All about Poland

Some time ago Jason Renshaw wrote a memorable post called ‘Tell me about Turkey’.

Actually, it wasn’t the post but the comments that created a major storm in the blogosphere. Some people got offended, the others had only positive impressions to share.

On the whole, what I’ve read gave me a lot of food for thought. One of the conclusions I came to was that we all seem to glorify our own motherland, especially having immigrated to a different country.

Poland is a nice place to live in or visit but it surely isn’t heaven. I’d also risk saying that the state of ELT is pretty good there. You can’t teach English without qualifications, for instance.

Yet my opinions will always be subjective. That’s why I’d like to know what you think about it.

What’s you first impression of Poland?

Are there any stereotypes about Poland in the place you come from?

What’s it like to be a teacher there? What are Polish students and schools like?

How about Poles themselves? 

Both positive and negative comments are most welcome J

Schools in Poland and Turkey - comparison

Teaching abroad is an amazing experience.

No matter how hard you try though, it seems impossible to stop comparing countries you have worked in.

After Poland, Turkey is the second country I chose to teach in. Here is a list of similarities and differences between teaching in both countries.

Poland

Turkey

- Students attend primary schools (6 years), middle schools (3 years) and high schools (3-4 years) - One lesson unit is 45 minutes - Most schools are public, there are not many private ones - Public schools are generally seen as offering better education than private ones -Teachers seem to be given more freedom; they stay at school only when they have classes -There are many course books to choose from and it is the teacher’s decision which book to use regardless of the school type -Substitutions are generally paid for -Most schools are co-educational

- Students attend  primary schools (8 years) and high schools (4 years) - One lesson unit is 40 minutes - There are a lot of private schools, especially in Istanbul - Public schools are often considered as ‘worse’ e.g. there are too many students in a class (80!) - Teachers are made to stay at school the whole day e.g. from 9 to 5 even if they have three classes that day -Teachers in all public schools use the same books; in private schools, English teachers can choose the books they want  to use -Substitutions (in private schools) are not paid for -Most schools are co-educational

There are probably a lot more similarities and differences that I failed to mention J

If you are a teacher from a different country, please feel free to write a few words about how teaching in your place differs from the ones I have compared.

It will be great to hear from you J