Learn Spanish in Costa Rica

  Costa Rica

• San Jose: 
San Jose

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Not Applicable, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Dates: new groups every week

Description: Our Goal
Our goal at Universal de Idiomas is to enable our students in the least possible time to communicate in Spanish. We offer you theory and praxis in a warm atmosphere and we help our students to develop their abilities to speak fluent Spanish. Our school is known for its interactive, communicative, personal teaching methods plus its excellent teachers and friendly staff.

Our Methodology

* Concentrated methodology that fosters conversational practice through formal and informal day to day experiences acquired in the classroom and outside.
* Specially designed spanish courses to meet the students immediate needs
* It is a program designed in such a way that it will provide a constant interaction of students with his/her classmates and the surrounding environment.
* Specially designed learning activities to give the students the opportunity to actively participate and thus associate what they are learning with their general experiences.
* Activities emphasize oral use of Spanish acquired but does not discard the use of grammar as a back- up.
* Provides a systematic development of all four skills in language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. All four areas are part of understanding the culture and the people of the country.
* Small groups to ensure personalized attention to your individual needs and give you lots of opportunity to participate
* Groups are made according to the students abilities and spanish level; the first day of the course begins with an oral and written placement test
* The method induces the oral participation between the members of the class through discussions, exercises, dialogues and readings.
* Enthusiastic, qualified and experienced teachers
* Positive classroom environment.
* We created our own books

Different levels of Spanish

We arrange our classes according to the language levels of our students to ensure your language success. There are four levels (with consequent sublevels). Each level takes between five and eight weeks to complete in full depending on each student pace.

Beginner I & II: For those without any knowledge of the Spanish Language. Upon completion, the student will be able to formulate and understand short sentences relating to basic necessities and forms of politeness.

Intermediate I & II: This course will bring the student to a higher level of comprehension and expression. The student will be able to express themselves, perhaps sometimes with a little difficulty, but usually spontaneously and independently, in everyday situations. This level includes a revision of basic structures and an extension of grammatical structures (past tenses). Students will be able to read and write essays.

Advanced I & II: The student will have advanced communication ability, even in complicated situations. The student will work extensively on past tenses and will be able to dominate the subjunctive.

Superior: Clearing up minor imperfections. Refining pronunciation and intonation. The student will communicate, without difficulty, with people who are native Spanish speakers. Errors and deficiencies in grammar structures that still exist will be corrected.

What kind of qualifications do the teachers have?
All our teachers are native speakers of Spanish and have a university degree. (read more on our teachers)

Placement test
To find the right Spanish course for you, we will conduct a placement test on your first day. With this test we evaluate your existing Spanish skills, to be able to place you in the class that best fits your needs. Beginners do not have to take this test.

Schedule
Your schedule remains the same for whatever the length of your language course. You can chose between 3 or 4 hours of classes a day. In addition to your morning classes you can also book private lessons in the afternoon to further enhance your language skills. Universal de Idiomas also gives you the opportunity to take afternoon group classes.

Certificate
At the end of our Spanish course our students will receive a certificate. By request, our teachers will grade your performance. Some North American universities recognize our language classes. Just ask at your university.

Receive credit for the University
A student applying for credit will receive, at the end of the course, a transcript indicating the number of hours of class attended and the teacher's evaluation.

We also offer the option of granting academic credit through Weber State University

What do you need for the classes?
A good dictionary and writing utensils are advisable. Other things can be purchased at our school. In the beginning of your course you will receive the work book which your class will be using.

Highlights: For the convinience of our students, we offer the following extra services:

* Dance Lessons with local Costa Rican instructors. (Learn Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha and more..)
* Tourist information and great DISCOUNTS on tours: Check out these trips
* Tour Reservation and Organization within Costa Rica
* Assignment of Professional Internship opportunities in Costa Rica
* Tourist information on restaurants, travel, night life and current festivals.
* Wireless INTERNET
* Student Identification Card that entitles to discounts in many institutions
* Cafeteria service
* Workshops with highly qualified Costa Rican professionals in areas such as the environment and other fields of interest.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Qualifications: Universal de Idiomas offers personalized internships to people that want to do volunteer work in Costa Rica. This means, that according to your interests and abilities we will find the right opening and place for you. In general, we are able to find internships in every area, for example: marketing, tourism, culture, non governmental institutions, just to name a few.

Internships normally last at least 6 weeks so that you can be truly immersed into the work you are doing. Many supervisors would prefer their interns to volunteer for at least 6 weeks. A maximum limit in time of an internship is none existent.

To begin your internship and apply your knowledge in the best possible way, it is recommended to attend one of our language courses. A good knowledge of the Spanish language will definitely be of help during your internship. In most of the cases ,employers demand that the intern take Spanish classes before starting work. In rare cases, an exception might be made. Universal de Idiomas also will try to find internship positions for applicants that do not or only have a low command of Spanish. Depending on your knowledge of the Spanish language, we will find the right Spanish class that will help you learn to communicate effectively in a relative short time.

To start our search we need: your resume , a photo and report sheets. As soon as we receive these we will start our search for the right internship. Please keep in mind that searching for an internship opening takes time. On the average we need up to 2 months for the process. There- fore please apply on time.

Cost in US$: 200

This program is geared toward those students who want to learn Spanish at a reasonable pace. The material covered will depend on what level the student is currently in. The minimum length of the course is 1 week.

One Week Course: 3 hrs./day USD 160
Two Week Course: 3 hrs./day USD 310
Three Week Course: 3 hrs./day USD 460
Four Week Course: 3 hrs./day USD 610
Economical Global Package: includes 4 week course (3 hrs./day), 4 week home stay, registration fee, class material. USD 1120

*There is an additional USD 50.00 fee for registration and class material, for all programs except the Economical Global Package in which it is already included.
*Every week extension after the 4 week course will cost you USD 140 per week.

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Universal de Idiomas's Mission Statement: To have our international student learn the language effectively to help to bridge world cultures

Year Founded: 1981