Cognates are words in English and the learner's language that are similar and have similar meaning.

Young learner looking at flashcard

They can be compared to false cognates, which look similar but have different meanings.

Example
The Spanish word pausa has a similar meaning to the English word pause.

In the classroom
In a mono-lingual class translation is one way to raise awareness of real and false cognates. Learners can translate a text from their L1 into English in groups or individually, then compare their versions and identify possible cognates.

Further links:

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/larry-ferlazzo/larry-ferlazzo-metacognition-learning-strategies-student-autonomy

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/vocabulary-autonomy

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