Mi filosofía | Sr Jordan's Spanish Videos

Mi filosofía

Here’s my philosophy on learning Spanish (or any language really).  Take it for what it’s worth.

1. Aprender un idioma requiere tiempo.  /  Learning a Language takes time

So you’re learning Spanish or wanting to learn Spanish.  You’ve stumbled across this site and are wondering how you can become fluent in Spanish.

I believe that anyone can learn a foreign language.  The key ingredients will be effort and work.  And you won’t become fluent overnight.

I hope that in my videos, you can learn vocabulary and sentences that will open doors for conversations with Spanish-speakers.

2. Practica cuando sea posible.  /  Practice whenever possible

The ‘Spanish sickness’ as I call it hit me in Spanish II of high school.  When I heard songs on the radio I would start trying to translate them in my head.  When people would be speaking to me, I would think about how that would sound in Spanish.

Every opportunity I could as a young Spanish student, I would try to converse with people in Spanish.  I would attempt to speak to my friends who were in higher level Spanish and learn new things.  As well, I would use Spanish as much as possible in the classroom.  I Spanish II, I bought my first Spanish-English dictionary and that became one of my best resources even in college.

Even if you don’t know of many Spanish-speakers in your area, there are many videos on youtube these days and you can even watch full television shows on youtube.com from foreign countries.

You might also try to read the periódicos (newspapers):
España (Spain)

http://www.elmundo.es

México

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/espanol/

Revistas (magazines)
People en español

http://www.peopleenespanol.com/pespanol/

3. ¡No tengas miedo de equivocarte!  / Don’t be afraid to make a mistake

I can’t tell you how many opportunities for conversation with people I have wasted now that I know enough to know I don’t know enough.  All because I was afraid to make a little mistake and prove to them that I wasn’t an expert at Spanish!

Guess what though, it’s obvious if a person is not Spanish-speaking.  As soon as you speak it will be obvious.  But most Spanish-speakers I’ve met are encouraging when you try their language and might even help you!  Often, people are surprised when the ‘gringo’ or ‘gringa’ throws out Spanish phrases because the typical ‘American’  does not know much Spanish.

Also, don’t worry about making mistakes.  In everyday life, we constantly make mistakes.  Making mistakes is what helps us to grow as people and even moreso as Spanish speakers.  Sometimes, a mistake we make might become a funny story later in life.

4. ¡Disfruta!  / Enjoy!

Learning Spanish or another language is an opportunity for you to enjoy yourself, expand your understanding of the world as well as other people.  You will also have doors opened for you in conversation and in ways to help people!

Chances are, if you enjoy it, you’ll be more inclined to remember it.

By November 12, 2008

69 Comments to “Mi filosofía”

  1. By Jimena, April 14, 2011 @ 8:51 am

    Hola señor Jordan! Mucho gusto! Como esta ud? Me llamo JM from S.Korea. I really appreciate your Video! Actually I didnt know about Espanol very well. but now I can read and write in Espanol un poco. also i have Espana friends ;) Gracias. y I’m going to Espana on this Octubre. if i couldn’t find your video, i cant make any plans to go Espana. muchas gracias! Oh! May i ask you do you know about Catalan? if you know, why don’t you make new video about Catalan? I want to learn Catalan from you, if you can. btw thank you for reading mi msg So then Gracias again n Have a good day. Adios

  2. By Carlo, April 15, 2011 @ 4:17 am

    Hello! Thank you SO MUCH for the amount of time that you invest in this page and the awesome videos! Muchas gracias :)

  3. By Kandi, April 26, 2011 @ 9:58 pm

    Thank u god bless

  4. By Carolina, April 27, 2011 @ 11:24 pm

    Sr. Jordan, my hat’s off to you! I know how much time and dedication things like this take …as I try to compile my own inventory of lessons. Great job! My 7th graders love your Kit-Kat shirt! LOL.

  5. By Jane Rocha, April 30, 2011 @ 3:13 pm

    Hola, qué tal, Señor Jordan? Mucho gusto por sus videos que son muchíssimo buenos, divertidos y interesantes. Me llamo Jane Rocha. Yo soy brasileña. Mi madre y yo estamos estudiando el español. A nosotras nos gusta muchissímo el español. Usted está haciendo un estupendo y boníssimo trabajo. Usted está ayudando a muchas, muchas personas en nuestro bueno mundo. Mi madre y yo lo agradecimos por su generosidad in sharing su trabajo for free con todos nosotros y nosotras en nostro bueno planeta Tierra. May you be very, very much blessed and happpy. Muchas gracias por leer mi comment. Tenga un buen fin de semana. Tenga un buen día! Qué Díos lo bendiga! :)

  6. By Yulia, May 1, 2011 @ 9:31 am

    Muchas gracias de Rusia

  7. By Ziarra, May 23, 2011 @ 9:21 am

    Hey Senor Jordan! Thanx for all the videos that u posted! In my country there are no signs of spanish speakers, but i don’t know when i felt like learning it! But u made it happen! Now i can understand it a little! And i’m trying to improve even mooorree!! :D

  8. By rita, June 7, 2011 @ 2:37 pm

    Hello Sr. Jordan, just wanted to say thank you very much for the videos.

