This is a straightforward and user-friendly guide to the Tagalog language. Tagalog for Beginners is the book to help you learn Tagalog (Filipino) on your own, efficiently and accurately--whether you're traveling to the Philippines for a vacation or a business trip, or you have ties to the sizeable Tagalog-speaking community in the U.S., or you're merely a language lover. From the fascinating history of Philippines' language to how you speak it, join skilled teacher Barrios on a guided introduction--with a practical focus. After journeying through the carefully-paced explanations, conversations, cultural info, and activities in Tagalog for Beginners, learners will be able to use Tagalog (Filipino) in a wide range of natural situations. From shopping for food to asking directions, from telling time to expressing how you feel, this book gives you the communication skills you need. The downloadable audio helps reinforce pronunciation and improve listening comprehension. Helpful suggestions guide heritage learners (those of Filipino descent but born outside the Philippines) on how to use the book most effectively for their needs. Key features include:: Accompanying downloadable audio. Realistic dialogues to bring the language to life. Activities and exercises to help you read, write, speak and understand. Notes on the Tagalog language and history. A specific section guides native (heritage) learners and instructors on how to use the book most effectively for their needs.

"Basic Tagalog takes a friendly and innovative approach, emphasizing the structure of the Tagalog language rather than just vocabulary. This user-friendly beginner Tagalog book teaches more than 2,000 Tagalog words and expressions with over 500 being added for this new edition. These are spread throughout 44 lessons, the Appendices and the exercises as well as in the Tagalog-English and English-Tagalog vocabulary lists at the back of the book. The added Tagalog vocabulary is meant to keep learners abreast of changes that have occurred in the language since the first edition of Basic Tagalog which was published. This edition has retained all the grammar lessons and the tried-and-tested teaching methodology developed b the author, Paraluman S. Aspillera, for the original version. Her method has proven to be extremely effective for tens of thousands of foreigners and non-Tagalogs who have used this book to learn Tagalog, including many who have successfully learned to speak Tagalog, read Tagalog and write Tagalog through self-study on their own without a teacher. Downloadable audio has also been added to facilitate the correct pronunciation of Tagalog words and phrases. A succinct introduction to the language and a description of the character of Filipinos will hopefully provide learners with a better understanding of the language they are learning. The lessons in Basic Tagalog are intended for a three-month period of intensive study followed by another three months of applied oral communication. In six months (or about 250 hours), it is expected that an average learner should be able to speak, write and understand simple, everyday, conversational Tagalog as spoken by most Filipinos. Highlights of this book include: Over 2,000 Tagalog words and expressions. 44 lessons organized by organized for efficient language absorption. Extensive exercises and activities to reinforce the lessons. Vocabulary lists serve as comprehensive English-Tagalog and Tagalog-English dictionaries. Completely updated and expanded with new materials. Includes downloadable audio. Using Basic Tagalog to study the Tagalog language will further encourage both non-Tagalogs and non-Filipinos to speak Tagalog better. Only then will they appreciate the individuality of the language that reflects the resilience and flexibility of Filipinos all around the world. In the end, such learning will improve daily interactions and communications between non-Filipinos and Filipinos--whether in business, education, tourism, social or civic endeavors."

The most enjoyable way to learn about a new culture is through its stories—especially when they're told in two languages! This book introduces 40 stories from the Philippines through bilingual Tagalog and English texts presented on facing pages. Paired with cultural notes, vocabulary lists, exercises, comprehension questions and free online audio recordings, Tagalog Stories for Language Learners is an excellent resource for intermediate language learners, or those who wish to pick up a bit of Phlippine cultural knowledge. This compilation includes a mix of traditional folktales retold for a modern audience, as well as several well-known works of contemporary Philippine literature. Along the way, you will meet fabulous mythological characters like the Bagobo goddess Mebuyan and the shape-shifting Aswang. Other characters cope with day-to-day issues, such as the domestic worker who cannot find her keys and a beauty queen who leaves behind her comfortable city life in order to help peasants in the countryside. Four of the stories are by well-known Filipino writers and are presented in complete or partially condensed form. These include: Estrangheritis by Inigo Ed. Regalado (1907) — The writer is critical of Filipinos who exalt all things foreign while, in fact, benefitting from their own land but unappreciative of their national culture. Desire by Paz Latorena (1928) — The story of a Filipino woman who has to deal with the narrow-mindedness of a foreigner who is far more interested in her body than in her personality. Greta Garbo by Deogracia Rosaro (1930) — Monina, who looks like Greta Garbo, plans a weekend getaway with her beau, only to be left at the station waiting, and later discovers he has gone on a honeymoon! Maria Elena Paterno's Sampaguita (1991) —Two popular legends about the Sampaguita (Philippine jasmine flower) which touch on the themes of courage and forbidden love.

