Wanna explore more language learning resources? Why not try to learn Tagalog with the news and be updated on the current events in the country?
Just recently, the Philippines has been making headlines in international news about its national elections. For travelers, they have been updated that Boracay, which is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines, has undergone rehabilitation. These are only a few of the world’s news thanks to news.
Aside from being aware of the current and timely news about the Philippines, news can also be used in learning Tagalog/Filipino. By learning Tagalog with news, not only you’ll have access to the most updated news about the country, but you will learn more about their culture. This is what we’re going to do in this blog. Learning Tagalog with the news would be very helpful if you want a new approach to learning Filipino/Tagalog, the most widely spoken language in the Philippines.
How To Say ‘News’ In The Filipino Language
One of the first vocabulary words that complete beginner language learners must know in this lesson is learning how to say the word “news” in Filipino. The Filipino word for “news” is balita, but when we talk about a news report, the Tagalog word for that is ulat.
General Ways To Learn With The News
The advancements in technology have surely opened the way for learners to have a new and modern way of language learning aside from formal education. But, with these new innovations, we might be missing the opportunities and the advantages of learning languages with the news. Here are some simple ways to learn languages with the news.
Slow It Down
Given the fact that it’s not your native language, understanding the words is already a challenge but learning the pronunciation and diction is extra challenging. Slowing down resources like videos will help learners learn the sounds more.
Keep Your Dictionary With You
In learning languages, vocabulary building is one of the most important. Thankfully there are lots of dictionaries and online dictionaries available to use. With this, learners can easily find the meaning of the word that they are looking for.
Take Advantage Of Translation And Subtitles
Online resources have subtitles in multiple languages that can be used for language learning. From there, language learners can list the words they have learned in their notepad so they can go back and review the vocabulary words whenever they want to.
Use Different News Resources
The internet is a portal to different kinds of learning resources. You can access live news, social media pages, websites, and others in just a few clicks. These resources can aid language learning and develop language skills in various ways.
Read News Articles Aloud
Reading aloud is also a language learning technique that can be used to learn and develop language skills like reading and speaking. Many beginners second language learners will struggle to pronounce the words because they sound different from their native language, but reading aloud will help their pronunciation skills to become fluent.
How To Learn Tagalog With News Using Different Resources?
What’s the latest news about the Philippines you have heard? I bet you have read it on a website or social media page, or you might have watched it on Youtube videos. But the thing is, you probably have read or watched it with an English translation.
Filipino is the national language and the official language of the Philippines. But, Filipino is not just a standardized version or standardized form of Tagalog. Yes, many words in the Filipino language came from the Tagalog language, but there are other words and grammatical rules that are not based on Tagalog. There’s a lot more about Filipino than being based on Tagalog, but we won’t talk about it here.
Being the widely spoken language in the Philippines, Tagalog is a perfect language for national news. It totally makes sense that Filipino/Tagalog is used on national TV to deliver the news. With this, native Tagalog speakers, even those non-natives, can easily understand them. Although there are other languages all over the archipelago, most Filipinos can understand and speak Tagalog.
News, no matter what language is used, is an important part of the Filipinos’ life. So, let us see how news can be one of the effective resources to learn Tagalog.
1. Follow Social Media Account And Pages
Learning a new language is not an easy thing to do. So, do not be too hard on yourself. Start with something that is easy to do, which is immersing yourself in your target language, which in this case, is the Tagalog language. To do that, the easiest possible is through social media. After all, many people nowadays spend their time on social media.
With the emergence of viral and trending videos from the Philippines like pageants, music videos, vlogs, and song covers, foreigners are no stranger to the Tagalog language. There is also a large population of Filipinos in the world, contributing to the widespread of the Filipino language. Although it might not be one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with the power of social media, the Filipino language has found its way to be learned easily.
Of course, understanding everything that is posted here will be hard. Yes, there will surely be English words that can be beneficial to English speakers, but it would still be hard. But, by taking time to scroll, you can pick up some words and phrases. Plus, you can also go through the comments so that you can see how the locals communicate with each other.
Some of the social media pages that you can follow to watch the news in Tagalog are the following:
2. Watch News Programs In The Tagalog Language
Another ideal way to learn Tagalog with the news is by watching news programs. You can learn and develop your language skills, both written and spoken. First, of course, is widening your Tagalog vocabulary.
Walang kinikilingan, walang pinoprotektahan at serbisyong totoo laman (Impartial, unprotected and just true service)
This is a famous tagline from a Philippine news network that most Filipinos are familiar with. This is an excellent start to picking up Filipino vocabulary words for a language learner. You can also pick up some Tagalog words written on the screen. You can list down all of these words in your notebook and review them during your free time. The grammar structure might be too hard to learn without extensive explanations or a teacher, but it will come through as you go further.
News programs also include pictures, videos, and even sign language to give viewers, or in this case, language learners, a context of the news if they are not native Tagalog speakers. Drawing context from pictures and videos will definitely help improve your comprehension skills.
