The concept underlying the teaching of basic sentence patterns is called

The concept underlying the teaching of basic sentence patterns is called

• A. Prediction
• B. The building blocks of language
• C. Semantics
• D. Phonology

Answer: (A)

Prediction is the idea behind teaching basic sentence patterns because learners build fluency by anticipating the structure. When you present a pattern like subject + verb + object, students become attuned to what typically comes next and who or what fills each slot. This anticipation helps them internalize word order and function, so they can produce correct sentences even with new vocabulary. You can extend the pattern to questions or negations by predicting how the form changes (for example, flipping the order for questions or inserting a negator), which reinforces understanding of how the pattern works across contexts. Semantics, phonology, and other language aspects are important, but they operate on different layers; focusing on prediction centers the learner’s ability to recognize and apply the recurring sentence structure itself.

Prediction is the idea behind teaching basic sentence patterns because learners build fluency by anticipating the structure. When you present a pattern like subject + verb + object, students become attuned to what typically comes next and who or what fills each slot. This anticipation helps them internalize word order and function, so they can produce correct sentences even with new vocabulary. You can extend the pattern to questions or negations by predicting how the form changes (for example, flipping the order for questions or inserting a negator), which reinforces understanding of how the pattern works across contexts. Semantics, phonology, and other language aspects are important, but they operate on different layers; focusing on prediction centers the learner’s ability to recognize and apply the recurring sentence structure itself.