https://www.youtube.com/embed/f6kp-NwBE3I The Philippines has a huge Christian population (with 92.5% of Filipinos identifying as Christian, around 80% of which are Roman Catholic), so it should come as no surprise that religious festivities hold great meaning here. Of particular interest is a massive holiday commonly known as the Feast of the Black Nazarene.  In this article, you will discover the Feast of the Black Nazarene’s origins as well as how devoted Filipinos celebrate the holiday today.  Let’s get started! 1. What is the Feast of the Black Nazarene? Each year on January 9, millions of mga deboto (devotees) celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene. This is a major religious holiday in the... Show more

https://www.youtube.com/embed/s8JTgWasA1Y In every nation and at every point in history, there are certain names, faces, and stories that stand out from the rest. There are writers, artists, activists, and leaders whom nations herald and commemorate for years and for centuries. And there are true national heroes like the Philippines’s own Jose Rizal. Today, we’ll talk about the Rizal Day holiday and the events it commemorates.  Let’s get started. 1. What is Rizal Day? Observed each year on December 30, Rizal Day is a national holiday in the Philippines. It marks the date in 1896 that Jose Rizal, pambansang bayani ("national hero") of the Philippines, was executed.  History For centuries, the Spanish... Show more

In many ways, language is both a culmination and an expression of culture. It allows for not only effective communication, but also communication that’s relevant in a given place, time, and context.  In this article, you’ll learn how people in the Philippines celebrate Buwan ng Wika (Filipino Language Month) and gain some insight into the importance of the Filipino language.  Let’s get started. 1. What is Filipino Language Month? For the entire month of August in the Philippines, people celebrate Buwan ng Wika, or Filipino Language Month. This holiday seeks to shed light on the importance of the Filipino language and the pagkakaisa ("unity") it brought to the country. While the status of the Filipino language in... Show more

Community, charity, and great food. What could be better in a holiday?  The Eidul Adha holiday has all these things and more! In this article, you’ll learn about the Eidul Adha meaning in the Philippines, how Filipino Muslims celebrate, and why this day is so important.  Let’s get started! 1. What is the Eidul Adha Holiday? Eidul Adha, often called "The Feast of the Sacrifice" in English, is one of the most important Muslim holidays worldwide.  It originates from the story of Ibrahim, who was willing to sacrifice his son Ismael. According to the Quran, Ibrahim had asked Allah to give him a son, and Allah did so. But as Ismael grew older, Ibrahim began having recurring dreams of slaughtering his son and... Show more

When learning a new language, we must study so much more than words that are communicated verbally. Since body language constitutes about 60% of what people communicate, we must also learn what it means when people raise one eyebrow, shrug their shoulders, shake their head, or point with their lips. Each culture has its own idiosyncrasies, and Filipinos definitely have a lot of them in terms of body language.  In this article, we’ll talk about Filipino nonverbal gestures and find out what it means when someone draws a square in the air with their fingers, makes hissing or kissing noises, or holds their chin with their thumb and pointer finger.  Filipinos are all over the world, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already... Show more

The internet gives birth to different trends every now and then. Among them are internet slang words. Expressions like "ASL please," "CTC?" and "BRB" used to dominate the internet chat scene, particularly during the era of mIRC and Yahoo! Messenger. Now that we have FB Messenger, Twitter, Viber, and WhatsApp, the list has been expanding and will probably continue to do so. When sending Filipino text messages or chatting online, knowing the lingo is essential. There's not a lot of internet slang words in Filipino, but the ones that do exist can be very useful to know when you're communicating with Pinoy friends online or via text. In the Philippines, there are Filipino slang words that have been around even before the internet. And... Show more

One of the first things we do when learning a new language is build our vocabulary. Doing so helps us develop our comprehension of the language we’re learning. Once in a while, though, we encounter a word that has no equivalent term in our own language whatsoever. This is as true for Filipino as it is for any language. I wouldn’t be surprised if you, once or twice, have come across an unfamiliar Tagalog word and used Google Translate to learn its meaning—only for Google to return the same exact word.  Untranslatable Filipino words likely result from the abundance of dialects spoken in the Philippines—not to mention that the Philippines has been a melting pot of culture for so long. The Philippines may have Filipino as its national... Show more

There are many non-standard methods of learning a new language, but none seem more beloved and exciting than film-watching. Yes, you read that right. Watching movies is a great way to familiarize yourself with a language you’re learning. Watching Filipino movies, for instance, will help improve your vocabulary, your pronunciation, and even your comprehension of the Tagalog language. The Philippine cinema may not be as celebrated as, say, the American or European cinemas, but there’s no question that it’s home to many great filmmakers. In fact, several Filipino films have made it big internationally, and have, over the years, bagged prestigious awards. You may not be able to visit the nearest movie theaters anytime soon to watch... Show more

The Philippines is one of the most awesome countries in Southeast Asia. It’s a country with a very rich culture and breathtaking scenery. More importantly, it’s a place filled with kind and hospitable people. That’s why, despite the country’s imperfections, the Philippines never runs out of tourists and people who wish they could live here permanently. Being able to temporarily live in the country is also on the bucket list of many foreigners studying the Filipino language. One of the most common concerns for these individuals is where to find jobs in the Philippines. After all, there’s no better way to master a new language than to immerse oneself in the culture of the people who natively speak that language. If you’re wondering how... Show more

Hey Listeners! Guess what? Your language learning goals just got a little easier! As you’ve probably realized by now, there have been some major improvements made to your dashboard! These updates have been designed to improve your overall experience with the website and help keep you organized and on-track! Here are a few of the changes: Your progress is now tracked right, smack in the middle of the page to keep you motivated and organized. A new, sleek and easy to navigate design allows you to worry less about where to click and more on learning Filipino! An enlarged profile picture that gives your dashboard a unique and more personal feel. A new layout for the “Latest News” feed to keep you informed on all of the most... Show more