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.

Leafleting was a good suggestion. They are intelligent and obviously can use google maps and citymapper to find their way around, so should not be a big issue (unless they are to get instructions verbally on the phone). And it doesn't even have to be a market going rate, I am pretty sure they will be happy for £5/hour or something like that.

Could you speak to the universities near you? If they have students learning Russian or Ukrainian they might want to have time speaking with a native speaker.

I volunteer in a community garden and one of our volunteers is Iraqi with very little English. But with gestures and Google translate she can follow exactly what needs doing and works hard. She's genuinely a great asset to our little team. And she brings excellent sweet treats for tea time.

Is there anything like that near you?

Were their learning attempts before they came to properly live in the UK though? You mention they're refugees so I assume their coming to live in the UK is a recent development.

I tried for decades to learn my family's heritage language, both casually and intensively. Never worked! But once I spent a few years in a country that speaks that language, in a household that speaks that language, well it "stuck".

Even if their intensive efforts were made in the UK, it's still a classroom setting. It's common for English immigrants (or expats as they like to call themselves) to still be totally lost at speaking the local language abroad despite intensive classroom lessons there.

You really need to give it time and organic cultivation. I know they're old but even just a tiny bit, the basic phrases, would be helpful. There are so so many bilingual social and community services/centres for different languages and ages in London. And even something like bilingual telly would help a bit.

Again, realistically very very very few English people abroad learn the language to passable level, so for old people I'm not expecting much, but even just learning a compilation of phrases would be so helpful! It would be really helpful for sense of belonging too.

Yes or language exchange clubs. A bonus is that they can also learn English at a very slow conversational pace, and in a way which makes them feel valued (as native Russian/Ukranian speakers) rather than overwhelmed.

They tried to learn it both before and here (for a year in the UK, in one of top international language schools), and they have lived for 1.5 years in a household where English is the predominant language (if not with them) and spend a few hours per day with their grandchildren who spoke only English (it is the grandchildren who learned languages as the result lol). I think it is a safe bet now to say that English is probably simply not happening to them. Thus this thread, as there were some illusions previously that they will learn the language and try to be independent, but now it is more and more clear that it won't be the case. Hit them quite hard too.
They know a few phrases and hello - thank you - goodbye, but that is it.

If this is the first time they have lived in England and been immersed in its language they may be able to pick up the basics this time.

Just seen your last post, that must be so hard for them. They must feel so isolated.

This person's not much older than me - I assure you we are perfectly capable of learning in our 60s.

And if they were in a profession, they'll have a learning mindset plus a degree of education and learning ability that will support learning.

I'd say first up find an English conversation group as a priority - not being able to speak a word of the language in the country they live in is a massive self-led disadvantage.

Can they practice their profession online to people with their language? I'm assuming they have access to internet, laptop etc.

Can they do training/coaching online to those with their language who want to study their profession?

Are they a member of any community groups for their language/culture? That might help source opportunities. They might meet people from their country who have businesses here and may be able to offer employment.

Without knowing their language/profession (absolutely appreciate you're protecting their privacy) it's difficult to suggest further.

I'm 60. 60s is absolutely not too old to learn a language. They need different techniques. A class may help. I agree with the person who mentioned immersion.

I’d go back to the earlier suggestions of conversation practice and other tutoring. When you said it wasn’t a world language, I wasn’t expecting you to mention Russian, which is hugely popular. I wouldn’t dismiss Ukrainian either.

It’s easy to do this sort of thing online now via platforms like italki (where you can also do free language exchanges, which would help with English). I imagine that a professional who is guaranteed to speak only in the target language would be very appealing to many learners.

It doesn't sound like money is a major issue so I wonder if a personal tutor popping by (even just 1x a week) is an option.

I found that incredibly different from classroom teaching. Personal tutors base their teaching on your own life: for example, words to use with / about grandkids, which will definitely interest those 2 old people. They also can give you unique ways to remember that, suited to you - and even personalised reminder flashcards.

Pace and all is very adaptable too – 1 phrase a week or even 1 phrase a month (go as slow as you need) would be great! I think a bilingual personal tutor would be a good source of connection and friendship too.

