Intensive Spanish Immersion Program in Heredia, Costa Rica

I went from zero to 10 in 4 weeks!

I loved absolutely everything about my time in Costa Rica. It is difficult to put in to words all the extra benefits I experienced from what I imagined was just another Spanish immersion program in Latin America. I was so wrong! The biggest take away from Tico Lingo was that I felt that my language leaning goal mattered to all the staff as much as it did to me. It appeared that everything was carefully designed to support me to where I wanted to be. I can now say that I am confidently communicating in Spanish!

This school is hands down the best place on earth to learn Spanish! I had never had so much fun learning a new language, they have an amazing program and everyone treats you like they've known you since forever, its a super welcoming place. AGAIN... when I say hands down I mean way down... I can't recommend TicoLingo enough I loved the entire experience, all the way from the airport pickup, to my home-stay family welcoming me in their home, to the actual Spanish classes, to the amazing tours I was able to do in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is an amazing Country and TicoLingo has certainly picked a great and centric spot to be in. If you are looking for a Spanish immersion program like no other TicoLingo has you covered!

Being a student at Tico Lingo and living in Heredia for 10 weeks was the best decision I ever made. I had two amazing teachers - both were quickly able to analyze my level of Spanish and adapt to teaching me what I needed to know in order to get better. You build relationships with everyone at the school, not just your teacher and classmates. It's like a family and everyone is so supportive.

My host family and I became real family. From day 1 they treated me like a son and I knew I could depend on them for anything.

Heredia is a cool small city that is very walkable. It's a great place to stay and attend school. If you're feeling adventurous on the weekend your a short drive away to awesome nature or San Jose, the capital city.

My advice to you is if you are thinking about becoming a student at Tico Lingo.. Do it!! You will not regret it.

Choosing Tico Lingo is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My Spanish improved immensely and I found a home away from home.

My experience with Tico Lingo is multidimensional. I’ve taken group and independent classes both in person and online and had the pleasure of working with 2 different teachers. Though I planned on living in Costa Rica for 1 month, I love my Costa Riccan host family so much I decided to quarantine with them for the foreseeable future. Today is my 6 week anniversary.

Tico Lingo classes (both online and in-person) made my high school and university Spanish classes look bad. Humans can not learn a language by memorizing vocabulary and “fill in the blank” worksheets. Why? We need to develop an ear for the language and we need context in order for the language to actually stick. At Tico Lingo, students are expected to speak, listen and interact. This participation based curriculum propelled my Spanish from an elementary to intermediate level in just 4 weeks. Hell yeah!

Tico Lingo is a rarity, a collection of genuine people who run a remarkable business. The teachers, administrators and staff... there are no words. #puravida

I studied for a month at Tico Lingo in early 2019 as part of a gap semester abroad in Latin America straight out of high school. Despite travelling solo, I never felt alone due to the amazing staff and social scene at Tico Lingo. I arrived with a very low/basic level of Spanish. I did the 30 hour per week Super Intensive program, which involved 4 hours of group lessons and 2 hours of private lessons everyday. Despite being called "super intensive", it never felt this way. The classes were low pressure, interactive, fun, and flew by everyday. Freddie and Zaida, my teachers, were both incredibly friendly and willing to help with anything I needed. Within a month, I was conversational and having great conversations with my host family. Without a doubt, I learned more in one month at Tico Lingo than I did in 3 years of high school Spanish. In addition to the classes, Tico Lingo also had a great social scene. There were social activities everyday after class, as well as a weekly social/conversational practice with Heredia locals. If you're ever bored, there's no shortage of things to do around Heredia. I recommend Tico Lingo to anyone of any age who wants to learn Spanish. During my time there, I met students of all ages, 18-65+. Don't let age or fear keep you from doing this. Tico Lingo is seriously worth it.

I have been at the Tico Lingo Spanish school in Heredia, Costa Rica for the past five weeks and have one more week of study remaining. I am 64 years of age and retired. I came here as a beginner who knew a tiny bit of Spanish and understood very little when listening to others speak the language.

Considering that I grossly underestimated the scope of learning a new language and have been humbled by how big a project it is, I can still emphatically state that my experience here has greatly exceeded my expectations in every way.

This school is fortunate enough to employ some extraordinary individuals. Head of Spanish, Freddie Fariña, is simply a brilliant linguist and teacher. His ability to understand the English language in more detail than most native English speakers has made the inevitable confusion that arises from fundamental differences between these two languages remarkably easier to understand and navigate.

He is simply the best Spanish teacher I’ve ever encountered.

The other professors at the school are all highly qualified and effective as well and through some optional private lessons I have had the delightful experience of studying under most of them.

The support staff, especially Yenifer in the front office who is the heart and soul of the day to day operations, all combine their personalities with those of the faculty to create an environment that is welcoming, supportive, and always fun.

The range of students here is delightful, from many young adults, middle aged folks on up through old guys like me, with everyone interacting together in friendly and respectful ways. It’s a great atmosphere. I have made several friends who will remain my friends for the rest of my life.

My homestay experience has also been more than I could’ve hoped for. I can only speak for my particular hostess, Sandra, but the food has been delicious and my freedom to come and go as I please has never been a problem. Her home is lovely with an indoor garden, it’s open and airy and I feel completely at home here.

The school was founded about five years ago by a young American named Christopher who, along with his friend Freddie Fariña has done a remarkable job in assembling his staff and creating a lovely environment.

I chose the school for number of reasons before knowing any of the people there. Primarily, I wanted to be in a safe environment where the temperature was not excessively hot and where there were fewer tourists who might contaminate my environment with English.

The town of Heredia in Costa Rica sits at about 3600 feet in altitude on the Leeward side of the mountains thus enjoying temperate weather and a dryer climate. It is remarkably comfortable here. The small city of Heredia has it’s downtown at a 10 minute walk from the school and is a half hour by car from the international airport. It is remarkably safe and friendly, with clean streets and lovely people with lovely parks and a very cool market place.

I miss my wife and look forward to returning home but I have every intention of returning here for another six weeks of instruction. I have at least quadrupled my Spanish abilities during this time and although I still have far to go before I can understand native speakers easily, I now know that that goal is within my reach. I highly recommend the school to anybody looking for a positive experience in learning Spanish. I will be back.

A once (or twice or thrice...) in a lifetime opportunity to study with amazing teachers, be surrounded by compassionate people and experience cultural immersion. What I loved was the personalized attention and the support of the staff. This suits my learning compared to a larger institution. The level of instruction was fast paced but allowed adequate time and practice for learning. Love, love the people here.

The community surrounding the school is safe; the people are warm and kind. The central mercado has wonderful food and there's a huge farmers market every Friday.

My 8-weeks at Tico Lingo flew by! I loved the people, the classes, the learning environment, and my homestay. I really recommend it to anyone who would like to learn Spanish quickly and organically. Classes are very well balanced between speaking, writing, reading and grammar. My weakest area was speaking so I was very pleased to have the confidence to speak the language by the end of my programme.

I instantly felt part of the family at my homestay. I received a delicious breakfast and dinner everyday and got to practice my Spanish with the family at mealtimes. I hope to keep in touch with them back home in the UK!

I loved getting involved in the activities and tours they had on offer at the school. I signed up for dance and cooking classes with my classmates and had so much fun.

During my time here I fell in love with Costa Rica and I really didn't want to leave - I felt like I made some long-lasting friends at Tico Lingo too! Pura vida chicos muchas gracias por todo!!