My wife and I are huge fans of the Intercultura program. One or both of our daughters have gone for the last 3 years. Our second started at 13 years old. (They are now in 10th and 12th grades).
Both girls loved the program. They made a lot of friends, participated in lots of fun activities, and learned a huge amount of Spanish. Each daughter has been taking honors or AP spanish in school since and has done exceedingly well -- which I attribute in no small part to their Intercultura experiences.
I have not been to the Heredia campus, but am very familiar with the Samara campus. My wife and I own a condo in a nearby town, and I have gone to the Intercultura program myself in a midlife quest to learn espanol. The Samara school is literally right on the beach, and the people who run it are wonderful with the teens -- caring and watchful without being overbearing. While our girls are at the Intercultura and we are back home in Atlanta, my wife and I are very comfortable with them being at the school and walking around the town of Samara. There is easy internet and phone access, so they can reach us anytime.
As an aside, several children of friends, as well as one adult friend, have gone to the Intercultura on our recommendation. To the person, each has been very pleased.
As for suggestions, I would consider sending your daughter for more than two weeks, if feasible and if she wants to go. Due to other summer commitments, ours girls have only done the two-week stints supplemented by third weeks of family vacations in Costa Rica. Kids who stay at the program longer seem to learn that much more espanol while continuing to have a good time. (Actually, come to think of it, our older daughter may have done 3 weeks two summers ago.)
Response from Intercultura Costa Rica Spanish Schools
Dear Todd,
Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience with us. We are very sorry that your one week of classes was a less-than-satisfactory experience. In view of your comments and in addition to our weekly staff evaluation we have re-assessed the two teachers you were assigned to during this week. The first one has had an action plan implemented after further investigation of your comments and will be reassessed for suitability upon completion of a further professional development training program. As for the second professor, she is usually in the top tier of student evaluations with a consistent 95% or higher rating from students, so if you could let us know exactly what the issues were in your first two days of class, we will be better able to assess the situation and decide what action may be necessary. Our teachers do in fact undergo a rigorous training and selection process, and have been very highly evaluated by accrediting institutions within the US university systems, including UNC, University of Washington, Duke, and others, so we can assure you that this is not a normal occurrence with Intercultura’s teaching staff.
Again, we apologize that your Spanish learning experience didn´t turn out as you had wished, and will make sure that whatever went wrong with your program is not repeated, as academic quality and student satisfaction are both subjects are extremely important to us.
Best regards,
Your Intercultura Team