The Puzzle Strategy - Improve your Spanish FAST (S03E07)

The Puzzle Strategy is the best strategy I've got for improving your Spanish fast.
With The Puzzle Strategy, not only will you learn new words and grammar--and see how real Spanish sentences are formed...
But when you do The Puzzle Strategy, you'll identify specifically what you need to work on.
However, The Puzzle Strategy isn't for the faint of heart.
If you're a beginner, it might make you cry.
If you're intermediate, it'll make you sweat.
Your job is to work through that pain.
I have an adorable, 14-month-old niece.
When she attempts to do something she can already do, she's happy!
But when she tries something she CAN'T already do--she gets flustered.
She cries. Sometimes she quits.
Don't be like my 14-month-old niece.
You can cry.
But don't quit.
The reason most people don't speak a foreign language is, it's hard.
They get frustrated. And they quit.
If you want to speak Spanish for real... In real life... With real people...
You need to persevere.
So WATCH The Puzzle Strategy video.
Then DO The Puzzle Strategy.
Persevere.
GRIT it out.
You won't be sorry.
No pain, no gain.
Thank you sir, may I have another?
Have fun. Get your cry on.
Get the FREE BONUS VIDEO HERE: gringoespanol.c...
Resources for this video:
Original article: internacional.e...
My full English translation:
gringo-free.s3....
Online Dictionary:
www.wordreferen...
Online Conjugation Charts:
www.spanishdict...
Other videos you should watch:
How Words Work: gringoespanol.c...
The Infinitive & Conjugation: gringoespanol.c...
Definite & Indefinite Articles: gringoespanol.c...
Present + Past Verb Conjugation Videos:
gringoespanol.c...
Pronoun Videos: gringoespanol.c...
The Flashcard Strategy: gringoespanol.c...
The Conjugation Strategy: gringoespanol.c...

[@nefsa84]

lol, that whole story to introduce "the puzzle method" You had me captivated in that story hahahaha

[@tayrowell]

Love this approach and will start tonight

[@abhaysinghrawat4u]

This is the best way to learn a language. But can you give us an overview about moods. It will be a great help.

[@zacharyjohnson2592]

Hey yo Spanish dude if ur reading this I could use some help please do u have or can u make a video of sentence structure from Spanish into exact english so many others like me can get this to make sense for us or if u have a trick can u please just tell me here? Please man I need this cleared up

[@mvrchx7059]

omg poor english speakers, it's so hard for yall to learn any language :/

[@acornpropertiesbroker1458]

I can tell you from experience you are right. I can speak and write English well. The problem is understanding the terms. “Indirect pronoun” “indirect object” I can do ok but remembering the specific rules as to why I do it.

[@mdnight126]

ouf...ok....too long to get to the strategy.....I totally zoned out and then stopped the video.........I usually love your videos though but ouf......not this one

[@evangelistearchtondernier6179]

You speak too fast in your explanation Sr

[@gwm6102]

I like the way this guy teaches. I've watched so many videos of native spanish speakers trying to teach spanish as their second language and something was always missing/incomplete. Now I know, a gringo is the best teacher.

[@elspanishdude]

Thank you!!! I'm glad you get it!!! I would never be able to teach English as well I as I do Spanish. We're just programmed to think "native teacher" is better. My advantage is I've been through it. I understand the mistakes WE make and usually WHY.

[@Kenikex]

Well, if you're a gringo, then a gringo's point of view of how Spanish is understood with the "English" mentality makes it easier for you. Same the other way around, when learning English (which I think is much harder), having someone from your language point of view makes them "best teachers". I'm a native fluent speaker, and don't "need" the lessons, but I find Jordan's methods so interesting that I love watching his videos because they shed light on how I use my Spanish and how it works.....and also because he's funny. :)

[@DC-iy5mm]

​@@Kenikex There is no way on God's green earth that English is more difficult than Spanish.

[@Tamara-ju3lh]

@@DC-iy5mm Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn as its vowels are all pronounced the same. Check out how it's rated compared to other languages. English pronunciation is all over the place, there are more rules, more irregular verbs, and more words overall.

[@mollyr1762]

I know I’m 3 years late but WHERE HAS THIS VIDEO BEEN ALL MY LIFE? This is so helpful and actually applies to real life things. So happy I found this! Gracias por tu trabajo duro

[@jordyn8628]

"and... sometimes it means nothing... just ignore it." That made me chuckle some.

[@Kehwanna]

I just realized that this guy has not blinked the entire video. WHAT ARE YOU!?

