WorldTeach - Volunteer Teaching in Costa Rica - Past Programs

Name: WorldTeach - Volunteer Teaching in Costa Rica - Past Programs
Brand: WorldTeach
SKU: 29189
Rating: 4.82 (39 reviews)

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Location

Costa Rica

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Program Details

Teaching Practicum

Job Placement

Pricing

Starting Price

3000

Last Updated: Sep 20, 2017

Last Reviewed: Jun 14, 2018

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About Program

WorldTeach's volunteer program in Costa Rica, established in 1989, is their oldest continuously running program. Volunteers work with WorldTeach and the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) to provide Costa Rican students the opportunity to learn English. Volunteers teach in rural elementary schools as well as in the only two public bilingual elementary schools in the country. In rural areas, the students wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to learn English in school even though it is an official school subject. At the bilingual elementary schools, volunteers make an impact by working with local English teachers to provide integrated instruction to students who live in areas economically fueled by tourism, and thus where there is a high demand for English language skills. Volunteers have the option of serving for an entire academic year or for a summer.

Yearlong program: January through mid-December
Summer program: late May / early June through mid-August

This program is no longer offered. View more programs from WorldTeach.

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Program Reviews

4.82 Rating

based on 39 reviews

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Rating Spread Teach TEFL

5 rating 87.18%
4 rating 7.69%
3 rating 5.13%
2 rating 0%
1 rating 0%

Benefits 4.95
Support 4.95
Fun 4.8
Facilities 4.85
Safety 4.9

Instruction 4.65
Support 4.65
Value 4.75
Academic Rigor 4
Job Assistance 3.75

Showing 25 - 32 of 39 reviews

I had a fantastic experience. I felt supported prior to departure as well as once I was in country. The host family and school were vetted and prior volunteers led orientation. I would recommend this program to anyone looking for a meaningful oversees experience that does not require imposing political/religious views on the host community.

As a World Teach volunteer in Costa Rica, I learned so much. I felt incredibly supported by World Teach and learned so much from the other volunteers throughout the year. I miss the challenges and excitement of living and teaching in a different country.

My time in Costa Rica was wonderful, I cannot say enough good things about the program. Prior to leaving, WorldTeach has a comprehensive survey that helps with placement so you get an experience that meets your expectations. For example, in my case I knew that although I wanted an adventure, I didn't quite want to live the whole year without running water. My mother also had me request a telephone in the house, she couldn't go a year without being able to contact me haha. Both requests were accommodated. I had worked with children in the past but had no official training experience so the first month of training was extremely helpful as far as coming up with a curriculum for the year. I was placed with a wonderful host family who was picked by the volunteer the year previous. I still keep in touch with them! I also want to add a comment about the in country support. Our field director was always available and went above and beyond. She was able to help with big things like doctors and bank accounts as well as small things like, the best way to send and receive care packages. Overall, I felt that WorldTeach was organized and supportive. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and the people are excited and eager to learn English. Besides teaching in a small rural elementary school (my official assignment) I was also asked to tutor high school students and start an adult class. I participated in the town's all girls soccer team and was welcomed by the community. As a last note, as a young woman traveling on my own I also felt safe in Costa Rica. I often traveled to visit other volunteers or to go to the beach since I lived in the mountains. I was able to navigate the public transportation and quickly learned the dos and don'ts. I highly recommend the program and especially Costa Rica!

I spent a year living in rural Costa Rica, teaching English, learning Spanish and enjoying what I could of the famously relaxed and friendly culture. Day to day I would teach English in the morning, plan classes and relax in the afternoon and have a hearty dinner with my host family before turning in at 8 PM - yes you read that right! Did I mention we woke up almost every day at 5 AM? Yes, it was early to bed and early to rise, but I was never better rested than when I lived in Costa Rica - that's still 9 hours of sleep an evening.

Highlights of my year were tasting Costa Rican food, journeying into San Jose for breaks from the slow country life, visiting other teachers at their sites for mini-breaks, learning Spanish, having fun with my students and pushing them to make breakthroughs with their English.

I absolutely loved the laid-back atmosphere of Costa Rica. It was a great change of pace to have so much free time and to be able to revel in that by relaxing and watching the grass grow. There wasn't so much pressure to fill my every waking moment with activity and it was a great change of pace. I also really loved the food! Now some people may tell you that Costa Rican cuisine isn't that distinctive, but I really loved the millions of ways I ate rice and beans, fresh fruits and veggies and farm fresh eggs. It was delicious. And, my students were amazing. They were fun, funny, warm and genuine. Maybe we weren't setting the world on fire with our English classes but we had fun and I feel like it was a great growth experience for everyone involved.

