Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Have you heard the news?
Iām hosting my first live (virtual) workshop in December!
If youāre looking for a RELIABLE system for deciding when to use the subjunctive (and when NOT to)... that holds up in real life, the āSubjunctive Workshopā is for you.
And, since you follow me on Facebook, Iām giving you $50 off!
Get all the details here:
spanishdude.com/workshops/subjunctive-social/ ($50 discount)
This is NOT a Black Friday deal.
This discount is valid until I close the doors (Dec 4th).
Any questions, leave a comment or send me a message.
Hasta luego,
Jordan
P.S. The āSubjunctive Workshopā is a LIVE (virtual) workshop. But, you donāt have to attend live. Youāll get lifetime access to all the recordings and practice materials. Get $50 off right now ā spanishdude.com/workshops/subjunctive-social/
19 - 1
Going through pretty much every SUBJUNCTIVE book Amazon sells has me remembering... why I started making Spanish videos in the first place š¤£
What a mess!
Itās time to bring some ORDER to this CHAOS.
Are you ready?
Stay tunedā¦
83 - 7
Super excited to have my office and studio set up for the first time in over three years.
You know what this means, right?
Itās time to get serious about this Spanish thing again.
And, the first order of business isā¦
73 - 22
Iām still feeling the buzz from my first in-person event yesterday, āA Day w/ The Dudeā.
I spent the day with four brave gringos here in Heredia, Costa Rica.
We spoke some Spanish, we learned some Spanishā¦
But most of all, we had a really good time.
Thank you so much to Liz, Kim, Glenn and Alan for being my guinea pigs =) I had so much fun hanging out and connecting with you all.
QUESTION FOR EVERYBODY:
Where should I do the next āA Day w/ The Dudeā?
33 - 10
To achieve āconversational Spanish,ā sure, we need to know lots of words and how to form sentences.
But, the most important skill weāve got to get good at is, feeling like an idiot.
When we say something in Spanish and they look at us blanklyāhaving no clue what we just saidā¦
Or, when we say something in Spanish, they DO understand us, but we understand ZERO of what they say back.
To achieve āconversational Spanish,ā we need to be really good at feeling like an idiot.
Because, if youāre doing the right thing (real life practice), itās gonna happen ALL THE TIME.
Itās inevitable. Itās unavoidable.
āTo get really good at feeling like an idiotā means, you can HANDLE and WORK THROUGH that horrible feelingāinstead of retreating back to your bedroom or hotel, feeling like a complete failure, and giving up for the rest of your trip, or never doing another iTalki call.
Thereās no way to go from zero Spanish to conversational Spanish without feeling like an idiot A LOT in between.
Anybody who has achieved āconversational Spanishā has figured out a way to HANDLE that feeling, and WORK THROUGH it.
In the future, Iāll make a video with my best advice for how to handle and work through it.
For now, just know, youāre not alone.
Youāre not the only one who feels like an idiot sometimes when speaking Spanish in real life.
Itās not just you.
Itās all of us at some point.
Itās me still, at times.
Iāve just gotten good at handling it and working through it, so it doesnāt stop me from living my life.
P.S. Wearing this hat all around town helps me get into the zone of feeling like an idiot =) Donāt care, I love my hat, and it protects me from the sun.
148 - 33
Hola!
Iām back in the middle of the Spanish-learning world for the first time in years, and Iām suddenly bombarded with so many thoughts.
Some of them are new thoughts.
Others are old thoughts that are now rushing back into my mind.
Many of these thoughts are the reason I started making Spanish videos in the first place.
At the risk of being negative, I need to get this out.
If youāre a Spanish learnerā¦
Please donāt make fun of the way other Spanish learners speak Spanish.
Please donāt criticize other peopleās accents.
Not publicly, not privately.
If you do, we canāt be friends.
Iāll still let you watch my videos.
Iāll still accept your money.
But, we canāt be friends.
Love,
Jordan
P.S. If youāve done this in the past, itās cool, we can always change and be betterāthatās the point of this post. We can always be better.
P.P.S. This is an interesting article (My English sounds better than yours): journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journā¦
42 - 6
Hola!
If you missed yesterdayās post, Iām at a Spanish immersion school in Costa Rica:
spanishdude.com/tico-lingo/
Today, Iām going to tell you how these schools work.
āTheyāre all over Latin America & Spaināin big cities, medium cities and small cities.
āAfter you enroll, they give you a written and oral test, in order to place you in a group at your level (1-6 people).
āYou can also take private, 1-on-1 lessons or a mix of private and group lessons (I prefer the group lessons because I learn so much from the other students, and the conversation is usually better).
āAll levels are welcomeāfrom total beginners (zero Spanish) to advanced students.
