Did you know that you can access the complete collection of Pathways Project Spanish activities in our new Let’s Chat! Spanish pressbook? View the book here: https://boisestate.pressbooks.pub/pathwaysspanish 

Please Note: Many of our activities were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner. 

Los Amigos Falsos y Verdaderos / Real and False Friends (Cognates)

Description:

Students will learn about cognates, real and false. First, they will be introduced to cognates by guessing if certain words are real cognates or false cognates. Then, they will look through a series of Spanish ads and magazine clips to try to point out the Spanish-English cognates that are in the writing.

Semantic Topics:

Cognate, false, real, vocabulary, cognados, cognados falsos, vocabulario

Products:

Advertisements

Practices:

Marketing, socially appropriate discourse in advertising

Perspectives:

Value of having a variety of choices, connections between Spanish and other world languages

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can recognize cognates in Spanish and English
• I can answer a simple yes or no question
• I can use cognates to guess the meaning of a word when similar to English or a language I know

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards

• Standard 1.1 - Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Standard 4.1 Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons between Spanish and English.
  
• Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret spoken and written Spanish on a variety of topics.
  
• Standard 4.2 Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons between Hispanic cultures and their own.
  

Idaho State World Language Standards

• COMM 1.1 - Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
  
• CONN 1.1 - Compare and contrast information acquired from other content areas.
  
• CONN 1.2 - Relate information studied in other subjects to the target language and culture.
  
• CONN 2.1 - Access authentic materials prepared in the target language by or for native speakers.
  
• COMP 1.2 - Identify patterns and explain discrepancies the sounds and the writing system in the target language.
• COMP 2.1 - Identify, describe and compare/contrast products and their use in the target culture with the learner’s culture.

Materials Needed:

Find a Selection of Ads from Spanish Newspapers or Magazines (If you don't have access to these resources, try searching Google Images for "Anuncios de Revistas")

Whiteboard Markers & Erasers

Derecha/Izquierda Cards

Google Slideshow 

Would you like to make changes to the materials? Access the template(s) below:

- Derecha/Izquierda Cards (Canva Template, free account required) 

Warm-up

1. Begin by opening the Google Slideshow and introducing the activity and the Can-Do’s.

Hola, ¿cómo están? Estoy ____. Vamos a empezar el lab de hoy con los can-do statements.

2. Ask students about their knowledge of cognates.

Hoy, vamos a charlar sobre los cognados. ¿En inglés, qué es un cognado? (Pregunta para el grupo)

3. A cognate is a word that sounds very similar in English and Spanish. For example, the word “moderno” in Spanish is “modern” in English. Also, the word “antiguo” in Spanish is “old” or “antique” in English. “Moderno” and “antiguo” are cognates or “real friends.”

Un cognado es una palabra que es muy similar en inglés y español.
Por ejemplo, la palabra moderno es modern en inglés. También, la palabra antiguo es old or antique en inglés. **Moderno y Antiguo son cognados o amigos reales. Son “amigos reales.”

4. Also, there are “false friends” in Spanish. For example, “embarazada” does not mean “embarrassed”. It means “pregnant”! It is a false friend or false cognate.

También, hay amigos falsos en español. Por ejemplo, “embarazada” no significa embarrassed, significa “pregnant.” Entonces es un amigo falso. (Otros ejemplos: éxito, carpeta)

5. Students will then play a game to identify cognates. Explain the game to students.

Ahora, vamos a jugar un juego donde ustedes tienen que seleccionar el cognado, o el amigo real.

6. Give each student two arrows, one saying left and the other saying right. Using the slideshow and the arrows, have students lift the appropriate arrow to describe which word is the cognate. The slide after will show the correct answer. Continue the activity until students have finished all warm up slides.

Voy a darles dos flechas a cada uno (izquierda y derecha). En el Google slideshow (presentación) van a ver dos palabras. Una de estas palabras es un cognado (amigo real) y la otra es un amigo falso. Ustedes necesitan usar las flechas para indicar hacia qué lado está el cognado.

7. Reveal the correct answer by going to the next slide.

La próxima diapositiva va a enseñarnos la respuesta correcta.

¡Las palabras son (cognados/amigos falsos)!