Neighbour disputes
Lesson plan overview
This intermediate ESL lesson focuses on neighbour disputes and living in apartment buildings. Students will discuss common issues with neighbours, and explore how to handle conflicts politely. They will watch a video about nuisance neighbours, learn useful phrases for complaints and conflict resolution, and practise role-playing neighbour disputes. Other lessons you might like are: “Buying a home“, “Gentrification“, “Contracts“
Speaking: The lesson begins with students sharing experiences of annoying neighbour behaviours and discussing expectations for good neighbours. They they look at a list of annoying behaviours and discuss which ones they have experienced and have been accused of having.
Vocabulary: Students match apartment-related roles (e.g., landlord, tenant, building manager) with descriptions and learn key terms related to neighbour problems, such as noise complaints, fines, and eviction notices. Learners create rules for apartment living based on discussion, practising formal expressions for prohibitions and requirements.
Listening: Students watch a video titled “Nuisance or Noisy Neighbour? Here’s What You Can Do,” identifying valid grounds for complaints and learning about steps to resolve disputes through mediation and legal action.
Speaking: Students look at 3 short dialogues in which neighbours try to solve different problems, and discuss the dialogues. They then evaluate various neighbour requests to decide if they are reasonable or not, followed by role-play activities based on realistic neighbour disputes.
For more speaking practice, check the conversation cards.
This lesson pairs well with other ESL materials on housing, community living, and conflict resolution, making it ideal for students preparing to live independently or navigate shared living spaces.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
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In-class activities
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Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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