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anonymous
Q: Is it OK for me to sit in on and participate in a local "English corner" w/o my boss' permission?
Sorry for posting this anonymously, but it's only because I don't really want to take even the smallest risk that my boss could stumble across this post.
I am an English teacher living in a small but rapidly developing city with very few foreigners living in it and not many people who speak English. So few are the foreigners here that I rarely get the chance to speak with any. In fact, even though my school is the most famous English school in the city, there are only two other foreign teachers there, and both of them are too busy partying to provide meaningful conversation. I've tried my best to learn Mandarin, but my pronunciation is terrible and the locals speak two different dialects. I live alone. So, I've been really desperate to find people to converse with. I've been here for over a year, and I've started to scare myself because I've started thinking out loud just to give myself the experience of talking with someone.
A few weeks ago, I had the great fortune of being asked to attend a weekly English corner at a local college. It's been a wonderful experience. For two hours, I get to be around and engage with over a hundred college students fluent in English. I am the only native English speaker there, and so I'm never at a loss for someone to talk to. I will be clear about this: I do not lead the class, and I am not being paid. I am simply a native English speaker the students can converse with.
But here's what I'm worried about: my contract with my school, which is a school for kids ages 3-17, prohibits me from "teaching" without my school's permission. Does simply sitting in on that English corner class count as "teaching?" What would my boss probably say if he found out? I want to remain faithful to my contract, but I also really need some people to speak in English with.
9 years 25 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
Another troll, what if your employer finds out that you are asking a question to help you be a better employee by not breaking the contract? They will do what?
What is the point of all these bogus employer related posts?
Here's an idea for your next question, "I meet a girl and she wants to go out to dinner with me, should I get permission from my employer?"
English Corners are a social event.
QDasmond:
Goodness, all of your comments are insulting, aren't they?
apart from anything else, there is VERY little chance your boss will visit this site.
and unless you use you own name as an alias, which only the foolish do, how on earth would your boss know it was you?
if you are meeting 'friends' in a college who want to speak English, what can your boss do?
expatlife26:
but this is a very important forum, tons of bosses must look here trying to find if their employees might have lives outside of work.
If your Contract state you must have School's consent for extra curriculum activities, ask School's boss about it. Tell boss, you'll just socialize and practice your Mandarin
.
If School's boss deny consent, you must oblige, because you signed Contract.
And if you still don't agree with your boss, you could ask city/Province SAFEA (Foreign Expert Bureau) about that. I usually take SAFEA's word as a 'law' or 'last word'.
Type 'SAFEA' in search above for address and contact no. in your Province.
Are you getting paid for attending this English Corner? If no, then it's none of his business
"teaching" only counts if you get paid. Your boss can't stop you from socializing with people in English.
if the english corner is purely social, your boss has no say. dont worry so much. if anything, you could use the english corner to recruit students for your emplyoyer.
You are his employee not slave. You are legally free to do what you want (within the law) during your freetime. As long as you are not earning money you are not in breach of contract. As for an English corner. This is not really teaching, just chatting in English. No different from talking to your mother on the phone. I would also like to add don't ask the boss for permission. They love trying to control personal lives and he might just say no for the power trip.
Another troll, what if your employer finds out that you are asking a question to help you be a better employee by not breaking the contract? They will do what?
What is the point of all these bogus employer related posts?
Here's an idea for your next question, "I meet a girl and she wants to go out to dinner with me, should I get permission from my employer?"
English Corners are a social event.
QDasmond:
Goodness, all of your comments are insulting, aren't they?
I suggest you follow icnif77 advise - just ask your boss as English corners are actually meant for learning English.
And even if he has a trouble with it I understood your main aim is not to participate in English corner but to find the English speaking friends - what stops you from making the friends with some of the guys you met in English corner (or search for such in the college neighbourhood) and arrange for the private venues with those you are fond of?
Agree with ted, this is a BS question...theres one guy on this forum who I think uses his real name and that's TedDBayer and that guy has got way too much sense to ask that.
(unless englteachted is just a clever alias for TedDBayer...i'm on to you Ted!!! errrrr...Teds )
I can post as Expatlife26 and i'm still anonymous. Only reason to go one layer deeper is if you don't wanna ask a BS question and let people know you're a BS question guy and people will mock your posts like we did with almost or mary celeste
No, obviously no one's boss is going to go looking at forums...
"oh look some teacher wants to go to an english corner. Wait a minute...I hired a teacher, it couldn't be him...could it?"
*Looks through the post history, prints out every post and looks for clues*
"No! It can't be! Not Josh Williams from my school! How could he betray me??...Oh I'll fix him good! I'm going to report this to the China Foreign Teacher's Union (CFTU)!"
Gimme a break. you lost me at "both of them are too busy partying to provide meaningful conversation."
That sounds like one of those stupid old "grumpy" posts.
You did a great job though of describing your strawman situation, the problem is too many details is just as suspicious as too few.
mike695ca:
Hey My name is Mike! the legal change to 695ca hasnt gone through yet.
Tits is right
Recent anoy questions .
: ... if fired?
... quit?
No details or explanations
Cftu is back in black baby
You sound like you might need some help, some advice.
I suggest you go tell your boss to root his/her boot, just for the hell of it.
And then don't spend too much time at that English Corner.
Btw...how many of the ppl who attend can speak conversational English?? Hundreds? That's gotta be b/s. I've lived in China for years and the sum total of ppl I've met who can speak English is less than the number of roots I've had.
