Study on the Effectiveness of Explicit Instruction on Cognates

The study I am presenting was conducted with Dutch-speaking primary school students suffering from DLD and learning English as a second language (ESL). The researchers implemented an intervention consisting of 12 short lessons over 14 weeks. The intervention group received explicit instructions on cognate relationships, while the control group followed regular implicit English lessons. Result? The group that received explicit instruction showed significant improvements in English word recognition, well beyond the words taught!

Classroom Strategies for Teaching Cognates

Here are some concrete strategies you can integrate into your sessions:

• Read Aloud: When you read aloud to your students, ask them to raise their hands when they hear a cognate. Pause the reading and discuss the cognate. Highlight the subtle differences between the words in both languages.
• Student Reading: Ask your students to find three or four cognates in their texts and note them on post-it notes. Collect these notes and place them on a board titled “OUR COGNATES.” Discuss the similarities or differences in spelling or sounds.

Follow-Up Activities

To make these activities even more engaging, propose the following exercises:

• Word Sorting: Pair up your students and give them a set of cognate cards. Ask them to sort the words, then discuss the similarities.
• Circle the Differences: Work with them to highlight the differences between the cognates by circling the distinct letters.
• False Cognates: Explain false cognates and train students to identify them.

Exaggerate Intonation and Stress

Cognates can pose problems for learners due to different stress patterns. Use this approach to illustrate how accentuation changes in the words:

• Condition / condición
• Animal / animal
• Skill / habilidad

Clinical Context

In clinical contexts such as speech therapy, explicit instruction on cognates can be integrated into therapy sessions. By enhancing their awareness of cognates, you can help clients improve their vocabulary recognition and language skills.
To go even further, you can download the document containing a list of French-English and French-Spanish cognates, specially designed to help you in your interventions.

Conclusion

By incorporating these strategies into your teaching program, you not only improve vocabulary acquisition for learners with DLD, but you also provide them with valuable tools to better understand and use the target language.