Tips For A Tagalog Learn To Speak English

By Lisa Bennett


English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. As Filipinos travel and work in other countries, it becomes necessary for a person fluent in Tagalog learn to speak English. Since this language is also one of the Philippines' official languages, it shouldn't be difficult for a native to acquire proficiency. Here are some tips.

Since the language is being taught to students as early as grade school, and even preschool, studying it takes some review of the basic concepts. A person can start with the parts of speech, such as the nouns, pronouns and verbs. He should also take note of the singular and plural forms for some basic words.

Study sentence construction by starting with simple sentences. Use nouns and pronouns as subjects and verbs and adjectives as predicates. If you are still confused about creating your own sentences, you can begin with the basic ones that are used for introducing oneself.

Assess your knowledge in constructing sentences by taking quizzes. There are books that were written specifically on this subject. You may also check websites that host quizzes and even provide lectures on basic sentences. If you use a smart phone, download apps or games that allow you to practice your language skills.

Read newspaper articles and fiction books on any topic. Prioritize those that were published by reputable companies since you should be assured that the material has been proofread and edited by experts. Test your comprehension by writing a short summary after reading the materials.

Listen to native or fluent speakers of the language. If you are not familiar with anyone who can assist you on this, you can simply watch foreign movies. This will familiarize you to the sound of the language as it is spoken casually. While listening to music is also an interesting activity, take note that there are songs that do not follow grammar rules.

When listening to the language, Filipino speakers may not be able to identify certain sounds because their native language only has a few vowel sounds. To compensate for this, use a dictionary to study different vowel sounds. To make sure that you understand the differences, you can ask for the help of a fluent speaker to listen to you.

Lastly, fluency is acquired by continuously practicing language usage. Prepare to answer questions in the language. As a beginner, you may initially think in your native language and then translate your thoughts. As you continue to practice, you will find that it is no longer necessary to translate the question nor to compose an answer in your native language first.

Learning a language should be a continuous endeavor. It does not stop with just acquiring conversational fluency. Because this language is widely-used in the Philippines, you will not run out of options to practice the language. There is an abundance of learning and listening materials in every library, bookstore or cinema in the country.




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