Our intensive program of study is based upon an effective and leading-edge method that encourages oral communication and a student's total immersion in the culture, society, and customs of Costa Rica. The effectiveness of our method and program has resulted in years of experience and student success.

The program includes 6 levels of study beginner through advanced. The first day of Spanish language lessons, you'll have a placement text, to place you in an appropriate level according to your knowledge and ability in the Spanish language. Absolute Beginners enrolling for a Group Course can only start on the first or the third Monday of each month.

The best guarantee that you will receive intensive, personalized, and effective instruction is that you learn in groups with a maximum of 6 students. The class dynamics in small groups will help you to learn and converse in Spanish quickly.

The minimum age for enrollment in the general courses is 17 years old. 

Intensive Course

20 units of 45 minutes each per week in a group of 4 to 6 participants.
Duration: of 2 to 24 weeks.
6 levels: beginner to advanced.
General language course:
reading, speaking, pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, vocabulary expansion, Middle American culture.
Lessons:
Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with a 30-minute break. If there is only one participant for a given level, that participant will receive 15 units of private instruction per week instead of 20 units of group instruction.

Monday to Friday

possibility of additional self-access study with material from library or resource center.

The Intensive Course covers the following aspects and topics:
2 lessons (Unit 1) of applied grammar with explanations by the teacher followed by written and oral exercises, analyzing grammatical aspects through reading articles of newspapers, games and popular Latin American songs, further conversation exercises.
2 lessons (Unit 2) of conversation for every day situations with emphasis on increasing the students command of communication skills through discussion and exchange of information about social, economical, political and cultural aspects of life in Costa Rica and Latin America. Topics vary depending on the students level and may cover subjects such as „situations in a shop, in a restaurant, shopping at the market“ to „the situation of indigenous tribes in Latin America and Costa Rica“ or „economic and social changes in Latin America“ (contemporary history and current events). The Main Course is developed for all those who wish to acquire or improve their language communicative skills in today’s spoken Spanish and also require a systematic learning of grammatical concepts.

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Super-Intensive Course

30 units of 45 minutes each per week in a group of 4 to maximum 6 participants.
Duration: of 2 to 24 weeks.
6 levels: beginner to advanced.
General language course:
You follow the Intensive course plus receive 2 additional units of group instruction Monday to Friday. No new grammar is introduced here; instead, you do in-depth exercises to reinforce the material covered in the morning lessons.
Lessons:
Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with two 30-minute breaks. If there is only one participant for a given level, that participant will receive 21 units of private instruction per week instead of 30 units of group instruction.

Monday to Friday

possibility of additional self-access study with material from library or resource center.

This Course follows the syllabus of Intensive Course during Unit 1 and Unit 2. In Unit 3 morning exercises are reinforced through additional written and oral exercises, auditory comprehension exercises with use of videos, vocabulary extension, conversation drills, idioms and, if necessary, phonetic exercises. Advanced students will also read and analyze Latin-American and Costa Rican literature. The Super-Intensive Group Course helps the motivated student to quickly enhance his communication, listening and reading skills.

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Intensive + Individual Course

25 units of 45 minutes each per week; in addition to the Intensive course, 5 units of 45 minutes each of private instruction per week to work on individual weaknesses/needs or special topics.
Duration: of 2 to 12 weeks.
6 levels: beginner to advanced.
Lessons:
Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. with two 30-minute breaks.

Monday to Friday

This course consists of 20 lessons of group tuition (Intensive Course) plus 5 lessons of individual tuition per week. These courses combine the advantage of studying in a small group with the most efficient and most rapid way to learn a language, private tuition. One to one Spanish language classes are either conducted in general Spanish at your own level, tailored to suit the individual needs and targets, or they cover one of the following topics of the student’s choice: Business Spanish, Tourism and Public Relations, Administration/ Law, Didactics of Spanish, Spanish for Translation, Spanish Literature, Preparation for Examination or Water Treatment. Please note that beginner classes can only cover general Spanish language!

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Individual Course

Either 20, 30, or 40 units of 45 minutes each per week, either in general Spanish alone or in combination with technical terminology. An intensive course of private instruction is a very good option if you only have 1 or 2 weeks available for a language course.
Duration: of 1 to 8 weeks.
All levels.

Morning: Possibility of self access study with material from library or resource center
Monday to Friday (sample schedule, lessons are sometimes scheduled in the mornings for 30 or 40 hours)

Private Tuition and Intercultural Training:
Designed to suit particular needs and interests, these courses focus either on improving the student’s command of general Spanish or cover specific topics and subjects. Intercultural Training can only be booked with 30 or 40 lessons per week. Intercultural Training aims to prepare project managers for work in a Spanish speaking environment in Latin America.

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Internship

For university students The Center in San Rafael; Cost Rica, offers the possibility of attending a practical training (Internship) in San José or Central Valley - with 8 to 16 weeks internship in a company or in a social institution. Accommodation will be additionally arranged on request in a host family or in a school apartment. The Costa Rica Spanish schools Internship program is available to those students only who have already studied at least 2 years at university and who enroll for a minimum of 2 weeks for an Intensive or Super-Intensive Course at the school center prior to the commencement of their Internship. Please note that students should have a least an intermediate level of Spanish. Fees cover placement, supervision and report.
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Volunteering

2 to 24 weeks Volunteering in a National Park or social institution can be arranged by the Costa Rica Center. Volunteering is available to students who enroll for a minimum of 4 weeks for an Intensive Course or the Super-Intensive Course at the school center prior to the commencement of their Volunteering (2 weeks for advanced students). Accommodation for volunteers in National Parks is arranged in basic lodging in the park with full board at cost to the volunteer.
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