Using a student's native language, either as a medium of instruction or as a scaffolding technique, has been used effectively in many classrooms throughout the U.S. In the past, many schools provided native language instruction to meet the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs). However, with the advent of antibilingual education proposals such as Proposition 227 in California (1998) and Proposition 203 in Arizona (2000), using native languages to educate children has become less common. In its stead, Structured English Immersion (SEI) has become the default program. As a result, educators are left without the opportunity to use one of the most important tools to meet the educational needs of English learners: students' knowledge of and experiences in their native language. This article explores using cognates to transfer vocabulary from the primary language to English. Words in two languages that share meaning, spelling, and pronunciation, "cognates" are an obvious bridge to English for Spanish-speaking learners to access mathematical knowledge. Cognates promote comprehension for students whose native language has a Latin base, such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)