Reddit reviews Conversational Tagalog: A Functional-Situational Approach (PALI Language Texts)

I'm an American-born Filipina, and while I understand the language, I don't know how to speak it.

There are many words in Tagalog that are from or are the same in Spanish (e.g., libro, sombrero, zapatos), and other words that are taken from English.

A lot of my friends have taken beginning Tagalog classes at UCLA and this is the book they use. Also pick up a Tagalog-English dictionary and try to immerse yourself in the language by watching Tagalog movies or TV (e.g., TFC, ABS-CBN).

Hello there,
I spent some time in the Philippines and ended up learning how to speak Tagalog. I used a Tagalog-English dictionary and these books helped out a lot too.
http://www.amazon.com/Ramos-Conversational-Tagalog-Teresita-V/dp/0824809440
-and-
http://www.amazon.com/Intermediate-Tagalog-Developing-Cultural-Awareness/dp/0824807766/ref=pd_sim_b_6
-This is the dictionary I used-
http://www.amazon.com/Tagalog-English-English-Tagalog-Standard-Dictionary-Pilipino-Inggles/dp/0781809606/ref=pd_sim_b_6

Good luck sa pagaaral mo ng tagalog! :)

I'm a white guy who learned Tagalog fluently in about 6 months of pretty intense study for a mission, but it is definitely doable! Just make sure that you are speaking the language and not just reading it or listening to it. You focus so much more on correct grammar when speaking it.

My language training used this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Conversational-Tagalog-A-Functional-Situational-Approach/dp/0824809440
As well as a few custom books that were developed for missionaries and that was more than enough to help with basic Tagalog!

Good luck! Tagalog is such a fun language and is definitely worth the effort to learn it!