Yale University has announced plans to introduce Tagalog as an official language course in the fall of 2025, marking a historic step for Filipino language and culture in Ivy League education. This development follows years of dedicated advocacy led by Tagalog @ Yale, a student initiative within Yale’s Filipinx club, Kasama. Until now, the only option for studying Tagalog at Yale was through the Directed Independent Language Study (DILS) program, which allowed students to learn the language informally with a native speaker but without earning course credit.
The new course, to be facilitated by the Council on Southeast Asian Studies at Yale, will provide a structured, credit-bearing curriculum focusing on reading, writing, and conversational fluency. The hiring process for a Filipino language instructor is currently underway, with the position intended to support both beginner and intermediate levels of Tagalog. Additionally, this role will engage with Southeast Asian language programs in Vietnamese and Indonesian, broadening Yale’s academic offerings in Southeast Asian studies.
This initiative not only meets the demand among Filipino and non-Filipino students alike but also celebrates the Filipino-American community, particularly as Tagalog is the fourth most-spoken language in the United States. Advocates hope the course will lead to broader Filipinx and Southeast Asian studies programs at Yale, fostering deeper engagement with the language and culture among students and scholars alike.
