I am a bit confused how Pinoys use the word dialect. Dialect in the science of linguistic means a slight variation in the same language. For example British English and American English are two dialects of the same language- it means slightly different grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation but it is English nonetheless.
A dialect must be "of something".
For example in Butuan and Cebu they speak Cebuano but there si a slightly different vocabulary. Same in Leyte. So , one can say that Leyte people speak a different dialect of Cebuano from Butuan people.

However Cebuano, Tagalog and Ilocano are not dialects; they are languages- they have their own literature and TV stations and newspapers and are generally not understood by other speakers.

Vernacular is a regional variation of a dialect- as in different parts of a big city people may have a slightly different vocabulary and pronuncuation.

I think that the Spaniards humiliated the natives by not seeing the local languages as of their own right and simply calling them "dialectos", but they are not.

I keep seeing quite educated people here and at work ( I work with highly educated Pinoys) that make that mistake all the time.

Is this information news to you? If not, how many languages are spoken in RP, vs. How many dialects?

I'm a Fil-Am, born in the States. My family is from Leyte and they all speak Cebuano. However it is impossible to find classes that teach Cebuano. My university offers a course on Tagalog though.

I know the vocabulary is very different, but if I learned Tagalog grammar would that help me understand Cebuano grammar? Like how to conjugate verbs, future, past, present, and progressive tenses?
@ radsr: I'm not that interested in learning Tagalog simply because my family does not speak it at home. And when I go back to the Philippines I am only in Cebu or Leyte.

So will learning Tagalog give me a better understanding of Cebuano grammar?

My great-grandfather was from Leyte and I'm interested in learning the language at some point. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was little, so I never got the opportunity to learn about my heritage from him.