Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP

Hunt the False Friends

Discover how some words in different languages appear alike but actually mean something quite different. Focus on feeling words and everyday items to practise spotting these traps and developing a careful approach to new vocabulary.

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    1 - A Word That Tricks You ~5 mins

    Imagine a Spanish speaker says embarazada (em-bah-rah-SAH-dah). It looks a lot like the English word embarrassed. Would you guess they feel awkward?

    You would be wrong. That word primarily means something else entirely. Guessing is useful, and it is also dangerous. Today you are language detectives on the hunt for traps.

    By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

    • Spot false friends that look familiar but mean something else
    • Tell true cousin-words from tricky lookalikes
    • Use a habit of guess, then check

    2 - Three Feelings, Five Languages ~10 mins

    You are language detectives. Listen as we play each feeling word on the board, then say it back together. Look across each row for twins that look almost the same, and for total strangers that look nothing alike.

    3 - False Friends on the Plate ~10 mins

    Feeling words can look alike across languages. Food and drink words can trick you too. Now hunt pairs on the board, one pair at a time.

    Key point

    For each pair we will vote with hands: true match (cousin words that really mean the same) or false friend (looks similar but means something else). Guess first, then check the reveal. A wrong guess is useful detective data, not a failure.

    4 - Two Traps in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    Open your copy. Copy two false friends from the board. For each one write the lookalike word and what it really means.

    False friends we found (copy any two):

    • pain (French) looks like English 'pain' → really means bread
    • raisin (French) looks like English 'raisin' → really means grape
    • sopa (Spanish) looks a bit like 'soap' → really means soup

    If the board still shows different pairs from the hunt, copy two of those instead (word + real meaning).

    5 - Feelings Bingo ~10 mins

    Quick detective round on the feeling words we already met. Watch the shared bingo card on the board. When the teacher plays a word and you spot it, put your thumbs up or call out which language it was. We hunt a full line together on the board. No personal cards needed.

    Pupil practice
    Module 3 · Patterns, Sounds and False Friends
    Lesson 15 · Hunt the False Friends
    Download Activity Book page (PDF)
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