Language and culture are intrinsically linked, and immersing your in the culture is the best way to learn Spanish. Participants errolled on the program who do not meet the language requirements of their projects can enrol on the intensive 20-hour per week course. The course is run by a local language school and the course takes place before you start your volunteer placement.
The intensive Spanish immersion program aims to give students a linguistic fluency through an intensive Spanish language curriculum. The course puts an emphasis on practical language use, oral communication and application of language to be used during your volunteer placement.
Classes begin every Monday and are held from Monday to Friday for all Spanish levels; you may study for one week to however many weeks you wish.
After you begin your placement, if you would like to take additional lessons, we offer two options:
Purchase six-hour blocks of lessons at $90 per week. Classes will be scheduled in the evenings so that they don’t interfere with your project.
To find out more about learning Spanish in Costa Rica, download our program information brochure.
Spend your first week/s in Costa Rica learning Spanish over an intensive 20 hour-course before beginning your placement. These small Spanish classes are just right for a participant who wishes to learn Spanish as quickly as possible. Classes sizes are kept small with an average of 2-4 students (except under unique circumstances).
All Costa Rica volunteers receive two hours of Spanish lessons daily on the first Saturday and Sunday after arrival and an hour daily during the first week of their placement. Intensive Spanish Immersion students receive five hours of lessons daily, from Monday to Thursday. Volunteer and Study Spanish students have 1.5 hours of Spanish lessons daily between Monday and Thursday.
The intensive Spanish immersion program takes place in a local language school in San Ramon.
The language school is closed during the fourth week of December and the first week of January, as well as for a week preceding Easter Sunday.
For a twenty two year old male I like to believe that I have a lot of experience in my life. Volunteering in Costa Rica is just adding another notch in my belt. However this experience has been one of the best experiences of my life.
Bart Kulaga, Read Bart's Testimonial
I am able to practice my Spanish all the time. It was here in my homestay that I got to start applying all the Spanish I learned in San Jose. I am a pretty picky eater so the homestay was a great choice for me.
Devyn Goodwyn, Read Devyn's Testimonial
If you are interested in joining the program in Costa Rica, you should download and read our destination guide.