Elementary Tagalog ─ Tara, Mag-Tagalog Tayo! / Come On, Let's Speak Tagalog!

This is the leading beginner Tagalog textbook and language learning package.

Elementary Tagalog's comprehensive approach will help students master Tagalog, the language of the Philippines, also known as Filipino or Pilipino. From learning to read Tagalog words and pronounce Tagalog sounds to using correct Tagalog grammar, communicating in Tagalog dialogues and building Tagalog vocabulary, learners will be surprised at how quickly their skills develop. The expert guidance in Elementary Tagalog is ideal both for true beginners and heritage learners who grew up in Filipino-speaking communities or families. The accompanying MP3 audio CD improves listening comprehension and ensures correct pronunciation.

Covering a range of topics, the lessons center on themes from the family, the home, and the community to food, travel, health, leisure time, festivals and popular culture. There are plenty of exercises, activities and practice drills to help learners acquire and master the language fundamentals, while culture notes explore the diversity, heritage and history of the Philippines. This is a complete language system and no prior knowledge of Tagalog is needed to begin and is the most comprehensive way to learn Tagalog.

Elementary Tagalog is composed of twenty-four lessons in eight units. Each Lesson contains:

• Cultural Notes at the beginning of each unit offering explanations of social, economic and historical aspects of Filipino society.
• A Vocabulary List in each lesson ties in to the theme of the unit and both the Tagalog reading text and the aural activities presented in the specific lesson.
• Reading and Reading Comprehension which are presented mostly in the form of Tagalog language dialogues, are designed to expose the students to real-life conversations as might be had by native Filipino speakers.
• Three Active Learning Activities follow the dialogue and dialogue comprehension in each lesson and ask students to employ the lesson's new Tagalog vocabulary.
• The Grammar Section is divided into four parts: definitions of terms, examining form, grammar presentation and grammar notes.
• Practice exercises or activities target student's speaking Tagalog, reading Tagalog, writing Tagalog and Tagalog listening skills.
• An accompanying audio CD with listening activities to reinforce Tagalog learning is also included with the book.

Available separately is the companion Elementary Tagalog Workbook. This helpful workbook will assist you in practicing and polishing your Filipino language skills. Each lesson supplements the corresponding lesson in the textbook. There are ten activities per lesson, offering a range of exercises and practice opportunities to enable you to achieve proficiency in everyday, conversational Tagalog.

Jiedson Domigpe is a lecturer in the Department of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, where he is also on the faculty of the Southeast Asian Center at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. He has taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of California at Irvine, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the Defense Language Institute and Foreign Service Institute, where he was nominated for the prestigious Cox Award for best teacher. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Nenita Pambid Domingo is the head of the Filipino Program in the South and Southeast Asian Languages and Cultures Program at the University of California at Los Angeles and a lecturer in the Asian Languages and Cultures Department there. She has been a Government Exchange Professor at Peking University, teaching all levels of Filipino language, and has taught Filipino language, literature, and culture at University of the Philippines UP (Quezon City and Manila), Loyola Marymount University, California State University at Long Beach, and the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles.