5 ways to help your kids improve their Filipino skills

I have a confession to make – a rather embarrassing one at that. Are you ready? Here goes:

My kids have poor Filipino skills.

There, I said it. (Please don’t judge me!)

I’m guessing though that I am not the only Filipino parent whose kids struggle with the Filipino language. It’s our own fault actually – my husband and I started speaking to our kids primarily in English when we were still based overseas for mission work, and we never thought it would be a disadvantage.

Well, we were wrong, obviously. The good thing is it’s never too late to change, and so we’ve been trying to help our kids improve their Filipino skills in several ways. Here are some of them:

1. Speak to them more often in Filipino.

As mentioned earlier, we began talking to our kids in English from birth. Thus, we limited their exposure to Filipino (Tagalog), which actually helps form their foundation in speaking the language. This is why we are more deliberate now in using Filipino at home and elsewhere. 

2. Read Filipino books.

We are blessed to have a mini-library of sorts at home, composed of different books collected over the years. Our book collection actually includes books written both in Filipino and English, and we have been trying to read more of them ever since our kids attended Filipino summer enrichment classes at The Learning Library. The titles published by Tahanan Books are among our favorites because of their beautiful illustrations and wonderful stories. 

3. Supplement with easy-to-use textbooks and workbooks.

Our children are homeschooled so we have the flexibility of choosing the workbooks they use to learn subjects like Filipino. I was actually looking for a good workbook our older kids could use – something that could guide me in how to teach them Filipino, at least conversational Tagalog for starters – when I was given a copy of Tuttle Publishing’s Elementary Tagalog textbook and workbook.

The books from Tuttle (available at leading bookstores and via www.TuttlePublishing.com) are meant primarily for beginners but may also be used by “heritage learners” who basically grew up in Filipino-speaking families and/or communities.

The approach used by the books are meant to help students master Tagalog – from reading Tagalog words to using correct grammar and communicating in Tagalog. The textbook comes with an MP3 audio CD to help facilitate learning. (I will write more about the books once we have officially started using them!) 

4. Sing Filipino songs.

Singing songs is one effective way to learn things, whether they be mathematical facts, nations of the world, or a different language. So my advice to my fellow parents (and a reminder to myself as well): Start singing those Filipino nursery rhymes and songs to your kids from a young age. Belt out Bahay Kubo, get silly singing Tatlong Bibe (the original version please!), let it go with Leron, Leron Sinta.

Have fun singing to and with your kids, and don’t forget to explain or translate unfamiliar words as you go along!

5. Get help from others.

It took me a while to get over my feelings of shame and embarrassment caused by our kids’ challenges with Filipino – until one day I finally said, “Enough. I, we need help!” That’s when I sought the help of The Learning Library. 

Filipino classes at The Learning Library help kids learn Filipino in a fun way.

After two months of summer classes, the kids – though they still speak primarily in English – have shown marked improvement in their comprehension and, more importantly, use of Filipino. They don’t balk anymore when we read books aloud in Filipino, and they converse with others in Taglish, English and/or Tagalog now (which, for me, is better than nothing). 

My son reading aloud a book in Filipino to his classmates.

This is why my husband and I are considering enrolling the kids again at The Learning Library, specifically under their “Tutorials with Free Enrichment” program, which provides all-subject tutorials for children ages 5 to 15, with free enrollment in their “The Reading Advantage” or “WiKa'y Galing! Filipino” program.

According to Vanessa Bicomong, one of the founders of The Learning Library, the program offers “a short-term plus long-term approach which not only helps your children with school work, but equips them with strong comprehension and communication skills to ensure continued academic success.” This is a great help to parents like me who really need help with their kids’ Filipino skills! (To know more about the program, just visit www.learninglibraries.com.)

So, there you have it – just some suggestions to help your kids improve their Filipino skills. I hope you found these helpful – if you have more suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.