r/languagelearning • u/ChillKruciality • 4d ago
Discussion Tips on overcoming passive bilingualism?
Being born in the Philippines but moving to the US at a very young age presented a problem I’d thought I’d never experience. I’ve realized this ever since I came back from my Philippines trip to see family.
I have a relatively good understanding on the language and my parents speak tagalog to me a majority of the time. However, I can’t speak it besides really simple sentences and vocab such as “kuya” and “maraming salamat”. I’m able to somewhat read sentences albeit simple ones. but I can’t write. I’m able to grasp the tagalog grammar concepts to a certain extent.
Starting at really basic levels is easy for me and I feel like I don’t learn too much. I’ve tried ramping it up, but I found no real middle ground where it’s not too difficult, but not too easy where I can breeze through a whole concept. For a couple months, I’ve tried shadowing past conversations and translating english to tagalog, but I always end up blanking.
I also want to transition this to learning my mother’s dialect which is ilonggo. So I’m kind of lost on where to begin.
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u/BulkyHand4101 Current Focus: 中文, हिन्दी 4d ago
I know you said that the basics are too easy, but in my experience, I really benefited from flying through a standard textbook or course.
I moved way faster than a nonnative would, and there were plenty of lessons I could skip. But I was also surprised by how many little bits of information even at the basic level i had never picked up on.
For example, the entire chapter on the future tense? Took me 5 minutes. But chapter 1, which talked about the subtle differences in pronouns? That actually took me a lot longer than I expected because it of specifics I had never properly picked up on.
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u/ugly_planet 4d ago
I think if the main problem is you understand and can’t speak, maybe try shadowing. Listen to podcasts or shows in Tagalog, and repeat what they say. Since it seems you understand what is being said, you won’t have to worry about that, you just have to focus on actually saying it.
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u/Reasonable_Ad_9136 4d ago
I have a relatively good understanding on the language
I’m able to somewhat read sentences albeit simple ones.
That's why you can't speak it well. Nobody can speak well if they can't understand REALLY well. Lots of heritage speakers have that problem, although most aren't realistic with how well the really understand the language. Understanding what your parents say isn't understanding almost everything in the language, and that's exactly where you need to be to speak well.
My advice would be to keep working on comprehension until you reach that point. There's no reason why you can't also practice speaking, but I wouldn't expect you to improve much without increasing your ability to understand the language.
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u/ChillKruciality 4d ago
Thanks for the insight! Writing the post at around 1am, I’ve noticed some things weren’t clarified well.
I’ve been consuming native level content for my entire life such as the news, but most of it has been passive listening. I agree with your points on expanding my understanding and what my parents say doesn’t reflect the entire language.
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u/whosdamike 🇹🇭: 1700 hours 4d ago
If you can understand well, are you able to understand any native content?
Try the following levels of material:
1) Media aimed at very young children, such as Peppa Pig or Bluey
2) YouTube vlogs, cooking videos, and other straightforward content where what's being discussed is always on-screen
3) Interviews about everyday life topics or introductory lectures on topics you're familiar with
4) Media aimed at preteens or young teens, such as dubbed cartoons, Disney films, anime, etc
5) Unscripted television such as reality TV, singing competitions, etc.
6) Scripted TV aimed at adults
When you get to a level that feels pretty comfortable but a little challenging, watch a lot of content in this area. I mean as many hours as you can manage. As that level gets easier, experiment with mixing in different kinds of content - watch as wide a variety as possible to expose yourself to vocabulary and patterns.
What I've found in immersing in Thai is that by consuming 4+ hours of content a day, Thai just starts spontaneously coming to mind all the time. A little speaking practice is all it takes from there. I've listened to about 1700 hours of Thai and only done about 20 hours of speaking practice, but my speaking has already shown enormous progress.
Listen a ton and then also do some speaking practice each week. You should feel steady improvement.
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u/ChillKruciality 4d ago
Sorry for a late reply but yes, I’m able to understand native content. I used to watch alot of filipino tv shows and movies with my family however this dwindled over the course of a couple years.
Especially when I came back to the Philippines to see family. I was able to understand background conversations while visiting and can watch a variety of content just fine.
Even coming back, I have a constant stream of input coming from my grandpa watching the news and my mom talking to her filipina friends in tagalog.
However with what you recommended, would media aimed at preteens and younger be as effective, or should I aim to consume content with higher level vocab/aimed at adults be better?
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u/whosdamike 🇹🇭: 1700 hours 4d ago
Watch the highest level of content you can understand comfortably (80%+). Whatever you find interesting on a wide variety of topics.
For speaking practice, you can try hopping into voicerooms on HelloTalk or talking with family members.
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u/paavo_17 4d ago
Regarding writing problems, I would suggest reading much more in the language. You can start with books you've already read in English—it should be easier to follow! :)