Job Discussion Forums

[sabina]

I remember reading some other posts about this topic but....here I go:

I keep getting asked to teach free English lessons. I am not working in Japan as an English teacher (I used to, up until about a year ago). (I have transitioned to another job field.) Still, I am approached quite frequently by my coworkers with requests like:
"I really want to learn English. Let's meet at a cafe!"
"My (family member) wants to learn English. Will you teach them?"
"Teach me English." (Sometimes said as a joke, sometimes not.)

No. No, thank you. I really, really do not want to do this. I hardly have any free time, and I definitely do not want to spend what little time I do have teaching someone English FOR FREE. And I do feel guilty for feeling this way. I'm sure if I ever needed help studying Japanese and asked one of my colleagues, they would be more than happy to volunteer their time. (Should I also point out that I am not very good at teaching English?? Another reason why I left the field...native speaker does not equal great teacher!! They would probably have much more success if they went with a regular conversation school. However, it is probably not in my best interest to point out that my own English skills leave something to be desired....)

So what I have been doing is saying "ohhhhh well....I'm really busy at the moment....." or something to that effect and then hoping they never bring it up again/avoid that person.
Is there a polite (but firm?) way to discourage these kinds of requests?

[Inflames]

Saying you're very busy is probably the best way to send a polite message. If you want to be more direct, there are other ways as well.

[qwertyu2]