A Mother in School!

As my mother is currently over from the UK, it's a perfect opportunity to invite her into my lessons to meet and chat with the students. Here she is in 2 English classes at 2 different language schools! One traditional and one modern.

English can be Fun!

Learning English is not just about sitting in the classroom and reciting words and doing boring grammar exercises. Far from it! English can be fun, fun, fun...and in my lessons I try to make them as enjoyable as possible. Take last week's upper intermediate class for example. A simple lesson on the lexical set of the body was turned into a fun visual activity by getting the students to draw around one of their class mates and then consequently label the body! Fun for all ages!

An English view in the heart of Toruń!

This was the other shot that I nearly went for in yesterday's city photo swap. No we haven't gone back in time to 19th Century London nor are we even back in England. This Impressionist style painting is actually in the heart of the Old Town of Toruń! In fact it is a false window on the side of the local language school "ENGLISH SCHOOL" - where yours truly is employed as the school's native language teacher. You can check out their website at: http://www.englishschool.alpha.pl. Nothing like a shameless plug for my school!!

English language teaching is a huge industry here in Poland. On average most Poles can speak at least 2-3 languages (unlike the lazy English!). Here in Toruń (a relatively small city with a population of 200,000) there are at least 30 private language schools...all competing against each other. I have no idea how they survive. Every year new schools arrive...but also some do go.

As a qualified English teacher, I enjoy teaching the language. It's a great job...one which is both rewarding and incredibly interesting. I recommend anyone who enjoys meeting people from different cultures to take up the challenge and enroll on a TEFL course. If you need any tips or advice about teaching English to foreigners, please drop me a line!

On the right is a picture of me leading a conversation class about the cultural differences between Poland and England (there are many!).