Duolingo doesn't offer a course for native English speakers learning Tagalog.
Unfortunately, there's not even a Tagalog course in their incubator yet (this is where Duolingo creates and develops their language courses).
There are over 90 language courses on Duolingo, but for some reason Tagalog isn't one of them.
Why doesn't Duolingo have a Tagalog course yet?
Often times when a language learning company hasn't released a course on a particular language it's either because 1) the language isn't as popular or 2) The language is far removed from English and is harder to teach than more accessible languages (like Spanish or French for example).
Is Tagalog too difficult to teach?
But I wouldn't say Tagalog fits in the category of extremely difficult languages for English speakers. Duolingo offers courses in Japanese and Vietnamese which are both significantly harder than Tagalog.
Is Tagalog not popular enough?
Okay so Tagalog definitely is a popular a language to learn as Spanish, French, or even Japanese. Still, there's well over 22 million native Tagalog speakers, and another 45 million people who speak Tagalog as a second language.
Surely that's a more popular language than Klingon or High Valyrian, both of which are courses that Duolingo does offer (and both are made up languages!).
When can we expect a Duolingo Tagalog course?
It's hard to say. As I said before, there isn't even a Tagalog app in the Duolingo incubator yet. It could be years before we see a finished Filipino course from them.
Alternatives to Duolingo Tagalog
Thankfully you don't have to wait on Duolingo to start learning Filipino. Here's a few effective resources you can use to start learning Tagalog today.
Filipinopod101
Price
Free lifetime account, or From $4+ per month
Time commitment
15+ minutes a day
Summary:
Filipinopod101 teaches Tagalog through audio lessons in a podcast format
Every podcast lesson showcases a Tagalog conversation between two Filipino speakers. During the lesson two podcast hosts breakdown the Filipino vocabulary and point out important phrases and cultural insights.
In the beginning levels everything is explained in English, but as your level in the language increase so does the amount of Tagalog in the episodes.
Filipinopof101 is a great learning tool. To access all of the podcast episode you will need a paid premium account (starting at $4 per month). However there is also a free lifetime account available too.
This lifetime account gives you access to some of the lessons, as well as other Filipino learning resources such as: transcripts, phrase lists, listening comprehension exercises, a Filipino-English dictionary, an in-site flashcard system, and more!
Pimsleur Tagalog
Price
$150 per level
Time commitment
30 minutes a day
Summary:
Pimsleur is probably the second most popular language course behind Rosetta Stone. Pimsleur is entirely audio based and is specifically designed to develop your conversational skills.
Pimsleur trains your brain to think spontaneously in Tagalog. It does this through its unique and effective question/recall/respond method. You will be taught Filipino phrases and then be required to answer and ask questions in the language without using English. You'll Pimsleur learn a functional vocabulary and have a good sense of pronunciation.
Italki
Price
$5+ per hour (varies between teachers)
Time commitment
30 minute or 1 hour lessons
Summary:
Italki is an online market place that connects language learners with language teachers for one-on-one language classes via video or audio chat.
You can connect with language speakers from around the world and practice your speaking skills. There are over 80 Tagalog language teachers available on Italki, many charge less than $10 per hour for their lessons.
One on one video lessons are one of the most powerful ways to learn a foreign language, so if you're serious about learning Tagalog then definitely checkout Italki!
*with a purchase of $20 or more. After your first purchased lesson a credit of $10 will be added to your account