At last, a way to improve your Tagalog! Written by Joi Barrios as the continuation of her best-selling Tagalog for Beginners book, Intermediate Tagalog is the first intermediate-level book designed specifically for people who already speak or understand some basic Tagalog and now wish to achieve greater fluency in speaking, reading and writing standard Filipino--the national language of the Philippines. The carefully-constructed lessons in this book point out common grammatical errors that English speakers make when speaking Tagalog, and present "real-life" conversations demonstrating how the language is spoken in Manila today. Extensive cultural notes are provided, along with exercises and activities that introduce the use of the Tagalog language in a wide range of everyday situations. The 20 lessons give you all the basic skills needed to speak Tagalog fluently: paglalarawan (the ability to describe people, places and feelings); pagsasalaysay (the ability to tell a story--whether a news story, a folktale, or an anecdote); paglalahad (how to explain something--for example, a custom or tradition, or how to cook a dish); and pangangatuwiran (reasoning and abstract thinking). Each lesson is carefully structured in six key parts: A "real-life" dialogue providing valuable conversational skills. A vocabulary list to expand your familiarity with common, everyday Tagalog words and expressions. A grammar review section (for example, on the correct uses of affixes in various sentence constructions). Insightful cultural notes presenting aspects of the Philippines that may seem "odd" to outsiders, to explain how Filipino culture shapes the way people speak. A reading passage from a story or newspaper article, with comprehension questions. A writing exercise designed to teach a specific writing skill. Using Intermediate Tagalog, you'll be able to talk about yourself, your family and your daily experiences using grammatically correct sentences and a native-speaker level vocabulary.

You've decided to learn Tagalog - great choice!  Tagalog, also known as Filipino, isn't an easy language to learn. Mostly due to the absolute lack of reading material out there, you can find it quite tough to learn this language spoken by around 24 million people in the Philippines and around the world. But we're about to change that with Tagalog Short Stories for Beginners! By providing you with 20 easy-to-read, compelling and fun stories that will give you the tools that you require to learn the language, get ready to expand your vocabulary and improve your grasp of the wonderful Filipino tongue. How Tagalog Short Stories for Beginners works: - Each chapter possesses a funny, interesting and thought-provoking story based on real-life situations, allowing you to learn a bit more about the Filipino culture. - Next up, you will find a summary in Tagalog and in English of what you just read, both to review the lesson and for you to see if you understood what the tale was about. Use them if you're having trouble. - At the end of those summaries, you'll be provided with a list of the most relevant vocabulary involved in the lesson, as well as slang and sayings that you may not have understood at first glance! Don't get lost trying to understand or pronounce it all, either, as all of the vocabulary words are translated for your ease of use! - Finally, you'll be provided with a set of tricky questions in Tagalog, allowing you the chance to prove that you learned something in the story. Whether it's true or false, or if you're doing the single answer questions, don't worry if you don't know the answer to any - we will provide them immediately afterwards, but no cheating! We want you to feel comfortable while learning the tongue; after all, no language should be a barrier for you to travel around the world and expand your social circles! So look no further! Pick up your copy of Tagalog Short Stories for Beginners and level up your Tagalog language learning right now!

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.

"Lessons in this book cover basic grammar, reinforcing instruction through dialogue and exercises and presenting common scenarios where typical everyday language would be applied. The result is a top pick for any do-it-yourselfer who would learn Tagalog and actually apply it to a visit to the Philippines. --Midwest Book Review"