I will say it was really challenging to live with some of my students. To be honest I should have been more cognizant of the fact that I am an introvert and need some alone time everyday to unwind and recharge, but I didn't factor that in when I was in the process of placement. It was hard for me to spend all day in class with the kids and then have to go home with them when all I wanted was some alone time to digest what had happened that day. There was also the added pressure of living with parents of my students. Costa Rican parents may have a reputation of being very laissez faire, but my host mom was super involved and I felt a lot of pressure to live up to previous teachers and a lot of self-doubt that I wasn't quite meeting her expectations. I think it's really important to think about these matters when you are getting placed. In hindsight, I realized that part of what I loved about my work before and after Costa Rica was being able to leave work at work and keep good boundaries about not bringing it home - that was something I should have considered and perhaps requested living with a family without such close ties to the school.

All in all though I would highly recommend WorldTeach Costa Rica to any and all - it's a great experience that will change you forever!

What would you improve about this program?

I don't think that my Spanish skills improved as much as I was hoping while I was there and I would have benefited from more language training during orientation and ongoing classes as well.

The journey to Costa Rica was adventuresome and rewarding. I had the luxury of having been previously acclimated to the Country as I am married to a Costa Rican and had spent much time there already. The training in Orosi was wonderful. Again, I was already a teacher, so the teacher prep part of training wasn't necessary for me, but the language training was fantastic. They also did a fantastic job with cultural responsiveness training.
The placement was wonderful, I couldn't have asked for a better pueblo than Cerros Arriba. All in all, a great experience!

I participated in the Costa Rica program in 1991. It was a very challenging but rewarding experience for me. Today I practice corporate law in one of the Twin Cities' largest law firms, where I'm also a partner and a member of the firm's Board of Directors. I can say without a doubt that my experience as a WorldTeach volunteer has been instrumental in giving me the skills (primarily patience, passion and persistence) to succeed in the workplace. To this day, I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me by WorldTeach. Assuming the program has only improved since 1991 and you're a person that is self-motivated, tenacious and positive, WorldTeach is worth looking into, as it will pay lifelong dividends.

I wouldn't trade my world teach experience for anything. They supported me in my scary wildlife encounters and encouraged me to get out and explore the country! I got to experience teaching Spanish speaking students and learned to communicate in ways I never imagined.

What would you improve about this program?

I think the high cost is a deterrent.

I spent a full school year in Costa Rica, working in a 300 person rural community in the mountains. It was absolutely everything I was looking for! I requested to be as rural as possible, with a host family, where no one speaks English, and this is exactly what I got. I taught grades K-6 every day to 40 students, and spent my weekends going on local hikes, playing in the river with my host family, or helping my host mother cook. I was immediately accepted into the community and have already been back to visit! WorldTeach offered me support but it was definitely a time to teach myself how to tackle daily obstacles and problem solve on my own. I still look back on my year in Costa Rica as one of the best of my life.

Questions & Answers

How do you apply?

Hi Candace, You can start applying here--- http://www.worldteach.org/site/c.buLRIbNOIbJ2G/b.6150583/k…

By Mallory Meiser on November 6, 2015

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I want to preface this by saying that I was never the best student. In high school, many of my friends and I could easily do well in classes simply by attending, paying attention, and doing well on the tests. I never truly developed study skills, time management skills, or even great reading/writing processes because I could, fairly easily, bang out my assignments and get good grades.

When I got to college (UMass Amherst), it was a slap in the face—not to mention a “party” school. After a disappointing first semester, I spent the rest of my time working to better my academic self. By senior year, I was taking Honors classes, intensive language training, and working in my university’s Writing Center as I pursued my degree in English.

All of this was great, and I knew I wanted to pursue grad school, but I also felt that the past 4 years had been so selfish: it was all about me; it was all about finding the work-social balance for myself. How could I use these skills to give back (before becoming even more self-absorbed in grad school)?

