THE NEIGHBORHOOD YARD

ACTIVITY
When I say so you will open your eyes but
you will not be able to talk. Your task will
be to group Now you may open your eyes
… and group.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD YARD ACTIVITY

The aim of the activity is to raise

learners’ awareness of the
psychosocial dynamics of
inclusion/exclusion,
co-operation/competition,
discrimination and prejudice.
It may be exploited to develop learners’
reflection on their own attitudes, beliefs
and values, and to help them gain new skills
and develop their knowledge of important
concepts related to intercultural
competence such as identity, discrimination,
otherness, empathy, diversity, co-operation
and interdependence.
DEBRIEFING
1. How did you feel when you had your eyes closed?

2. What was your first reaction when you opened your eyes?

3. What strategies did you think of to do the task?

4. What does this make you think of if you compare it to real-life

situations?
1. Participants can reflect on their experience during the activity: not being
able to use language to communicate, standing without seeing others. In
many instances, a discussion about living with disabilities and how it must
feel to be in such situations in real life will emerge. Some feel this part of
the activity to be threatening and express uneasiness.
2. Discussing our feelings is an important component of intercultural
competence development and learning. Many feelings might be expressed
at this point: the feeling of loneliness, of being lost or even opposite
emotions – how we feel when we become aware of being perceived and
evaluated on the basis of criteria that are unknown to us. As participants
express themselves, the facilitator can introduce certain concepts such as
identity, discrimination or the notion of otherness and perception of self by
the other.
3. The group will reflect on parallels with real-life situations. Often the
conversation will lead the group to discuss the feeling of powerless- ness
in situations where one cannot make oneself understood, or to discuss
language barriers and non-verbal language.

4. This question is central to the learning process that will bring

participants to realise how they jumped to conclusions, or to critically
analyse their own propensity to segregate, to reflect on the unconscious
level of their decision-making and understand why these strategies were
chosen and not others
Developing intercultural
competence through education
Series editor
Josef Huber
Edited by Josef Huber and Christopher
Reynolds
Contributors
Martyn Barrett
Michael Byram
Ildikó Lázár
Pascale Mompoint-Gaillard Stavroula
Philippou
Link to the book:
It is free to download as it is from the
Council of Europe and it is available in
few languages

https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/p
estalozzi/Source/Documentation/Pesta
lozzi3.pdf
STORIES BEHIND THE PICTURES
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES- VIDEOS
FORUM THEATRE
Augusto Boal was a Brazilian
theater practitioner, drama
theorist, and political
activist. He was the founder
of Theatre of the Oppressed,
a theatrical form originally
used in radical left popular
education movements.
(March 16, 1931- May 2,
2009), Rio de Janeiro. Brazil

Book: ‘Games for actors and non- actors’, Augusto Boal

Games for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and best-selling book by the
founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles
and practice of Boal’s revolutionary method, showing how theatre can be used
to transform and liberate everyone – actors and non-actors alike!
Avalable online free
WHERE TO START?

Image theatre- start with warm ups and then still images

Helpful video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0qWF3hiZNc

(don’t forget to ask ‘Why do you think that?’ And ‘Who has a
different idea?’
WHAT IS FORUM THEATRE
A technique pioneered by Brazilian radical Augusto Boal. A play or scene, usually
indicating some kind of oppression, is shown twice. During the replay, any
member of the audience (‘spect-actor’) is allowed to shout ‘Stop!’, step forward
and take the place of one of the oppressed characters, showing how they could
change the situation to enable a different outcome. Several alternatives may be
explored by different spect-actors. The other actors remain in character,
improvising their responses. A facilitator (Joker) is necessary to enable
communication between the players and the audience.
The strategy breaks through the barrier between performers and audience, putting
them on an equal footing. It enables participants to try out courses of action
which could be applicable to their everyday lives. Originally the technique was
developed by Boal as a political tool for change (part of the Theatre of the
Oppressed), but has been widely adapted for use in educational contexts.
USEFUL LINKS

Step by step explanation hot to prere studets for Form Theatre strating fro still images up to
staging playes
http://eolassoileir.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/TOAT-manual.pdf

Examples- VIDEOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcLcXeXJVDU- the cashier situation 6.20 min (starting)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbYx01re-ec- guests at dinner

MORE ON AUGUSTO BOAL - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rkVD_Oln7g
Gapminder.org
Dollar street- excellent and realistic resourcehttps://www.gapminder.org/dollar-
street/matrix
THANK YOU for being here!

Contact: Dragica Zdraveska- FB

jordanoskadragica@gmail.com
FILM AND WHO IS THIS IMPORTANT
What is perspective?

Why is it important in ESL?