Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Esa profesora joven explica muy bien mi asignatura favorita. - That young teacher explains my favorite subject very well.

In esa profesora joven, the speaker is referring to a teacher who is not right next to them, but is not extremely far away either (or simply feels a bit more distant).

You could use esta profesora joven if you want to emphasise that the teacher is very close (physically or emotionally). Aquel would sound like the teacher is more distant in space, time, or emotionally, or is being contrasted with other teachers farther away.

So esa is a neutral choice for “that teacher (over there / not right here)”.

Why is it profesora and not profesor?

Spanish marks grammatical gender on many nouns:

profesor = male teacher (or sometimes gender-neutral in generic statements)
profesora = female teacher

Because the sentence is referring to a female teacher, the noun is profesora.

If the teacher were male, it would be:

Ese profesor joven explica muy bien mi asignatura favorita.

Why does joven come after profesora?

In Spanish, most descriptive adjectives normally come after the noun:

profesora joven = young teacher
asignatura favorita = favourite subject

Some adjectives can go before or after the noun with slight changes in nuance (for example gran profesor vs profesor grande), but in general, the default position for descriptive adjectives is after the noun.

So esa profesora joven is the normal way to say “that young teacher”.

Why is there no article before mi asignatura favorita?

Spanish possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro etc. normally replace the article; you usually don’t say both together:

mi asignatura = my subject (not la mi asignatura in standard modern Spanish)

So:

mi asignatura favorita = my favourite subject

You only add an article with possessives in some special structures (for example, el mío, la tuya, los suyos), but not in the basic pattern mi + noun.

Why is it mi and not mis?

Mi vs mis depends on number of the thing possessed, not the number of possessors:

mi asignatura = my subject
mis asignaturas = my subjects

Here, asignatura is singular, so we use mi (singular).
If the sentence referred to several favourite subjects, it would be:

Esa profesora joven explica muy bien mis asignaturas favoritas.

Why is it asignatura and not something like sujeto (from English “subject”)?

For a school subject (maths, history, etc.), standard European Spanish uses:

la asignatura = school subject

The Spanish word sujeto most often means:

grammatical “subject” in a sentence
a person/individual (sometimes a bit pejorative or technical)

So mi asignatura favorita is “my favourite school subject”, and using sujeto here would be wrong.

Why is it explica and not enseña?

Both verbs are related but not identical:

explicar = to explain (to make something clear)
enseñar = to teach (the overall act of giving instruction)

So:

Esa profesora joven explica muy bien mi asignatura favorita.
Focus: she explains the content very well (she’s good at making things clear).
Esa profesora joven enseña muy bien mi asignatura favorita.
Focus: she teaches that subject very well in general.

Both are possible, but explica muy bien highlights how clear her explanations are.

Why is explica in the present tense? Could it mean something ongoing like English “is explaining”?

Spanish simple present (explica) can cover several English uses:

habitual present: “she explains (it) well”
general fact: “she (always) explains my favourite subject very well”
sometimes even near future or ongoing present, depending on context

So explica is normally understood as a general/habitual statement about how she teaches, not necessarily “she is explaining right now”. If you wanted to emphasise “right now” you’d usually add context:

Ahora mismo está explicando mi asignatura favorita. = Right now she is explaining my favourite subject.

Why does muy bien come after explica?

Adverbs and adverbial phrases (like bien, muy bien, bastante bien) usually go after the verb they modify:

explica bien = she explains well
explica muy bien = she explains very well

You can sometimes place them in different positions for emphasis, but the basic neutral order is:

verb + adverb

So explica muy bien is the standard word order.

Could you say explica mi asignatura favorita muy bien instead? Is that still correct?

Yes, explica mi asignatura favorita muy bien is also grammatically correct.

Both:

explica muy bien mi asignatura favorita
explica mi asignatura favorita muy bien

are acceptable. The most neutral, common order is probably the one in the original sentence (explica muy bien mi asignatura favorita), but word order with complements is relatively flexible as long as there is no ambiguity.

Why is joven not changed to agree in gender like jovena or something?

Some adjectives in Spanish have one single form for both masculine and feminine. Joven is one of them:

un chico joven = a young boy
una chica joven = a young girl
un profesor joven = a young (male) teacher
una profesora joven = a young (female) teacher

It does change for plural:

profesores jóvenes
profesoras jóvenes

So gender is not marked on joven in the singular, only number.

Why does favorita end in -a?

Adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

asignatura is feminine singular (la asignatura)
therefore the adjective must also be feminine singular: favorita

Compare:

mi libro favorito (masculine singular)
mis asignaturas favoritas (feminine plural)

What is the difference between mi asignatura favorita and mi favorita asignatura?

Mi favorita asignatura is incorrect. In Spanish, the usual order is:

possessive + noun + adjective

So:

mi asignatura favorita = my favourite subject

Putting favorita before the noun is not natural in this case; Spanish does not allow the same flexible adjective order that English does with “favourite subject / subject favourite”.

In Spain, is profesora the normal word for a school teacher, or should it be maestra?

In Spain:

profesor / profesora is commonly used for secondary-school and university teachers, and also quite widely for teachers in general.
maestro / maestra is more specifically for primary-school teachers, and also has a traditional, slightly more formal ring.

In everyday speech, many Spaniards say mi profe for almost any teacher.

In a neutral sentence like this, talking about explaining a school subject, esa profesora joven sounds completely natural in Spain.