The Tagalog Course

Learn Tagalog without getting a nose bleed.

A fun and effective way to learn Tagalog -- less suffering, more fun.

What this course offers:

1. Speak Tagalog like a local.

- Most Tagalog grammar books teach formal Tagalog which is far from how locals talk.
- Use words that locals use nowadays, not outdated ones my grandmother doesn't even use.

2. Context, context, context. / Context matters.

- Language is used in life: It is alive and dynamic.
- Here, we use words through scenarios by following the life of the character "Porcopia."

- Get a better grasp of how the words, sentences, and questions are used through the story.
- Improve your recall by remembering the lessons through Porcopia's life.

3. Get ready to role play.

- Imagine you're an actor who received a script for scenes for a character you're playing in a Filipino movie. Imagine how this movie will eventually come to life -- in your life.
- Exercises and quizzes are in the format of games, audio recording, video recording, cooking, and other activities that requires your active participation. We want this to be an immersive course.

- Get ready to speak Tagalog on day 1.

4. Celebrate your mistakes.

- As learners of a language, we go back to being a child, a baby even. When we look at a baby or a child learning their first words, do we laugh at them and think they're stupid? I would assume that most of us don't.
- Making mistakes is part of learning and remembering better. (insert article about neuroplasticity related to mistakes)

5. Have fun.

- What is learning a language without fun?
- As much as possible, I don't want you to feel that this course is a punishment. This course is built with the intention that you will have as much fun as possible, that you look at it as play.
- There will be games, there will be prizes. Remember Snakes and Ladders? Ever heard of the Paper Clip Strategy?

6. Perception is reality.

- You can look at one Tagalog word that you learned today as slow progress, OR, you can look at it as a small victory (but a victory, nonetheless).
- Brick by brick, we build this Tagalog house. The Tagalog house where you'll be having Tagalog conversations.

7. Speaking of building... / Speak now or forever hold your peace.

- We have "builders" and "construction sites."

- We give you the tools and we teach you how to use it.

- Want to build a Tagalog sentence? We got you.
- Want to build a Tagalog question? We got you.

8. K.I.S.S.

- Keep it simple, Susan (a common name in the Philippines).
- I like keeping it simple. Not because of lack of creativity, but because I believe the best teachers are the ones who always keeps the beginner in mind.
- This is the question I asked myself while building this course --

- How do I "uncomplicate" the complicated so that the learner won't give up because it was too darn complicated. See how many times I used the word complicated there?

9. This course will challenge you.

- Just because I keep it simple, it doesn't mean this course won't stimulate your brain. Oh, it will. But in the end, you will benefit from it.

10. Finally...

- This is the course I wish existed for me as a language learner. This was shaped based on the problems I encountered in learning a langauge. There are many courses out there, many great teachers. I'm not special. I'm just a person who struggled with learning a language. Someone who struggled learning in a formal setting (e.g. classroom).
- This course is for you if you've felt frustrated with yourself (time and time again) for feeling like you're not progressing and that you're still not fluent.