While teaching the English language, teachers must ensure to form conscious and competent communicators. They must develop all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. One of the techniques used to form readers of English texts is to teach students to recognize cognates. This strategy helps learners to develop a better comprehension of the text and to understand the words of the second language. Using cognates is especially useful for Portuguese speakers since a significant portion of English vocabulary is formed by Latin-based words.
Considering that English is a West Germanic language, what aspect of its historical development can explain this massive presence of Latin-based words?
