Teaching English in Poland is an extremely rewarding job. If you push the right buttons, it can also be a lucrative career path as well.
This post outlines my experience teaching English in this beautiful country. It also goes into the qualifications required to secure employment in language schools and the issue of setting up a sole proprietorship, among other topics.
How did I get into Teaching English in Poland?
In 2003, I enrolled at Nottingham Trent University to study for a degree in history. I had a rather limited vision as to what I wanted to do with my life. The only career path that made sense was teaching history in a British secondary school. However, I think this idea was more related to playing it safe and visions of future financial security than it was fervent desire.
Anyway, my life completely changed in the first half of 2005. Here’s a bit of background regarding how I set the wheels in motion to become an English teacher in Poland.
A Polish wanderer with a crumpled map changed my life
In a post about the story of my first trip to Poland, I wrote about how an encounter with a visitor to my student house in Clifton, Nottingham, in 2005 changed my life. Essentially, Paweł – the Polish wanderer with a crumpled map – had an appointment with my landlord to check out the only empty room for rent in the house. I was at home so I thought I’d introduce myself to Paweł.
Paweł didn’t take the room. However, a few months later, I found myself in his digs in the Meadows near the centre of Nottingham. He got my phone number from my housemate, Vikki, who was his friend. During that rather short meeting in the Meadows, he invited me to his family home in Mszana Dolna in the summer of 2005, and the rest is history. My future would inevitably be tied to Poland.
Withdrawal symptoms of Poland
The rest was indeed history. After spending an eye-opening few weeks in Mszana Dolna and Kraków in the summer of 2005, I returned to the UK a wholly different person. I realised that the world was open, that becoming a history teacher wasn’t the be-all and end-all.
Here’s what I confessed in my memoir:
The CELTA Course
In order for me to be able to earn a living in Poland without knowing the Polish language, the only viable solution was for me to teach English. Therefore, I enrolled on the CELTA Course – the world’s most recognised entry-level English language teaching qualification. I chose to do the course at International House (IH) in Kraków. International House Kraków no longer exists although there are currently IH schools in other locations in Poland, such as Wrocław.
I remember the telephone interview with one of the course leaders. He asked me some grammar questions which I had no idea how to answer. That was probably the idea of the interview – to shock would-be teachers and encourage them to get to know their own language. Frankly, everyone should know the grammar and workings of their native language.
If you have little or no previous English language teaching experience, the CELTA, as an introductory course, will quickly provide you with a solid, practical foundation for teaching, instructional techniques and classroom management skills. According to the British Council Poland website:
Teaching practice starts from day two of the course and as a course participant, you will have the opportunity to observe experienced teachers at work
Looking back on some of the instructional techniques, hindsight provokes me to state they were extremely patronising towards students. Take, for instance, the PPP teaching paradigm. Standing for Presentation, Practice and Production (or “Produce”), a lesson plan based on PPP contains the following three phases:
- Presentation – The teacher presents new information to the students, such as a new tense or vocabulary list. Trainee teachers should present this information in sufficient detail and in a clear visual context. They may use pictures or flashcards to help illustrate the meaning of words and grammar;
- Practice – The Practice stage of a PPP lesson gives learners the opportunity to use the target language in a controlled way. Central to this phase is developing learners’ accuracy in using the new structure or vocabulary. Controlled Practice tasks may include matching activities, gap-fill exercises or putting words into the correct order, to name just a few;
- Produce – The final Produce stage aims to develop learners’ fluency. Production tasks which develop learners’ speaking skills range from debates to role-plays contingent on the target language and context of the lesson.
As tenses tend to dominate the PPP teaching paradigm, the technique promotes the idea that language learning occurs in a wonderful linear fashion. Of course, it does not. A teacher does not have to teach before the past simple tense just because tradition dictates so.
Overall, as methodologically flawed as it was, the CELTA enabled me to get a job in a reputable and professional language school in Poland. If you complete the course, you can begin working in a range of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching contexts around the world.
Securing my first job teaching English in Poland
Having passed the CELTA, I came across a job advertisement on tefl.com at a language school in Dębica in southeastern Poland. Before returning to the UK for a few weeks after the CELTA, I visited the school for an interview. I was incredibly impressed by the facilities and all-round professional vibe the owner, Director of Studies and secretaries gave off. I learned that the school was in the process of hiring another more experienced British teacher so I was pleased that I’d have someone else to socialise with and learn the ropes from. We got on very well. Good old Ben.
