A good neighbour

Objectives

• Gaining the confidence and skills to build relationships with your neighbours
• Having the skills to be assertive when something bothers you about your neighbours
• Being able to deal with conflicts with your neighbours in a way that the result is preferably a win-win situation
• Being able to ask your neighbours for help in everyday situations

This activity helps people socialise with neighbours and address (sensitive) subjects. A good connection with neighbours helps participants function more independently and will strengthen their social network.

Material

• Prints with the illustrations.

Preparation

• Print the illustrations (if you think they will help the participants)

Instructions

Quite often, people have no, or hardly any contact with their neighbours. Sometimes this contact is more negative than positive. The primary question for this activity is: how do you interact with your neighbours? This question will be explored in a playful manner.

Step 1:

• Ask a participant to come forward. You will play the role of his or her new neighbour. You ring an imaginary doorbell and introduce yourself. What does the participant say? Discuss this together with the class. What would you say if your new neighbour rings your doorbell? And what will you do when you are the new neighbour?
• Investigate together which reasons you can have to ring the doorbell of your neighbour. Use this later, in the follow up of the role-play.
• Ask another participant to come forward. You turn up the music on your phone (very loud!) The participant rings your doorbell. What does she/he say to you? Discuss this together with the class.
• Ask a third participant to come forward. You ring his or her doorbell and ask if you can borrow some coffee. What does the participant say to you? Discuss this together with the class.

You can make use of the drawings (below) to illustrate situations that might occur between neighbours.

Step 2:

• Use the situations that came up during the introduction. Practice the situations in a role-play.

Step 3:

• After step 2 the participants will practice situations in pairs using image cards. Depending on the language level further practice of basic words and sentences (like ‘Welcome’, ‘Can you turn down the music?’, ‘Can I borrow …?’, ‘I’m having a party, would you like to come?’, etc.) might be needed.

Step 4 (homework):

• Give the participants an assignment to do at home. Ask them to ring a neighbour’s doorbell or strike up a conversation with a neighbour in the street. Tell them to ask the neighbour if it is ok to record the conversation for educational purposes and to take picture. If the neighbour gives permission, they will record the conversation and take a photo. This will be shared with the group via, for example, WhatsApp. The picture and the recording are optional! If it doesn’t feel ok for the participant and/or the neighbour, then the participants don’t have to do it.

Step 5 (next lesson):

• During the next lesson you discuss the neighbours’ stories and the experiences of the participants. What went well/not well? What was difficult/not difficult?

Variant

If participants find it too nerve-wracking to ring a neighbour’s doorbell or have a conversation with a neighbour in the street, they can work in pairs and help each other with the conversations.