# Any resources fellow Tagalog learners?



## romelako

Hello everyone @ Word Reference.  I have posted many questions regarding Tagalog on-and-off for some time now and I'm basically stuck at this point.  I have already completed all 30 Pimsleur courses, and I've studied the grammar at this website:

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Homepage99/learning_tagalog_on_this_site.htm

I do have Filipino parents that speak fluent Tagalog, but I do not know enough to even get in a small conversation with them.  However, I can understand a little bit of Tagalog.

I've grasped the basic concepts of the language, such as the different focuses, verb conjugations, enclictics, etc.  Now, I just need to develop this more and I feel like my resources are limited because I haven't any money.  Also, motivation and time seems to be a problem for me as well.  I really want to gain fluency, but at the rate I'm going at, I feel like I'll never achieve that.

So, with that being said, do any of you guys that are studying Tagalog have any other resources for my learning?  Any tips?


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## Chriszinho85

This isn't necessarily a resource, but do you have a subscription to TFC or any other Filipino TV channel at home?  I find that it really helps me with my oral comprehension.  I try to understand everything that's being said and if I don't understand something, I try to write down the word and look it up in the dictionary.  It also helps me to learn the slang/colloquial language a bit.  The same thing goes for music.  If I don't understand a lyric I can just look up the lyrics online and look up the word in the dictionary.

Chris


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## romelako

Unfortunately, I don't have TFC.  I haven't got any money and I don't think my parents would want that channel.


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## briceman

I have three suggestions:

1) buy as much OPM music as you can. Attempt to transcribe and then translate the lyrics. Even if you don't like the music, I suggest you try Pinoy love songs because the speech is slowed down a lot. Kuh Ledesma has probably the clearest pronunciation of Tagalog. She actually enunciates terminal glottal stops so I can hear them! Try her first if you have doubts about this method of learning. Places where you can buy and listen to Opm:

http://www.pinoytunes.net/home.do
http://www.fliptunes.net/store/
http://pinoy.fm/  (streaming radio and playlists from NJ)
(and iTunes of course, but you have to know the artist first)


2) purchase and study any/all or the books by Teresita Ramos from U. Hawaii. She has written what are probably the very best grammars for English native speakers trying to learn Tagalog. Some of the older books are hard to get cheap but are well worth the effort/cost. Ramos also weaves culture lessons into the language lessons. Ramos is a Filipina. Just go to Amazon or Alibris and search for "ramos tagalog".

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ipll/Research/researchRamos.html


3) buy **at any cost** the two volumes of the Father Leo English (his name, not lang) dictionaries. One vol. is Tag/Eng and the other is Eng/Tag. It is very very thorough and fairly recent, so word usage is good. You can order new from National Bookstore in Manila, but the shipping is killer  ... so try used or if you live near Daly City, CA you can prob find it in the public library there. 

http://www.nationalbookstore.com.ph/shop/products.asp?merchant_code=NBS&categ=144&product=15320
http://www.nationalbookstore.com.ph/shop/products.asp?merchant_code=NBS&categ=144&product=9390

The two books *are* heavy, at >1500 pages each, so maybe you decide it's worth the shipping. I found mine used from alibris and ebay after a long long search. If I had seen them before buying I think I could have justified the shipping from Manila. Leo's dictionary is a million times better than anything online. I'm serious. A million times better. You can skim / read the Tag/Eng volume to learn Tagalog idioms and phrases. It is much much more than just a dictionary if you are willing to dig. Contains example sentances in tagalog for *every* meaning of every word.

Good luck!

-brice


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## Jowtiger

Magandang arow everyone!!

Paumanhin for replying to an old thread, but I thought this may help others like me that need help learning Tagalog.


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## whoohaa

http://www.bansa.org/dictionaries/tgl/  This is a pretty good site. Since I lived overseas for several years, my tagalog is a bit rusty so I sometimes have to use at this when writing or reading something in Tagalog.


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## atom871

Hey folks, thanks for all the great tips!


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## mikeneve

My advice would be to learn the verbs and pronouns. The focal orientation of the verbs is the most difficult part, but if you get that down then the language comes a lot easier. The best book out there for it is Tagalog Verb Guide by Hawkins and Gallo-Crail. Its clear and affordable.


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## mataripis

Chriszinho85 said:


> This isn't necessarily a resource, but do you have a subscription to TFC or any other Filipino TV channel at home?  I find that it really helps me with my oral comprehension.  I try to understand everything that's being said and if I don't understand something, I try to write down the word and look it up in the dictionary.  It also helps me to learn the slang/colloquial language a bit.  The same thing goes for music.  If I don't understand a lyric I can just look up the lyrics online and look up the word in the dictionary.
> 
> Chris


Tagalog like other pacific asian languages is easy to learn.by familiarizing with Tagalog words even you cannot use them in grammar can help you understand Tagalog conversations.  I am a native tagalog speaker.


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## mataripis

Jowtiger said:


> Magandang arow everyone!!
> 
> Paumanhin for replying to an old thread, but I thought this may help others like me that need help learning Tagalog.


magandang araw din sa inyong lahat!


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