I am not sure whether it’s still in fashion in Poland but my school in Dębica operated a system of tandem teaching. In essence, my students had classes twice a week – one with me and one with another local polish teacher. Tandem teaching in TEFL generally involves the native speakers of English doing most of the vocabulary and speaking activities (chatting!), while the local teachers deal with all the grammar and writing etc. Frankly, it was my first year in teaching so I was just happy to be working. I got on with the teachers I shared my groups with, and the tandem teaching system generally operated smoothly.
I was lucky to have worked for a professional school in my first year teaching English in Poland. The school organised free accommodation on arrival. My flat was extremely cosy. I always got paid on time and received a great deal of methodological support from the Director of Studies who observed my classes on several occasions. As for the pay, I think I got around 2,500 zł a month which was quite a lot of money back in 2006. Don’t forget that I didn’t have to pay rent. I also had a few private students which gave me some extra spending money.
Is it necessary to get a TEFL Certificate to teach English in Poland?
Leah Morawiec, in her in-depth guide to teaching English in Poland, argues that it’s not necessary to be TEFL-certified in order to land an English teaching gig in Poland.
Frankly, I’m surprised by Leah’s argument. Admittedly, I’m not as up on the politics and recruitment policies of language schools as I used to be. However, I have to contest the following point Leah makes:
… a lot of schools are well aware that natives suck at explaining grammar compared to their Polish counterparts
I think the honeymoon phase of TEFL in Poland whereby scruffy-looking “natives” with a degree in politics could rock up in a one-horse town and chat with students in the classroom are long gone.
With COVID and the cost of living crisis, it is my impression that student numbers in language schools have fallen dramatically in recent years. Therefore, every single student is a precious commodity for schools. Human beings are certainly more demanding and more spoiled than they were ten years ago. Therefore, I cannot for the life of me believe that language schools recruit “backpackers” to the degree they used to. The “native speaker” tag is not as powerful as it once was. I think many language learners would now prefer to be educated by a local teacher than with an ignorant “native”.
Overall, I believe it is necessary to get a TEFL certificate to teach English in Poland. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself at the mercy of the many language schools which pay a pittance.
Why I love Teaching English in Poland
There are a number of reasons why I love being a teacher of English in Poland, including:
- Poles are well educated – The vast majority of adult Polish students I’ve had over the years have been highly educated. This has meant that I’ve been able to have high-level discussions with them about all manner of topics. I currently teach architects, surveyors and IT specialists, among others. It makes my job extremely interesting and I’ve learned a great deal from my students.
- Most Polish people already have a command of the basics of English – I can only recall a few students I’ve taught privately who have been beginners. Let’s face it – it’s hard work teaching beginners. Most of the time, I find myself simply fine-tuning my students’ current skills and boosting the depth of their vocabulary and knowledge of collocations in order to help them make the step up from intermediate to advanced level.
- The world is your oyster when it comes to pay – If you’re a well-qualified and experienced English language teacher, I genuinely believe that Polish people will be willing to pay your asking price, within reason of course. When it comes to a private lesson where you receive cash “under the table”, I don’t see why you shouldn’t charge between 70-100 zł for 45 minutes of your time. Those living in places like Warsaw and Gdańsk may charge more than this. However, even those living in small towns and less saturated cities like Łódź can charge what they like due to the relative scarcity of native English speakers. If you’re self-employed, you shouldn’t be charging less than 95 zł per 45-minute class in my opinion.
- Word of mouth counts for a great deal in Poland – The vast majority of my Polish students have come my way through word of mouth. This means that I haven’t had to advertise that much in the past for new students. However, word of mouth may have its limits. That’s why I recently registered a sole proprietorship in Łódź to reach out to companies etc.
- Polish students of English are in it for the long haul – I’m proud to reveal that I’ve been teaching some of my Polish students of English online for ten years. I think they view our classes as a means to keep in touch with the language. Without wishing to offend students of English from other countries, I know that my Polish students are in this game for the long haul.
How do you find a job teaching English in Poland?
Job search platforms such as tefl.com don’t list as many jobs as they used to. This may be because schools now give tefl.com a wide berth or there simply isn’t much work around for native speaker TEFL teachers.
If you’re not really prepared to become self-employed, you have to think outside the box a bit. Here are some of the avenues you can explore to try to pick up some classes:
1. Try pracuj.pl. This is a leading Polish recruitment website. You can try to work with the following search terms: ‘lektor angielskiego’, ‘native speaker’ and ‘nauczyciel języka angielskiego’.
