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still trying · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:59 pm Post subject: False Cognates - English/Spanish

I used to have a good list of false cognates but seem to have lost it during one of the many moves. Sometimes students don't understand a phrase because of their misconception due to one of these words.I want to put another together and of course could use your help. - here are some examples: arena=stadium - arena=sand, embarrassed=to cause or be uncomfortable - embarazada=pregnant, sin=breaking of religious law - sin=without, sensible=having an awareness of a situation and acting appropriately - sensible=sensitive There are many more words like this that can be confusing in the early stages of learning either Spanish or English and I think a good list could be helpful to all. Thanks for your help. Idea

JonnytheMann · Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 337 Location: USA

Here is a good link:

http://spanish.about.com/cs/vocabulary/a/obviouswrong.htm

There are other articles at the bottom of the page, too.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

I've got a humungous list of them, but its in a (gasp! Shocked

) handwritten list. I think I got it from the Spanish chapter in a good book called Learner English. Sorry, don't know the author...

Lozwich.

still trying · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jonny and Loswich... I'll do a google for that book. Maybe something will come up...I think I'll start by having the students doing them as Charades in my classes..It should be fun.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

There's also 'Breaking Out of Beginner Spanish', again by someone whose name I can't remember. But that has it from the English speaking Spanish learner's side.

Good luck!
Lozwich.

still trying · Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:46 pm Post subject:

Thanks so much for the suggestions..."Learner English" is published by Cambridge University Press and is available through DABSA in Mexico City. I haven't found the other one yet but I'll keep looking. There is just soooo much material out there isn't there. I used to teach a teacher's workshop on what, how, why and when to use extra materials and one point of using all these things in our classes is that they make our job so much easier and maybe even make us (speaking for myself) look better than we really are . Thanks again.