Yes, anyone can do it. Basic Tagalog is rather easy to learn compared to other languages. However, it is quite different from English. It takes some time to get used to the language.
Learning Tagalog is much like learning how to drive. It’s not difficult, it’s just a matter of getting used to it. And like driving, the more you do it, the better you become. Eventually, speaking Tagalog will become second nature to you.
It’s important to use good materials when you learn. Not just to make learning easier and avoid guesswork, but also to learn what people really say in particular situations, and to make good use of your time. A quality course is worth its price several times over in terms of time savings.
See also: The best way to learn Tagalog.
Speaking a language fluently doesn’t involve a lot of thinking. In fact, the language should be second nature in order to speak it at fluent speed.
You can achieve this level of familiarity through regular (ideally, daily) practice and review. By setting aside 15–30 minutes per day for the course, you’ll build a solid foundation of Tagalog in 6 months. You’ll learn the natural way to ask questions and respond to them in various situations. You will have made the necessary mental connections to speak without having to pause and think first. Start practicing with native speakers as soon as you feel comfortable.
Real-life dialogues are irreplaceable to become fluent. This is why we place a lot of importance on natural, authentic dialogues. Fluency doesn’t come from consciously applying rules. The grammar is certainly necessary to clarify how the language works, but in the end, fluency comes from regular exposure to and repetition of natural Tagalog sentences.
See also: The best way to learn Tagalog.
From our experience, an optimal learning process consists of the following elements:
See also:
How long it takes depends mostly on the materials you use and how much you practice.
Regular self-study with good materials is the fastest way to reach a speaking level. With our materials, this would take you about 6 months at a pace of 15 to 30 minutes per day (for a total of about 70 hours).
If you have more time, you could do 2 or 3 sessions a day. This way, you could even be fluent in 3 months.
Practicing what you have learned with native speakers for a few months in everyday situations is necessary to become fluent. Start practicing before you finish the course. The earlier, the better!
See also: The best way to learn Tagalog.
You can actually get by with English. However, in social gatherings and everyday situations, you may find that Filipinos speak Tagalog among one another. In such a situation, you may feel left out.
Speaking Tagalog will bring you a lot closer to your Filipino family and friends. Even just understanding what is going on around you will totally transform your experience. But the best part is to join in and crack a joke. Or to have an intimate conversation.
Many long-time residents in the Philippines report that learning the language has been their best time investment since they arrived and they highly recommend it.
If you work in the Philippines for some time, learning Tagalog will definitely improve your relationships with people and your experience overall.
Filipino is essentially the same as Tagalog.
See also: Tagalog, Filipino, Pilipino: What’s the difference?
In the Tagalog-speaking regions in the Philippines and wherever there are Filipino communities. Tagalog serves as the common language among Filipinos from different regions. Outside the Philippines, the areas where Tagalog is most widely spoken are the Middle East, the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and European cities with a large Filipino community.
Without going into the linguistic details, one could say that basic Tagalog is grammatically rather simple. Most words don’t have a gender and words don’t have plural forms. Many simple sentences don’t even have a verb.
Writing Tagalog is easy, because most words are spelled the way they are pronounced, with the exception of long vowels, glottal stops and optional sound changes.
The main challenges are getting used to the Ang, Ng and Sa phrases (some call them cases), the enclitic words (words with a fixed position in the sentence) and the verbs. Tagalog also has many affixes for nouns, adjectives, verbs and numbers.
Of course, Tagalog is very different from English and it takes some practice to get used to those differences.
Tagalog is most related to other Philippine languages, especially Bicolano and the Visayan dialects, such as Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray.
Yes. There are many retirees who learn a new language to keep their minds sharp.
Focus on the benefits to motivate you.
Understanding Tagalog will really help you feel more at home in the Philippines.
Many expats report that learning Tagalog has been their best time investment since they moved.
It’s never too late to learn. Just get started!
Yes, the course was designed for beginners. All Tagalog words are translated literally, to break down the Tagalog sentences into parts that are easy to understand. The audio has a natural-speed version and a slower version. The notes in the lessons introduce grammar and cultural points as you go. For a complete overview of a particular topic, you can consult the grammar reference.
If you’re a total beginner, you can also watch the videos. They’ll give you a thorough introduction to Tagalog.
If you aren’t fluent yet, the best place to start is the course (which includes the grammar). You can try the Online Edition free or download the free samples.
If you’re already fluent, the comprehensive grammar is surely a handy resource. You might also want to use the course as a refresher.
An overview of what you will learn can be found here and on pages 18–19 of the Course Book Sample.