I was developing teaching skills through tutoring and knew that was a path I’d like to take. I had a decent base of Spanish language training, so it made sense to look for a volunteer opportunity that could mesh these 2 interests. I started by googling opportunities to teach abroad and came across World Teach, which didn’t have the 2-year commitment of the Peace Corps and had other attractive qualities like in-country training and support. I read everything on their website and considered the program cost (I believe it was around $4900 at the time), and I put together my materials to apply.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

World Teach started assisting me before I was even accepted! Part of the application process included an interview with a former WT volunteer, and the time spent in her home talking about the joys and challenges of teaching abroad really helped with my mindset and expectations! Also, before leaving, all of the volunteers in my cohort were in touch via email. I made 2 friends before even leaving – one ended up with the same teaching assignment as me, and the other was “my person” and still a friend to this day!

WT assisted with everything – from visas, setting up bank accounts, and placing us with host families. They provided a month-long training session that had time for language, culture, and teaching. They also provided in-country support (field directors), so if there were ever any issues, you had a direct contact that could physically be there within a day.

The only things I really organized on my own were the major flights – the first to Miami where I met up with the group, and we all flew to CR together; the flight home was at our own discretion as well as the transportation for in-service meetings (a cheap bus ticket).

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What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

One piece of advice I’d give someone going on this program would be to pay attention to the training material on culture shock/the culture curve. Each person is going to have their moments of “this is wonderful, how could I ever leave?!” and “this sucks, why did I sign up for this?” Understanding how this works and what you need to take care of yourself when the inevitable low moments rise is a great learning experience, and knowing that it will all eventually even out is a great comfort!

In my placement, I saw poverty and racism and the issues tourism can bring when your culture has certain values. I also experienced crime in a way I’d been much sheltered from before. It’s not all sunshine and roses, even though that’s all you’ll see at first. Any company is going to highlight the good things, which does and should outweigh the bad, but just be prepared for the challenges.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

On an average day, my work schedule would be to eat breakfast with my host family, teach in the morning, go home to eat lunch, and sometimes teach in the afternoon. There was A LOT of downtime! This was filled mostly with going to the beach every day. Eventually we made friends who we’d meet up with.

There was also a Spanish-language school nearby, so I exchanged English lessons with the teachers for Spanish lessons, which helped with things like proper grammar that can be hard to pick up when speaking. I spent a lot of time playing with a first-grader (my host sister) and was lucky to live in a town with options for nightlife and such. I read and journaled for “me time” and traveled a bit around the country. The nice thing about my placement was that it is a vacation spot, so there were always opportunities for visitors!

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I had never lived farther than an hour from home. While I had traveled, I’d never been immersed somewhere like this before, and, in 2008, things like WiFi and smartphones simply weren’t prevalent in CR. My biggest fear was that I’d be missing and missing out on so much at home – family, friends, and a year’s worth of happenings.

At 22, I can see how those fears could be present, but when I got home... things were pretty much the same! It’s a whole year, but it’s also just a year. This program worked especially well because you left after New Year’s and came home before Christmas, so there was plenty of time pre/post to catch up. The older you get, the more you realize how fast a year goes by!

How does a long-term traveling abroad experience impact your life/career today?

Like myself, the majority of the volunteers from my cohort do not have careers in elementary education, nor did they come in with intentions to have this type of career even though that was the teaching assignment for this program. I felt that I wanted to pursue a PhD and didn’t really see how this experience would be applicable, but it didn’t really matter for reasons I’ve already stated.

The skills you learn from living (and teaching) abroad are applicable to so many career paths. And if you can’t see/don’t care about the connections to your work, I genuinely believe these types of experiences will make you a better person!

My experience abroad not only gave me something to write about in my grad school applications, but it gave me diverse ways of looking at the world. It gave me inspiration for working with multilingual students and students who are feeling their own culture shock at the university.

The hard work of being an “immigrant” to a new country, having to learn the language, learning how to manage a classroom and work with people from different cultural backgrounds all impact the professor I am today even though I don’t specifically/explicitly teach or research things related to my year abroad.

Moreover, the relationships you build – whether with your family, community members, or fellow volunteers – will forever impact you. I’ve only been back to CR once, and my familia tica visited the U.S. once, but I know I have a “home” there, and I can’t wait to go back. My Spanish skills are now rusty at best, but sign me up for some rice and beans, salsa dancing, and pura vida :)

Casie Czapski

2011 Alum

Morgan Patkos

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Flynn Doran

Program

WorldTeach - Volunteer Teaching in Costa Rica - Past Programs

Flynn Doran was a Spanish and History major at Carthage College where she graduated in May 2009. Traveling has always been a strong force in Flynn’s life and she spent a year abroad in Cadiz, Spain while in college. After college, it was inevitable that she would go abroad again and therefore became a WorldTeach Costa Rica volunteer in 2010. She moved to Chicago after leaving Costa Rica and began a Master’s program in Cultural and Educational Policies Studies at Loyola University Chicago and in the final stages of its completion. She began working as the WorldTeach Costa Rica Field Director in August 2012 and is enjoying La Pura Vida more than ever.

