Czech schools face lack of qualified English teachers

An overwhelming majority of Czech school children choose English as their first foreign language but there is often no one to teach them. A recent report by the Czech School Inspection has shown that Czech schools are facing a serious lack of qualified English teachers as well as native English speakers.

Photo: European Commission

Every year, dozens of qualified English teachers graduate from pedagogical faculties all over the country, but very few of them choose to become teachers. As a result Czech schools are forced to employ people who don’t have appropriate qualifications. A quarter of English teachers at primary schools have no qualification at all and the number is even higher at secondary schools. At the same time, native speakers willing to teach English are now practically unavailable. Currently only about two percent of native speakers living in the Czech Republic teach English at elementary and secondary schools.

Brian Callaghan has been teaching English in the Czech Republic since the 1990s. He started at a state secondary school, but after a few years he moved into the private sector. His bread-and-butter now are business classes and courses for high school graduates. He says money was the reason that made him leave the public school where he taught:

“The pay was very low. I wouldn’t mind teaching in the public system, but I have two children at home. The private school doesn’t make me a millionaire, but if I was working at a state school, there would be no way I could afford anything – with two kids at home. To be honest, I know a lot of Czechs who are great teachers and who work for the private sector because they were unable to survive working in the public schools. And these are great teachers who would be a benefit to Czech children.”

But according to Brian Callaghan, money is not the only reason why native speakers choose to go elsewhere:

“There are visa complications: nobody really understands the immigration rules. How it works to get a six month or a year-long visa. It has gotten a little more expensive, so Prague isn’t as cheap as it used to be. People used to get off the plane with their backpack and they were able to settle in for three or four months and then get a job. It isn’t as easy now.”

Despite the increasing lack of qualified English teachers, Brian Callaghan says Czech children speak English much better than they used to. While Czech teachers can hardly expect a pay rise in the years to come, the Czech School Inspection is hoping to improve the situation with a new national concept on foreign language teaching.