Tagalog for Beginners (Ages 5-7)

If you are exposed to Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines, know a few words and sentences and would want to expand your knowledge, confidence and fluency, you need to practice regularly. I have created this class so that emergent Tagalog speakers can have a relaxed venue to listen to proper pronunciation, intonation and also build on their vocabulary and conversational skills. Most of the time, children in bilingual homes have a dominant language used and have less exposure to the other. If your learner understands but is hesitant to speak, this class will allow them to practice in a relaxed setting with myself and other learners.

Topics will vary weekly and will loop around for further reinforcement and practice. Each child will receive individual attention and the focus is to go at their own pace. Question and expected answers will be age appropriate and level or fluency based. A personal approach can be achieved once the learner spends a several meetings me so I can assess their level of fluency and comfort.

Students all have a chance to participate and I always encourage and promote engagement in the classroom. 

Learners will be provided worksheets from time to time to further reinforce learning, memory and retention.

Students do not need to know Tagalog prior but must be comfortable in an immersion classroom. We will not go full immersion to begin. We will start off with 50/50 English-Tagalog and gradually progress to using more Tagalog in the classroom. I do understand that most learners will have mostly very little knowledge of the language. I aim to make this class an enjoyable experience as learning a new language can be challenging. We want to instill the interest in the children so they will want to learn.

Below is the course breakdown for the first few weeks. Themes and topics may extend beyond a week or two to reinforce vocabulary words, sentences and promote fluency. Since this is an immersion class, the focus is not only on the language but also on Philippine culture and tradition. When we do discuss culture it will be mostly in English so the students can also share their family traditions. The themes below give you an idea of the structure of this course.

Parents and learners are welcome to request a theme or topic that they feel their child needs to work on.

Week One: Mga Kulay (Colors)
Week Two: Pagbilang (Counting)
Week Three: Bahagi ng Mukha (Parts of the face)
Week Four: Ang Aking Mag-Anak (My family)
Week Five: Mga Gamit sa Pag-aaral (Things for school)
Week Six:  Karaniwang Pagkain (Common Food)
Week Seven: Bahagi ng Katawan (Parts of the body)
Week Eight: Emosyon (Emotions)
Week Nine: Mga Prutas at Gulay (Fruits and Vegetables)
Week Ten: Mga Katulong sa Pamayanan (Community workers)
Week Eleven: Mga Araw ng Linggo (Days of the week)
Week Twelve: Ang Aking Bahay (My house)