Do Spanish speakers learning to read in English automatically transfer their knowledge of cognates?
Recognizing the connections between academic English and Spanish helps the comprehension of native Spanish speakers who can make the connection. But native Spanish speakers will not necessarily make the links if these relationships are not made explicit. Without such guidance, making these links will be especially difficult for native Spanish speakers do not read in their native language. The pronunciation of most cognates is usually different enough that children may not realize that word that they typically use in conversations (e.g., facil or frío) share meanings with facile or frigid in their schoolbooks. Without guidance in understanding the similarities—and expecting to encounter these similarities in content area texts and literature, Spanish-speaking students may never know that they have a foundational vocabulary on which they can draw. Will instruction in cognates confuse for students who are native English speakers or speakers of non-Romance languages? Native English speaker
