be a citizen of one of the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand.

Safety

TravelBud’s main priority is, always has been and will always remain the safety of our teachers.

Whilst our hearts go out to all those affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Europe remains safe, and Poland continues to be one of the safest countries in Europe.

Schools and classes continue to operate as normal. Outside of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus, international travel continues to operate as normal. There has been no indication of this changing, and are therefore confident that we do not and will not have to modify our program in Poland or the general pre-arrival advice we give to incoming teachers.

Read our full statement here: https://travelbud.com/teach-english-in-poland/#war-statement

When Can I Start?

Our 2023 intake dates are provissionally as follows:

- 16 January 2023
- 23 January 2023
- 14 August 2023
- 21 August 2023

Speak to our experienced Enrollments Coordinators about the best option for you.

Highlights

• Guaranteed job placement available throughout the Poland at one of TravelBud's vetted schools
• Salary of $850 to $1100+ (USD) per month
• Assistance finding suitable accommodation
• Thorough pre-departure support and assistance with documentation and interview prep from our experienced team with first-hand experience teaching abroad - that's right, we've been there and have done it ourselves!
• Internationally accredited online TESOL certification course
• 1 week in-depth cultural orientation and excursions to ease you into life in Poland, including walking tour of Old Town, day trip to the beautiful mountain resort town of Zakopane, Scavenger hunts, uncovering hidden city gems and pub quizzes.
• 24/7 in-country support throughout your teaching placement
• Airport pickup
• Sim card for your mobile phone and assistance with opening a local bank account
• Full access to online teaching resources to help you plan lessons throughout your placement

What's required?

• A passport from the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand
• A bachelor’s degree in any field is preferable but not required for a legal work permit (2 years of work experience is required to replace a Bachelor’s degree if you do not hold one)
• A 120-hour, internationally accredited TEFL/TESOL certificate or equivalent qualification – offered as part of the program fees should you not have a TEFL certification.
• Age 20 and above
• >Hardworking, mature, professional and love working with kids.

Why choose TravelBud?

With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what the best program is for you. We have carefully designed a program with everything we believe is needed for the most successful experience possible teaching in Poland, based on our first-hand experience.

We give you far more than just a job placement

We provide far more than just a job or recruitment service as we believe there's so much more needed for this to be the most successful and life-changing experience possible. From finding the right job at the right school which pays you well and on time, and will treat you fairly, to having an experienced support team for you to lean on throughout your time on the program, to receiving the most in-depth cultural orientation to guarantee a successful cultural immersion, receiving an internationally accredited TESOL/TEFL training that ensures you're prepared for the right type of teaching environment, TravelBud's Paid Teaching Program in Poland is without a doubt the highest quality and most holistic option you can choose.

We manage expectations accurately

We won't promise you what we cannot deliver. For example, we won't promise you a starting salary of $3000 as this is very uncommon in Poland - instead, we will be upfront about the starting salaries which schools in Poland offer to beginner teachers, which are seldom higher than $2500 per month. This is all part of our effort to ensure that your expectations are managed accurately and you are given the most honest and accurate information about the experience you're signing up for.

We believe less is more

We only offer Paid Teaching programs in a small number of countries. This is because we believe in quality over quantity, or that less is in fact more. By only focusing on what we love and know like the back of hands, we have managed to focus all our efforts on being able to provide what we truly believe is the best all-round experience anyone can ask for from teaching abroad. We may not offer a wide range of countries to choose from or a wide range of different types of programs, but we can guarantee that the programs we do offer are the best you can find.

We've walked the path before you

We have all taught abroad in the countries we offer. In fact, every TravelBud team member is a program alumni and has experienced first-hand what our programs entail. This ensures that you will receive guidance, advice and the full support from a team who have gone through the same thrilling yet somewhat daunting experience you are considering embarking on, which will ensure you're in the best hands possible throughout this incredible journey of growth and adventure.

What's the job like?

Demand for qualified native speakers at language centers has skyrocketed over the past few years, and shows no sign of slowing down, as Poland’s academic standards become higher and parents see the importance of ensuring their kids receive top-quality ESL education. Adult classes are also extremely popular – the parents want to improve their English too!

As you will be primarily teaching adults, teenagers, and kids at language centers after their ordinary work or school hours, your work hours will typically be in the late afternoon and early evening.