Yes, the different editions contain the same material (same 60 lessons, audio, workbooks, grammar).
In addition to the material, the Ebook and Print Editions contain introductory texts and quick references. These can be downloaded from the Downloads page.
Also, the Ebook and Print Editions include downloadable MP3s, which are very useful for offline listening practice.
The Online Edition includes flash-card exercises using the phrases in the lessons (in addition to the workbook exercises).
For an overview of all editions, click here.
Yes, you can try Lesson 1. The advantage of signing up is that you can start tracking your progress.
The Online Course (web app) cannot be downloaded. You can add a shortcut to it on the home screen of your device. However, you will still need an Internet connection.
If you prefer to study offline, you can use the Ebook Edition (PDFs and MP3s) or the Print Edition.
Yes, you can add a shortcut on the home screen of your Android, iOS/iPad/iPhone/Apple, Windows, Blackberry or other device. That way, you can easily access the Online Course like an app.
Search add home screen website shortcut + device name in your favorite search engine for instructions.
The short answer is that the advantages of native apps don’t outweigh the disadvantages in our case.
With a web app (mobile website):
Go to the online course. Click or tap the icon on the top-right corner.
Go to the online course. Click on the sign-in icon (top-right corner). Then, click the "I forgot" button and follow the instructions.
Cookies are needed for identification after signing in. Without cookies, you would need to identify yourself by signing in every time your progress is saved or whenever you load a new lesson. This would be so impractical that we require cookies to be enabled to use the online course.
If you prefer not to allow cookies for all sites, you can also just accept them from learningtagalog.com and other trusted sites.
It depends on your browser (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Opera etc.). Search enable cookies + browser name in your favorite search engine for instructions.
This is the order in which we recommend to take the course. Feel free to do more than one item in a single session.
For each lesson:
After Lesson 10, review the lesson overviews for Lessons 1 to 5, then after Lesson 15 for Lessons 6 to 10, and so on. There will be reminders for this in the course.
Optional:
You can simply follow the course books. They will tell you at what point to use the grammar book and the workbooks.
The course books indicate the page numbers of the parts of the grammar book that provide more details. The workbooks can simply be used in parallel with the course books.
The grammar book also includes topics not covered in the course, which you can refer to at any time.
Yes. You have the following options.
1. Workbooks (Online Edition, Ebook Edition, Print Edition)
The workbooks allow you to check your progress after you’ve reviewed a lesson a few times and you’re very familiar with it. The exercises in it will test both your vocabulary and grammar using new sentences. The PDF version can be printed out if you like. Alternatively, you can simply write down your answers on a piece of paper and check them against the answer key at the end of the workbook when you’re done.
2. Flash card mode (Online Edition only*)
The Online Edition has a Flash card mode with the following exercises from easiest to most challenging:
Flash card mode can be enabled via the gear icon (top right) > checkmark icon (the first one from the left) > check Flash card mode and select one of the four options above. Then, return to the lesson. Some of the text will be hidden. By going to the next slide, the answer will be shown. Flash card mode can be disabled by unchecking it in the same location.
* If you’d like to do a similar exercise with the books or ebooks (on a tablet or phone), you can use a piece of paper to cover either the Tagalog or the English translations and move it up or down to reveal the answer.
Some iPhone users have reported audio issues. It may have something to do with audio settings. For some, playing the audio through Bluetooth speakers or headphones worked.
You could also try using this version of the online course:
https://learningtagalog.com/course2/app.php
(In the lesson overview, you may have to tap on each phrase separately to get it to play.)
The problem only occurs on some iPhones, not on laptops or Android devices. We have not been able to consistently replicate the issue on our own iPhone devices.
If you’re still having trouble, contact us.
You can get it here.
Of course. Or you can simply create an Audio Account and use it on whichever device you like.
Yes. Although we do not provide them as a download, you can search for tools to download YouTube videos.
You should receive an email with your download links and/or account details within seconds or minutes after completing your order. If this doesn’t happen, check your spam folder. If it isn’t there, contact us.
Try the following:
For the audio, you might want to create an Audio Account to play the audio online.
If you’re still having trouble, contact us.
Yes, they expire after 7 days or after a number of download attempts, which depends on the file size. This is set by our reseller FastSpring to prevent sharing of links.
If you experience any download issues or need to reset the download links, contact us.
It’s always a good idea to back up your files. There are many options: Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, Bvckup, CrashPlan, external hard drives, SD cards etc.
Yes. Contact us.
You can use one device to play the audio, and another to read the ebooks. This way, you don’t need to switch apps on the same device while learning.
