Pocket money jobs for a retiree with no English

[zendeveloper]

Need some brainstrorming from the hivemind.
Looking for some "pocket money" job ideas for the following situation.

A person in their mid-60s, with no English at all (and probably limited ability to learn it to any reasonable level from scratch now), who had a long professional career but it was not in the UK and their skills are not directly transferrable (let's say, a lawyer or an accountant).

Looking for a hobby job for them that would be more to satisfy a desire to be busy and useful rather than to earn money. Unfortunately, there are serious health restrictions so intense manual jobs are probably out of the question.

Living in London at the moment.

Is it possible to do a WFH role for the country where the language they speak is spoken

Unfortunately, unlikely - the country is not in the best shape at the moment, at all.

Is there a community centre for that country/language where they could volunteer?

Could they offer online conversation sessions to learners of their own language- perhaps with some support at first?

I don't think there is a lot of demand for the language they speak - it is not a world language.

Community volunteering centres exist and might be an option, but the situation is that these centres usually look for someone with dual English / native language skills to help people to get around in the UK (helping with GPs/councils/benefits /schools etc). Just a native language speaker is unlikely to be of much help there (probably would even be a burden, and not help).

The problem is with no English at all the jobs are likely to be very menial - kitchen work, basic cleaning etc.. If their language is not widely spoken then they will be reliant on others from their country in London. Is there an existing community here that could help? For example could they do domestic jobs for someone from their country?

How do they manage day to day living here with no English? I would definitely be making it a priority to try and learn some basics. That would keep them busy for a while?

Are there any take away/ resturant places that link to their country of origin?

If not I think you need to accept you're pretty much asking where to find a unicorn for your daily commute to work.

Maybe they could get an allotment plot? That would keep them busy and be useful and not need any English.

Otherwise I think you need to seek out other people who speak this language. It would be extremely unlikely that there are no other speakers of this language in London! Once they have a language in common, then this person can assist with all manner of things cleaning/DIY/childcare/driving/care for an elderly person/odd jobs etc. Possibly on a voluntary basis rather than paid, but will keep them busy.

What's the language?

Some local councils also recruit litter pickers. They'd probably need help applying (which presumably you could do) and then they just get a high vis jacket and litter picker and can do whatever hours they want. You do it on your own so no need to speak English.

Pet sitting?

Dog walking

Duolingo would be their friend. It is a free online learning course for many languages. A great many of it's "students" are 60+. It is a very easy course to learn the basics of a language. As your friend was a professional in there own country, and presuming that they don't have a dementia, there is no reason why they can't learn at least basic English.

Are they your in-law, who has maybe come to live with you here? I can't realistically see them getting any sort of paid job without any English. But you can easily spend several hours daily on Duolingo without getting bored, and you then have the best result possible.

If this person has health issues they will get by much more comfortably with medics if they can tell the medics their symptoms, and if they can understand what is being said back to them. As they age they become increasingly likely to have to spend some time in hospital. I find the times I spend in hospital very stressful and I am English. I could not stand to feel in pain and vunerable in hospital, and not being able to understand what any of the staff or other patients are saying.

Obviously many other English language courses are available, both on-line, or by attending something like evening classes at college. But I truly believe that encouraging them to learn English is by far the best thing you can do for them if they are going to live here indefinitely.

Why do you think they won't be able to learn basic English? I agree with PP that if this person was a professional in their native land and is keen to be occupied, then being able to communicate will be really important. They will be so limited in employment options otherwise. Perhaps they could volunteer somewhere and learn English while on the job?

If they don't really need the money that badly why don't they enrol onto their local ESOL course. These courses are just starting.

If they have mobility issues they could do it online.

Learning basic English would be the first step.

All the jobs mentioned, whilst working alone, would still mean taking and following instructions. If they can't understand the instructions they can't do the job for H&S reasons.

We may have a similar situation here, and it’s been virtually impossible to find anything that’s not manual work or related to home country. Ours here volunteers (unpaid) as a tutor for children from the country of origin who still follow the school curriculum from their country which is highly appreciated by the community

with no English at all (and probably limited ability to learn it to any reasonable level from scratch now)

Mid-60s, clearly intelligent (lawyer or accountant) they can definitely learn more than basic English. I just spent the last 6 months learning the basics of a very obscure language with a different alphabet and sentence structure for a holiday. I'm not young! I am keen on languages but actually being in the country, I could have learned a lot more quickly.

I'd concentrate on learning. There are volunteers who will help with new immigrants' learning English. My mum and a friend both did this. Otherwise you're left with pretty menial, normally physical jobs.

Yes they are reliant on others (live with family), who do all the admin stuff at the moment.

Learning the language is genuinely unlikely to be possible, they tried for ~10 years before in a relaxed format (duolingo etc), and intensely during the last year (20 hours / week in a good language school), and it just doesn't stick. They are not stupid or unintelligent, I think this just might be the age that is the factor here, difficult to learn new things.

I actually have 2 people (a couple) in this situation, not just one, but both have exactly the same profile.

X-posted with the language information. I find that really interesting. I know I have a knack for languages and I suppose there are people who have the opposite.

In which case probably something within the community is best. I'd imagine of people have admin tasks linked to their home country, they would still need a professional to help.

If it's not outing, what are the language(s) they speak?

The family does everything now if it requires any language interaction.

Gardening
Dog walking
Litter picking
Allotment

Would they be able to do after school care for a smaller child? 3-4 hours a day?

I imagine yes, it must be a very similar situation.

Volunteer tutoring is a good idea in general, but it would be healthy for them to be able to earn a few pounds from it. Not for the financial gain, they are fully supported by family on that front and this will continue, but rather for mental comfort.

No, not outing, they speak Ukrainian and Russian.

There’s an awful lot of people at my local adult learning who are age in their 70s and 80s perfectly capable of learning foreign languages. They need to immerse and only watch English TV and speak English at home etc. When you have no option but to speak the language you rapidly pick it up. They need to watch films they are familiar with in English.

Maybe working on a charity shop would give them something to do but also some more exposure to the English language.

How did they get visas to live in the UK?

If the language is studied at university then could they volunteer to be chat with students or check their written work?