2. Contact schools directly – Just before I moved to Łódź at the end of December 2024, I contacted five or six language schools. The owner of one of the schools, who is English, invited me for an interview.
3. Personally visit schools – Perhaps the best way to leave an impression on a school’s reception team is to dress smartly and visit language schools with your CV in hand. Of course, you can always ask a receptionist to have a chat with the Director of Studies or owner of the school.
What are the best classified ad platforms and tutoring websites to help you find private students of English in Poland?
If you’re looking for private students of English in Poland, I’ve reaped the rewards from advertising on the following sites in the past:
1. Superprof – Place an advert for free.
2. E-Korepetycje – Apparently, e-korepetycje has the largest database of tutoring ads in Poland.
3. OLX – I’ve picked up only one student recently as a result of advertising on OLX. You have to pay around 22 zł to place an advert on this site.
There are plenty more classified ad platforms to choose from. However, the three above have given me a moderate level of success over the past few years.
The Reality of being a Freelance English Teacher in Poland
It’s still very early days. However, the reality of working as a freelance English teacher is beginning to hit home.
My road to finally becoming self-employed in Poland in January 2025 goes a little bit like this. I moved from Gdańsk to Łódź at the end of December 2024. My wife and I lived in Gdańsk for five years and we simply fancied a change. Moving to Łódź inspired me to set up a sole proprietorship and try my hand at in-company teaching in Łódź. If things don’t go well in Łódź, there’s always the option of travelling to Warsaw. I’d been teaching only online since 2016 and, as much as I enjoy these online classes with my students, it began to dawn on me that I need to get out of the house more.
I was convinced I’d succeed as a freelance English teacher in Łódź because I literally had to turn work down when I lived in the city back in 2012-2013. In the back of my mind, there was something telling me that it wouldn’t be plain sailing because we live in a very different world now. I’ve already mentioned how demanding and spoiled people are these days. And why pay a teacher when you have so many apps on your phone or you can pick the brains of those masters of the English language themselves, AI chatbots? Finally, Poles’ monthly expenses have shot up dramatically in recent years. Therefore, the majority of people simply haven’t got enough disposable income these days to spend on private English lessons.
Various types of advertising – So little response
So back in the good old days, i.e. 2012-13, I could simply place an advert on Gumtree (no longer available in Poland) and wait for the lesson requests to roll in. Fast forward to 2025. I can safely state that classified advert platforms are no longer an effective means to advertise your teaching services and courses. I’ve only picked up one student in two months. What’s worse, I started advertising in January. This used to be a great time to advertise as those with a guilty conscience about not working on their English would tend to make new year’s resolutions to improve the situation.
As for leaflets and business cards, I’ve delivered several hundred around Łódź over the past month. However, my efforts haven’t resulted in a single call or query from potential students. I’ve also shared business cards with a number of professionals I’ve struck up conversations with. One or two of them even said they’d get in touch but still nothing.
When it comes to email marketing, I’ve begun to reach out to potential companies which might be interested in having a native speaker tutor employees. It might be the wrong time of the year (February) but I have a feeling that this strategy will reach a dead end very soon.
Finally, I’m not willing to try social media advertising as that has never done anything for me in the past when I recall the promotion of my online courses and an app for learning English.
I’m too experienced and overqualified for language schools to consider my candidacy
As I previously mentioned, I contacted five or six language schools just before I moved to Łódź on December 27, 2024. I had one interview at a school run by an English chap. I thought that things went ok and he promised to contact me should any work become available. However, I haven’t heard from him since I informed him I’d set up a sole proprietorship.
I’m beginning to think that schools are avoiding me because they think I’m too expensive due to my experience and qualifications. Frankly, I don’t think my rates are extortionate. Therefore, I’ll have to explicitly state my fees when I email my CV to schools. It’s also possible that these schools are afraid that an experienced and professional native speaker might “steal” clients from them.
The Financial Aspects of Teaching English in Poland
If you’re thinking about setting up a sole proprietorship to teach English in Poland, the following sections on conducting non-registered business activity, paying tax on earnings and paying social insurance and health insurance contributions will certainly interest you.
Can I conduct unregistered business activity in Poland as a teacher of English?
I’ve already written about conducting unregistered business activity in Poland so check out the article in the link.
Just to add that if you’re fresh in the country with very few contacts and credentials, the revenues from your business activity will probably be small to begin with. To get a feel for the market in the place you live, you can conduct business activity (i.e. teach English) without registering as an entrepreneur.
