Beginning Filipino (Tagalog) Audio CD Language Course.

Includes 40 audio CD discs ( = 33 hours), a 526-page textbook, and a 399-page reader. Beginning Filipino consists of 25 units and appendices. Depending upon the learner's motivation, a unit can be covered in 4 to 8 hours. In the first half of the text, the learner plays the part of hearer and speaker, with only incidental reading of oral dialogs and drills. From Unit 13 on, there is a reading section designed for each unit, correlated with the primarily spoken materials, but designed to promote facility in the orthography and distinctive patterns of the written language. These readings, while correlated with the unit sof the basic course, appear in the second book, 'Intermediate Readings in Filipino.' Unit 1 has a special format, a dialog followed by a few simple drills, and then a sketchy overview of Filipino pronunciation as it compares to English. From Unit 2 on, the basic format is: A: Basic Dialog: The heart of each unit, from which all other sections are derived. Learners should memorize the 20 or so speeches of each dialog as a means of learning the basic patterns of the language. B: Cultural and Structural Notes: A miscellaneous section designed to anticipate some questions that may occur to learners as they study the dialogs. C: Pronunciation Exercises (to Unit 13) D: Drills and Grammar: Individual grammar points are presented, drilled, and discussed. Additional incidental pronunciation practice is given. Usually consists of a list of examples taken from previously learned dialogs or devised from familiar vocabulary to illustrate the point at hand, followed by a chart which conveys the relationships of the parts of the pattern. The chart is followed by a few brief explanatory notes. Correct responses to most drills are given either on the same page or in a key in the appendix. E: Cumulative Drills F: Visual-Cue Drills: Pictures in the textbook with simple instructions on how the learner should react verbally. Keys to suggested answers can be found in Appendix II. G: Comprehension-Response Drills: A list of possible responses is included in the answer key in Appendix II. H; Readings (from Unit 13): Simple at first but increasing in complexity, these provide an opportunity to expand on the cultural patterns presented. They stay within the structural patterns presented in the unit they go with, but some new vocabulary are introduced, usually marked by a translation in footnotes if the context does not make the meaning clear. The footnotes also clarify cultural material alluded to in the readings. Filipino is the root of the national language known as Pilipino, and is enriched with borrowings form Spanish, Chinese, English, Arabic, and Nahuatl. The main difference between Pilipino and the Filipino language is that the latter is less formal and more idiomatic.