COGNATES AND FALSE
COGNATES
IN
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
PRESENTER
MAGDA MARTINEZ
Laredo History
The Republic of the Rio Grande was
a sovereign “country” in 1840, lasting
283 days from January 17 to
November 6. This country was
formed by the northeastern Mexican
states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and
Tamaulipas.
Founded in 1755
How much do I know?
•
With a partner:
1. Convert your plain piece of paper into a
T CHART
2. Label the left side: Cognates
Label the right side: False Cognates
3. You will categorize the words (found in
next slide) into Cognates or False
Cognates
Figure it Out!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Casualty
Leader
Congress
Compromise
Agriculture
Suffrage
Independence
Representative
Consent
YIKES…What the heck are
cognates and false
cognates???
Today’s Goals
• Brief overview of state statistics and their
implications
• Differences between social and academic
vocabulary
• Differences between cognates and false
cognates
• State Assessments (Hmm, so that’s why kids got
that question wrong…)
• Graphic Organizers
• Tips!
• Links and Resources
Texas Racial and Ethnic Composition,
2000 and 2010
2010
2000
Hispanic
or Latino
38%
Hispanic
or Latino
32%
NH
White
53%
NH Other
4%
NH Black
11%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. 2000 and 2010 Census count
NH
Other
6%
NH
White
45%
NH
Black
11%
WHAT CAN WE INFER?
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
% of Growth Due to Each Ethnicity in Texas,
1980-1990, 1990-2000, 2000-2007, and 20002040
90.0
Anglo
Black
Hispanic
Other
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
1980-1990
1990-2000
2000-2007
Source: Census Bureau 2007 Population Estimates;
Texas State Data Center 2008 Population Projections, 0.5 Scenario
2000-2040
Vocabulary: What is the difference?
Social
Language
• Simpler vocabulary
• Face to Face
conversations
• Uses gestures
• Informal
• Takes 2 years to
acquire
Academic
Language
• Technical-content
specific vocabulary
• Difficult to read and
understand
• Require background
knowledge
• Takes 5 to 7 years to
acquire
Let Us Check Ourselves!
False Cognates
•
•
•
•
Suffrage
Compromise
Casualty
Consent
Cognates
•
•
•
•
•
Independence
Leader
Representative
Agriculture
Congress
What are cognates?
• English words that look alike and have the
same meaning in Spanish are cognates.
• 40% of all English words have similar
cognates in Spanish.
• Therefore, if English Language Learners
learn to recognize these cognates,
bridging the gap will be more attainable.
Example
• The computer is a modern invention.
• La computadora es una invencion
moderna.
Examples of Cognates
•
•
•
•
•
•
Family
Familia
Center
Centro
Gorilla
Gorila
Alarm
Alarma
Circle
Circulo
Cognates and False Cognates\English
Spanish Cognates.pdf
What are false cognates?
• These are words that look alike but do not have
the same meaning in English and Spanish.
• ELLs directly translate while they are reading
and often misinterpret the true meaning of
what they are reading.
• If English Language Learners learn to recognize
these false cognates, bridging the gap will be
more attainable.
Examples of False
Cognates
•
•
•
•
•
Suffrage
Compromise
Fabric
Union
Carpet
Sufrir
Compromiso
Fabrica
Unión
Carpeta (funny story)
•
•
•
•
•
In Spanish, “Pay” is a pie.
In Spanish, “Pie” is a foot.
It is not likely you would
advertise “Frito Foot”
•
•
•
In Spanish, there is no “th”
sound.
The “th” is usually
pronounced as “t”
In Spanish, the “J” as in Joe, is
nonexistent.
In Spanish, the “J” is pronounced like
“H” as in house.
It is not likely that your business card
would read “Hunk Yard”
How Can We Help?
STATE ASSESSMENTS
10th Graders: State
Level
A. 4
B. 4
C. 73
D. 20
LBJ H.S.
A.
B.
C.
D.
8%
7%
48 %
37 %
11th Graders
State Level
F. 66
G. 3
H. 13
J. 19
F.
G.
H.
J.
35 %
4 %
21 %
41 %
LBJ
H.S.
10th Graders
State
F. 7
G. 60
H. 11
J. 22
LBJ H.S.
F.
G.
H.
J.
11
52
13
24
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Title
• Bullet Points
El fiscal es un
hom bre m uy
ocupado.
r elating to
f inancial matters
What it m eans!
Lo que
r ealmente
significa!
Fiscal
False
Cognate
f iscal
El fiscal tiene
m ucho poder.
m aterias
f inancieras
Examples
The fiscal policies of
the gover nme nt are
ver y im portan t.
P ublic education
will have a pr oblem
dur ing this f isc al
This f iscal y ear the
gover nment w ill
spend mor e m oney .
(arm ario)
El arm ario de la
cocina esta bonito.
Body of official
advisors.
What it m eans!
Lo que
realmente
significa!
Cabinet
False
Cognate
gabinete
El gabinete es de
m adera.
Grupo de
consejeros
oficiales.
Examples
The U.S. government
has fourteen cabinet
m embers.
The cabinet supported
the president.
The president chose
his cabinet
m embers.
So how does this fit in with CSCOPE?
Teaching Tips!
• Use pre-reading strategies before you begin to read.
• Set the tone in your classroom so that students do not
make fun of struggling readers…(story: speaking with an
accent and misconceptions)
• Explain cognates and false cognates to students and
have them identify them while they read.
• This can be an oral overview with a pictorial powerpoint.
• Students should hi-light topics and subtopics
• By looking at the pictures, students predict what the
section will be about.
Guess Who?
(small groups)
More Tips!
• When assigning vocabulary, don’t use the conventional
method of: copy the words and define them; memorize
them for a matching quiz…
• INSTEAD: Assign five to ten words; Use the Frayer
Model for each word by assigning students to groups
and allowing students to discuss, use their textbook or
other resources to fill in the Frayer Model.
• Place words in a box or jar. Student selects a word and
(acts it out/charade, draws a picture on the board or
mimes it) Class has to guess the word!
• Use close caption when possible (Industrial
Revolution\Introduction_to_the_Industrial_Revolution.asf
Resources
• http://www.colorincolorado.org/
• dreamhistory.org (Magda's website)
• NTC’s Dictionary of Spanish False Cognates (Marcial
Prado)
• NTC’s Dictionary of Spanish Cognates: Thematically
Organized (Rose Nash)
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Texas State Data Center Population Projections
• Texas Education Agency
• http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf
• http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/