Teaching English In Poland: A Guide to Different Types of Schools

So you’ve decided to teach English in Poland! You’re probably excited to begin the journey of living in Europe. You might be picturing yourself wandering the beautiful cobblestone old town streets and drinking mulled wine at a Christmas market while munching on some pierogi.

But have you thought about taking a minute to consider where you’ll actually be teaching? Teaching English abroad is a real job, and whether you like it or not, your school will be where you’ll be spending a good chunk of your day throughout the week.

Poland has a lot to offer in terms of teaching opportunities, and finding the best place to fit you and your teaching style is important! So let’s take a look at some of the most common types of schools and working environments where foreign teachers in Poland find work.

If you’ve just arrived in Poland and looking to find work as an English teacher, language schools are probably going to be your first place to look, especially if you’re just starting your ESL teaching career.

Language schools operate as private educational centers, where students can voluntarily enroll in classes outside their regular school or work hours to improve their English language skills.

Most language schools try to attract as many students as possible (they’re the paying customers, after all), which means that you can expect to teach just about everyone. Kids, teenagers, adults, basic-level classes, business English, exam cram courses, you name it. Although there are some language schools that cater exclusively to adults or kids, if you’re applying to work at a language school, you can expect to be thrown into classes with students of any age group.

One thing to remember when teaching at language schools is that you’ll only be paid for the hours you teach. And these can be subject to change. Most language schools have a “trickling up” period at the start of each semester, where the class schedule is generally light for the first few weeks until more and more students enroll. It can often take about a month until you’ve reached a full-time teaching schedule of about 20 to 25 classroom hours per week.

You can also expect to work fewer hours around major holidays (Christmas and Easter), during the break between semesters (January), and of course over the summer (July to September), when most language schools have little work, if any. Since you’re teaching kids outside their regular school hours and possibly adults outside of work hours, you can expect most classes to be in the late afternoons and evenings.

The upside of working at language schools is that classes are almost always small, no more than 6–8 students in a class, and since they don’t actually have to be there, most students are very motivated and positive. They want to talk; they want to chat; they’re not there to be bored by another grammar lesson! Although some language schools operate with a set curriculum and pre-made lesson plans, teaching at a language school usually means that you’ll have a lot of freedom as to what you want to teach and how you want to teach it.

Language schools are usually small, family-owned businesses. Within a week or two, you’ll be on first-name terms with the owner and all your fellow teachers. Though there are a few chain language schools operating in Poland, even these typically operate on a franchise model, so you’ll be dealing with the owner and maybe their secretary.

We mentioned earlier that language schools can be a great starting point for newly qualified teachers. While this is undoubtedly true, on the other end of the spectrum, language schools can also be where the most experienced teachers can find the highest salaries and the most room for career growth. There’s really options for everyone!

Even going back before the pandemic boom of online teaching, Poland has had a thriving market of language schools, tutoring centers, and e-learning platforms that hire teachers and offer courses without having their own brick-and-mortar classrooms.

Though most of what we’ve said about language schools also applies to online language schools, we think they deserve their own mention.

Online and hybrid schools can offer both online classes (taught over Zoom, Meet, or their own proprietary software) and in-company classes held at the client’s office. Although some online and hybrid schools offer classes for kids and teenagers, most cater primarily to adult students.

Teaching primarily adult students has several upsides. Adults don’t have regular schooldays to work around, so there are usually no long, unpaid semester breaks. And if you’re teaching in-company classes, you’ll be teaching during regular work hours, not late into the evening.

But there are downsides as well. Adults have their own lives, and their English classes are just a little “extra,” so they cancel class frequently. And they’re usually paying for classes out of their own pocket (or the boss’s pocket), so if finances get tight or they no longer see the value of this investment, you’ll lose the class without much warning.

As such, while jobs at online and hybrid schools can pay excellent hourly rates, they rarely (if ever) offer full-time, stable work. Usually, it’s more of a few hours here and a few hours there, all of which can change at a moment’s notice. Most teachers who take these jobs do it to supplement their income from a language school or string together classes with multiple online and hybrid schools to build a full schedule.

If you’re the type of person who loves working with youngsters, a preschool or kindergarten (these terms are used interchangeably in Poland) can be one of the best and most rewarding places to find work. They can also be a great place to get started, as preschools don’t usually care as much about how many years you’ve been teaching or whether you have a CELTA or not; they just want to see that you love kids and can bring energy to the classroom!

And there are certainly a lot of options! Bilingual and English-language preschools are becoming increasingly popular in Poland every year, making this easily the fastest-growing job market for foreign teachers, not just in Poland but possibly in all of Europe.

