Program Reviews

Coffee and fried chicken. Each smell reaked into the myraid of other oders in Heredia--diesel, bread, cigarettes. I expected Costa Rica to be different from Boston in climate, people, food, I could go on and on, but what differed the most was how everything smelled. On my walk to school, began to associate each landmark with a different smell. Take a left at the bakery when you smell warm bread, walk down the street past the oily fumes of the gas station, switch sides of the street at the pizzaria so you don't annoy the people in the line for the bus...Everywhere I went I began to associate with the smell. In the market, the sickly sweet smell of tropical fruits runs into the wet smell of Turibulla cheese and cement from the workers repairing the floor. The smell of fresh fish wanders into smell of fried plantains making it slightly revolting yet mouth-wateringly appetizing in a wierd way. Even the bank had a smell (money and cleaning spreay from the janitor who went around wiping sweat off the plastic seats from the people waiting for a teller). Every smell was magnified by the warm air and the constant wind sweeping through the streets blowing ash and oder around like confetti in a tornado. One could smell sizzling meat from a local soda (like a tiny restaurant) down at the train tracks where oil and smoke went hand in hand. I know this isn't your typical review of a language program but in all honesty, I had a great time. I will remember the smells and sights for the rest of my life. I encourage you, go book a ticket. Just go. You won't regret this.

It's been a solid ten years since I opened a Spanish dictionary and attempted to break down a language barrier. This January, I spent 4 weeks studying the spanish language at Tico Lingo and could not be happier with my experience. Tico Lingo provided me with everything I needed to learn how to speak spanish and successfully communicate in Central America.

I was placed in a beginner's class with two other students who were at the same spanish speaking level as myself. We reviewed basic vocabulary, regular and irregular verbs, how to conjugate past, present, and future verb tenses, and so much more. Freddy is an incredible professor and knows how to meet the students' needs. I feel so comfortable with my spanish skills and I can actually hold my own in most conversations!

Heredia is a cool city and it really feels like you are learning spanish in an authentic tico spot. My favorite place in the city was the central market which was filled with produce, meats, dulces, and sodas. Most days after class were spent walking around the town and observing the daily hustle n bustle of the ticos. Puedo practicar mi espanol, por favor?

Lastly, I can't rave enough about the Tico Lingo actividades. I loved that weekend tours to local attractions, like volcanoes, city parks, and canopy tours were offered to students. Everyone should definitely experience a dance class with Fleur, the queen of the dance floor. And Friday cooking classes were the perfect way to end the week of immersion learning.

The staff at Tico Lingo set the perfect environment for me to learn spanish and I couldn't be more grateful that I had this immersion experience in Costa Rica!

I was traveling in Costa Rica and realized my Spanish was terrible and that it was probably important for me to learn some and speak some. So, I found Tico Lingo online and emailed them two days before I wanted to start a program. I got a response and was quickly meeting the Program Director are a local café where he led me to my Homestay mom and family.

I immediately felt at home with them! They were so nice and fed me so well!

I took some yoga, dance, and cooking classes, but what I really enjoyed were the Spanish classes with professor Freddy. He and I worked together for two weeks and I really enjoyed his teaching approach. He was clear and worked with the things I needed help with.

Likewise, the rest of the faculty at the school were super nice! Chris, the program director, walked me through Heredia and invited me to different activities around the city.

Overall, I really enjoyed the time I spent in Heredia with Tico Lingo!

My Spanish abilities improved greatly. Freddy taught our class a bunch of grammar and vocab. We laughed a lot and had fun along the way. Dance classes got me up and ready to bust some Latin moves, mastered the plank in Yoga, and I'm still making some of the dishes that I learned in the cooking classes. My host mother was warm and friendly and I got to enjoy some great Costa Rican food! I enjoyed my trip.

Freddy and Chris we extremely awesome! They were both inviting and fun. We became family right from day one. Both my fiancé and I could not have asked for a better experience. We both took the private class together and we learned more than we could've ever imagined. Some of the best times that we had were drain field trips with Freddy as well as playing soccer. Freddy went above and beyond his role as a professor and really showed us what is is like to be Tico!