If revenues from your activity in any month do not exceed 75% of the minimum monthly wage in Poland – currently 4,666 zł – then you may conduct non-registered activity. On the basis of 75% of 4,666, you can earn up to 3499,50 zł per month without setting up a company.
There are several other conditions which you would need to fulfil so I urge you to check out my post if you’re interested in conducting unregistered business activity in Poland.
Overall, it would be very difficult to live on 3,500 zł a month in a large city in Poland, such as Warsaw or Gdańsk. However, it’s good to know that you don’t have to set up a company as soon as you get your first few clients. If you become inundated with lesson requests, you will probably sense that the time is right to set up a sole proprietorship.
After setting up as a freelancer teacher of English in Poland, how much tax will you have to pay?
Without being a tax consultant, I can only outline my basic understanding of the tax system in Poland based on discussions I had with my accountant.
The tax scale (skala podatkowa) is the basic form of taxation on business activity in Poland. If your income does not exceed 120,000 PLN per year, you will pay income tax at a rate of 12%. 32% is paid on any income over 120,000 PLN.
The standard personal allowance, that is the amount of income according to the tax scale which you do not have to pay tax on, is 30,000 PLN per year.
What types of social insurance contributions will you have to pay after setting up a sole proprietorship as a teacher of English in Poland?
After registering a business (for free) in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG), entrepreneurs running a sole proprietorship for the first time in Poland can take advantage of Start-Up Relief. Known as Ulga na start, this relief exempts entrepreneurs from paying social insurance contributions for a period of six months. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about paying social insurance contributions related to retirement, disability and accident insurance.
It’s worth noting that if you set up a business on any day of a calendar month that is not the first day, you do not have to include this month in the six months during which you can use the Start-up Relief. My accountant was clearly on the ball here so we registered my sole proprietorship on the second of January 2025 instead of the first. Therefore, I am entitled to Start-Up Relief until 31 July, 2025.
Health insurance contributions
Start-Up Relief does not apply to health insurance. This means that you are obliged to register for health insurance with the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and pay a monthly health insurance contribution. During this six-month period in which the Start-up Relief applies, sole proprietors also have the right to register their family members for health insurance with ZUS.
The amount of an entrepreneur’s health insurance contribution depends on the amount of income and the chosen form of taxation. From February 2025, those paying taxes according to the lower band of the tax scale (12%), and with an income in a given month that is lower than the minimum monthly salary, will have to pay a health insurance contribution calculated as an amount of 9% of 75% of the minimum monthly salary. Therefore, 75% OF 4,666 zł is 3499.50. 9% of 3499,50 = 314.96 zł. This will be my health insurance contribution for the coming months even if I don’t have any income to declare.
However, if one earns 10,000 zł during the period in which Start-Up Relief is operational, they would have to pay a health insurance contribution of 9% of this income, amounting to 900 zł.
What will happen after the Start-Up Relief period ends?
After the six months of the Start-Up Relief period have elapsed, you can take advantage of the possibility of paying reduced ZUS contributions for another 24 months (Mały ZUS Plus). However, you must meet the two following conditions:
- you are starting a business for the first time or you are starting it again after at least 60 months from the date of its last suspension or termination;
- you are not conducting business activity for a former employer for whom you worked full-time in the current or previous calendar year.
The second condition applies to the entire 24-month period of paying reduced ZUS contributions. This means that from the day you start working for your former employer, you lose the right to pay lower contributions.
New sole proprietorships may pay lower social insurance contributions for the full 24 calendar months at a minimum reduced base of not lower than 30% of the minimum monthly salary. In other words, the lowest amount of social insurance contributions is 30% of 4,666 PLN, which comes to 1,399.80 zł.
The reduction in ZUS contributions applies only to contributions paid by entrepreneurs for themselves. Entrepreneurs must pay contributions at the normal rate for employees and contractors.
If running a business is your only title to compulsory social insurance, you do not have to pay contributions to the Labor Fund and Solidarity Fund for yourself.
Final Thoughts
I can state with some conviction that teaching English in Poland is an extremely rewarding career. My impression is that this line of work can be lucrative if you focus on teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP). For example, Aviation English, Medical English and Legal English are all kinds of ESP which may be worth studying. The market for General English/conversation teachers is naturally saturated.
Don’t rush into going self-employed in Poland. Network, visit language schools and build up a reliable base of private students before going down that route.