FilipinoPod101 Review: Is It Effective for Filipino?
Maria Claudia Alvarado
Published on January 18, 2024
FilipinoPod101 is useful for complete beginners who want to learn Filipino quickly.
FilipinoPod101 has a complete Tagalog course that you can start as a complete beginner to start speaking the language quickly. Its audio and video lessons explain the proper use of the language, its formalities, and colloquial variations. All the content is voiced by native Tagalog speakers, so you can listen and repeat after to improve your pronunciation skills.
PROS
- Learn conversational Tagalog quickly
- All the content is voiced by native speakers
- Choose what you want to study next
CONS
- Doesn’t teach you to read or write Tagalog
- Can be expensive if you want the help of a personal tutor
- Some features are difficult to find
Table of Contents
Who Should Use FilipinoPod101 FilipinoPod101 Overview FilipinoPod101 Price FilipinoPod101 Review: Overall Learning Experience FilipinoPod101 Alternatives and Competitors FilipinoPod101 Review FAQWho Should Use FilipinoPod101
FilipinoPod101 is a valuable resource that focuses on developing your listening and speaking skills. The Tagalog course includes podcast-style and video lessons voiced by native speakers, so you can hear the correct pronunciation for each word and phrase. While FilipinoPod101 is a useful tool for all levels, intermediate and advanced language students might need to combine it with other language resources to get a more complete study routine.
FilipinoPod101 Overview
FilipinoPod101 is one of the 34 language courses created by Innovative Languages. It has video and audio lessons that teach Tagalog (also called Filipino) from the absolute beginner to the advanced level. You start the language course learning basic Tagalog phrases for introduction, greetings, honorifics, and more. All FilipinoPod101 lessons are presented by native speakers, and they break down each line of the dialogue to help you understand the words and pronunciation.
Every lesson comes with a downloadable transcript and audio tracks that you can use to practice listening and repeating the phrases you heard in the lesson. FilipinoPod101 includes English translations so you can understand even if your listening skills aren’t advanced. The Tagalog language course also includes grammar notes and interesting cultural information to teach you more about the language as you study. There are flashcards, slideshows, vocabulary lists, quizzes, a word bank, and more. However, there aren’t reading or writing exercises in FilipinoPod101, and more advanced learners might need to supplement their study with other resources such as Tagalog textbooks or apps.
FilipinoPod101 Price
FilipinoPod101 has three types of subscription tiers: Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus. A Basic subscription starts at $8.00 per month, but you can buy 3 months for $21.00, 6 months for $36.00, 12 months for $60.00, and 24 months for $84.00. A Premium subscription costs $25.00 per month, while the Premium Plus plan costs $47.00 per month.
Depending on your language goals, I think the Basic or Premium subscriptions are good options to start your Tagalog studies. You can use all the tools available on FilipinoPod101 with a Premium plan, and its price is a bit similar to the Pimsleur All Access subscription or Rosetta Stone’s 3-month plan. The Basic subscription is in the same price range as Mondly or Drops and unlocks all the lessons and lesson notes on the platform. In my opinion, the Basic subscription is the best option if you want to speak Filipino. With the Premium Plus plan, you’ll get the personalized help of a tutor, but this is not necessary unless you’re struggling to understand the content.
FilipinoPod101 Free Trial
FilipinoPod101 has a free 7-day trial that gives you access to all the features included in its Premium subscription. During this time, you can explore and try all the content on the platform, but you won’t get the personalized help of a Filipino tutor that comes with the Premium Plus plan. FilipinoPod101 also has a 100% money-back guarantee for 60 days if you don’t feel like this is the right language course for you.
FilipinoPod101 Review: Overall Learning Experience
After using FilipinoPod101 for a couple of hours, I can say that the platform has everything complete beginners need to start speaking the language. One of my favorite FilipinoPod101 features was the audio tools and transcriptions included in each lesson. Tagalog can be hard to learn if you don’t know a similar language, like Indonesian or Javanese, but FilipinoPod101’s audio tracks offer an easy way for Tagalog students of all levels to improve their listening comprehension and speaking skills.
The platform has thorough lessons that break down each sentence to explain why the language is used in a specific way. All the explanations are in English and the lessons start with the most frequently used language, so you can learn key vocabulary necessary for basic conversation topics. With Tagalog, formality is important, and FilipinoPod101 teaches you how to modify each phrase to address all kinds of people properly. Its lesson notes also describe the colloquial use of the language, which is great if you want to speak the language with accuracy.
Note that FilipinoPod101 doesn’t have any written practice, so you need to use its course in combination with other Tagalog language resources. FilipinoPod101 has many tools that can make studying Tagalog a dynamic experience, but some of these resources and features take time to find if you use the website. For example, the pathways aren’t in plain sight, so I had to explore the different sections in the dashboard to find them. In general, I like that FilipinoPod101 offers a comprehensive learning plan and materials to make your initial language learning experience much easier. I would recommend FilipinoPod101 to complete beginners or more advanced students who want to become conversational in Tagalog quickly.
FilipinoPod101 Alternatives and Competitors
There are many apps that can help you learn the basics of Tagalog, but it’s important to choose the one that best fits your learning style and study method. Pimsleur and FilipinoPod101 both focus on conversational language and have additional materials to expand on their lessons. Keep in mind that Pimsleur only offers two levels for Tagalog, so you might need to use other courses to complete your study. If you’d like a more immersive experience, Rosetta Stone has a Tagalog course that teaches you to think in the language. Like FilipinoPod101, Rosetta Stone has different audio elements that improve your listening and speaking skills, but it centers more around formal language.
Mondly’s Tagalog course is completely different, but Tagalog language students like it due to its unique and modern features like AR lessons and chatbot. With Mondly, you can choose what topics you study and the order for your lessons, so it is just as flexible as FilipinoPod101. On the other hand, italki is a language platform that can connect you with a Tagalog tutor for online classes. You can book the exact number of classes you want, and message your teacher in advance to let them know what topics or skills interest you.
FilipinoPod101 Review FAQ
FilipinoPod101 has a free lifetime subscription that you can use to explore some of its content. However, it won’t be enough to learn Tagalog effectively. You can find many authentic language resources for free online, like newspaper articles, podcasts, and videos. Many Tagalog apps also offer free trials or limited access to their features, so you can use them to start your language-learning journey.
The best app to learn Tagalog for free is the one that fits your learning style and goals. If you want to become conversational quickly, apps like FilipinoPod101 can help you. On the other hand, apps like Mondly and Drops have free lessons available each day and teach you a lot of useful vocabulary.
Tagalog and Filipino are dialects of the same language. There are many similarities between both, so it’s easy to learn one if you already know the other.
The U.S. Department of State classified Tagalog as a Category III language, which means that it can be hard for English speakers to learn due to the differences between both languages. But don’t feel discouraged. How hard it will be for you to learn the language depends on your natural ability to acquire a new language and if you already speak a similar language like Indonesian or Javanese.
To find out how long it will take you to become fluent in Tagalog, visit our Fluency Calculator.
About This FilipinoPod101 Review
This is an independent FilipinoPod101 review, and the company has not sponsored this article. To write this review, I subscribed to FilipinoPod101’s Premium service and used it for a few hours to thoroughly test its content and features. I also found additional information on the FilipinoPod101 website to verify my findings.
