Question: ... what is the best way to learn new words?
@malaika511 I personally find flashcards a good way to learn new words, about 80% of the time. This site has a pretty good flashcard system with some real advantages over other flashcard systems.The sound recordings teach the syllable emphasis, which is really important to get right in Tagalog. It also allows you to test with English first or Tagalog first, which is important for your ability to both undertand someone else vs speaking it yourself. If you go thru the site's lessons systematically, it will lead you naturally to flashcard sets that are a good starting point.
The site also has another area with a large collection of flashcard sets outside of the system of lessons, which you can use to expand your vocab on a broader range of topics or parts of language. I started using the other flashcard sets in my breaks between lessons just for variety and to keep my interest engaged. I pick whichever set catches my fancy, but I do try to mix it up a bit. I also make my own flashcard sets here in Tagalog.com AND I make flashcard sets in the Quizlet app too because I like writing my answers.
And now for the 20% of vocab learning that I think is best outside of flashcards. I think with languages like Tagalog which have a really different sentence structure, once you get a little bit of vocab, you're better off learning new vocab in the context of a sentence (VERY simple sentences at first). The dictionary has sentences for most vocab but if you can pick meaningful *simple* sentences out of your own interactions with the language, the memory of the context of that sentence helps you remember the vocab better. Sometimes I make up flashcards with the whole sentence. Reading and listening (watching) Tagalog entertainment (news, dramas, music, tweets) is valuable for finding meaningful sentences...and there is are sections on this site with those too
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