Poet launches online Tagalog classes for kids

Karen Llagas. UC.EDU

SAN FRANCISCO- University of California Berkeley lecturer Karen Llagas, an award-winning poet and writer who teaches Filipino language, literature and culture, has launched Tagalog Classes atbp., an online space that brings teachers and learners together, and a hub for resources related to studying Filipino.

Llagas taught Tagalog classes at the Bayanihan Center in San Francisco bin the late 2000’s with face-to-face classes designed for adults and children. She has since left to teach Filipino full-time in UC Berkeley but has always felt the need to make Filipino classes available for learners outside of academia. She launched Tagalog Classes atbp. with her friend Ferlie Andong.

Both of them agree that language gets enriched as it is passed down to younger generations. For many second generation immigrants, Tagalog sometimes gets lost when children do not learn it directly from their families. Parents used to fear talking to their children in Tagalog would make it hard for them to easily assimilate in school.

However, parents today, especially second and third generation Filipino Americans, are becoming more open to their children learning Tagalog and embracing Filipino culture.

Llagas and Andong envision Tagalog Classes atbp. as a meeting place for teachers and students and for cultivating resources for learning Tagalog. They hope that it will also encourage community-based classes for other Philippine languages, such as Ilocano, Cebuano..

Tagalog Classes atbp. for Kids’ Summer Program will run from June 21 – July 2, 2021 and from July 19 – July 30, 2021. The Beginner – Conversational Tagalog Classes (for adults) will start on August 9, 2021.

For more details and to register, check out their website www.tagalogclasses.com and Facebook page www.facebook.com/tagalogclasses