Testimonials

To those students who have chosen the Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA) to learn Spanish, I say, “Congratulations, you made the right choice!” As a former student who has studied 4 months there, I can say this school will meet your every expectation. If students take advantage of all that the school has to offer, they will leave Costa Rica speaking a lot more Spanish than when they arrived. Through its Spanish lessons, cooking and dancing activities, conversational classes, and staff, CRLA has an environment that will provide students a better understanding of Ticos and their friendly culture. In all aspects of the school, quality is premium. The Spanish teachers are fantastic and very knowledgeable. Professional and well qualified with their degrees from area universities, they make classes fun, productive and effective. They will squeeze every bit of Spanish out of you before you leave! As with all subjects, styles vary among students when learning Spanish. Teachers do a great job to accommodate individual needs to maximize the student’s time at the school. Also, not all learning has to take place in the classroom. Often teachers take their classes out to the city, some heading for a stroll to the downtown area

I would like to thank you for a wonderful experience with your school. For the first time I have come across an institution which delivers exactly as they promise on the website. Me and my son have felt well looked after, safe, and all our needs were taken care of in a happy friendly way. The quality of teaching and all the services was excellent. I shall recommend this school to everyone I know and meet, and try and come back again to you. Thank you very much. Pura Vida.  Varum and Shabnam Frei, Switzerland, Dic.2009.

During 10 weeks I was attending Spanish classes at the CRLA in San José. Besides studying grammar, discussions about the world, and practicing the language, I learned a lot about Costa Rican culture, the way people live, their cuisine, their mentality. They are very friendly and helpful and at school we were like a big family. For my trips on the weekends they recommended me places to visit and did the reservations. In the afternoon we could choose between dancing, cooking and conversation class. With my host family I felt very welcome and more like a member. During meals we spent hours of discussing, laughing and getting to know more about the other culture. I know that with my” tico” host family and the CRLA I will always have a second home. Karin B., Switzerland

Before I chose the Costa Rican Language Academy, I was the most skeptical person you could imagine. I asked dozens of questions about the program and even e-mailed the available references.Now that my stay is over, I´m only sorry that it went by so fast. The reason why my experience was so worthwhile is because of the people here. I felt like the entire staff really cared about helping me and making me feel comfortable. Also, it was so easy to make new friends. There are many different activities available so not only do you learn Spanish, but you LIVE IT and ENJOY IT. I´m returning to my country as a better Spanish speaker, a better dancer, and now I can even cook! Nina Hilario, USA 

Thank you for allowing us to participate in this lovely program. We had a wonderful time! “Pura vida”! Thank you for helping coordinate an incredibly successful program. We all had a fantastic and meaningful experience and I hope to send many more groups.  Anna, Towson University, USA, 2009

We want to thank you sincerely for the great experience Daniel had at CRLA and throughout Costa Rica. His elevated Spanish skills have been especially noticed by his high school Spanish teacher and by our many Spanish-speaking friends. We saw his teacher a few days into the school year and she excitedly announced: “Daniel just wants to speak Spanish all the time. He doesn´t want to use English at all in class.” In fact, Daniel takes every opportunity to practice his Spanish with friends, business owners, really anyone who is a native speaker or fluent. This was definitely not the case with the young man we sent to you a couple of months ago. We knew you could teach Spanish but we had no idea you could teach emthusiasm so successfully. Daniel speaks glowingly about his experiences throughout the country and the friends he made…Thank you for delivering much more than we ever expected. We´ll be sending him back soon.  Rick Shaughnessy, CA, USA. rick@coronadopacific.com. Sept. 2011.

In the last 3 years, I have been in Costa Rica many times and have taken several weeks of classes at CRLA. I am very pleased with this experience and have learned much more Spanish in these classes than in anything else that I have tried. The instructors at CRLA are friendly, professional, and most important patient. I began by taking basic group classes and now take private lessons that are more focused on business matters. I highly recommend both types of classes. In short, I continue to take classes at CRLA because I am very pleased with the instruction I have received. Edward Stevenson Esq., C.P.A. edstevenson20@yahoo.com USA, July, 2011.

  My stay in Costa Rica is by far the most wonderful experience I’ve had in my life until now! For more than 6 months I looked forward to these two months, and I couldn’t have imagined it better than this! From the first day, CRLA helped me with all my questions or worries. And thanks to them I only needed 4 weeks to learn to understand and express a lot in Spanish! I know I’m not there yet, but my Spanish teacher helped me taking the first step. I really appreciate how much patience he had with me and how he found new ways every single day to get the most out of me. He didn’t only teach me a lot about the Spanish language but told me a lot about Costa Rican culture too, which I’m really grateful for. I would have liked to stay longer and take more weeks of Spanish classes but right now I’m really happy I feel confident enough to go and learn more through speaking with native Spanish speakers! For example, for my volunteer project I was at an orphanage and I learned a lot of vocabulary by talking to the kids. In

I have been involved with education and educators for many years – even teaching a bit at Harvard – so I am familiar with how real learning happens. The methods used by the Costa Rican Language Academy WORK! I spent the first month of a 5-month exploration of Costa Rica at the CRLA, and, as I had hoped, I received a solid foundation in Spanish that allowed me to start speaking with the fine people of this country. The classes are small, the instructors smart and effective, and the methods are fun. I began to speak and understand before I knew it! CRLA makes Spanish an experience of living, not a long slog in a dry textbook. It’s really fun. And the CRLA offers much more than language instruction. There are Latin dance classes, cooking classes, conversation periods for extra practice- as well as any kind of help you need in finding great tours of Costa Rica, or finding you way in San Jose, or whatever your discover you need. The staff is absolutely wonderful. So I’m off to put my Spanish to good use. You will not go wrong in starting here in learning to communicate will a huge