Young Learners

Teaching English to Elementary School Children

Is it better to have a topic-based or pattern-based curriculum? First it is important to remember that a topic-based curriculum doesn't preclude pattern-based lessons and vice versa. Topic-based lessons usually focus on vocabulary e.g. a lesson on fruit would focus on types of fruit, probably colours and include one or two patterns such as "Do you like ....?" or "Bananas are yellow and long." Pattern-based lessons usually focus on one pattern e.g. "What .... do you like? I like ....." and can include various topic areas such as animals, fruit, sports, school subjects etc.

In my experience, students remember vocabulary much more easily than they remember patterns. If vocabulary is the main focus of the lesson and different patterns are introduced as part of that topic the students will certainly remember the vocabulary but will they remember the sentence patterns that are taught? Probably not. On the other hand if we focus on a pattern and insert vocabulary into that pattern, then the students are more likely to remember the pattern and will pick up vocabulary along the way from the teacher and from other students. Of course in a topic-based curriculum, patterns will crop up again and again, and through this constant review the patterns will probably be learned. It is also possible to have a topic-based lesson with only one pattern practiced during the lesson, e.g. in a lesson about school subjects the pattern could be, "What's your favourite ...?".

But pattern-based lessons have a further, very important advantage. Students can steer the topic in whatever direction they choose because many different vocabulary items can be inserted into the pattern. When learning the pattern, "Are you ...?" students can have great fun in asking each other, "Are you a cockroach?" or "Are you a pen?". Once they realise the great scope they have, they become very creative. If the topic is determined by the teacher then the students have little scope to use their imaginations, and are limited to the topic chosen. In the above school subjects example, if they are practising, "What's your favourite ....?" then they can really only ask one question, "What's your favourite subject?" and possibly "Who's your favourite teacher?" Then the topic in respect to that question is exhausted and it is probably unrealistic to expect students to ask different types of questions on that topic.

Topic-based lessons definitely have a place in any curriculum, but I think they are most effective as a review when certain patterns are already quite well-established. For example, a lesson on animals would be a good topic-based lesson if the students are already familiar with the patterns, "What animal do you like?", Where do penguins live?", "What do lions eat?", What colour are tigers?".

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