[@AMejia-gc9yu]

I just noticed this now I can’t unsee it😂

[@EricHuggins11]

If you type a conjugated verb into wordreference it will tell you the infinitive and also the person, number and tense of the verb you typed in the search box.

[@elspanishdude]

That's amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. I definitely DID NOT know that.

[@chacehawkins4708]

This has literally revolutionized how I will learn languages for the rest of my life in the span of 22 minutes. Thank you.

[@azaelgarza8396]

aprendiendo ingles mientras enseñas español. gracias

[@elspanishdude]

De nada. Me encanta!

[@bradlepe]

The president of Peru can serve two successive terms in office, and then needs to wait at least one full term (or "período constitucional") before running for a third term. Alberto Fujimori used his puppets in the legislature to enact a law saying that those term limits didn't apply to him since he was already in office when the constitution was enacted in 1993, three years earlier, so he ran and was elected for a third term. There was no grandfather clause in the Constitution, so it was really just an egregious power grab, which along with the election fraud he perpetrated (or at least benefited from), ended with him fleeing the country before being extradited, tried and convicted of various crimes (serving at 30 years). So yeah, "respetaré la no reelección presidencial" is his daughter's way of saying she won't try to pull the same crap he did if she's elected into the presidency (which she wasn't). There's no direct or literal way to translate it into English, but "I will respect presidential two-term limit" or "I will respect the Constitution and not seek a third term in office" express the same idea. Latin American politics are really complicated.

[@tiffanyramos589]

Thank you so much for your videos! They are super helpful. I'm having difficulty understanding the language when I'm actually having a conversation. Could you do a video on that Por favor? Muchisimas gracias por tu ayuda!

[@elspanishdude]

+Tiffany Ramos I will make a video about that for sure. Have you seen The Song Strategy? That's the best strategy I've got for improving your comprehension without having a Spanish-speaker to practice with. Check it out: gringoespanol.com/quickies/song-strategy/ Also, are you a fan on Facebook? I posted a message recently about The Song Strategy, and comprehension in general: facebook.com/gringoespanol/posts/1293943964048014 Plus, the Lola video might be good for you too: gringoespanol.com/quickies/lola/ Good luck!

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

I agree, I am planning to get the lifetime subscription

[@korinasilva1584]

I stumbled upon the Puzzle Strategy by telling the guy I have a crush on to only text me in Spanish, because his English is confusing. So I have to translate his message, then answer in Spanish. The really tough moment was when he used boy instead of voy... and that's not in my dictionary or my college Spanish 101 book. I've found one short conversation can take six hours...

[@RachRachRach222]

This confirms that I'm a Spanish learning genius because I've been doing this for years. 🙃😉 Also, when I'm watching movies in English, I write down any words that come up that I don't know how to say in Spanish (so many, many palabras!) and then I look them up later. Thanks for your videos. I want to be a Spanish teacher someday but I'm slow like a caracol. 🐌

[@elspanishdude]

That's awesome that you were doing this on your own before seeing this video. You have good instincts! Hope it's going well!

[@RachRachRach222]

@@elspanishdude thank you much!

[@leotizi]

I just realized how complicated is my language for non Spanish speakers. Great work. A hug from Argentina!

[@Lppt87]

Wordreference also has a conjugation chart.

[@elspanishdude]

+Laura Palacio Thank you!

[@LeeDH22]

This is the future for my language learning - I struggle with word order and your explanations were a massive help. Thanks as always Jordan and I'd love to see similar videos in future

[@elspanishdude]

+LeeDH22 I'm glad you liked this one! Did you see the bonus videos I posted? I went over 5 full paragraphs. gringoespanol.com/resources/puzzle-strategy-bonus/

[@EamonWill]

Hago esto con libros del niños. Mi favorito es Arturo. Despues, los leyo a mi niño y comprendo. ¡Que divertido! Btw, I've only been studying Spanish for a few months (purely so I can raise my baby bilingual) and your videos have helped immensely already!

[@ashesrockstotaldrama]

Hi!! I’m trying to become pregnant and I On teaching mi hij@ español. Tienes cualquier consejos para ayudar criar un bebé bilingual ?

[@ChrisPautah]

I would like to give a hint if I'm allowed to lol and it is that you'll that are learning spanish, try to focus on the letter "R" pronunciation. We have doble "r" too in some words and usually english speakers tend to pronounce it in spanish very soft... im not saying that you all need to talk like Russians haha but practice the force of it and when to do it...

