Using+Cognates

** SDAIE Strategy of Using Cognates **
//Using Latin cognates to connect English with Spanish to develop English comprehension in Spanish-speaking ELLs// by J. D. Lombardi

**What are COGNATES?** According to //Oxford// Dictionary:

**How it Works for Spanish-Speaking ELLs** Most of the strategies and resources available online concentrate on the use of English-Spanish cognates. The following two links are good examples:
 * http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/background/cognates
 * http://www.esdict.com/English-Spanish-Cognates.html

What I am proposing (and developing) here is using Latin roots to connect to both English and Spanish - a sort of "3-way" cognate strategy. There are existing strategies that utilize Latin and Greek word-parts to build English vocabulary. Since Spanish is a Latin-based (Romance) language, it tends to have more cognates with Latin than with English. But since English is roughly ten times larger than the Romance languages, English is a close second to the number of cognates related to Spanish. This vocabulary lesson plan that I am developing is designed for a full inclusion class where Spanish-speaking ELLs are a part of. The Spanish words connected to English and Latin are more for these ELLs, while the Latin-English cognates are for the whole class in their overall vocabulary building.This type of lesson is heavily based on visually seeing these words and word-parts together. Associated images are strongly recommended. I am developing the anchor of this lesson to be a PowerPoint presentation, where each slide focuses on a Latin word part (prefix, root, or suffix). Below are two examples from my presentation:



**Why Use Cognates for ELLs?** Researchers who study first and second language acquisition have found that students benefit from cognate awareness.
 * First language word-parts and sounds have already been established in a student's mind, thus making it an easier connection with it's second language counterparts.
 * The human brain likes to find patterns and associations when processing new information for retention and recall. This is the primary reason why cognate awareness is effective for second language learners.
 * Making quick associations between cognates of different languages builds confidence in students with their second language development.
 * Cognate awareness can act as a great and effective introduction in learning a second language.

[|Teacher Tube VIDEO]