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Teaching English in the Eastern Block

By Susan Griffith

The citizens of the former Eastern Bloc no longer see English as a salvation or even as an automatic passport to higher wages and a better life, but they have not stopped wanting to learn it. The English language teaching industry is now more limited and more likely to hire teachers with proven experience or an appropriate qualification.

On the other hand, economic crises in Russia and its former satellites mean that neither state schools nor private language institutes can afford to pay expatriate salaries, so there are still opportunities for nonprofessional teachers.

The easiest way to become employable is to acquire TEFL qualifications, which can be cheaper to obtain in Eastern Europe. For example International House in Prague, Budapest, Kraków, and Wroclaw all offer the Cambridge-regulated Certificate in English Language Training to Adults (CELTA) course. ITC Prague and Via Lingua offer their own four-week certificate course monthly in Prague.

Once a qualification has been obtained, contact organizations with franchise schools in the region such as EF English First (www.englishfirst.com).

The Soros Professional Language Teaching Program (SPELT) based at the Univ. of Montana (www.soros.org/initiatives/english) places instructors in schools in Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia. An MA in Applied Linguistics or TESOL is required in most cases, though EFL certification will be considered if candidates have prior teaching experience.

While organizations in the U.S. are able to send volunteer teachers without a TEFL qualification, a university degree and some teaching experience is expected. For example, Bridges for Education (www.bridges4edu.org) organizes international summer peace camps which involve volunteers teaching for three weeks in the summer in Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and the Ukraine. The program involves some training and orientation before departure plus airfare.

Russia

Russia is in its worst political and economic crisis since 1991. Businesses everywhere are closing temporarily or permanently. Many English language schools have been forced to close or shrink as fewer and fewer Russians can afford to pay for lessons. According to one estimate, of the more than 150 language schools in Moscow, only about 20 can afford to employ native speaker teachers.

Apart from the qualified teachers working for the major foreign-owned language chains, the majority of English teachers have come through voluntary placement organizations or are students of Russian with an interest in the language and culture. Several organizations in the U.S. offer volunteers the chance to teach English at a variety of levels.

The Teaching Intern program run by Project Harmony (www.projectharmony.org) arranges for recent college graduates and experienced teachers to work in host schools and institutions in Russia and Ukraine for six months or a year. The placement fee of $2,150 includes airfare from the U.S. (but not health insurance which costs an extra $35 a month). Accommodations are with host families. Project Harmony has offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Petrozavodsk.

The American Slavic Student Internship Service and Training Corporation (ASSIST) offers a variety of internships for both experienced and inexperienced teachers, with a stipend equal to the average Russian wage. Internship program fees range from about $2,700 for a one-month program to more than $8,000 for a one-year placement including return travel, visa expenses, etc. Contact: ASSIST, assistusa@aol.com.

Red Tape

As foreigners have flooded into these countries over the past decade, governments have made it more difficult to obtain visas. For example, the work visa for teachers in Poland must be obtained before arrival in Poland and costs more than $150. In Russia, visas and residence permits are specific to a given employer; when a pre-arranged job turns out to be less than expected, switching is difficult. Officially, it is always necessary to obtain a work visa outside the country, though in some cases employers can fix up the red tape after arrival on a tourist visa.

Teaching Contacts

Czech Republic

Caledonian School, www.caledonianschool.com. Large school employing up to 80 teachers in various locations.

Encounter English, www.encounterenglish.com/vialingua.htm.

Languages at Work, www.languagesatwork.cz.

Poland

American Academy of English, Ul. Slowackiego 16, Katowice 40-094; Tel/fax 011-48-32-253-0272/3/4; aae@silesia.top.pl (affiliated with U.S.-based Polish American Foundation for Cultural Exchange). Thirty-two North Americans employed at AAE branches throughout Poland; must be university graduates.

Berlitz Poland, ul Miedziana 11, 00-835 Warsaw; 011-48-22-652-0848, 011-48-22-652-0909. One hundred freelance teachers for seven centers in Poland; must have college education.

BEST, Zespól Lektorów BEST, ul. Pestazziego 11/13, 80-445 Gdansk; Tel./fax 011-48-58-344-3474; bestudu@ikp.atm.com.pl.

EF English First, Smolna 8 p XVIII, 00-375 Warsaw; 011-48-22-826 8206, fax 011-22-826 0871; ef-1@ef.com.pl.

ELS-Bell School of English, ul. Polanki 110, 80-308 Gdansk; Tel./fax 011-48-58-554-8382. Twenty teachers for centers in Gdansk, Gdynia, Bydgoszcz, and Szczecin.

