Neighborhood Cookout (Novice-Intermediate)

Practice on Your Own

Imagine you have moved into a new neighborhood, and your next door neighbor is throwing a neighborhood cookout. Everyone on your street is invited.

• Come up with an alternate identity for yourself. You will need a new name, age, place of origin, occupation, family members, etc.
  • Depending on how many people are in the conversation section, each person may need to play multiple roles.
• Think about how you will interact with your new neighbors. How will you greet them? How will you introduce yourself? What questions will you ask in order to get to know them?

Practice in Conversation Session

• Warm‐up. Have each person say their new name and age out loud to the group.
• Decide which people attending the party are from the same household. For example a spouse, or child/parent. Decide who is playing the host.
• With your conversation partner and classmates, role play meeting one another at the cookout.
• How would you ask and answer questions about where you and others from? How would you make appropriate small talk about where everyone is from?
• The host should help introduce new neighbors to each other.