Rekrutacja

What do teachers think about working with us?

I applied for a teaching position at Oxford learning Center (Radom, Poland) in March 2014. After a successful interview and being offered a contract, the school was very efficient in terms of obtaining my work permit. Being a non-EU citizen, this was my biggest concern, but the school was very supportive. Within a couple of weeks of being offered the job, they were already in the process of obtaining my work permit and they kept me updated the entire time. I was also asked early on if I had any preferences regarding the ages and levels that I wanted to teach.

Upon my arrival in Poland, I was picked up from the airport by one of the school staff who kindly offered to accompany me on my first shopping trip and took me to my new apartment.
I was pleasantly surprised to find flowers on the table, some food in the fridge, and my apartment spotlessly cleaned. The DOS also made an effort to take me out for coffee in the first week and give me a little introduction to Radom.

At the start of the contract, the school held a comprehensive induction for the new teaching staff. It included a welcoming speech from the director of the school, mingling activities for getting to know the other teachers, information regarding the job and the school (teachers’ duties and responsibilities, school regulations, etc.), as well as useful teaching advice (classroom management tips , ways of presenting new grammar and vocabulary, information about the Cambridge exams, etc.). We also had the opportunity to watch demo lessons by experienced teachers at the school.

From the start, the school has fulfilled all of its contractual obligations. We are always paid on time and accurately, and the director of the school usually make an effort to ensure that we receive our pay before a school break (when teachers like to go away on holiday). The school provides wonderful accommodation for its native teaching staff. The rent is paid for by the school (apart from utility charges) and the apartments are in excellent condition. My apartment is spacious, nicely decorated and fully-equipped with new furniture, kitchen utensils and internet connection. It is also cleaned once a month by the school cleaner to ensure that it is kept in good condition.

Given that this was my first full-time job as a teacher, I was grateful to receive a lot of support from the DOS, particularly in my first year. The DOS makes an effort to meet daily with all the teachers to discuss lesson plans, as well as to offer her advice or suggestions. At the same time, teacher initiative is very much valued at the school, and we are encouraged to come up with original ideas and implement them in our lessons. The staff room contains a comprehensive library full of wonderful teaching resources to aid us in our lesson planning. Teacher development is also extremely important at OLC – we are encouraged by the DOS to reflect on our own personal teaching goals and expectations, and we are given full support in order to achieve these. I certainly feel that after almost two years working at OLC, I have grown in confidence, gained valuable experience and improved my teaching methods and skills immensely. We have also had the opportunity to attend useful internal and external workshops, which are always a great opportunity to extend our theoretical and practical knowledge of the ESL field.

Overall, I am very happy about my time spent working at OLC, and certainly very grateful for the valuable teaching experience that I’ve gained and the support I’ve been given while working there.

Noelia