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Teaching English in the Czech Republic
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teaching english in the czech republic
"I worked for a large school in Prague and I would say, go to the Czech Republic
with savings because your pay will all go on rent and food. I worked split
shifts which felt like working 14 hours a day!
Good luck"
Posted by Caldon, 09/06/08
"The wages are very very low. I spent more than I earned. Rent in Prague is very
expensive if you are not Czech! Tax is around 30 percent. The wages and working
conditions are poor, Prague is quite rough but has a good cheap metro. This is a
place people go because they have to get TEFL experience."
Posted by Thomas, 22/03/08
"I worked in the Czech Republic for a few months near the polish border. The pay
was low and I was made to sign a contract which stated that I was a cleaner!
This was so the school could avoid tax. I was never paid correctly or on time,
also when lessons were cancelled I was not paid even when I was sitting in the
room not knowing that the class was cancelled. Most Czech people seem to dislike
foreigners and people will try to rip you off all the time from taxi drivers to
schools and shopkeepers. However, the landscape of the Czech Republic is amazing
but Prague is the most over rated destination in the world and is a long way
from being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It has a small nice part
and a good metro system for a city of its size but much of it is a dump and
rough. The small good part is nothing spectacular unless you are from the USA."
Anonymous, 18/10/07
"Hi, I've been living in the UK for the last two years but my nationality is
Czech. I have to strongly disagree with ~Siddharta~ that we have the worst food
(or whatever...). In fact, everyone I've talked to from the UK fell in love with
Czech food. It's very different from the English food but for you -siddharta-
and others who probably expected to pig out on chips or burgers - should have
stayed home!!!"
Posted by Adela, 28/02/07
"Before you teach in the Czech Republic, be prepared. Czech students know how to
study languages, and compared to English speaking people have a good knowledge
of their own language! They can easily see through "teachers" who do not know
how to really teach, and the country is full of these people who give native
speaker teachers a bad name.
Do not work without proper documentation, permits etc. You could well find that
you will not be paid, as only cowboy schools will employ people illegally.
Non-EU citizens can be deported for working without papers, which takes months
to sort out before arriving. For example, Canadians have to wait 4 months for
clearance.
Like every country there are good and bad people, but in general if you respect
the people and the culture, they will do the same to you. Good teachers are
respected and can earn good money.
Regarding red tape, just smile and try not to get angry in state offices."
Posted by Laurence, 05/08/06
"I was in Prague 93-95 on a crap salary with quite a bit of free time and an
open mind. I still have a sympathy for Czechs and things Czech. Cheap life if
you keep out of the centre and the ex-pat haunts. Lots of good music and
cultural life and some great people if you can ignore the drunks and keep a
positive outlook and learn to get your tongue around consonant clusters and
haceks.
Moravia was even better.
Slovakia has pluses and minuses over Czech. I
also have fond memories of Slovakia and Slovaks. Real snow - one crystal seen
with a blue-sky-backdrop. Hills and forests - great territory for cross country.
Czech beer #1... Czech and Slovak food the worst of anywhere I have lived. But
if you are not worried about paying a mortgage or an ex-wife back home, you can
have a rewarding time in the former CZ.
Czech students? - pussycats. Don't teach anywhere else if you cannot manage
hesky czesky."
Posted by Siddharta, 16/06/06
"I am a retired business woman and after some courses in teaching ESL and
receiving a certificate I took a position in Prague at a language school run by
the State. I found the students in general very inattentive, some were
disruptive (maybe because I was older) but I knew two Australians who had the
same experiences as I did. The hours offered for working were changed to less
hours and the pay was not good - you really need some extra money to cover your
expenses. There is always a great possibility for private lessons but they don't
pay too much. Nobody helped me to find accommodation (my son works in Prague and
finally found me a small apartment). If you are a foreigner the landlords will
always increase the rent - unless the school has accommodation for you. Many of
the positions are outside the city.
