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Learn Spanish in Costa Rica

Posted Fri, 2009-11-13 16:24

Spanish Programs

At Intercultura, we aim to provide high quality teaching at competitive prices. Our Intensive Spanish course provides comprehensive instruction using the communicative approach, in small groups (max. 6) with our university trained and certified teachers. In addition, we offer private classes in the afternoons during low seasons, and child care/Spanish tutoring for those traveling with their family. For customers with specific needs, Intercultura offers adapted programs and can develop new courses to fit these requirements. We always welcome suggestions from our agents and their clients for new study programs, which may in fact already be offered, but without appearing in our literature. Business, Medical, Legal and Media Spanish are some examples of our specialized courses.

 
Our staff is among the most highly trained in the country: all of our teachers have Bachelor’s degrees in the field of Spanish education, and most also hold a Licenciatura (post-graduate certificate) and/or Masters in Spanish as a second language. In addition, we provide ongoing professional development training and hold extensive evaluation and review standards for our teaching staff.
 
During high season (from June to August and January to February) we do not generally accept advance bookings for private classes. However, students can add these, on a space-available basis, once they arrive at Intercultura. Special cases may be submitted to us for consideration.
 
STUDENT BOOKINGS
  • When sending us a student’s registration form, please ensure that:
  • Start and end dates are given for both homestay and classes
  • Any requests for private classes are fully specified (hours per day/week)
  • Study dates are specified separately for the Heredia campus and beach campus
  • Student’s age, gender, address, email, phone and emergency contact information are given
  • Full information is provided about the type of course (regular or private), language
  • Level, accommodation requirements, special requests and airport transfer arrival 
  • Information (date, number and company of arrival flight).
  • Each student understands the booking and cancellation conditions which apply.
  GROUP BOOKINGS 
  • When making a group reservation, please ensure that:
  • All student, class, homestay, arrival and other information is provided as specified above in ‘Student Bookings’
  • Your email each individual student’s booking information to us.
  • Each student completes an application form in full.
  • A deposit is collected from each student.
  • Each student understands the booking and cancellation conditions which apply.
We aim to be very flexible and would like you to let us know if you have any special requirements. Do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or clarification. We are committed to providing our students with excellent care at excellent prices. Once again, we are pleased to welcome you to Centro de Idiomas Intercultura and look forward to working with you in the future.
 
Intercultura Spanish School in Heredia
Intercultura main campus is located in the colonial city of Heredia, approximately 20 minutes by bus from the capital city of San José (for information on our beach campus on the pacific coast, see "Beach Campus" section of this package). Heredia provides all the conveniences of a medium-sized city in an environment, which has escaped, to a large extent, the common urban problems affecting the capital. It is home to the National University, and an important cultural center for Costa Rica. Furthermore, much of Heredia has managed to retain a typical Latin American “pueblo” feel despite increasing modernization. Intercultura’s central location within the city gives students easy access to transportation, shops and entertainment. At the same time, the tranquility and natural beauty of the mountains is only a few minutes away by taxi or bus. In the downtown area students are usually no more than a 5 minute walk from a variety of services, including: sports center and olympic-size swimming pool; Internet café; gyms; bars, restaurants, discotheques; the National University’s theatre and grounds; the International telephone office; clinics and travel agencies.
The province of Heredia is the coffee-growing capital of Costa Rica, where one can still see loaded ox-carts bringing in the beans from the coffee plantations characteristic of the green mountainsides. In the rural villages you will witness a way of life very different to that of the cities, and see vestiges of the old colonial architecture once typical in the entire Central Valley.

Heredia’s proximity to transportation hubs such as the airport and the central bus stations in San José make it an ideal base for your stay here. Easily accessible from the city are the nearby Poás and Barva volcanoes, and Costa Rica’s numerous beaches and national parks. 

Beach Campus, Samara Language School
In addition to our Heredia campus, we offer students the chance to study in Playa Sámara during the weeks they choose to do so. Our campus is a beautiful, new beachfront building overlooking the ocean, with gardens leading straight to the sand. Each classroom has AC and full audio-visual equipment, as in Heredia. Students now have free Internet access at both the Sámara and Heredia campuses.

Sámara is located on the northern pacific coast and is a beautiful white sand beach lined with palm trees. The ocean is ideal for swimming and snorkeling, as it is protected by an offshore coral reef. 

Students are housed in local homestays, or they can choose shared rooms in the hotel, with AC, hot water, balcony, and pool, on a space-available basis.

The range of activities for outside class time includes: horseback riding; kayaking; bicycle rentals; surfing; visits to waterfalls; canopy tour; trips to nearby beaches and national parks; bar/discotheques; restaurants and more.

 

School Activites
Each month we have a new activities calendar of special events and a variety of fun excursions, which are accompanied by a staff member and in which we encourage all our students to participate so as to promote social interaction with the locals. These activities include special dance or theater shows; soccer games; discussion groups; live music; discos and more. For some of the more important national holidays, Intercultura’s staff presents educational performances relevant to the occasion.         

  • LATIN DANCE CLASSES: From Monday through Thursday students have the opportunity to participate in classes where they will learn salsa, merengue, cumbia and marcado, the most popular dances in Costa Rica. This enables them to go out to discos with confidence and interact with Costa Ricans. In Sámara, dance class is four times a week.
  • LECTURES: We hold periodic talks that cover a wide range of subjects and inform students about topics such as the ecology and environment of Costa Rica, Latin-American literature and politics. In the nearby National University, a permanently scheduled lecture series on the indigenous culture, peoples, and languages of Costa Rica is available to our students.
  • INTERCAMBIOS: During these cultural exchanges Spanish students meet with Costa Rican students at the school to practice conversation skills in a relaxed atmosphere, and to make new friends from the local community.
  • COOKING CLASS: Once a week we teach students how to make typical Costa Rican dishes, a nice skill to take home and share with friends and family!                      
  • LATIN MUSIC CLASS: In this weekly class students learn traditional and modern songs from different Spanish-speaking countries, analyzing their meaning and cultural significance. Feel free to join in and bring your own instrument!
  • CUENTA-CUENTOS: In Sámara, we combine Latin music with “cuenta-cuentos” (story-telling in the Latin oral tradition)
  • YOGA CLASS: Yoga and other exercise classes are given several times a week on the beach at Sámara.
  • FIRE-DANCING: We also offer Poi (fire-dancing) at our Sámara campus.

 

For more information about prices and courses contact us

 

 

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