I love scrabble, but far from an aficionado. And thats just mind blowing. I've been trying to learn sign language for close to a year. I am going letter by letter in the dictionary and memorizing the common words. I haven't made it to "s" yet. Nine weeks after I started I was probably around "d". That effort alone should have its own prize.
One of the key things for a Scrabble player is knowing the two-letter words. I'd say it's essential. Another thing I did was learn those words with multiple vowels, like iota, akee, aioli, etc. because there are always times when you're overloaded with vowels. My favourite, though, is zoaeae (the free-swimming larvae of crustaceans, in case anyone is wondering).
Good for Filipinos, I guess, but every person who has bigger ambitions should learn English in my opinion.