  9. By Ania, June 10, 2011 @ 8:53 am

    Hello Senor Jordan! Greetings from Poland.
    Thank you SO much for your videos. I decided to learn Spanish on my own but it didn’t go so well. Since when I found your videos everything seems to be easier. Your videos are hudge help for me. You’re such a great teacher :)

    Muchas Gracias!

  10. By mathias, July 3, 2011 @ 12:30 pm

    sr.jordan.me llamo mathias.from kuala Lumpur Malaysia currently studing spanish in spain salamanca.I learn many things from your video class thank you very much its help me a lot in spanish.you are great person i haver know.God bless you all the time.muchas gracias profesor.

  11. By Denise W, July 8, 2011 @ 6:50 pm

    I am really excited to find your website. I am attempting to create a class for a virtual homeschool group and would like to use your videos. (There is no charge for the class.) Before I started copying and pasting info from each video, I was wondering if you had a scope and sequence or any kind of listing of the topics and vocabulary for each video that could be emailed to me. Thanks!

  12. By Aaron, August 27, 2011 @ 2:42 am

    Señor Jordan, I can’t agree more regarding your 4 points when learning any language. Perhaps the toughest one to deal with is time, since many people want to become fluent as soon as possible. Nonetheless, your teachings and guidance will surely help many get to where they hope to be with this incredible language.

    You are a wonderful teacher and a great inspiration. You make learning Spanish interesting and fun. Excellent blog. ¡Muchas gracias!

  13. By Betty Hilleman, September 18, 2011 @ 2:31 pm

    I did not do well in Spanish in high school but now as a senior nurse I am having a lot of fun with my Spanish speaking patients! My son has just left for college so I am finally getting back to Spanish class. What fun! My grades are much better now! My patients love it that I am learning. My teacher recommended your videos. I use them a lot. Thank you!

  14. By Martha Hockaday, September 19, 2011 @ 10:46 pm

    Senor Jordan.. Gracias Gracias. This site is a big…I do not understand Spanish, I have lived in Texas all my life. And I live 30 minutes away from the border. So, in 2 days I will be able to speak real spanish. Going to college, they dont explain simple excercises you take your time, and explain. Well Done.. Looking forward to more videos.
    Muchas gracias Jordan… tell your staff they are doing a great job making this possible for free….

  15. By Dellaria, September 20, 2011 @ 6:40 pm

    I have to learn Spanish in school. However I do not like the language as much. I think it’s okay but I rather be doing German or Japanese. I need to learn how to love it or I seriously won’t learn it. Also thank you so much for having this site. I’ve been doing spanish for years and most of the time I’ve had the same teachers. The problem is I don’t understand her teaching methods and I just end up confused and simply quit. Thank you for opening up a new door for learning. I also notice you don’t have certain tenses such as the ‘Conditional’ and ‘Future’ etc. Will you be having videos or hand outs on them soon?

  16. By Katie Bordner (@mskbordner), October 11, 2011 @ 5:13 pm

    I’m so excited to have found your site! I too come from MO (Jefferson City High c/o 2002) and teach Spanish in Chicago. I can’t wait to check out your videos and voicethreads. muchisimas gracias :)

  17. By Rosa, November 4, 2011 @ 1:27 am

    Hola Sr. Jordan,

    Soy una espanola dando clases particulares de espanol en Brisbane, Australia! gracias a tus videos he podido usar mucho material en las lecciones y me ha ayudado a saber como explicarme.

    Muchas gracias por hacer estos videos!
    Saludos,

    Rosa

  18. By javier Diaz, November 9, 2011 @ 6:07 pm

    mi comentario es en el video de como eres? describirse asi mismo.
    Tengo un comentario hacerca las reglas de como usar los adjetivos segun la terminasion.
    en la unica qeu no es claro y usted lo mensiona muy bien es las palabras qeu terminan en “A”, tales como deportista, periodista, ciclista. etc.. descubri qeu es un sufijo la terminasion “ISTA”

    Category:Spanish words suffixed with -ista
    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Spanish_words_suffixed_with_-ista

    Solo comentaba como aclarasion a sus videos pues son muy buenos y seria bueno hacer una nota en su video para qeu lo entiendan los qeu ven sus videos.

    muchas gracias y hasta luego
    su buen amigo
    Javier Alejandro Díaz

  19. By Jasmin, January 18, 2012 @ 10:01 pm

    Thank you so much for your videos! They’re very clear and easy to understand. You seem like a lovely person as well. I appreciate this very much.

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