How L1 loanwords can create a false sense of familiarity with L2 vocabulary meaning and usage

Almost 50% of high-frequency English (L2) words have Japanese cognates in the form of loanwords, and depending on cognate type these are generally considered to be an excellent way to promote vocabulary retention. However, relatively unexplored is the impact loanword cognates have on word usage in sentences. This paper will describe the discrepancies between students’ perceived knowledge and actual knowledge of meaning and usage of English words with Japanese cognates. The results suggest that cognates which are usually more difficult for students to retain, such as distant false friends (because they have undergone a semantic shift), are not the only source of difficulty in terms of word usage. In addition to this, it appears loanword cognates that students consider themselves to know can create a false sense of familiarity with L2 meaning and usage. True cognates and convergent cognates, which are generally considered the easiest to recall meaning of, showed the most discrepancies in terms of accurate word usage.