JDJ Service, ul. Gronowa 22, pol. 615-621 Vlp, 61-655 Poznan; 011-48-61-820-3159; fax 011-61-821-3109; jdj-hqs@ikp.atm.com.pl. Twenty native speakers to work for at least three months in schools in Poznan, Szczecinn and Bialystock.

Lektor Szkola Jezydow Obcych, ul. Olawska 2, 50-123 Wroclaw; Tel./fax 011-48-71-343-2599/725292. Thirty teachers employed after interview.

Stairway School of English, Ulica Dunajewskiego 6/415, 31-133 Kraków; Tel./fax 011-48-12-422-1836.

Target Professional English Consultants, Ulica Polna 50 7p, 00-644 Warsaw; 011-48-22-660-7054, fax 011-48-22-660-7029; targeted@ it.com.pl. Up to 50 teachers needed.

Slovakia

City University Slovakia with campuses in Bratislava, Trencin, and Poprad; jflahery@cityu.edu. Hiring takes place mainly in the early summer through the Human Resources Dept., City Univ., 335 116th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98004; 425-637-1010 ext. 4011 or 3973, fax 425-637-9689; sanderson@cityu.edu. Thirty teachers are hired, preferably with an MA in TESOL (or equivalent), plus six months teaching experience or with at least a BA plus TEFL certification and international living experience.

The English Club, Pri mlyne 36, 800 14 Bratislava; 011-421-7-5477-2106, fax 011-421-7-5477-2411.

Russia

American Academy of Foreign Languages (Moscow), 17 Bolsahya, Cheremushkinskaya, Moscow; 011-7-095-127-23-91, fax 011-7-095-129-14-11; aafl@co.ru. Twenty full-time native speaker teachers with awareness of differences between American and British English. Business background preferred.

American Academy of Foreign Languages (St. Petersburg), 11A Pervaya, Krasnoarmeyskaya, Office 52, St. Petersburg; Tel/fax 011-7-812-316-41-48; young@solaris.ru.

BKC-International House, www.bkcih-moscow.com. Seventy teachers throughout Russia, including 50 in Moscow.

EF English First, 125 Brestskaya 1st St., 5th Fl., 125047 Moscow; 011-7-095-937-3886, fax 011-7-095-937 3889. Twenty-five posts in 15 schools (11 in Moscow, others in St. Petersburg, Niznhy Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, and Vladivostok).

Language Link Schools, Language Link, Novoslobodskaya 5/2, Moscow, 127055, Russia; Tel. +7 495 251 4889; Fax. +7 499 973 2155; jobs@languagelink.ru, www.jobs.languagelink.ru. Teaching posts throughout Russia.

Baltics

APPLE/American Partnership for Lithuanian Education, P.O. Box 617, Durham, CT 06422; 203-347-7095, fax 203-327-5837. Prospective teachers looking for placement in the state system in Lithuania are invited to submit their resumés.

Department of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Education and Science, Volano Gatve 2/7, 2691 Vilnius, Lithuania; 011-370-2-622483, fax 011-370-2-612077, Lithuanian state schools are looking for native speakers to teach conversational English.

EF English First, Kosciuskos g. 11, 2000 Vilnius, Lithuania; 011-370-2-791616, fax 2-791646. Ten teachers.

Ukraine

Ukraine has a serious shortage of English teachers. Several émigré organizations in the U.S. recruit volunteers, warning that teachers must be prepared to accept a modest standard of living. Project Harmony and Bridges for Education (described in article) have active programs in Ukraine.

London School of English, Central Post Office, P.O. Box ?B? 158, 242001 Kiev, Ukraine; Tel./fax 011-380-44-241-8654/8927; admin@lse.kiev.ua. Employs 14 or more teachers for Kiev and Odessa.

Monarch International Language Academy, 8 Vorovskogo Str, 252000 Kiev, Ukraine; 011-380-44-212-0206, fax 011-380-44-212-5683. Ukrainian-American Humanitarian Institute, Wisconsin International Univ. Ukraine, 9 Pyrogov St., Kiev 252030, Ukraine; Tel./Fax 011-380-44-216-0666, Tel. 011-44-274-1916. MA in ESL/EFL preferred, BAs accepted; business administration background useful.

SUSAN GRIFFITH is co-editor of Work Abroad and contributing editor for Work Abroad for Transitions Abroad Magazine. See Susan's bio for more information about her extensive bibliography.

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