The Sandwich Technique for Conversational Flow

The biggest barrier to learning a new language is ego.  Nobody wants to say something dumb or answer a question incorrectly.  And while kids are generally less conscious than adults, most kids would rather give up or disengage with you than to admit they don’t understand something.

This brings me to the technique of “sandwiching”.  To keep the flow of conversation going, the teacher sandwiches the new language with the student’s native language and then repeats the phrase in the new language.

Ex. “Keef-ak?” – “How are you?” – “Keef-ak?”

This can be used when faced with a blank stare, when purposefully introducing new vocabulary or when asking a question you know the child knows how to answer to but may not understand the question. I first learned about it and got to see it in action at the Golestan School in California.  Using this technique is a great way to keep the conversation going rather than completely bringing it to a halt it for lack of understanding.

If you are interested in trying this, even as a non-native speaker you can take these “Little By Little” conversations and use them situationally:

• How Are You?
• What Does a [animal] say?
• Where’s Your [body part]?
• Which Way Should We Go?

Each example can be used as a game/ in isolation and each models how to sandwich the phrases/questions in the hopes of having a fun interaction or dialogue with your child.  As your child becomes more familiar you can sandwich less and less until you no longer need to.

Try one today!