Teaching English in Costa Rica
| country: | Costa Rica |
| departures: | 2008: 6 Sep, 4 Oct, 1 Nov, 6 Dec 2009: 3 Jan |
| price: | From £1250 (4 weeks) - £1800 (12 weeks) excluding flights. Includes TEFL course, Spanish lessons, various activities, tours, accommodation & meals |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Take a TEFL course, learn Spanish, teach English and explore Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is becoming one of the biggest tourist destinations in Latin America, and the need to learn English to satisfy this popularity is a sure way of gaining employment for the many Costa Ricans who live in the Northern part of the country. Volunteers will be teaching both adults and children a set curriculum. These lessons allow community members the opportunity to increase their income from the tourist industry. Various areas of the tourist industry are being targeted.
These include the local Police force, taxis, medical centres, supermarkets and shops, the local school, hotels and restaurants. The teaching will range from basic first-time English to more advanced English, depending on the levels of the students and the speed with which they pick up the language.
You will take part in a new English Class initiative, whereby volunteers will teach their students in their place of work. These students are local professionals and include; the local Police force, local taxi service, the supermarket, the local school, medical centres and other businesses that rely on tourism to sustain their livelihoods.
Two courses are also included: an introduction to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), to be taken during the first week and group Spanish classes, providing an introduction to basic grammar and conversational Spanish. Volunteers live in hotel accommodation in Playas del Coco, a small coastal village where the English classes and Spanish lessons take place. The Guanacaste region is one of the more diverse areas of Costa Rica and is a great base from which to explore the local area.
TEFL course Learn Spanish Surf lesson in Tamarindo Rafting trip Canopy tour National Park trek Snorkelling trip
We begin work on Monday, where volunteers work alongside our staff. By shadowing and assisting staff, volunteers can learn and observe English language teaching techniques and prepare themselves to teach on their own. The timetable of the classes is split each day into blocks, starting at 7.30am to 9.30am and then from 10am until 12pm with breaks. The afternoons are spent relaxing, studying Spanish, getting acquainted with TEFL, or taking more private tutorials with the students. Spanish classes will then be taken from 4.45pm until 5.45pm during the first week. A final session teaching English from 6pm to 7pm is then taken, with an evening meal and free time afterwards.
Costa Rica is becoming one of the biggest tourist destinations in Latin America, and the need to learn English to satisfy this popularity is a sure way of gaining employment for the many Costa Ricans who live in the Northern part of the country. Volunteers will be teaching both adults and children a set curriculum. These lessons allow community members the opportunity to increase their income from the tourist industry. Various areas of the tourist industry are being targeted.
These include the local Police force, taxis, medical centres, supermarkets and shops, the local school, hotels and restaurants. The teaching will range from basic first-time English to more advanced English, depending on the levels of the students and the speed with which they pick up the language.
You will take part in a new English Class initiative, whereby volunteers will teach their students in their place of work. These students are local professionals and include; the local Police force, local taxi service, the supermarket, the local school, medical centres and other businesses that rely on tourism to sustain their livelihoods.
Two courses are also included: an introduction to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), to be taken during the first week and group Spanish classes, providing an introduction to basic grammar and conversational Spanish. Volunteers live in hotel accommodation in Playas del Coco, a small coastal village where the English classes and Spanish lessons take place. The Guanacaste region is one of the more diverse areas of Costa Rica and is a great base from which to explore the local area.
activities
TEFL course a day in the life of a volunteer
During the first week, you will begin the Introduction to TEFL course, which consists of 20 hours teaching practice and demonstrations. The Spanish classes are conducted in groups and will take place in the evenings of the first week. We begin work on Monday, where volunteers work alongside our staff. By shadowing and assisting staff, volunteers can learn and observe English language teaching techniques and prepare themselves to teach on their own. The timetable of the classes is split each day into blocks, starting at 7.30am to 9.30am and then from 10am until 12pm with breaks. The afternoons are spent relaxing, studying Spanish, getting acquainted with TEFL, or taking more private tutorials with the students. Spanish classes will then be taken from 4.45pm until 5.45pm during the first week. A final session teaching English from 6pm to 7pm is then taken, with an evening meal and free time afterwards.
volunteer travel - what's it all about?
Are you are looking for an adventurous trip with a purpose, or on a gap year or career break? If you want to make a difference in some of the world’s most important conservation areas - and in community projects - then volunteer trips are for you! Volunteers tend to have a sense of adventure, and come from a range of different backgrounds and from all over the world. Edward Abbey said 'sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul'.
how this holiday makes a difference
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This education project in Costa Rica is unique. All funding of these projects comes directly from our organisation and volunteer contributions, included in the programme fee. We receive no other outside source of income, apart from that raised through us and volunteer contributions. Suffice to say, without this funding and the volunteer contributions, the project simply would not exist.
Who we are helping and why: Costa Rica is becoming one of the biggest tourist destinations in Latin America, and the need to learn English to satisfy this popularity is a sure way of gaining employment for the many Costa Ricans who live in the Northern part of the country. Volunteers will be teaching both adults and children a set curriculum. These lessons allow community members the opportunity to increase their income from the tourist industry. Areas we are concentrating on are the local Police force, taxis, medical centres, supermarkets and shops, the local school, hotels and restaurants. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |