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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesMi ciudad y el transporte18 min★★ difficulty

Cognates and false friends

Hundreds of Spanish words are guessable from English. A handful look guessable and are not, and those are worth knowing by name.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Reading: Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

Key learning points

  • • Reliable patterns
  • • False friends
  • • Using context

This lesson at a glance

  • 18 minutes
  • 15 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

deducemeaningvarietycontextknowledge

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 15

Watch first

Cognates and false friends

An English teaching video on this topic from Mundo Divertido de Niños. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Reliable patterns

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Reliable patterns

English -tion becomes Spanish -ción: nation/nación, station/estación. English -ty becomes -dad: city/ciudad, university/universidad. English -ly adverbs become -mente: rapidly/rápidamente.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

False friends

embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. éxito means success, not exit (salida). librería is a bookshop; a library is biblioteca. actualmente means currently, not actually. sensible means sensitive.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

What does 'librería' mean?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

English -tion usually becomes which Spanish ending?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Using context

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Using context

When a word is unfamiliar, ask three questions: what kind of word is it (noun, verb, adjective)? Is there a root you know? What would make sense here? Two of the three are usually enough.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

What does 'éxito' mean?

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

What does 'actualmente' mean?

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Worked example: decoding a sentence

'Actualmente la biblioteca municipal organiza una exposición.' Actualmente is a false friend — currently. Biblioteca is library, not bookshop. Municipal and exposición are near-cognates. Result: 'Currently the town library is organising an exhibition.' One false friend would have changed the whole meaning.

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Cognates and false friends

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. You meet 'rapidement' for the first time. It most likely means...

  2. 2. What does 'librería' mean?

  3. 3. English -tion usually becomes which Spanish ending?

  4. 4. What does 'éxito' mean?

15

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

  • Written practice

    Writing

    Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.

    8–10 sentences

  • Vocabulary page

    Working out

    Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.

    15 words

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

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