Class sizes are always small at language centers. Don’t expect to ever teach more than 8-10 students at a time; more often the number will be between 3 and 6. The ages of kids you’ll teach will be quite varied, with some kids as young as 7 (kids in Poland start primary school at age 7), all the way through adults.

You may also have to work some mornings for “in-company” classes, as well as the occasional Saturday.

Most teachers will work between 15 and 25 classroom hours per week, with additional time necessary for preparing lessons, marking coursework, and light administrative duties.

Holidays: Most schools will typically have 1-2 weeks off around Christmas time, as well as 2-3 weeks off in February as fall semester ends and spring semester begins.

There are also usually 1-2 weeks off in April around Easter.

Keep in mind that most schools pay hourly, and thus you’re only paid for the hours you teach, so remember to factor in days off when planning your budget.

Cultural Orientation

We believe in responsible travel and in the context of teaching abroad, that means being culturally sensitive, respectful travelers. Our Poland cultural orientation course is run by a mix of local and Western staff and is set up in a way that ensures you understand Poland culture deeply even before you set foot in a classroom. You'll start teaching feeling much more prepared for your new life abroad, ready to engage with the community you'll be living in and have a rewarding and immersive cultural experience.

Some of what's included on the week-long orientation:

• Learn about Polish culture, history, politics, language, religion and more on walking tours with professional guides.
• Get to know your fellow teachers
• Participate in fun and enriching cultural excursions including:
• Walking tour of the Old Town
• Learn how to use the train stations, bus station, post office, city transit and discover unhidden shops
• Day trip to the beautiful mountain resort town of Zakopane
• Scavenger hunts
• Pub quizzes
• Group meals
• Evening drinks and social activities

Training: Internationally Accredited Online TEFl/TESOL Certification

In order to ensure that our partner schools’ students are getting the very best and to ensure that you as a teacher abroad feel most prepared for your task at hand, we highly recommend the 120 hour Online TEFL course offered through TravelBud.

This course begins every first Monday of each month and runs for 4 to 5 consecutive weeks.

The course is asynchronous and designed to allow you to engage and learn alongside your busy life, while not compromising on your quality of certification and preparation for Poland.

With the course being fully internationally accredited and the fact that it does not expire- you can use this all over the world for the duration of your teaching journey and beyond!

We understand that while you are still in your home country you may be working full time or completing your degree and this course is designed with that in mind.

It gives you comprehensive guidance on all the aspects of the content and methodologies of teaching English as a second language and touches on the productive and receptive skills for students.

Each module requires significant practical training focused on the different approaches needed to teach speaking, reading, and listening, as well as various strategies used for classroom management.

• Interactive Forums: The course offers mandatory interaction via forums, peer feedback and one-on-one instructor feedback. This allows you to see multiple perspectives on your assignments as you design fun and creative lessons.
• Lesson Plan Assignments: You will submit lesson plans based on templates that we know work effectively in the classroom. These templates, along with resources for various classroom activities such as warmers, provide you with a practical toolkit for your teaching experience.
• High Quality Video Tutorials: The course makes extensive use of video tutorials which includes footage of real classroom scenarios and expert advice from Instructors and other English teachers in the field.
• Skype Lesson Presentations: Every student also makes a Skype based lesson presentation to their instructor to gain practical teaching experience. Students receive extensive feedback and are given advice on how to improve or what to be aware of in a classroom environment.
• Continuous In-Class Support: Our expert instructors support and interact with our students every step of the way and will offer tons of tips, tricks, and examples of how to teach English to every age group.
• Best Practice Learning Management: Hosted on fast, secure servers, the learning platform is mobile and tablet optimised and adheres to modern best practice Learning Management System (LMS) design and development standards. This ensures a fun and effective learning experience for students.

Got a TEFL/TESOL certificate already?

For teachers that already have extensive experience in the teaching field, as well as an existing online/in-class 120-hour TESOL/TEFL/CELTA we offer a P;acement Only option.

What our participants say they love most about TravelBud:

• Fast turnaround time
• Excellent professional support
• Guaranteed job placement
• Great reviews by past teachers
• Our helpful, friendly enrolments agents all have teach abroad experience
• Simple to understand and informative website full of photos, videos, and blog articles to help you fully prepare for what to expect