Though there are countless options, we’ll start by saying that teaching at a preschool isn’t for everyone. You’ll be spending 6-8 hours a day around the kids and fully responsible for disciplining and controlling them. Teaching duties will be mixed together with regular childcare duties like supervising nap time, with the ratio varying from school to school. If all this makes you grimace, it’s probably best to stick to language schools.

But if you love the idea of spending your days singing and playing games with kids aged 2 to 6, a preschool in Poland will not only be a fun place to work but also one that offers good pay and a stable salary. Preschool jobs are typically salaried, paying a fixed amount each month, and usually offer perks such as paid school holidays, paid sick days, private healthcare, and more.

Although the classroom structure in preschools can differ from school to school, you’ll most likely be working together with a co-teacher (usually a Polish speaker, but not always), with a classroom of about 12 to 20 students who you’ll stay with for the entire school day.

English-language international schools also represent a growing and lucrative job sector for ESL teachers in Poland.

We’re not going to lie; these jobs are a significant step up from teaching at a language school or preschool. We won’t say it’s completely impossible, but you’re unlikely to walk into an international school with just an online TEFL and a few months of experience. Most international schools want to see teachers who have state teaching qualifications, a related bachelor’s or master’s degree, and some experience teaching in their home country.

All this being said, international schools in Poland represent a rapidly growing industry, and Poland is probably the best market for international school teachers to find work in Europe. Pay can be excellent (we’ve seen salaries upwards of €3,000 per month), benefits are great, and there’s a lot of job security and room for growth. So if you’re looking to jump from hopping around regular TEFL jobs to a stable international school position, you might find your golden ticket here.

Most international schools in Poland are primary schools; international high schools and middle schools do exist but are far less common. So you can expect to teach a classroom full of kids aged 7 to 12, usually without a co-teacher. Hours are relatively short compared to preschools; the school day in Poland for primary school kids usually starts at 8 or 8:30am and finishes at 12:30 or 1pm.

Poland has among the world’s most educated populations, and English is required for all university students, so it goes without saying that there is no shortage of opportunities to teach English at the university level in Poland.

Though these are not easy jobs to find. Universities aren’t actively seeking native speakers to teach English (they’ve got plenty of qualified Poles to choose from), so you’ll have to look hard and compete with locals for university positions. And you won’t be able to get in with just a TEFL certificate; as a rule of thumb, if you’re not qualified to teach English at a university in your home country, you’re probably not qualified in Poland either.

But if you do have a Master’s Degree and some experience as a university lecturer, by all means, give it a shot, and you might be looking at some very lucrative, well-paying, and meaningful job opportunities.

In-company ESL teaching is one of the most rewarding and highest-paid opportunities for English teachers in Poland, but it comes with a unique set of challenges and expectations. Teachers working in this field are expected to be highly versatile, creating customized lesson plans that cater to the specific needs of adult professionals. These learners often come from diverse industries and have varying goals, such as improving business communication, enhancing technical vocabulary, or developing confidence in presentations and negotiations.

Lessons may take place online or in person, depending on the client’s preference. Face-to-face classes are often held in the company’s conference rooms, which can require travel to different locations. Teachers should be prepared for a dynamic schedule and adapt quickly to the varying demands of this role.

Given the high-value nature of these clients, companies typically begin by assigning teachers one or two classes per week. This allows them to gather feedback from students and assess the teacher’s effectiveness in meeting client expectations. Over time, as positive feedback accumulates, the workload is likely to increase, potentially reaching as many hours as the teacher can handle.

This type of teaching offers both financial and professional growth but requires dedication, flexibility, and strong interpersonal skills to thrive in a fast-paced, client-focused environment.

We saved this one for last for a reason. That’s because public schools are most certainly where you won’t be working.

Although public schools are where the majority of Poles learn English, the chances of finding work at a Polish public school as a foreign teacher are just about zero. Language barriers, lots of red tape, and a lack of demand to innovate in the classrooms mean that state school jobs are by and large a thing for local teachers.

What’s more, public schools in Poland unfortunately do not pay very well. So while it might be possible to find a job at a public school if you can speak Polish and have a state-issued teaching license, most teachers with these qualifications gravitate towards international schools for higher salaries.

The most flexible for last! Once you’re on the ground in Poland, if you put the effort into putting yourself out there, you should have no trouble finding private students to make some extra money.

This is a highly lucrative market, especially if you’re in a small city or town without many other native speakers to compete with. You can set your own hours, your own prices, pick your classroom (online or in person, as you wish), and pick your own students; flexibility is endless!

While most teachers just have a couple of students that they teach privately on the side for some fun extra income, some business-savvy teachers are able to turn tutoring into full-time work.

So there you have it, the most popular places to teach English in Poland! What’s been your experience? Let us know in the comments!