Teach English in Costa Rica with WorldTeach

What makes teaching in Costa Rica with WorldTeach so special and unique?

Flynn: Teaching in Costa Rica is special in many ways. One thing that is special is our type of placements. Volunteers are placed in rural communities and rural Costa Rica is like no other place in the world. There is a strong culture of farming, family, drinking coffee, and spending time with other community members. This makes the teaching experience fun and always interesting. Another way that teaching with the WorldTeach program is unique is the curriculum that volunteers use in the classroom. The Ministry of Public Education has an English Curriculum, which our volunteers follow. However, there is a certain level of autonomy in terms of the classrooms and teaching methodology. This provides teachers a good structure but also allows them freedom to explore different topics and techniques in the classroom. What also makes teaching in Costa Rica special are the students. They are so eager to learn and are very loving. This is not to say that there aren’t behavioral problems, however, the students genuinely appreciate English class and their teachers.

Did you teach abroad? If so, where and what inspired you to go?

Flynn: I volunteered with the WorldTeach Costa Rica program before coming back on as the Field Director. I was inspired to go teach abroad first and foremost to provide English education in an unreached area. The notion of being able to provide an entire community with exposure to English was very exciting. Besides being able to provide this knowledge to my students and community, I was also inspired to go for the experience. I did not have a background in education, but had always been interested in education and wanted to give teaching a try. A third inspiration was the cultural exchange. Since it is an abroad experience, that aspect of cultural exchange was exhilarating for me.

What should teachers know about the classroom and workplace culture in Costa Rica?

Flynn: The workplace culture in rural Costa Rica is very relaxed. The school staff is generally very close and views each other as friends. Depending on the school size and amount of staff, there are a lot of staff interactions. There is a lot of joking and chitchatting that goes on, which keeps the environment fun and light-hearted.

The classroom culture is taken seriously but relaxed. Students are expected to behave in class. However, rules are not always well laid out and followed through so students can, at times, get pretty rowdy. But, in the end, the students are sweet, welcoming, and excited to have someone from a different culture come and teach them so they are very receptive. The classes given by WorldTeach volunteers are generally more interactive than other classes so students often times prefer English class.

What can you tell us about the current state of education in Costa Rica? How do you see this changing in the next 10 years?

Flynn: Education has always played a huge role in Costa Rica. The first president of Costa Rica was an educator and felt that a solid, compulsory public education was key to democracy. The government has always made education a priority, however, as with any education system, there are still areas for improvement. In Costa Rica, the focus has been on improving retention rates, decreasing dropout rates, and increasing attendance levels.

Another focus for the Costa Rican education system is English education. English has been a core class in elementary classrooms since 1997 and English language instruction in schools is helping the Costa Rican government achieve its goal of having a bilingual populace by 2017. Also, since tourism is the biggest industry in Costa Rica the knowledge of English is necessary for employment and well-being. WorldTeach volunteers help immensely in obtaining this goal since we teach under-served students in schools where there are no local English teachers and thus exposure to English would not occur without our presence.

What is one piece of advice you would offer someone considering teaching abroad in Costa Rica?

Flynn: Be open, patient, reflective, and understanding. With these qualities and a good sense of humor, you can handle anything that comes your way while living “la pura vida”.

Location

Location:

Costa Rica

Currency:

Costa Rican Colón

Weather:

Jan-Mar

83 F / 67 F

Apr-Jun

85 F / 69 F

Jul-Sep

85 F / 69 F

Oct-Dec

83 F / 67 F

Airports:

Juan Santamaría International Airport

( SJO )

Limón International Airport

( LIO )

Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport

( LIR )

A pioneer of ecotourism, Costa Rica draws many tourists to its extensive series of national parks and other protected areas. Costa Rica began reversing deforestation in the 1990s, and they are moving towards using only renewable energy. Head to the cloud forest, relax on the beautiful beaches, or visit a coffee farm.

About WorldTeach

Thank you for your interest in our organization. Recognizing that the world of global volunteerism has shifted considerably, our Board of Directors has decided to take a pause in order to think strategically about the future of the organization and to re-calibrate as necessary and feasible. WorldTeach was founded in 1986 by a group of Harvard...