Why I’m teaching foreigners Tagalog

I love the Philippines. I love Filipinos. It’s an amazing country and an awesome mix of culture & attitudes.

I saw a brilliant picture last week of a guy standing next to EDSA [the main highway in the Philippines’ capital Manila] holding up a sign that said “You’re all a bit nuts but that’s why I like it here” which completely encapsulated how I feel.

I’ve had a fun 8 years in the country and one of the main reasons for that is because I made an effort to learn the language. A lot of people don’t and over and over again, people I talk to are amazed to hear that I speak Tagalog.

After so much time, it’s become a kind of game for me.

Sometimes I’m upfront about it and speak Tagalog from the start when I’ll invariably hear: “Ah marunong ka pala mag-tagalog! [ah you know how to speak Tagalog!]”.

Other times, I hide it and only speak English until halfway through the conversation or at the very end when I hear: “Nag-ta-tagalog ka pala, nag-no-nosebleed ako sayo e! Tas marunong ka pala mag-tagalog! [ah you speak Tagalog, you made my nosebleed with your English then I find out you know how to speak Tagalog?!”]

It’s a lot of fun.

Invariably, it makes people laugh which is a great thing to encounter day in and day out. Almost every time someone finds out I speak Tagalog, it’s followed by a laugh and a smile and it tends to brighten up both of our days.

3 things I love about speaking Tagalog (and it’s sibling Taglish):

1. I love that Filipinos appreciate any effort at all to speak the language, even simple things like “Salamat [thank you]” or “Magandang umaga [good morning]” etc.
2. I love that Filipinos try too hard to come up with the real Tagalog word when asked for a translation e.g. “How do you say “brush your teeth” in Tagalog? *thinks hard* ummmm….ah!…sisipilyo!” when the word they actually use in their everyday life is “toothbrush” e.g. “nag-to-toothbrush ako [i’m brushing my teeth]”
3. I love Taglish and its combination of Tagalog grammar structures with English words (See #2 above), it makes learning easy!

So what business do I have teaching foreigners Tagalog/Taglish?

As I said, I’ve really enjoyed learning it and it’s been a massively fun journey. A journey which I want other people to experience as well.

If you can speak Tagalog, there’s this whole other level of fun to be had in the Philippines and a much deeper level of cultural understanding to be gained from it.

And I think it’s a big shame that people don’t have an easy entrance point to learning. A lot of the lessons are based around the boring “read, memorise and repeat” type of learning when what people really need is a no nonsense approach which focuses on speaking and teaching useful, flexible words and phrases.

In my classes, I get students to speak and interact with native Tagalog speakers from day one.

I’m minimising the barrier to entry to this extra level of fun and deeper understanding of each other by providing this in the classes I give at www.learntagalogfast.com

My goal is to tap every non-Tagalog speaker in the country, spend 5 hours with them and show them:

1. How easy it can be to learn how to communicate with native speakers.
2. How rewarding it can be.
3. How much fun it can be. [it’s not at all like learning French in high school ;)]

Tara na, mag-tagalog na tayo! [come on! Let’s speak Tagalog!]