HOW TO LEARN TAGALOG USING MOVIES (and why you might be wasting your time)

If I keep watching Tagalog movies, am I going to learn how to speak Tagalog?
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If want to learn how to speak it, the short answer is NO.
 
However, if you

Watch movies
+
 Get some speaking practice
+
Study grammar
+
Learn sentence formation,
then YES!

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Movies are a great way to learn the language the way it is actually spoken
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I get a big number of learners who have used books to self-study, but because of the difference between written and conversational Tagalog, they ended up speaking Tagalog in a way that is not normal in an everyday conversational setting. So movies are good to fix this problem!


​Now, why watch a Tagalog movie to learn Tagalog?

• You pick up the sounds and rhythm of Tagalog.
• You notice certain words and phrases that are often used by native speakers.
• And you get to see the things you have learned from your lessons used in action.

 


Here are reasons why watching movies may not work for you:

• The level may be way too high for you.
• There is no interaction.
• It’s hard to listen intently.
• There’s no transcript.
• And you can’t listen multiple times.

 

Unless you are only interested in “kinda following” the movie (and maybe laughing or crying at the wrong times *eek!*)

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Here are--

My Steps On How To Use Movies To Learn Tagalog

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      1. Learn some basic grammar and vocabulary.


      2. Watch the movie throughout for the fun of it and then pick a short section              to focus on.


      3. Ideally, you would have a Tagalog transcript. Study the transcript and make                sure you understand the transcript and can translate it to English.


      4. Go back to your “focus section” of the movie and turn off the subtitles.

      5. Read along with the transcript while listening to the movie.



      6. Read along with the movie over and over again, paying attention to                       intonation, speech patterns, expressions, etc.Take notes if you want.



      7. Try listening without reading and see if you can hear the words clearly.           Better yet, can you hear the words and understand them?



      8. Once you understand what is being said, or when things sound familiar to you,                      repeat the lines along with the movie out loud. Try to say them                      exactly the way the actor says them in the movie. (The advanced move would be to              also copy their facial expressions or body movements.)



      9. Any phrases you like from the movie, take those and use them in real life.



     10. Start with easier movies and work your way to more difficult ones.


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     11. And then FINALLY! Go to the Philippines and try out to be an actor! Tell                        them I sent ya!
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That’s it! Those are my steps. 
 


P.S. There is a very good documentary on Netflix (or other places online) right now called, Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.’
 
I suggest this film as a great study tool because it is mostly interviews, so you get a VERY good guide for how people normally tell stories and have conversations.

I HIGHLY recommend it. 


If you want some very good Tagalog listening practice, watch this documentary.

The transcript for the ENTIRE MOVIE is available to you here. 
So you can go ahead and get started!


If there are any other good Filipino movies on Netflix that you know of, please let me know in the comments below and I can transcribe them for you. Also, please let me know how your studying with movies have worked for you, and how you made it happen. Salamat!