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One of the best things about teaching English in Warsaw as a freelance ESL teacher is that each day is different. It might be meeting new students, dealing with strange weather—like sunshine rain—on my commute, experiencing a cultural celebration like Majówka (1-3 May) for the first time, or discovering a new kawiarnia (coffeehouse) to get my caffeine fix.
My teaching schedule also looks different every day. This is because I work as a freelancer (or sole trader in Poland) and teach three different types of lessons for multiple language schools: online conversation lessons, in-person group lessons at businesses, and after-school small groups with pre-teens and teens, including preparation for the Matura exams at the end of high school in Poland.
There are dozens of language schools in the Polish capital; as a result, no matter what type of teaching and age group of students you prefer, there is a possibility of finding it in Warsaw.
Additionally, Poland offers many different opportunities and lifestyles for ESL teachers (and digital nomads and other kinds of expats), not just a bustling city schedule like mine but also smaller cities, beautiful nature, and quiet village life.
For more information on the variety of schools and teaching opportunities in Poland, check out this post from English Wizards: “Teaching English in Poland: A Guide to Different Types of Schools.”
At 6:00 am Wednesday morning, I turn off my alarm, switch on my kettle, and make my first cup of coffee. My windows face east, and the best mornings are when I sip my coffee and enjoy a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, today is a gray November morning, so I light a candle instead to brighten the atmosphere. After finishing my coffee and bagel, scrolling through some memes, and completing my daily Polish Duolingo lesson, I quickly clean my apartment and prepare for the day.
I lock my door and head out to face the world at 8:00 am. I live a short walk from a busy roundabout with multiple bus and tram stops that efficiently connect my neighborhood to the city center.
I’ve found Warsaw’s public transportation system to be affordable and typically on schedule—you can find more information about routes and buying tickets at the Warszawski Transport Publiczny (WTP) website.
At 6:00 am Wednesday morning, I turn off my alarm, switch on my kettle, and make my first cup of coffee. My windows face east, and the best mornings are when I sip my coffee and enjoy a beautiful sunrise. Unfortunately, today is a gray November morning, so I light a candle instead to brighten the atmosphere. After finishing my coffee and bagel, scrolling through some memes, and completing my daily Polish Duolingo lesson, I quickly clean my apartment and prepare for the day.
I lock my door and head out to face the world at 8:00 am. I live a short walk from a busy roundabout with multiple bus and tram stops that efficiently connect my neighborhood to the city center.
I’ve found Warsaw’s public transportation system to be affordable and typically on schedule—you can find more information about routes and buying tickets at the Warszawski Transport Publiczny (WTP) website.
Commuters—in their black coats and winter hats—rush to and fro this morning, like worker ants hurrying, weaving, and stopping but somehow never colliding. The pedestrian tunnels underneath the central square offer an escape from bad weather and opportunities to grab a last-minute breakfast from some small bakeries and coffee shops or pick up a new phone case or charger from a kiosk. Above ground, none of the food stands are open for the morning rush; on my commute home, though, a selection of different kebab places will tempt passersby.
I arrive at one of the skyscrapers, which is diagonal from PKiN, right before 9 am and call my first student before stepping inside. When I first started looking for ESL jobs in Warsaw, I thought teaching in businesses sounded intimidating. But I’ve found to my surprise that in-company lessons are often more fun and relaxed than ones in a language school—and everyone has more energy at the start of the work day compared to in the evening after clocking out.
My morning lessons finished. I exit back onto the street at midday and head to Złote Tarasy, a 5-story shopping mall that is one of the most popular places to hang out in Warsaw. It has many in-demand stores and restaurants (even a Popeyes!) and it’s the perfect place for me to find some American snacks. I am a huge fan of Polish food—who doesn’t love pierogi?! But it’s been a while since I’ve been back in the United States, so I’m looking for something that tastes like my childhood. Many places in Warsaw have some American food, but I’ve decided Złote Tarasy is the most efficient place to look since they have at least three good options: Candy Pop, Kuchnie Świata, and a Carrefour with a large international section. After grabbing some peanut butter Oreos and guacamole Takis, I head out of the mall and back towards my tram stop. The wind is bitterly cold against my face now, so I opt for the first tram towards my neighborhood.
Arriving back home a little before 1 pm, I prepare some lunch and sit down to write emails. My teaching schedule is continuously changing, but what is consistent in freelance teaching in Poland is that there are always emails to write—sending homework, rescheduling lessons, etc.
Learning how to balance three different teaching jobs was one of my biggest challenges in adjusting to life teaching English in Warsaw, but I’ve found that keeping an up-to-date schedule of lessons in my Google Calendar (which is easily available to me all the time on my phone) and having designated times to respond to emails has helped tremendously.
After getting caught up for now on my admin tasks, I decide to relax by taking a short nap. Waking up as the sun begins to set. I then prepare my last cup of coffee for the day and read a few chapters of a biography I need to finish for my book club meeting on Saturday.
About half my teaching days are a split schedule of morning and evening lessons like today. The other days usually start slower with some online lessons in the morning followed by traveling to a quieter district in the east of Warsaw to teach at a language school. While the skyline may not be as impressive, these days offer a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the Centrum as I walk through neighborhoods full of trees and limited traffic. For some ESL teachers, my schedule would be too chaotic, but I enjoy the regular change of pace, and it has allowed me to have a wide range of professional experiences in the past two years.
For more information on how this kind of teaching schedule is possible and becoming a freelancer in Poland with English Wizards, visit this link.
I hop on my computer for a one-hour conversation lesson at 5 pm. We discuss American Thanksgiving traditions today and compare them to some similar holidays within Poland. At 6 pm, I make some dinner and finish off some lesson plans for the next day before getting back online for my last lesson. We spend most of this hour discussing the difference between “able to” and “could.”
I’ve learned so much about Polish culture and, to be perfectly honest, my own American culture from these online conversation lessons; however, one challenge of the digital classroom experience is that these lessons don’t often follow a coursebook, and I have to create my plans from scratch.
This is a common position ESL teachers in Poland find themselves in, and while online resources can fill in the gap, there are so many different ones it can be overwhelming at first. Some of the high-quality sites I recommend for either creating your own course of study or for making your book-based lessons more engaging include ESLbrains, Amerilingua, Linguahouse, and TEFLlessons. All these websites offer paid subscriptions but have some free resources to try out first before committing. Some other online tools I recommend to enhance your lessons include the all-time favorites of Quizlet and Kahoot! and the first choice of many of my Polish colleagues, Wordwall.
I finally finish the workday off by updating my time sheets and lesson records, and then I bundle up in a hat and coat and head out for a short walk to clear my head and relax listening to music. One of my favorite parts of life in Warsaw is that I feel perfectly safe walking through the city in the evening. The parks are fairly empty now that the weather has cooled, but in the heat of summer, it’s normal to find families hanging out and runners fitting in their daily jogs long after sunset.
Moving countries and/or starting a new career is a big step, and the research stage can be overwhelming. I recommend joining different expat social media groups and reading government and NGO immigration websites for visa and residency information to make sure you have the right information before deciding whether to become an English teacher in Poland.
If you’re inspired by the ESL teaching lifestyle in Warsaw, why not start your own journey? English Wizards offers:
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If you’re looking specifically to become a freelancer in Poland, English Wizards offers:
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