The Unwelcome Roommate
A friend needs a place to stay the moment you get your own apartment.
Start DilemmaPreview
You've just finished school, gotten a job, and finally moved out of your family home into a small two-bedroom apartment. You are excited to start using your spare room as an art studio. A week after helping you move in, your best friend calls and asks for a favor. Their parents kicked them out and they need a place to stay. You know your friend has no money to pay for rent or groceries.
What do you do?
Lie and say your rental agreement only allows one tenant.
Give up your art studio and offer to let your friend stay with you.
Useful Language
Students can access a Useful Language drawer at any time during the activity. The key vocabulary and sentence stems will help your learners express their thoughts and opinions.
Keywords
- independence: being able to live and make decisions on one's own
- roommate: a person who shares accommodations with another
- tenant: a person who rents a space to live or work
- kicked out: forced to leave a space
- freeloader: a person who takes advantage of another's generosity without giving anything in return
- boundaries: personal limits to protect your own well-being
- sacrifice: to give up something important to help others
Sentence Stems
- On the one hand, I want to help...
- I worked hard to get to this point, and...
- I feel bad, but...
- I'm a good friend, but it's not my responsibility to...