Teachers Zone

  • Work Monday to Friday
  • Teach a variety of levels and age groups
  • Competitive salary + bonuses
  • Professional EFL development opportunities
  • Unique location: explore the Beskid mountains in your free time!

International House in Poland is looking for an enthusiastic and passionate teacher to join our dedicated team for the school year running until June 10th 2024.

If you would like to apply to join our team, please email your CV and cover letter to the Director of Studies.

What does the job entail?
Our teachers are responsible for delivering high-quality English lessons to a range of group and 1-2-1 students. Administrative duties and lesson planning are part of the job. We aim to give teachers up to 22 clock hours per week.

Do teachers get the support and assistance they need?
The quality of education a student receives is determined by the quality of the teacher, so we are dedicated to you! We will support you by every means possible. We offer regular training sessions, an orientation and induction period (prior to starting work), International House online and in-house training, peer knowledge sharing, observations, a wide range of high-quality resources, and access computers and office equipment. We also make a point of listening to our teachers – if there is something that you need to pursue your continued development as a teacher, tell us and we’ll do what we can!

What are the working hours?
Our group lessons are scheduled from 15.30 to 20.30, and individual and small group classes tend to happen outside of these times. Every effort is made by the Director of Studies to make sure that split shifts are kept to a minimum, but as Bielsko-Biala is a small city, most teachers find that it’s easy to make use of the time between their occasional morning lessons and the afternoon group classes.

What about the school’s history?
International House Bielsko-Biala first opened its doors in 1993, and has been an authorized Cambridge English Examination Centre since 2003. First Steps (a Nursery and Kindergarten) and Primary Steps (a Primary School), which operate out of separate buildings, have been part of our community since the 2000s. All three of our schools have a solid reputation in our local community for the great care we offer our students, families, and teachers alike.

Qualifications

Essential:
– CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL, or equivalent 120-hour TEFL (with observed practice)
– a degree from an institution of higher education
– C2-level English proficiency

Desirable:
– The YL Extension to CELTA or IH Certificate in Teaching Young Learners and Teenagers
– one year experience of teaching EFL in an approved environment
– experience of and/or interest in teaching young learners

Salary and Benefits

On joining the school, our teachers are requested to open a company and to operate as self-employed contractors. Assistance with opening a company and coordinating with an accountant is given.

Self-employed teachers are paid per hour (65-75 PLN)

Extras

  • Approximately 100PLN per month for completing the Online Register
  • Exams bonus of 15PLN per 90-minute exam class taught
  • Flight or travel assistance to help with relocation: 400 PLN for teachers traveling from Europe / 800 PLN for those traveling from other continents.
  • Ski pass valued at 230 PLN for a full academic year
  • FREE 10 survival Polish lessons (for teachers on full academic year contracts).

Why work for IH Bielsko?

As part of the International House Network we love Continuous Professional Development and are always looking to help our teachers develop and grow professionally. All teachers can count on a friendly staffroom atmosphere and ambitious and keen students. On top of that we offer:
– Service quality assurance from International House World and the Polish Education Department
– A spacious teachers’ room (everyone has their own desk!) with adjoining kitchen facilities
– An extensive teaching methodology library
– A thorough Induction to the school
– 10 Free Polish lessons

– A programme of extra-curricular activities for our students
– Regular School Social Events for Teachers (Seasonal Parties, Sleigh Rides, Hiking trips and the like)
– 30 years of experience in English teaching!
– Administrative staff support throughout the whole school year

Our in-house training programme


Our weekly training sessions in the first semester are led by senior members of staff. We choose topics from your suggestions made at the start of the year or follow up on the results of global feedback after a series of observations. In the second semester, teachers new to the school are encouraged to lead sessions or facilitate swap-shop sessions. Help in preparation and feedback afterwards is available. Remember that running training sessions and participating in them is credited on your Professional Development Interview form and can really help you develop as a professional.

Online self-study workshops


Throughout the year our teachers are encouraged to take part in online self-study workshops offered by IH World. These are a maximum of 3 weeks long and completed asynchronously, so you can do them at your own leisure! There is a broad range of topic covered but in case you’re into longer-term courses, too, you might want to consider other IH Online courses offered here: https://ihworld.com/teach/ih-online-teacher-training/).

Professional Development Interviews (PDIs)


All teachers have a Professional Development Interview once per academic year in April or May. A PDI is a summary of your time at the school and lists your teaching strengths and weaknesses, the administrative tasks you have completed during the academic year, the training sessions you may have run, Social Programme events you may have organised and run etc and other aspects such as your reliability, punctuality and co-cooperativeness.

IH Teacher Training Days


Our school has established strong connections with IH Torun, which runs an annual Teacher Training Day. We help to cover travel costs for teachers looking to attend. We also encourage our teachers to attend online events like the IH Kiev Teacher Training Day.

Observations


We use a system of near-constant pop-in observations, so that teachers who need help with a particular class can receive the support they need without having to wait for the formal observations to roll around. There is one formal observation per year, for which teachers need to make additional preparation. Peer observations can also be arranged through consultation with the Director of Studies.

Bielsko-Biala has a lot to offer especially when it comes to nature and outdoor activities. Below please find a very subjective outline of possible free time activities :)

The school organizes regular social events for teachers and students. For teachers, we have seasonal social events such as back-to-school party or sleigh rides in Szczyrk, whereas for students we offer Pub Quizzes (organized by teachers!) and kids clubs. More ideas are always welcome!

Sightseeing: Discover Bielsko and its history! Did you know that the city is famous for its unique Frog House and a statue of Reksio? Check it out here: http://it.bielsko.pl/home-page/
Start sightseeing with this 3D virtual tour of the city: http://spacer.bielsko-biala.pl/
and see more photos here: https://www.facebook.com/lukasztaifun/

Hiking: there is no better free time activity than hiking if you find yourself in Bielsko-Biala. And it only takes 20 minutes on the local bus! To find out more about hiking in the mountains visit: http://it.bielsko.pl/hiking-trails/.

Breweries: visit local breweries and try our delicious beer! If you’re a fan, apart from the brewery in Bielsko, you should also consider visiting Zywiec and Tychy. Cheers!

Local day trips: visit Goczalkowice-Zdroj or Zywiec to see some of the pretties landscapes in Silesia. The two lakes are especially appealing in spring and summer when you can rent pedal boats or swim. Pszczyna is also worth a trip if you would like to see European Bisons. You can also visit:

Szczyrk: one of the biggest ski resorts in the country. Only 30 minutes away!
Auschwitz: the infamous Nazi concentration camp is located in Oswiecim, Only 30 minutes away from Bielsko
Wadowice: the birthplace of John Paul II and home of the famous cream cake! Only 1 hour away from Bielsko.

Weekends away: so many places, so little time! Discover Silesia and other regions of Poland, and if there’s time left, why not go abroad? Have a look at our suggestions for your weekends away:
Katowice: the capital city of Silesia – 40-50 minutes from Bielsko by train
Krakow: the most famous Polish city – only two hours away by bus
Warsaw: the capital city of Poland – getting there shouldn’t take more than 4 hours
Wroclaw: this city was home to 10 Nobel Prize winners!

Approximately 5 hours away by train. It’s really worth the trip! – The Polish seaside: the Baltic Sea awaits! Approximately 7-8 hours away from Bielsko.
Vienna, Austria: this beautiful city can be reached within hours either by train or bus in 6-7hours.
The Czech Republic: the border with this beautiful country is only 40 minutes away by bus. Prague can be reached by getting a train from Cesky Tesin (on the border) and it takes 4-5 hours in total.