Note: If you have an Internet connection while learning, you might want to create an Audio Account to play the audio online. If you’re learning offline, read on.
After clicking the download link in your order email, the zip file will be downloaded to your device. If this does not happen, you might need to install an unzip app.
The next steps are:
How to perform each of the steps depends on your device’s operating system. Since operating systems vary and evolve over time, we cannot give a full set of instructions for every case in this FAQ.
If you need help, please contact us. Tell us the operating system of your device (examples: Windows 10, macOS Mojave, iOS 12.3, Android 9.0 etc.) and we’ll be happy to look up specific instructions for you.
Yes! Course Ebook Edition and Print Edition owners can now create an Audio Account for free. With an Audio Account, you can play all audio files online in the overview-only mode of the Online Edition. Try this sample for Lesson 1.
For Ebook Edition owners:
Copy the order reference in your order confirmation email and paste it in the box below. Then press Create Audio Account.
For Print Edition owners:
Copy the order reference in your order confirmation email for the Course Audio MP3s and paste it in the box below. Then press Create Audio Account. Instructions to order your Course Audio MP3s for free are here.
If you need any help, please contact us.
See our store.
You’ll find all the information in our store.
Yes. See our discounts page.
To keep things simple, we don’t offer this option.
Yes, we accept payments by bank transfer. Just click on the Buy Now button at the store. Then select Wire Transfer at the bottom of the page. You will also see other payment methods accepted by our payment processor.
Yes. In the store, go to the Online Edition or the Ebook Edition, and below the Buy Now button, click on Buy as Gift / Group Buy.
By selecting this option, you can buy a gift certificate for the Online Edition and/or the Ebook Edition for one or more people. You will receive coupon codes which the recipients can use to order the course for free. This way, their accounts will be created in their name and using their email address.
Yes.
For the Online Edition:
In the store, go to the Online Edition, and below the Buy Now button, click on Buy as Gift / Group Buy. With this option, you get a coupon code for the Online Edition for each of your students. See bulk orders for details.
For the Ebook Edition:
In the store, go to the Ebook Edition, and below the Buy Now button, click on Buy as Gift / Group Buy. With this option, you get a coupon code for the Ebook Edition for each of your students. See bulk orders for details.
For the Print Edition:
If you prefer to use print books, please contact us. We offer bulk discounts.
As of December 2023, the bundled 7-Book Set in blank-and-white (ISBN 9783902909077) is no longer available.
The bundled 7-Book Set in color (ISBN 9783902909800) is unavailable until further notice.
The individual print books are available at online stores worldwide. You can find them through their ISBNs. Go to our store for details.
To simplify our offering, we discontinued the Course Audio on 7 CDs in January 2021. If you purchased the Course Print Edition, you can get the Course Audio MP3s for free.
Yes. See Learning Tagalog for Teachers.
You can look in the grammar ebook, which is fully searchable. Alternatively, you can search the site through Google as follows:
search-term site:learningtagalog.com
If you haven’t already, you might want to take our course and learn Tagalog in a systematic way. All the words and sentences in the lessons are translated into English, and grammar points are clearly explained and illustrated with examples. You’ll see, your questions will be answered as you progress through the course.
Not at the moment.
Our materials teach standard Tagalog or Manila Tagalog. This is the dialect commonly used in the national media in the Philippines. It includes many English words.
It is certainly true that Manila Tagalog is far from pure. We had to strike a balance between authenticity and practicality. The course only uses words that are really used in and around Manila and don’t sound literary.
You can read the advanced topics in Essential Tagalog Grammar or watch videos online, preferably ones with subtitles. We don’t have any specific recommendations that would suit everyone.
The course is intended for adult and teenage learners. Children below 12 may need the guidance of an adult tutor.
Even though our materials aren’t specifically designed for it, some Tagalog speakers have reported learning English using Essential Tagalog Grammar.
All material or content on LearningTagalog.com, including downloadable files, are protected by copyright. Copying or sharing any part of it in any way or form on any website, app or anywhere else is strictly prohibited. More info
Yes! To receive free digital evaluation copies of Learning Tagalog: Fluency Made Fast and Easy (LearningTagalog.com online course), please contact us.
Please review our course curriculum and the detailed contents of Essential Tagalog Grammar.
The course and grammar are also available in print as a 7-Book Set (1,354 pages). However, we ask that you use the digital evaluation copies as they include the audio (instead of a separate download), and are more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly. We would be happy to provide a free desk copy if the print materials are adopted for a course of 10+ students.
We also ask that you provide feedback on our materials.
To request your digital evaluation copies, please contact us.