That said, I don't want to sound like I'm beating a dead horse. I identify greatly with the struggle of language just "not sticking" so just wanted to provide options if you haven't thought of those. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach – I've seen people give up entirely due to trying to learn too much all at once, and it's just very isolating.

It's a good approach to look for something else for their mental health first though, as you're doing, instead of hinging everything on them learning English. Really sorry that I didn't give any good suggestions on that.

Is it a tiny bit of stubbornness? Refusal to try and learn English basics? I'm struggling to grasp this, because Like others have said there is so much support right now from both churches and organisations to help Ukrainian families in all/so many ways.

Oh gosh, 60s is so much younger than I imagined. Even young adults struggle and fail to learn with classroom teaching and immersion though. So I recommend private 1 to 1 tutor approach – and find a patient, engaging and adaptable tutor willing to base curriculum around their lifestyle and interests). Go as ridiculously slow as possible, like really ridiculously slow (I needed this snail-like pace even as a person in my 30s)!

How many hours have they actually spent trying to learn English? Going to a top language school one night a week won’t cut it. I think a lot of people underestimate the effort required to learn a foreign language and learn to think of themselves as incapable. They’re not. Treat it like a full time job. They’ll feel much better about themselves with some language skills. There’s no way an educated professional is incapable of learning a foreign language to functional level. If it’s an intellectual pride thing where they don’t like to make mistakes, or a social pride thing where they struggle with weakness in a social setting, they need to get over it. Start a new thread to get ideas on how to help them learn the language once you’ve had a think about what the actual barriers are to them progressing with learning the language.

Just thinking - It may not be a world language. But maybe there are younger people (in the diaspora) that have never had the opportunity to learn and could do so online.

Only mentioning this as I know someone that teaches Ghanaian dialects online.

I’m surprised too! Have they contacted their local Orthodox Church? These have groups they can join for sociability, and they would be able to volunteer for the community via the church too. This is definitely the case in my two local cities, which are much smaller than London, so must be the case there.

Is there not a network or association for the Ukrainian refugees here? If not, there should be. DH is of Ukrainian descent and he has found several groups in our area.

They are not religious so not a part of any church. It is a genuine inability to learn. I don't know, could be some very early signs of senility, they both are closer to 70 than to 60. They don't need help as in being provided with free language courses and so on, their hosting family is reasonably well-off and is able to cover all reasonable expenses.
They feel very bad about it as well, probably for the first time in their lives they have felt old and irrelevant.

20 hours a week, for 48 weeks. Not a full time, but probably counts as part-time.

They don’t need to be religious to be welcome at church, especially since the war in Ukraine and the arrival here of numbers of refugees. Surely they would welcome the chance to talk to other Ukrainian people, even if in a church? Think of it more like a community centre.

They are not Orthodox (or even Christian).
There are networks and associations, plenty. But there are no jobs there. They have hobbies and some online community activity and do some remote volunteering back home, it is not like they are doing nothing at all and in a severe lack of all human contact.

They want to earn a few pounds a week to prove to themselves that they are not completely useless and not a 100% burden on their family, at least able to buy a round of ice-cream on a day out for everyone. Not asking for charity.

Which one is their mother tongue, Ukrainian or Russian? I was thinking if it's Ukrainian, lots of young Ukrainians, born in the Russian-speaking East of the country, are now keen to learn Ukrainian, and maybe your person could coach them?

I am working with a large group of Ukrainian refugees, but they are in Bulgaria, which I think is easier all round. From my experience, about 50% of the pre-war economy seemed to be manicurists and beauticians....

I probably explained it badly, they are absolutely not in a deficit of other Ukrainian people to talk to and spend time with, and they have made some friends with some other people their age here. But there are no job opportunities there.

Leafleting might work. A friend of mine moved to the UK in an emergency situation with no English and their first job was delivering the local advertiser magazine. They also then got work litter picking/sweeping. They found it got them familiar with the local area and helped them feel part of the community too.

Then I think you are looking for something that doesn’t exist, I am afraid. It will be a case of learning basic English or accepting that employment isn’t possible. Being closed off from the language of the country you live in is very hard, but it sounds as though they aren’t socially isolated, and that’s probably the best you can hope for.