There is not much to do, however, unless you find a position in a city, and
besides Prague, there are not too many of them. I stayed 8 months and then
returned home. Of course if you are a young person it might be a different
experience. The Czechs don't care for Americans very much and blame us for all
the evils in the world!!! Prague is a beautiful city full of history, they have
modern
cinemas and the public
transportation is excellent. If you have any questions you can email me at
liverpoolmomtwo@msn.com"
Posted by liverpoolmomtwo@msn.com, 13/01/06
"My name is Tanja. I'm a 29 year-old Dutch girl. I came to the Czech Republic
about 3 years ago. I had developed a project for children at a grammar school
and lived in Jablonec Nad Nissau for two months to monitor my own program. I
went back to the Netherlands and after my graduation party I decided to try my
luck in Prague. Prague was fine, but I figured it would be even more relaxed to
live in the mountains, so I moved to a town close to Karlovy Vary (nearby the
German border) Last year I opened my own little private English language school
here. I have about 50 students. (between 10 and 69 years old) and live very
happily.
Of course, there are (and hopefully always will be) lots and lots of cultural
shocks when you live in another country. Here are the three things that have
affected me most:
First of all I think people, in general of course, are very closed. They would
not easily make complaints or openly disagree with you. They often think their
own thing and complain about it to other people, rather than facing a conflict.
This is actually one of the hardest things for me to handle, because I was
taught, both at home and at school, to have a strong opinion about everything.
Secondly I think that, compared to Holland, people are very old-fashioned here.
In Holland I was pretty normal. Now, all of a sudden, I am a feminist, because I
want to carry my own bag and I let my boyfriend iron my clothes. The role
patterns between men and women are strictly set here and you surely get comments
when you act differently. What I can appreciate is that ladies always enter a
room first, except for the pub. A man enters the pub first, because there might
be a fight going on. He basically has to check out if it is safe to go in :-)
But being old-fashioned also shows in education - clothes - etc.
How people behave and react has got, of course, a lot to do with the history of
the country. I had to learn a lot about the history of this country in order to
understand and respect the differences.
What I like much more here than in the Netherlands is that hardly anyone is
rushing anywhere. Life is more relaxed. (maybe, in the end also because not
everyone is so desperate to tell you his opinion about things :-)
Anyway, some tips that might help you if you are interested in teaching in the
Czech Republic:
* read about the history before you leave and be careful to start a conversation
about communism. People tend to be easily offended or they feel ashamed.
* buy a small pocket 'how to say it in Czech'.
The moment people find out your Czech is even worse than their English, they
lose a lot of their fear to speak and most probably start in English themselves.
(if not... you still have the book :-)
* don't think you are cool/nice when you give big tips. People hate it.
* in Prague, there is no need to arrange a job before you leave. When I got to
Prague I opened a phonebook and called 5 schools and had 4 jobs... It is better
to work at private schools. They say teachers don't
get paid well, but I think they don't work much either!! An average day is from
8 to 1300 or 1400. Between every 45 min. lesson there is, at least, a ten-minute
break. Once you get more settled you would have enough time to do some extra
teaching here and there, but your social and health insurance are covered right
from the start.
* living in Prague is a bit more complicated. It starts from 6.000 crowns (200
Euro) and you probably have to share a flat with one or two people for that kind
of money. It took me about 1 week to find something, but people say I got lucky.
Adverts are in the daily newspapers, but it is better to try your luck on the
Internet. I got my room because my flatmate was interested in having to speak
English at home.
* I think as a teacher of the English language you can basically find work all
over the Republic and outside Prague cost of living is lower and in my opinion
more pleasant, but less 'exciting'.
* public transport in Prague is fantastic. Get yourself a monthly (or annual)
pass and travel everywhere in comfort (even at night)
* just be friendly and people will invite you home and let you taste typical
Czech food: strawberry dumplings with cream, zeli - vepro - knedliky (mjamm :-)
I guess I can write for hours, but in the end you have to experience things
yourself anyway, right?
Finally I would like to add that if you either have some more questions or if
you are interested to come and have a look/teach here in Nejdek, feel free to
write me! My students and I would be happy to hear from you!
Posted by Tanja, 28/11/05
M.R.Bot@seznam.cz
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