Native speakers chased off by tough rules

by Greg Goodale

Polish teachers are increasingly taking the place of foreigners in the classroomNative speakers are essential to preparing students for examinations, according to some language school officials. But Poland's cumbersome work permit regulations and the high cost of employing foreigners means that Polish teachers are increasingly taking the place of foreigners in the classroom.
For Kevin Hadley, school manager at the Greenwich School of English, native speakers have always been an important part of the staff. By bringing students into contact with their local forms of spoken English, the school's 20 native speakers give students first-hand experience with the nuances of the language and help them pass exams, Hadley said. "We still value and welcome native speakers," he said. "We advertise them as our selling point because there are people on the market who want native speakers, especially at higher levels and exam classes."But the procedure for employing foreigners in Poland makes it difficult for language schools to employ native speakers in large numbers, said Aneta Mikulińska managing director at the Pol-Anglo School of English, which has five native speakers out of a total of around 100 teachers. Poland's immigration laws mean that prospective candidates for teaching posts must travel to Poland so that their employers can obtain work permits for them, a procedure that requires multiple visits to the local employment office.
"There are huge queues in employment offices," Mikulińska said. "The formalities are very complicated and the level of bureaucracy is enormous." Before a foreign teacher can begin work he must first collect his visa at an embassy in the country where his passport is issued. Since schools usually cover the cost of this journey, this creates an economic disadvantage to hiring North American teachers. "But these things don't deter us as long as the teacher is good," Mikulińska said.
Once the formalities are dealt with, schools also find expats expensive to employ as prices for classes are driven down but native speakers are still paid up to zł. 55 an hour.
According to Mike Mills, owner and director of the Mike Mills School of English, which employs only native speakers, schools see better business sense in employing Polish teachers. "Schools employ Polish teachers and pay them less," Mills said. On top of economic disincentives, language schools also find it hard to find qualified teachers because visiting Poland is no longer a high priority for young people, Hadley said. "The English teaching market is so global that Poland isn't the first preference for most teachers," Hadley said. "Given the choice between Spain, Brazil and Poland, the chances are that Poland won't be at the top of the list."
According to Monika Popiołek, director of Maart Language College, this makes Polish nationals better equipped to deal with high-profile company teaching contracts and as a result Maart employs only six native speakers out of a total 35. "We were a very interesting place to work about 10 years ago and people weren't too concerned about the rates because they thought it was an interesting place to be in," Popiołek said. "Now we get people who can't find employment in their own country and have a certificate that they've done two weeks of training. Most of these people shouldn't be teaching anything - they don't know anything about methodology. It's better to have a good Polish teacher."