[@dayswillburn777]

I guess I've been using this technique the whole time lol good to know I'm on the right path

[@Gunshinzero]

I forgot what the video was about after getting into the story.

[@MustangDesudiroz]

Extremely high quality video.

[@RebeccaDMusic]

Hi Jordan, I'm a Brit in Barcelona, moved here 6 months ago and your story about the Ramblas made me laugh as it was so predictable! Really enjoying your videos and I'm having a go at the flashcard, the song and conjugation strategies to memorise the past tense conjugations. I'm teaching English as well so I might try to use a few of your tips and tricks in my own lessons!

[@elspanishdude]

LOL, yeah it was my first time there, I should have known better =) Glad you found me and love that you're using my strategies! They'll totally work for your English students too!

[@n8productions]

I just found these in audio form from Google podcasts, of all places. I'm really enjoying them! I just started this song strategy with Christina Aguilera's Ven Conmigo... although it's probably cheating since the first few lines are the title of the song lol!

[@gclipari3536]

Hola, soy peruana y de vez en cuando sigo tu canal porque me parece muy interesante lo complicado que puede ser el español si no es tu idioma materno, y además tus explicaciones son muy buenas y didácticas y me hacen pensar en cuanto realmente sé del "detrás de cámaras" de mi idioma. Imagina mi sorpresa cuando pongo el video y hablas sobre las elecciones de mi país, que emoción :), bueno voy a intentar la estrategia del puzzle para mejorar mi inglés. ¡Espero más videos pronto, que están geniales! Un abrazo.

[@LinDen7647]

Great for beginners...I’m looking for more advanced quizzes and structures...do u have any videos u can recommend? Thx Dude

[@paulv6910]

I like this strategy so much. It is really a good (internet) research strategy for anything, see something you don't understand, look it up, put that puzzle piece back into the structure, reinterpret, and continue. If you consider a picture of harmony; There is a way in which we are looking at meaning when we construct sentences, block by block, considering the grammatical flow and progression and reforming what we want to say within the sentences as we speak them. We hold sort of a grammatical ( complex ) tone in our minds which we initiate the sentence with, and hold it there matching new parts of the sentence to that as we construct it in our minds, and speak (or write) it. So, I find this method natural, and also very exciting ! If you really like, look up an image of "harmony" and frequency, or I will do a mashup and link it here. But there is something fundamental about the structure of sound going on here. And it is exciting.

[@logothaironsides2942]

Good video. I already do something like this but use Readlang and spanish dict.You can type already conjugated words into spanish dict too. If I am on my tablet, I read El pais and use my phone with a translator app for the interpretation of unknowns. Will be interested to see more...

[@elspanishdude]

+Logotha Ironsides Very cool. Did you see the bonus videos I posted? I went over 5 full paragraphs. gringoespanol.com/resources/puzzle-strategy-bonus/

[@logothaironsides2942]

yes I did thanks GE . Ive been doing my reading for about a year and I dont have to look up as much any more so it really does pay to persevere. There is a site called cuentos infantales which is very useful if newsy reading is not your thing,,

[@cometier]

I love Barcelona. Usually I go yearly for business, was there in March 2020 when they locked down. Unfortunately haven’t been back since then. Your story made me want to hop a flight.

[@st.augustinescafe7727]

You can save a lot of time and avoid using the multiple websites noted in the video for researching conjugated verbs by using ReadLang. Check it out at ReadLang.com

[@natalyawilliams9698]

Watching this video again years later after actually moving to Barcelona and living next to la rambla 😢 younger me would be so proud

[@uhJerryJackson]

Jesus Christ, that music is way too loud

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Thank you for sharing this important information listening from Brownwood Texas

[@justinhan286]

I am a 60 years old Chinese, struggle to learn Spanish for a year, thinking, Spanish is just like English. if I can learn English, what is the difficulty to learn another Indo-European language? They are just the same. Am I totally wrong? Flipping from one KZbin Channel to another. From Profession so and so, to native speaking teachers. Totally confused. Until i stumbled to your channel. I do not have picture memory, if it is not logical, I cannot just remember it. Finally, I met a teacher who went through the struggle like me, can give me the logic that a native speaker and professor cannot. I have the logic and the thought process I need to make a huge leap in my Spanish learning. Will join your membership! Totally worth!!

[@jimdegiorgio]

You can find the infinitive form of conjugated verbs at www.spanishdict.com

[@Augnos]

I do a similar strategy, but with Twitter.

