Study Spanish in Costa Rica - Language Schools for International Students

Costa Rica Spanish Language Schools
Costa Rica is a beautiful destination full of breathtaking natural landscapes and endangered wildlife, as well as an active nightlife full of young students studying abroad as well as friendly locals who will be happy to hang out and speak Spanish with you. Studying Spanish at language schools in Costa Rica is a wonderful experience and you are likely to make lasting memories here. Of course, because Costa Rica is such a popular destination for students who are learning to speak Spanish, there is a wide variety of courses offered at all levels. The benefits to this include a large selection, which means that you have many different Spanish academies and locations within Costa Rica to choose from.

On the other hand, the choices can be overwhelming: how can you tell if the course will have a high quality standard? How can you find out which Costa Rica Spanish course is the best, and most appropriate to your level of Spanish acquisition? When it comes to studying Spanish abroad, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. If you are staying 6 months, and plan to spend a lot of time touring ecological attractions, rainforests, volcanoes, beaches and small Costa Rican towns where very few people speak any other language besides Spanish, then a longer-term, less intensive course may be ideal for you. If you are doing a two-week Spanish immersion course in Costa Rica, then you need to carefully study up on your options before committing to a course: you won't have as much time to get to know the locals and have nuanced conversations. Rather, you will be relying much more on the intensive classes you will be taking, in order to acquire Spanish a rapid-fire pace. Therefore, make sure the course you are taking is accredited, and before making your first payment ask questions about how it is taught.

Make sure the teaching method is highly interactive - not just a series of worksheets for you to fill out, which is something you could do online in your home anyway. Also make sure you read past students' reviews of the Spanish course you were taking, and the Spanish teacher you will be studying with.

Outside the classroom is as important as inside. Especially if you are studying on a 2 week or 4 week program, it is crucial that you maximize your time so that virtually every waking hour involves some sort of Spanish language interaction. The most effective and important way to achieve this is by staying with a Spanish speaking host family. Whatever you do, DO NOT stay in a dorm with other English speakers. This living arrangment will virtually ensure that you get nothing out of the money you invested to learn Spanish quickly.

Yet be sure to do your homework before choosing to live with a Spanish speaking host family in Costa Rica. Ask your program coordinator about the particular host family that you will be placed with, and if possible read up on other peoples' reviews of the same host family. Oftentimes families in Costa Rica will host a number of exchange students over the years, as this is a source of extra income for them. Oftentimes they are approved by the Spanish language program which arranges the stay for Spanish students, yet even then you should be careful before deciding.

Why? Because it is not uncommon of the concept of "exchange" to include English practice for the family. Yet if your host family speaks in English to you, this will be highly detrimental to learning Spanish. You may feel as if it is only fair that they get to practice their English as well, but this is not true. As a student, you are paying to learn Spanish quickly in Costa Rica, and the family is financially benefitting from this arrangment. Speaking English in a host family's home is a form of cheating you out of your investment, and should not be tolerated. Ideally, you will preclude this possibility by triple-checking with your program coordinator, and if possible speaking to your host family over the phone ahead of time to make sure that no language other than Spanish is spoken during your stay. Of course, because there is many a slip between cup and lip, you could end up in a situation where English is spoken. In that case don't shy away from being very insistent upon speaking Spanish. And if the problem persists, contact your program coordinator immediately to complain and ask for better placement. If this is not possible, then you should seek a partial refund.

Many students describe incredibly positive experiences learning Spanish in Costa Rica, and it is very important to count yourself among them by doing the proper research beforehand. Below is a list of Costa Rica Spanish language courses for you to choose from. We recommend that you contact each one of them individually and ask them detailed questions about the program, the teaching methodology, the living arrangment outside the classroom and how easy it is to change your living arrangment if the family ends up not being ideal. Begin your search for Costa Rica Spanish courses right here:

Language Studies International - Offers Spanish language learning programs in Costa Rica.
Northern Illinois University - NIU and Non-NIU students can study Spanish at a language school in Costa Rica through this study abroad program
Colorado Mountain College - Costa Rica school exchange program for students of Spanish.

Look for more Spanish language schools in Spanish-speaking countries.