I can’t say enough about my experience with Tico Lingo. I have studied at 4 other Spanish schools but have never received the amount of support and encouragement that I did here. I really felt that the director, Chris, and my teacher, Freddy, took a genuine interest in my experience here and in my progress with learning Spanish. For me, the fun and supportive atmosphere at Tico Lingo was very conducive to learning the language. I had only planned on staying for one week at Tico Lingo, but ended up staying for 4 weeks!
I really enjoyed the classes-they were very interactive and engaging. I was never bored and the time always flew by. I was so impressed and grateful for Freddy’s patience with me and especially his energy and passion for teaching. I felt that he genuinely cared about his students and wanted to see them succeed. That was very motivating for me.
I stayed with a wonderful family during my homestay for 4 weeks. I highly recommend a homestay-my family was so kind and the homestay was a fun way to learn more about the culture and to practice speaking with locals. Not to mention, the meals were always delicious!
The city of Heredia offered several opportunities to practice Spanish in the markets and parks, and its location made it easy to experience the beauty of Costa Rica during weekend trips.
My Spanish improved immensely and I left with much more confidence in my ability to communicate with others and continue my travels. I am very happy that I found Tico Lingo and highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about learning Spanish! You won’t be disappointed!

Overall Tico Lingo was a great experience and I can't recommend it enough. Travelling alone is always scary, but Chris at the school and my home-stay family were extremely welcoming. The classes focused heavily on conversation. My confidence in Spanish really went up. With the excursions offeres I learned a ton about Tico culture, got to view some of the most beautiful sights the country has to offer, and above all had fun. Anyone who wants to experience Costa Rica and increase their Spanish proficiency should definitely sign up. Pura vida!

On a saturday night, july 25th. I had finally arrived in Alajuela,Cosa Rica. I was so excited to see what the country had to offer and what life is like outside the United States. I remember stepping off the plane and into the costa rican airport thinking "wow this is finally it i am actually doing this."it felt so surreal every little detail was different, from the way the building was desighned to even the smell. I was so excited yet so nervous because it was the first time me and my brother had traveled to another country without our parents. I thought getting through customs and immigration would be complicated but it was quite easy really. Sounds more confusing than it really is. It was around 10 o'lock costa rican time and I dont think it is that big compared to o'Hare so everything went by rather quickly. When we had finally stepped out of the airport to look Walter our driver and a friend of chris, it had hit us. Costa Rica. Nothing says central america like people shouting at you in spanish and reggeatone and latin music playing in the backround. Whoa. This is awesome. And it was farley cool out, around 60s maybe? I had expected costa rica to be incredibly hot since you know, its central america. But it was perfect. We found Walter ( more like he found us) and went to his car. They had reggae stations here, how awesome is that? Crusing theough Alajuela lisenting to.some reggae on our way to start the tico adventure. I will be back for more.

I had always wanted to participate in a homestay program and after speaking with Tico Lingo's director Chris the marriage between classes and the immersion experience sounded perfect. I moved in with my host family and started classes several days after arriving in Costa Rica. Classes were intense as I had not had any experience with studying Spanish since highschool. Going home to a place where English cheats were not available I was forced to pick things up quickly! After a whirlwind of weeks a month of class had already passed. I was understanding full on conversations between my family and being able to chime in with my opinions on car brands, food, and a plethora of other things was truly enthralling. In just a month of hard work and plenty of class I gained a solid base to further grow my Spanish abilities.

When I was looking for Spanish schools in the San Jose area, Tico Lingo's website immediately stood out to me as somewhere I would like to be. The format is easy to use and it was super helpful in finding the exact information I needed. After spending 3 weeks at Tico Lingo I can say without a doubt that I made the correct choice.
The class sizes are very small so there is a lot of one on one time with the teacher. I always felt heard when speaking in class and every student's questions were always answered to the fullest extent of the teacher. By the end of my three weeks I felt my Spanish skills had progressed by years. I learned the most I ever had in a classroom thanks to the amazing teaching style of my teacher Freddy. The after class activities were fun, inclusive and a super good way to connect with the other students and staff. The culture tour is a superb way to explore a bit of the culture and scenery around Heredia. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the places we went and knew the coolest places to show us.
Chris, (the program director) is always ready to help students in any way they need, and is passionate about creating a very comfortable and welcoming environment. I had an incredible experience at Tico Lingo and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a perfect place to learn Spanish.