Cognates

Cognates
Definition: Words that are the same (or similar in appearance) in both the new and learned language
Purposes:
  • To support vocabulary development
  • To develop familiarity between academic language and student’s home language
  • To support home language appreciation and development


Cognates are a tricky method of helping support vocabulary development. The gravest issue is that this method assumes that the student is familiar with the term in their home language. Without that background knowledge, the use of cognates can result some confusion; however, such situations can result in teaching the student new vocabulary in their home language.
Spanish and French will have a lot of crossover. Chinese will have very few. Korean and Japanese will have many loan words, like “computer”, which are “keompyuteo” and “konpyūtā” respectively.


Below is an excerpt from a document found on the “Color in Colorado” website, which lists English and Spanish cognates.
To use cognates in the classroom, check to see if the vocabulary words for your class have similar translations in the languages that your students speak. When introducing the word in English, mention the cognate by asking the student if there is a similar word or the name of the object in their home language.


A second caveat is to be aware of false cognates--words that look alike, but have very different meanings, such as “pie” which means “foot” in Spanish. These words can be used as a way to notice differences in the languages--not necessarily to be avoided. Having a little shared background knowledge will help you connect better with your students.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

15 Essential Actions

For the rest of the academic year, I would like to focus on research posted on the Colorín Colorado website. The original article is linked below. This research focuses on 15 essential actions that will help improve ELL learning. As always, I like to stress that concepts that support ELLs will also likely help support ALL STUDENTS. Therefore, incorporating these actions should help you become an overall better teacher. The 15 essential actions are pieces of advice that help create a mindset and an environment for fully appreciating and utilizing the diversity in your classroom. These actions include advice for both teacher instruction and teacher collaboration. They are as follows: 1) CAPITALIZE on the resources and experiences that ELLs bring to school to build and enrich their academic language. 2) ANALYZE the academic language demands involved in grade-level teaching and learning. 3) APPLY the background knowledge of ELLs, including their language proficienc
Read more

Essential Actions #7-#9

In this week’s installment of the 15 Essential actions as noted by Colorin’ Colorado, we will examine the third set of three actions. 7. DESIGN language teaching and learning with attention to the sociocultural context. The BBC’s  Teaching English website notes that the sociocultural context is “the idea that language, rather than existing in isolation, is closely linked to the culture and society in which it is used. This means when language is learnt, the socio-cultural context in which it is used needs to be taken into consideration as well” ( https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/socio-cultural-context ). The main point is to be aware of how words that you use in your classroom may be used outside of your classroom. Why is the particular vocabulary important? This is commonly examined using the language of mass media and advertising. What words are being used to entice the audience? How effective is the language? How is the audience processing the information?  You
Read more

Essential Actions 1-3

As mentioned last week, Colorin’ Colorado created a list of 15 essential actions to help English Language Learners improve at a more drastic rate. This week, we will examine the first three a little more closely. CAPITALIZE on the resources and experiences that ELLs bring to school to build and enrich their academic language. Remember not to work in the vacuum of your own worldview. Students, especially those who come from other countries, have the ability to share the unimaginable. For example, in a social studies class, discussions comparing and contrasting local and international environments, cultures, and perspectives can bring about engaging conversation.  Ask students to bring in realia, like a show and tell event. Allow students to talk or write about what they are more familiar in. You can use this to make connections to important concepts that you are trying to introduce or provide further insight.  For this Easter weekend, did you ask what your students do? Did th
Read more