Spanish Immersion Program in Costa Rica

Learn English at Instituto Estelar! Simple as that. I can’t begin to describe how much progress I made studying Spanish at Estelar and the crazy thing is it was only for a week! I had Caroly as my teacher and she was beyond helpful. Overall, she was an outstanding teacher and it really showed in her lessons as well because they were always really fun. I mainly enjoyed the open discussions and how engaging the lessons were which were then supplemented by games and extra-curricular activities! The games were directed to learning topics that we had previously covered but also common conversational Spanish that really made me think outside the box. Aside from improving in my Spanish I also felt that I was much more confident coming out of the program and the biggest plus was being able to converse more with the local Ticas. I thoroughly recommend taking Spanish courses at Instituto Estelar Bilingue, you won’t regret it. Thank you all that you did for me.

An excellent experience!! It was my first experience of an intensive Spanish class and I loved it. My teacher was very helpful and made the classes very conversational. My experience with my teacher was great, it was really interactive. She was always willing to answer my questions, even after class. She really explained everything well and assigned a reasonable amount of homework to complete, which was great practice. It was awesome, it was great to interact with younger students and start to see their progress. Playing games while incorporating english was a great way to see progress within the students.

Both teachers Caroly and Maryln were great because they had such a good attitude about teaching. I was very happy with pace of the classes because I found it challenging. I learned alot in the short stay I had here and believe this has alot to do with how great the teachers were. Club A was Beyond my expectations: a truly unforgettable, rewarding experience! My host parents were awesome. They were very accomadating and hospitable. They only spoke Spanish to me which was awesome!

I did not expect to get to learn Spanish through games as well as casual conversation. It was a pleasant surprise and I hope you continue to have more games! Caroly es lo mejor! Me encanta hablar con ella y la tarea era suficiente para mi nivel. I liked the activities I went to (Mae and the finca) but I wish there were more options, especially to other places. The chocolate farm was the best!

La segunda semana del programa, la profesora Merlyn fue maravillosa. Me gusta que las clases fueron muy conversacional y que ella no diera recomendaciones de cosas para practicar nuestra español afuera de la clase (por ejemplo, nuevas canciones, programas de la televisión, y películas). A veces deseaba que usáramos el libro mas. Me encanta la clases de cocina. Caroly es una maestra fantástica. Tambien Merlyn es un gran guía de tour. Deseaba que hubiera mas actividades. Mi familia es maravillosa! Hablamos en español cada día y la comida es riquísima. Mi mama Tica Annia es un gran cocinera y ella y Luis siempre me hicieron sentir comodo y parte de la familia

Marlyn was very engaging. She did not strictly follow the book. She would go off of whatever topics we were discussing. What I liked most about Marlyn is that she would always encourage me to converse with her in spanish. She made it very comfortable for me to practice my spanish. I had a lot of fun in her class and I can not believe how much I was able to learn and retain! The classes were very informal but it was fun to practice my spanish.
Very friendly staff always willing to help when you need it. They helped me rent a car and arranged transportations for all my trips.

Ania was amazing! She always wanted to please me and cook food that I like. I love that she did not speak English. I remember the first day I could not understand her at all. Now I am able to have a conversation with her. I am grateful for her hospitality.

The class was wonderful. I came to Costa Rica without any knowledge of Spanish. My instructor was able to evaluate the progress of the class and teach us according to our progress. She used games to help us learn the language which made learning more fun. She was also very flexible in accommodating our needs. The school was wonderful at organizing activities for us. They helped us rent a car when needed. They were so nice, helpful, and friendly. I highly recommend my hostfamily, Luis and Annia. They are such a sweet couple.

I am very happy with this program. I have loved having Merlyn as my teacher and learned alot especially since I was in class alone and it could be geared to my needs. Yo amo Spanglish y tiempo con otro gente. Estudiantes de ingles están interesante en viajando y muy interesante. The second week started with a lot of confusion on my part with Spanish. I was ready to give up on Tuesday but after writing out my frustrations for myself I turned a cornerand the rest of the week has been much better than I ever expected. It was the low before the high. Stick with it, it is/you are worth it. Better after Tuesday. I was very lost on Monday and Tuesday in class. I mentioned it to Caroly on Wednesday and she complimented my ability and then made it more clear which is really all I needed.

Caroly encouraged myself and my classmate to engage in class activities. Always open to answering my questions, and was always willing to explain in another way if i did not understand. We got through alot of content throughout the week and we were able to this in a very interactive way.

Yes she made the class one by always incooperating different games in which we able to practice vocabulary, pronoms and putting sentences together using both forms of the past tense. I can finally say I have a much better idea how to use both past tense now.

This week I had a great time participating in the cooking class, where I was able to participate hands on as well as practicing my spanish. Food was delicious. I was able to participate in a music class, which was also a lot of fun.

I always have lots of questions in terms buses, directions around liberia, or about meeting new poeple. Everyone has always been very helpful.
My Tico family experiece has been great, always offered 3 meals, house is always clean, I also get my own privacy. I am lucky because I erally get to improve my spanish there because we only speak spanish and its great.