helping local kids with english

[muntereelle]

Hi everyone

I live in Sa Kaeo province, in a small village.

I have kids from the village coming to my place once a week to talk english conversation. No money involved, parents and teachers are happy.

Is there a problem in doing that?

Any suggestions appreciated

cheers

 

[ubonjoe]

I see no problem with what you are doing since apparently it is not a formal education program.

It would appear to most people that are just visiting your home and practicing english while there.

[muntereelle]

thanks buddy, I feel the same

 

[glegolo]

But mind you,,,, lay a bit low, do not use a high profile about it... just to be safe..

 

Glegolo

[muntereelle]

thanks, appreciated

 

[elviajero]

No problem whatsoever.

[gaviny]

Hey mate I also live in Sakeo and have about 6 kids that join me when I go for my walks...I also am trying to teach them English on our walks.Would be good if you don't mind me sitting in one of your sessions and see how you do it.

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[LazySlipper]

Reality check.

 

If you are asking it is probably because you know the answer.

 

Volunteering here is illegal without a WP. Just be smart about it.

[YetAnother]

On 9/4/2017 at 0:12 PM, muntereelle said:

I have kids from the village coming to my place once a week to talk english conversation.

might be careful; old friend of mine did similar things in cambodia and some locals accused him of pedophilia, perhaps just because they didnt like him; he was scared enough to leave the country

[OJAS]

16 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

might be careful; old friend of mine did similar things in cambodia and some locals accused him of pedophilia, perhaps just because they didnt like him; he was scared enough to leave the country

Hmm, probably better to stick to family and friends, then, to be on the safe side.

[darrendsd]

Most Immigration offices especially if you live in a small village are happy to let this sort of thing go however to avoid any issues it might be worth you going in and explaining what you are doing, if they say no then you know to stop

 

Take a few of the kids parents with you to smooth things along, a teacher would probably be better

 

Always better to be safe than sorry

[muntereelle]

1 minute ago, darrendsd said:

Most Immigration offices especially if you live in a small village are happy to let this sort of thing go however to avoid any issues it might be worth you going in and explaining what you are doing, if they say no then you know to stop

 

Take a few of the kids parents with you to smooth things along, a teacher would probably be better

 

Always better to be safe than sorry

thanks, appreciated

very helpful

 

[darrendsd]

8 minutes ago, muntereelle said:

thanks, appreciated

very helpful

 

To avoid any horrible accusations as the poster above mentioned you could insist that at least 1 parent is in attendance at every class 

 

Also when you go to Immigration maybe mention that you are happy if any of the I/O kids want to come along, smooths things over even more

Edited September 7, 2017 by darrendsd

[pearciderman]

24 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Most Immigration offices especially if you live in a small village are happy to let this sort of thing go however to avoid any issues it might be worth you going in and explaining what you are doing, if they say no then you know to stop

 

Take a few of the kids parents with you to smooth things along, a teacher would probably be better

 

Always better to be safe than sorry

 

Depending on what visa/extension he is here on, it would be the Ministry of Labour that he should be visiting first.

[lucjoker]

If one day ,,,,,you make one of the kids angry........they will 

tell to the police that you are a pedo.....worse if they tell it to their parents......

You like risky things ?

Keep doing what you can 't stop ........

[Mrjlh]

Remember it's only a conversation. Never use the word "teach".

[thesetat2013]

i would have to agree with most here... if you call it a class.... meet regularly. provide instruction and education.. you are teaching and requirethe proper visa to show you are eligible.. the laws do not change wether or not you do it for free or get paid...volunteers need working visas... 

you should check with immigration.. but since you have started doing this already, you should consider there may be a backlash by immigration if they learn about it. 

up to you how to proceed... but you are really currently breaking the laws if you do not have a visa elible to do work

[elviajero]

10 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

i would have to agree with most here... if you call it a class.... meet regularly. provide instruction and education.. you are teaching and requirethe proper visa to show you are eligible.. the laws do not change wether or not you do it for free or get paid...volunteers need working visas... 

You need permission to carry out an occupation (as in job or work/means of making a living) or to be employed by a company legally operating in Thailand. Teaching a few local kids at home for free meets neither of those criteria, therefore, formal permission is not needed.

 

Only volunteers working for a recognised business/charity need a work permit.

[12DrinkMore]

4 hours ago, darrendsd said:

To avoid any horrible accusations as the poster above mentioned you could insist that at least 1 parent is in attendance at every class 

 

Yep, don't take the risk.

 

And get a camera to record what's going on. You can always delete immediately afterwards.

