Program Reviews

This course serves as one of the best decisions I have ever made. Through Wayne's dedication and engagement I was able to find a deeper understanding and appreciation for teaching EFL. Wayne was also absolutely outstanding in helping me find a job using my TEFL certification. He is a delight in his patience, positivity, and boundless love for teaching and providing opportunities for others to grow as learners and educators. It was an honor to be his student and a privilege to have had such an incredible opportunity to grow as a professional.

Let me just start by saying the teachers are excellent. They are under paid and have to wear a uniform as compared to the English teaching instructors and they are still willing to teach. The Spanish teacher enjoy their students and made me feel positive about my learning a new language at 59 years old.
The housing is very inconsistent. You can not be assured that you will have any real interaction with the family. The company pays them $10/student/day so you can't blame the families. The food is minimal like one egg, one piece of toast and some fruit for breakfast. Dinner is usually beans, rice or piece of potato and veggies. Eat your protein at lunch.
The volunteer programs are questionable. You pay to volunteer and you can't be assured where the money you invested goes to. Three friends volunteered at a school for only 2 hours a day and only had a white board to work from. They supplies the materials for the students. The fees to volunteer are $680/week. The medical volunteer is more expensive and I am not sure of the hours but it is not a full day.

It was such a great experience here with Maximo Nível Costa Rica. I scheduled this program on a whim 5 days before my program started. Even with such little time, they made me feel very comfortable with traveling alone to a foreign country. They picked me up from the airport, brought me to my host house (even though it was need up being 2am… plane delays), and welcomed me with a proper orientation the following morning.

It was so easy to make friends through Maximo, whether it be to hang out at the facility or go out and explore what the city had to offer. The volunteer experience itself was great. I taught English to people in a drug rehab center, and our students were incredibly nice, wanted to learn, etc.

This was my first time ever doing a solo travel abroad trip and I would certainly recommend it to anyone. You really feel like a local living in the city with how it’s set up, but you’re also given the knowledge and tools to navigate that so you feel comfortable. I’ve made so many great friends that I’m sure I’ll keep in touch with. I’ll definitely be doing something like this again in the future. Thank you Maximo Nível!!

¡¡Pura Vida!!

This trip was the opportunity of a lifetime. I wanted a reason to return to Costa Rica and this was the way to go! The Maximo team executed things flawlessly from the airport pickup, to the site visit and showing us how to get to and from our sites, to the amazing Spanish classes. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to give back to an amazing community while getting an amazing cultural experience as well. Make sure to plan on bringing an umbrella, drinking gatorade, and being ready to jump in at your site!

I am so happy I decided to take this course and I am even more lucky to have had Wayne Summerbell as my TEFL instructor. He was meticulous when it came to making sure we had grasped the concept before moving on. He was funny and kind and extremely helpful. And although it was a very intensive course, he made fun all the while. And now thanks to him I have a job lined up in July teaching in Costa Rica, where I can continue to put my TEFL training to good use. All in all, Wayne did an amazing job, and he will continue to so in the future.

I had an excellent experience with the TEFL program in Manuel Antonio with Maximo Nivel. Wayne is an amazing instructor who led us through the comprehensive and challenging material in a fun and engaging way. He was always well-prepared for class and available for extra help as needed. The course required hard work and discipline to complete all the assignments but was 100% worth it... and I still got to enjoy plenty of beach time in beautiful Costa Rica. I learned a lot and feel equipped to work as an English teacher in the future. Thanks, Wayne and Maximo Nivel for the great experience!

I‘ve had a great time in Costa Rica participating in the TEFL programme May/June 2023 with Wayne Summerbell as my TEFL teacher. Even though I am teacher in Switzerland and already teach English as a foreign language, I‘ve learnt a lot and had new experiences teaching adults at Maximo Nivel. I like that this course offers a lot of pracical teaching traning. Wayne has a great way of modeling the technics of teaching English as a foreign language, and always provided helpdul feedbacks after our practical teachings.
Thanks a lot for this great experience. I‘m going back home with a mot of new ideas and many wonderful memories.

I am very happy that I participated in the May 2023 TEFL course at Maximo Nivel. I had the absolute pleasure of studying under an amazing teacher Wayne Summerbell. I have been out of school for quite some time and what I thought would not be too difficult was in fact, very challenging. However, Wayne delivered the material in an interesting and fun way. His enthusiasm and creativity never waivered throughout the course. Wayne was always available after class to answer questions or to assist with homework. He prepared me in every possible way to become a successful English teacher. He made me feel confident that I was getting a quality education. The constant support from Wayne in and out of the classroom really pushed me to complete the heavy course load. I highly recommend this TEFL course to anyone looking for a quality course to teach English abroad.

The workers on the construction site are very open and funny people and the days go by incredibly fast. You definitely get the feeling that you are making an impact and help the people. The staff from Maximo come and visit the project regularly and are very nice. You do lots of different tasks and have a lot of variety so it does not get boring.

I am very happy that I participated in the April-May 2023 TEFL course at Maximo Nivel. The instructor, Wayne, prepared me in every possible way to become a sucessful English teacher wherever I go. His extensive experience in the TEFL world made me feel confident that I was getting a quality education, and that I will be able to conquer any challenge ahead of me. The constant support from Wayne in and out of the classroom really pushed me to complete the heavy course load, and the course was sufficiently challenging and informative. I highly recommend this TEFL course to anyone looking for a quality course to teach English abroad, or have the absolute pleasure of studying under an amazing teacher.