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!

So I am making this post really late at night. It's because I just realized (two seconds ago) that Facebook posts are embeddable! :D I wanted to see what it looked like so here I am giving it a try. I decided to share with you one of the nice things you guys have left on my Facebook page. 

Salamat so much!
Joanna

Oh, and don't forget we ARE on Facebook! ---->>> Join the FB group
There, you can post questions you may have about learning Tagalog, or make announcements or share information with others, or just stop by to say hello! 

The biggest thing I miss most about Christmas in the Philippines is the caroling. As a kid, my friends and I used to look forward to the Christmas season so that we can go from house to house every night to carol for money. There were no rehearsals, no outfits to worry about, just get up and go. However, what was important was that we had our instruments. We had to have some kind of noise maker to make sure we were heard through a closed door. After all, it’s not like we had appointments to come over to sing.

We never made much money at all, money for candy or chips at best, but it was fun anyway to sing at the top of our lungs rattling our homemade instruments to the beat. We treated caroling like a job and got our group together night after night. All kids sang the same songs over and over again, and we all sounded the same—bad. But still, nothing will get you more excited about the Christmas season than the sounds of little kids singing Christmas songs at your front door numerous times night after night.

Here is a little caroling for you guys as you wrap up your Christmas celebrations with your loved ones.
Maligayang Pasko everyone and ingat kayo lagi!
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Salamat!
Joanna

Anyway! If you are ever in Las Vegas, you must eat here! The food was soo good! They had everything for less than $10! The buffet included some Pinapaitan, Dinuguan, Tuyo, Chicharron Bulaklak, atbp, and they even have Sarsi (the Filipino soda in a bottle)!

They have three locations, but this is the one I went to

So if you've been here before, tell us your experience. Kung pupunta ka, tell them you heard it from here and tell us your experience, ha. O sige na. Hanggang sa susunod nalang.

Ingat!
Joanna