Ever thought of learning a language?

If you are thinking of moving to the Philippines, or if you already have moved, have you also considered the benefits of learning a language as well?  Many people don’t feel there are benefits, but I can assure you that there are many.  If you live in a country where English is not the first language, if you can speak the language of choice in the area where you live, the benefits are many, I can assure you.

Back, about a year or so after I moved to the Philippines, I had some visitors who came to see me.  We were sitting out on my porch talking and having some drinks.  They were talking about the changes that had happened in America.  The topic turned mostly to immigration, and all of the immigrants – both legal and illegal – coming from south of the border.  They really started complaining about the fact that these immigrants had not “taken the time to even learn to speak English.”  I sat there a little embarrassed, realizing that I had also immigrated to another country but had not made any effort to learn the language of my new home.

After that I decided that I needed to get serious about learning to speak the language.  I chose that I need to learn Cebuano (called Bisaya in the area where I live), because it was most widely spoken in the part of the country where I live, and also it is the language that my wife and her family speak most often.  Whatever part of the country you live in, find out what the most common language of use is in the area before you just start learning Tagalog, just because it is the “national language” – because in many parts of the country, Tagalog is not widely used by the local people.

I took a few Bisaya classes over the next few years, but could not find the right course or teacher who worked for me.  In 2007, though, a reader of this site told me of a Bisaya teacher in Davao, and I scheduled a meeting with her.  We met and really hit if off, so I signed up for a class with her.  It turned out to be a perfect match for me, because she was a great teacher, a great friend, and the course was perfect too.  I studied with her for 4 years and graduated the class.  I became fairly fluent in Bisaya from that class.  I say “fairly” because I am always learning new things about the language even 4 years after I graduated!  I can usually converse in the language without problems, even if sometimes I have to search for the right words, but usually can converse with ease.  It has really opened up my life here and made my life a lot happier!  I would really recommend learning the language here to make your life fuller and happier.

I have a course…

After learning the language, I decided to develop a course in the language.  Actually, I used the same course that I learned with, but I added a lot to it and made it usable for self-learning.  I made videos for each lesson, I added things like audio that you can listen to on your MP3 player, and other things to improve each lesson, while using the same framework as the original.

For a little over a year now, I have been offering the course through a membership website, but now I am also offering it on a DVD disk.  You can purchase the DVD and do the whole course right on your computer at home, or even on the road.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t have Internet, the course is all right on the DVD.

If you order the DVD, available by clicking here and buying from my Expat Island Bookstore, we will ship the DVD course to you from our Manufacturing facility in the USA, and you should have it in just a few days if you live in the USA.  If you are located in other parts of the world, you can still order and have it shipped to you, but it will take longer.  I also offer it as a download as well, or through the website too.  My Bisaya course is now being offered at the lowest price I have ever offered it at, just $99.99.

Want to learn Tagalog?

I can help you if you want to learn Tagalog as well!  I can speak and understand a bit of Tagalog, but am certain nowhere near being fluent in the language.  But, I am partnering with some other people to publish a Tagalog course as well.

This Tagalog course is a proven course that has been used for years now for training government employees who are sent to the Philippines, to teach them Tagalog so they can communicate with the  local population in the Philippines.  Because it has so successfully taught thousands of people over the years, you can also feel assured that you can be successful in learning Tagalog using this course.

If you are interested in learning Tagalog, the course is really a bargain, just $39.99 and you can also get that from my Expat Island Bookstore, by clicking here.

Like the Bisaya course, this is on DVD and will be shipped to you from our US manufacturing facility.  For those overseas it is also available by download, or you can get it shipped as well, but it will take extra time to reach countries outside the USA.

Learning language is fun and rewarding.

As I said earlier, learning the local language is really rewarding, and will improve.  What I did not mention is that it is really a lot of fun to learn a language, especially when you can go out in public and talk with people and see their reactions when they encounter a foreigner who can speak their language!  It is really fun and rewarding, and you can bet that a Filipino will do anything they can to help you any way they can when they hear that you can speak their language!