Watching the news can also improve your speaking skills. By watching the news you can observe how Tagalog words are delivered. You will see the difference in how a news reporter and ordinary people speak. You can listen to the sounds or imitate them and practice to master your Tagalog pronunciation.
There are lots of news channels in the Philippines that you can watch, like the following:
- GMA News TV (International)
- 24 Oras (GMA News)
- TV Patrol (ABS-CBN News)
If full-blown Tagalog news content overwhelms you, there are other news site groups that are written in English, such as MANILA BULLETIN, INQUIRER.net, and Rappler. Of course, they’ll have the same news but expect it to be written differently. But with that, you can now easily use context and intuition to understand the Tagalog words.
3. Watch News Online
Sometimes, it’ll be hard for people from other countries to access Filipino local news channels, but there’s no problem because you can also watch online news on Youtube, Facebook, and different sites. The advantage of learning Tagalog with news online is that you can start learning anytime you’re free.
You don’t have to wait for the scheduled TV program when you learn Tagalog online with the news. You can watch it live, and by that, you’ll be able to see the online interactions of the locals. You’ll pick up some words that they use online. Way to speak like a native Tagalog speaker, right?
Online news also has subtitles that can help you learn Tagalog easily. It is easy to take advantage of the subtitles and not make an effort to learn the meaning of the words but keep in mind that your goal is to learn a language, not just get the gist of the news.
Another advantage of online news videos is that you can make it slow so that you can take not and practice the pronunciation of the words. Since Filipino/Tagalog is not your native language, it would be extra challenging to understand the video at its normal speed. Making it slow will do the magic; just make sure to keep your notebook and dictionary/online dictionary with you to easily write the words you have learned.
You can watch the following live Filipino news:
- 24 Oras Livestream
- Dobol B TV Livestream
- Unang Hirit Livestream
- TV Patrol Playback
4. Listen To Tagalog Podcasts And Radio Programs
Radio programs and podcasts are also popular these days. You can just play it in the background while doing house chores, cleaning, studying, and others. This is a nice way to immerse yourself in the target language, which is really beneficial in language learning. You don’t have to exert so much effort with podcasts because you can just listen to them anytime. You can also change the speed and make it slower to make each sound clearer.
If you’re looking for Filipino news podcasts and radio stations, you can listen to the following:
- Filipino News Podcast
- ANC Podcast
- The Howie Severino Podcast
- DZRB-AM (738)
- DZRH (666)
- DZBB-AM (594)
5. Visit News Websites
Since everything now is done online, news websites have drastically enhanced and developed. You can access it as long as you have an internet connection. From that, you can learn lots of vocabulary words. You can also use photos, videos, and editorial cartoons to understand the news content. You can also observe and study grammar rules that help you form sentences.
- GMA News Online
- ABS-CBN News
- Philstar.com
- RAPPLER
6. Read News Paper
You can also read newspapers to widen your vocabulary and practice reading and speaking. The Tagalog alphabet is easy to learn because it’s too straightforward. As native speakers, their rule in learning Filipino is “Kung anong bigkas, siyang baybay,” which means “How you say it is how you spell it.”
Reading, on the other hand, might be frustrating at first because you can’t understand what you’re reading, but do not push yourself too hard. Understanding what you’re reading is a really challenging thing to do, but you can start with a few words, list them down in your notes, and review them every day. You’ll next know that you can already understand the words when you reencounter them.
You can search some online newspapers if you don’t have access to actual newspapers. Try to find a newspaper that is not written in English because it will only defeat the purpose. You should also know that there are two kinds of newspapers that you will encounter. – broadsheets and tabloids. There are tabloids that use informal languages, which I think isn’t good when learning the basics of the Filipino language, so beware of that.
Tagalog Vocabulary Related To News
Here are Tagalog words related to news:
- TV News Anchor – Ankor na pambalita sa telibisiyon
- News – Balita
- Newspaper – Pahayagan/ Dyaryo
- Flash News – Kapapasok na Balita
- Breaking News – Nagbabagang Balita
- Report – Ulat
- Headline – Ulo ng Balita
- Reporter – Tagapag-ulat/Mamamahayag
- What’s the news? – Anong balita?
- Where can I watch the news? – Saan ko pwedeng mapanood ang balita?
Speak Tagalog Like Natives! Learn Filipino/Tagalog Language Now!
Getting more curious about the Filipino culture with all these trending videos? Why not take a step forward and learn their language? To make your language learning journey more interesting, try to learn Tagalog with Ling App.
Language learning with Ling App is like playing a game. There are lots of topics to choose from and lots of topics you’re interested in, and learn them in an engaging way. You can also enjoy and develop your skills like Tagalog pronunciation with advanced features like dialogues at the same time.
So, channel your inner Filipino roots. Start your first Filipino/Tagalog lesson with Ling App now!