[@iveyinky4262]

Glad to see you back!

[@elspanishdude]

+iveyin KY Good to be back!

[@tonythegreat4275]

@The Spanish Dude or anyone else...Will learning all the verbs, and only the verbs improve my spanish I understand how to conjugation Present and Preterite Tenses.. Making flash cards y/o Listing to Podcast of verbs? But only the verbs not messing with conjugations yet? Also what verbs should I work on first ER,AR OR IR

[@paulv6910]

To promulgate (in English) is to give voice to, or PROMOTE something. For example: "I agree in part, however you are promulgating the theory that..."

[@coltonwilliams9090]

Hi Jordan, I've been following your videos for awhile now. I recently went to Barcelona for the first time and I kept thinking to myself "La Rambla...where have I heard that before?" and then I went back to this video. Thanks Jordan

[@elizabethvaughn5694]

Duolingo has a podcast that's been very helpful for me. And once you get (pretty far) into the lessons they open up they're little stories and I LOVE it. It's read out loud and written and ive gotten into a baaaad habit of being able to read it very well but I can't listen to it and understand very well 🤦 this shits hard lol

[@Jashi_Kholin]

Your videos help me so much. I love your explanation of language and interpretation. If it weren't for you, I would probably still be trying to substitute every English word for Spanish ones in my translations.

[@slsexton101]

I love that you say it's going to be hard and that I'm going to struggle and maybe even cry a little, but that it's working and worth it. No sugar coating, but lots of encouragement. Thanks Chimmy :-)

[@orvillesadler5601]

Great video Jordan, i love it. Funny thing tho is what i learned most from this video was the use of se. I had a light bulb moment wen u explained its use in this context. I have been having difficulty understanding its use, esp because there r so many ways it is used, at least now i have a better appreciation for it. Thanks a mil for that. keep up the great works

[@johnnyboy2411]

+theSpanishdude quick question why can't we use this method with songs, games,movies,books etc

[@ZuGa1384]

Nice video as usual. Remember Keiko is pronounced Kayko. as other EI words.

[@hussainhussain-qo2du]

gringo - 1 theif - 0

[@lhclin]

This is great! This is how I learn English

[@paulmanwillerjr6186]

I find this strategy difficult and slow, but rewarding

[@TwenOalley]

This is pretty much the premace of lingq.com :D but this is free, lol

[@jorghenelpensador2450]

dude u gotta learn to cut to the chase . .

[@jackiezevans]

Asombroso

[@matthewcupelli5901]

Yay!

[@elspanishdude]

+Matthew Cupelli =)

[@susantau]

Hurray you got your bag back!!! well done!!

[@amourfout]

That's what I call 'talking a blue streak':)

[@stevenw373]

Why didn’t you punch the dude in the face!?

[@johnbass7551]

I do this myself all the time and incorporate it weekly with my classes. Muchisimo gracias!

[@atttalvarez]

John Bass Gracias is a plural feminine word, so the adjective going with it must be the same. You have to say ‘muchísimas gracias’, because ‘muchísimas’ means literally ‘many many’, so both need to be plural, both feminine. You probably confused ‘muchísimo’ with the adverbial expression ‘a lot’, ‘so much’ or ‘too much’. In Spanish you only use ‘muchísimo’ as an adverb when it goes after a verb or before an adjective. For example, ‘corrí muchísimo’ (I ran too much), ‘comí muchísimo’ (I ate a lot); and also ‘hace muchísimo frío’ (it is too cold).

[@creamofthecrop4339]

Nice video! Ill try it out

[@elspanishdude]

+CerealKillerOats Do it! When I was making this video, I remember how fun it is and how much I learn. Good luck!

[@creamofthecrop4339]

Gringo Español Thank you! keep up the great videos! Espero que esto metodo me ayudara!

[@kadyraskinfirstb4beauty922]

I wear your shirt all the time. No one says hello. I still initiate the conversation. They just laugh about it and says that they weren't thinking about it.

[@elspanishdude]

+kadyra Skinfirstb4beauty That's crazy talk!!!! It works for me and I get at least a message a week from people saying the same!!! Maybe they know you too well? Try a different neighborhood?

[@kadyraskinfirstb4beauty922]

That may be the case.

[@ImaGodinuDana]

Gracias

[@huntermenge6297]

wasssssssuuuuupppp

[@AzuReGravity]

2:30

[@thomasj2835]

Breathe!

[@elspanishdude]

No, pero gracias.