| Sumario: | Purpose: Cross-linguistic cognates are words that share form and meaning in two languages (e.g., helicopter-helicoptero); translation equivalents are words that share meaning but not form (e.g., house-casa). Research consistently demonstrates a performance speed and/or accuracy advantage for processing cognates versus noncognates in bilingual adults; studies with children are limited, with equivocal results. We investigated the potential for a cognate advantage for processing expressive and receptive vocabulary in the spoken (vs. written) modality in typically developing Spanish-speaking English-language learners (ELLs). Method: Thirty 8- to 1 3-year-old native Spanish-speaking children learning English as their second language completed standardized vocabulary tests in spoken English. Each test item was classified as a cognate or noncognate based on phonological overlap with its Spanish translation. Group and individual analyses were used to examine the effects of cognates. Results: At the group level, children's test scores were higher for items that were classified as cognates as compared to non-cognates of comparable difficulty. However, not all children demonstrated this cognate advantage. Age predicted significant amounts of variance in cognate performance on the receptive test. Conclusion: Overall, typically developing Spanish-speaking school-age ELL students demonstrated a cognate advantage. There was also considerable within-group variation in performance. Clinical implications are discussed, and directions for future study are provided.
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