this is what i do. and if you’re in the same boat, cool.
i pretty much understand tagalog real good, except for some of those textbook words i don’t hear often. its the whole speaking tagalog that makes me go … o.o.
so basically this is what i did to learn. i started watching filipino movies and dramas. i’m really into romance and all that, and filipinos basically spoon-fed that all to me. find something interesting you like on TFC/GMA, and watch, listen. then if you’re too shy to converse wth your parents/other people because of your american [?] accent, start mimicking the people on tv. practice it to yourself at night and apply yourself. then, tell your parents to speak to you in tagalog, and you have to respond to them. you’ll start off basic, but you’ll get the hang of it aslong as your willing.

i was doing pretty good, but i really am bad at following things up. -___-. i’m determined to start learning again

Asking your parents to teach you how to speak
the language would also be a good idea though
it might be hard if either of you guys dont have enough
time to spare to do it.

I think itd be easier for you to grasp Tagalog since
I’m assuming you hear your parents use it. You can
always ask your parents to teach you the basics of it
and then try using some kind of dictionary or computer
program like rosettastone to learn the more deeper,
complicated ones.

The basics of Tagalog is easy since you dont
have the gender differences unlike French. The
only thing that makes the language complicated
and frustrating is learning the additional words and
syllables that are put into the root word when it comes to dealing with the past and future tense. I myself am Filipino
and fluent in Tagalog and even I get tongue tied sometimes.

I suggest learning the basics of basics first and then
going off from there.

http://pinoychannel.tv/