Learning Spanish in Costa Rica?

Question

I am moving to Costa Rica for 3 months and need to find the cheapest spanish school out there!!

Know any?

Answer 1

If you were going to rappel off a cliff would you want the cheapest rope? The cheapest *anything* is not always the least expensive. If I were you I would instead budget an amount of money that I was willing to spend for spanish lessons and then find the very best school I could,where ever that was and pay them for as many lessons or weeks as your budgeted money allows and make the lessons my main priority. If you are serious about learning spanish there are several other much better and less expensive alternatives than Costa Rica but they require more effort and might not be as much fun.

If you are going on a trip just to hang out,have some fun and also tell your friends back home that you took some spanish lessons then you can simply do a web search of all the schools in CR and just pick the one that advertises the lowest price because you apparently don't care about the quality and content of the lessons or whether you are being taught by someone with a grade school education that might have been your waitress at the corner cafe in SanJuan if you had arrived in CR 2 weeks earlier.Some of the best con men I have ever run into in central america own and operate language schools(and still do) If you are ever able to understand spanish you will overhear the people in other countries talking about americans and what ignorant  and uninformed travelers we are.

Here's something to think about,If you could speak spanish, you could travel in *any* spanish speaking country in the world and you would pay half of what a non spanish speaking traveler would pay for the same goods and services. Personaly I think that makes learning to speak and understand spanish about the most important priority if you ever want to travel back to or beyond CR in the future.

Question is: Are you going to do what it takes to be a smart,informed spanish speaking traveler or are you going to continue to be fleeced by people eveywhere you travel in the spanish speaking world?  

Good Luck whatever you choose to do.I would encourage you to fully investigate any recommendations you get from people here on the answers boards.Always do your own research.

Answer 2

Hurray for you!!! The cheapest place to learn spanish is in Orosi de Cartago.  The school is called montana linda language school.  It is inexpensive, the teachers are really engaged, and I spent some of the best parts of my trip in this little town.  Also, the owners of the school (Sarah and Twoine) are very active in the community, so there are a lot of opportunities to meet Ticos and practice spanish with them.  They are incredibly friendly and you will not find a better place to learn, I certainly didn't.  Also, the school offers special rates at the hostel while you are taking lessons.  You can even get breakfast and lunch included for a small fee. The hostel also arranges day trips to volcanos and cloud forests.

The town is small but an active and friendly community. There is an ATM right next to the grocery store and plenty of new places to try for dinner.  Tia's vegetarian restaurant is GREAT!!! (I'm not a vegetarian, but I seriously considered it after enjoying her food)  San Jose is a short bus ride away if you want to take in a futbol game, shop, or venture out to different parts of Costa Rica.  I added all of the extra info, because it really enhanced my learning experience and helped me incorporate what I was learning into forming new friendships and developing a deeper sense of "the real Costa Rica."  If you decide to go there, I hope that you have as much fun as I did!!! Pura Vida!

Answer 3

Forget schooling, tutoring.  Get the University of Chicago Spanish English dictionary, a phrase book and a grammar book.  Just start in.  

You may want to try a cheap DVD Spanish lesson that lets you hear your own pronunciation.  But I do mean cheap.  Any course will work if you actually use it.

It is hard to get used to the idea but to start you do not need to reach some level of competence, just start babbling and pointing.  

(The few language schools I have seen here are really horrible, almost frauds.  They start you with baby talk and then keep you there forever.  You will do much better in bars and nightclubs.)

Answer 4

There are so many you might as well go and check several out.  In general the schools in San Jose are the cheapest and any school near a beach is expensive.  In addition to San Jose, I have heard that the schools in Cartago and Turrialba are a good buy.