āSome schools have specific programs for young people and some schools have summer camps for young people (2-4 weeks).
āAt most schools, you can start on any Monday (though, some schools only let beginners start on specific weeks).
āYou can attend for one week or a zillion weeks, itās up to you.
āClasses usually run from 8am to 12pm, M-F. Though, sometimes they go from 1pm to 5pm.
āClasses are a combination of grammar and conversation (I think itās fun to have conversations about grammarākilling two birds w/ one stone).
āThere are usually activities available after class (cooking, dancing, yoga).
āSome schools set up language exchanges (intercambios) with people from the local community that want to practice their English (they practice English, we practice Spanish).
āAlmost all schools offer the option of a homestay where you live and eat with a local family. Other schools offer rooms in apartments with Spanish speakers. You can also stay in your own accommodation.
āIāve done all types of accommodations but the best for learning Spanish are living in a familyās home or sharing an apartment with a Spanish speaker.
āPrices vary, but generally, four weeks of class is usually around US$1,000 and four weeks of accommodation is usually around US$1,000 (which includes breakfast and dinner, sometimes laundry and other stuff).
āIāve studied at five schools so far (three in Spain, one in Argentina and one in Costa Rica). Some are better than others, but all have been wonderful experiences.
āBottom line: I donāt know any easier way to fully immerse yourself in a Spanish-speaking world. If you want to improve your Spanish, I highly suggest attending a Spanish immersion schoolāor multiple.
If you have any questions, please ask in the comments!
Hasta luego,
Jordan
30 - 10
Hola!
Iām excited for my third day of Spanish classes here at Tico Lingo in Costa Rica!
You might think of me as a Spanish TEACHER, but Iām also still a Spanish LEARNER [for life].
The truth is, my Spanish isnāt nearly as good as I want it to be.
When I made my first Spanish video almost TEN years ago (what???) ā improving my Spanish was still a big goal.
But, my videos, my business and life got in the way.
Sure, Iāve learned lots from making my videosā¦
And, on my own, Iāve studied tons of grammar and had iTalki partnersā¦
But, we can only progress so much by studying grammar and speaking Spanish for an hour a week.
Youāve probably heard me say this before: the #1 best and fastest way to improve your Spanish is TOTAL IMMERSION.
And the easiest way to totally immerse yourself is to attend a Spanish immersion school and live with a Spanish-speaking family.
So, thatās what Iām doing!
I chose Tico Lingo because itās a smallish, family-style school (Iām not into big companies or institutions).
Plus, itās located in a town that has almost ZERO tourists.
Which means, Iām experiencing the real Costa Ricaānot influenced by gringos or tourism.
More importantly, it means, when I order lunch at the market, nobody responds to me in English (because they donāt speak it).
So, Iām speaking Spanish at breakfast with my Costa Rican familyā¦
Iām speaking Spanish in the streets, at the market and in restaurantsā¦
Iām speaking Spanish in class, four hours a dayā¦
Iām speaking Spanish when I get a haircutā¦
Iām speaking Spanish when I eat dinner with my Costa Rican familyā¦
TOTAL IMMERSION. The #1 best and fastest way to improve your Spanish.
Tomorrow, Iāll post about how these Spanish immersion schools work (theyāre all over the Spanish-speaking world).
So, if you have any questions, ask away in the comments.
Until then, PURA VIDA (something they say all the time in Costa Rica).
Jordan
66 - 10
I recently found myself in Tucson, Arizona with some time to kill.
I soon realized the Mexican border was only an hour away.
So, off I went to eat some tacos and get my Spanish on!
The first thing that surprised me: as you near the border, they use kilometers instead of miles!
Kilometers in the USA?!?!
Ya learn something new every day.
More posts coming.
67 - 5
Learning Spanish on the road!
I saw this sign in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.
Can you find the two errors? Leave a comment below!
The translation of this sign is: "Please don't throw food to the birds."
46 - 23
I originally got an F in high school Spanish.
Then I studied abroad and lived in a dorm with lots of Spanish people.
I dedicated myself 100% to Spanish that semester.
It wasn't easy for me. I was never a good student.
After that I traveled around Spain and Latin America for a few years.
Studying, practicing, talking.
I totally fell in love with Spanish--and now I want you to love it too!
But I know you'll only love Spanish if you understand it.
If it doesn't confuse you. If it's fun.
That's why I make these Spanish videos!
Before I make any video I ask myself:
1) Why was this confusing to me before I understood it.
2) How is taught incorrectly?
3) What would have been the best way to teach me?
Then I make the video!
I hope you like them. I hope they help you.
I hope you love Spanish after watching them.
Or at least, feel smarter =)
Hasta luego!
Jordan