 

[12DrinkMore]

9 hours ago, gaviny said:

Hey mate I also live in Sakeo and have about 6 kids that join me when I go for my walks...I also am trying to teach them English on our walks.Would be good if you don't mind me sitting in one of your sessions and see how you do it.
 

 

Check out Youtube, loads of good stuff to help there. Maybe buy a book at the level of the kids and progress through the sections. 

 

There are also online courses for teaching English which will help you structure the class.

 

I would not recommend a CELTA (around 70,000 Baht) unless you want to do it professionally. 

[Suradit69]

5 hours ago, darrendsd said:

Also when you go to Immigration maybe mention that you are happy if any of the I/O kids want to come along, smooths things over even more

And then at some point if the O/P wants to end these "conversations" or it turns out that some of the immigration officers kids (one wonders how old these "kids" are) are obnoxious brats or an ever increasing number of kids/parents want to join in, he can ruffle a lot of feathers and be left to deal with the fallout if he ends the service or wants to exclude certain kids or refuses to add more kids. And some of those whose feathers get ruffled may end up causing him grief.

 

Practically speaking, if you have 10 different "kids" visiting at one time, they will already have multiple levels of fluency so that whatever "conversation" is going on will be above the level of some and of little added value to others.  And if you have 10 kids visit together for one hour, each will have an average of 6 minutes one-on-one feedback from you and for 54 minutes their attention will undoubtedly wander.

 

We all overhear Thai conversation all around us each day, but in most cases unless it's someone engaging directly with us individually, we absorb very little that would improve our fluency in speaking Thai.  The same applies to learning any language especially if what you are overhearing involves numerous different accents and pronunciations. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Suradit69

[Phuket321]

Suradit69 is right. Make sure you are not being taken advantage of, some parents will see it as free childcare for an hour or 2 on the weekend. 

[patrick kennedy]

I personally think its a good thing,but there is definately a problem brewing,always someone will twist things around,and the very first thing that you will be told,you are taking somebodys job away for free and without a wp.this has happened so many times here.good luck to you,here you cant do right for wrong.

[BigCinBKK]

Do you want a medal?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[pearciderman]

15 hours ago, elviajero said:

You need permission to carry out an occupation (as in job or work/means of making a living) or to be employed by a company legally operating in Thailand. Teaching a few local kids at home for free meets neither of those criteria, therefore, formal permission is not needed.

 

Only volunteers working for a recognised business/charity need a work permit.

 

You clearly have not read the definition of work in the appropriate legislation.

 

"

*Published in the Government Gazette Vol. 95, Part 73, Special Issue, dated

21stJuly B.E. 2521 (1978)

Section 5. In this Act, "alien" means a natural person who is not of Thai nationality;

"work" means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefit;"

 

[OJAS]

17 hours ago, 12DrinkMore said:

And get a camera to record what's going on. You can always delete immediately afterwards.

IMHO he should hang on to camera recordings indefinitely in case accusatory fingers are pointed at him belatedly in the future.

Edited September 8, 2017 by OJAS

[hdkane]

On 9/7/2017 at 9:05 AM, YetAnother said:

might be careful; old friend of mine did similar things in cambodia and some locals accused him of pedophilia, perhaps just because they didnt like him; he was scared enough to leave the country

I was thinking the same thing...I had a few neighbors who accused a workers of theft just to avoid paying the bill...and on separate occasions I had two Thai gf who each threatened sexual assault before, because they didn't want to separate...and I cannot count the times that my gf have been told by a "kind" neighbor or local clerk that I was cheating when she was gone...Thais will lie easily simply for spite or entertainment...I would never put myself in the position you describe, simply for fear of someone wanting to extort you or just wanting to gossip about the local farang.

[ubonjoe]

A baiting personal attack on a member has been removed.

[jeab1980]

Simple answer do whay you like but dont ask about it on here.

[darrendsd]

On 9/7/2017 at 3:41 PM, elviajero said:

You need permission to carry out an occupation (as in job or work/means of making a living) or to be employed by a company legally operating in Thailand. Teaching a few local kids at home for free meets neither of those criteria, therefore, formal permission is not needed.

 

Only volunteers working for a recognised business/charity need a work permit.

I'm not sure why you think this?

 

Section 5 of the WORKING OF ALIEN ACT, clearly states the following,

 

"Work" means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits;

 

Now this seems pretty clear cut to me whether it be teaching informally or working for a non recognized business/charity

 

As I said in a previous post the OP should encounter no issues if he takes some of the advice given on here however to state that permission is not needed and also only volunteers working for a recognized business/charity need a WP is quite simply wrong

 

Where did you get your info from?

Edited September 8, 2017 by darrendsd