Teen Spanish Summer Camp in Costa Rica

I believe that Tico Lingo is a great experience for people that want to learn Spanish and already have a foundation in Spanish. When you get here you will be nervous but as you get used to the homestay and your fellow campers it will start to feel far more natural. Most of your days will be very structured like the animal rescue center, but you will get chances for free time throughout the trip where you can explore the city. How much you go out of the way to speak it with most tour guides able to speak English if you don’t try you won’t speak a lot of Spanish. The only advice I can give you is that you won’t get along with every other camper 100% but be at least nice to them and also don’t flush the toilet paper.

This was a great program. On the first day here meeting your roommate and host family can be slightly awkward but as you continue your trip and meet the other campers as well as continue practicing your Spanish these first day nerves will go away. The friendships you can make on these trips can be life long so putting yourself out there and speaking up was important and fun on the trip. I definitely learned a lot of Spanish. When I got here my Spanish was very elementary but my class with professor Freddy helped with my ability to form more sentences and understand Spanish. During the camp we explored the city, went to an animal sanctuary, went on a ropes course, went to the local mall Oxígeno in the first week. Over the weekend we went on a fun trip to stay in a hotel with pools, hot springs and the beautiful views of La Fortuna. As well as some fun whitewater and kayaking trips during the day. The next week we spent some free time in the city, went ziplining, a trampoline park, a water park and were able to practice our Spanish with students attending an English school as well as going to the beach. This trip was a great experience overall. It may be nerve racking traveling alone to another country however this experience helped my traveling skills, Spanish skills and left me with some amazing friendships. I would definitely recommend this experience to any teen wanting to travel and learn more Spanish!!

It’s hard to pick a specific aspect of this camp as my favorite. From the delicious food I ate everyday made by my homestay mom to the always eventful Spanish classes we had each morning and especially to our exciting activities we got to do every afternoon, there was never a dull moment. I loved the experience of staying with a homestay family because in this way, I felt like I best got to experience and learn about the unique culture of Costa Rica. After my time in Tico Lingo and homestay, I was able to eat so many typical Costa Rican dishes that I didn’t even know about before. I was also able to use my Spanish in a real world setting and learn about the lives of those I stayed with and met along the way. The Spanish classes at Tico Lingo were by far the best classes I have ever taken. Although we had 4 hours of classes each day, the time always seemed to go by fast and was enjoyable. In my small classroom of 3 people, we had Karina as our teacher. I loved her style of teaching as we always had the most interesting conversation topics and discussions. I recommend this camp for those excited for adventure and learning Spanish and the Tico culture.

Being at Tico lingo was truly a life changing experience for me. Aside from the fact that we were surrounded by awesome staff and host families I learned more Spanish in the two weeks I was there than I had learned in years of school Spanish classes. The Tico lingo experience was not only a great learning experience for Spanish but to make lifelong friends and family. I met my best friend on one of my trips to Tico lingo and I am so thankful for the opportunities the trip gave me each and every day. The Tico lingo program will always have a special place in my heart and I highly highly recommend for anyone looking to travel and learn Spanish. It is safe, fun and engaging experience!

I loved my experience in Costa Rica. Tico lingo was such a fun program and I met some people I think will be my life long friends, my host family was excellent and it even made me realize how much I love the Costa Rican culture. It was very safe and fun and overall just an awesome experience. I truly think everyone should get to go to Costa Rica with Tico lingo. I also feel a lot more cultured now, and it’s been a really good refresher when coming back to school and taking Spanish, it felt like I was a step ahead of everyone.

Tico Lingo gave me such a unique opportunity to learn Spanish while in an immersive environment while also exploring Costa Rica! We went on trips around the country as a group in order to learn more about the culture, but the best part for me was the Spanish classes and the homestay. Tico Lingo matched me with a Spanish class for my level, so I always felt comfortable speaking up in class and talking in Spanish with my teacher, who was a native speaker. I also loved my host family and homestay, and I thought Tico Lingo did an amazing job not only matching me with a host family, but also matching me with a roommate. Thanks to Tico Lingo, I'm still in touch with both my roommate and my host family. I always felt safe and welcomed in my homestay, and Tico Lingo also made sure to find host families who were so kind and helpful; I got to meet their family and go out to dinner with them, and my host mom made sure to take great care of my roommate and me when we were sick!

While in Costa Rica with Tico Lingo I learned so much Spanish through classes but also through immersion as well. I loved my host family and still occasionally text with them. Even though I was nervous at first, I quickly realized it was going to be an amazing 2 weeks. Sometimes during class we would go into a nearby market to use our Spanish to buy different fruits and other things. Then when we would go home we could keep practicing our Spanish with our host parents. During the weekends we went and had so much fun white water rafting, going to the beach, and canoeing near a volcano!I had so a wonderful and beneficial experience with tico lingo and I highly recommend this program for anyone who is looking!

The Tico Lingo teen program is awesome! I took small classes with classmates and instructors tailored to my proficiency (shoutout Freddy!), all of which taught be new skills and useful phrases. I met awesome new friends, many of whom I'm still in contact with today. Doing the program with people I'd just met but quickly knew so well gave us lots to talk about in Spanish without any of the usual awkwardness. My homestay "mama tica," Damaris, was super caring, very good at improving my housemate's and my conversational styles, and made amazing food. And Heredia was super fun to explore and easy to get around.