Our Spanish language school in Samara is a mid-sized school established to offer all the advantages of an intensive Spanish language program at a beautiful Pacific Costa Rican beach campus.

Our school is in a beautiful, new beachfront building overlooking the ocean, with gardens leading straight to the sand. Each classroom has AC and full audio-visual equipment. Occasionally, teachers take students outside the facilities to hold a conversation hour in our rancho, the tropical gardens, or on the beach under the shade of a palm tree.

Our professors are university qualified and credentialed to teach Spanish as a second language. They have all been certified by our Professional Development Training Program, and regularly participate in ongoing seminars, both in Costa Rican and abroad, in order to remain abreast of current methodology trends and teaching concepts.

Classes are conducted entirely in Spanish, providing students from all over the world with a complete and intensive learning experience.

In addition, you have the opportunity to come to know Costa Rica, its traditions and its rich cultural heritage by participating in our daily cultural and extracurricular activities.

Our Spanish program in Costa Rica uses a combination of immersion teaching methods centered around the Communicative Approach. Our aim is to enable students to really express themselves in the language.

You can choose between:

Course 20h
4 lessons a day in a small group from Monday to Friday
Classes run from 8:00am to 12:00pm or from 1:15pm to 5:15pm. Students are informed of their timetable after their entrance exams. Schedules change every week.

Course 20+5h
4 lessons a day in a small group and 1 hours private class per day
Private lessons are available in the afternoons.

Classes are conducted entirely in Spanish, and use the Communicative Approach as the basis for instruction. We emphasize student participation, conversational skills and educational activities, within a framework that teaches you not only the necessary grammar, but also how to converse and be understood in real-life situations. Hands-on experience, role-plays, games, music, interviews with locals, and intensive class-work support your language acquisition goals, helping you become quickly familiar with and comfortable in the language. As you advance, you will begin to study Latin American history and culture, read selected literature from the region, and participate in debates, write essays, critique films and generally refine your language skills as you expand your cultural knowledge.

Groups range from 1 to 6 students, the average group size being 3 to 5 for most of the year, except during high season (January to February and June to August), when 5 to 6 is the norm. When classes contain only 1 student, we reserve the right to reduce contact time to 3 hours per day in order to maintain academic program consistency.

Our core Spanish program consists of 12 different levels, from complete beginner through advanced. After these have been completed, students continue with six additional levels of high-advanced to superior level Spanish, which develop upon the literature used in lower levels and intensify work towards full proficiency in the various areas of language acquisition. Also covered at these levels are complex field projects, current events, linguistics, regional language usages and Costa Rican history.

In addition, we have specialized courses for those who wish to study specific topics such as business, medical or media Spanish.

Sámara is a hidden tropical paradise on Guanacaste's Pacific coast, boasting a superb coral reef and kilometers of unspoiled sandy beaches.

Sámara provides an ideal location for surfing, kayaking and safe swimming.

Away from the sand, Sámara is ringed by primary and secondary forest that is home to a huge variety of wildlife, including monkeys, toucans, ocelots, iguanas, scarlet macaws, parrots, and more.

The nearby Nicoya region provides a wonderful opportunity to see remnants of Costa Rica's indigenous Chorotega culture, as well as the colonial town and church.

The town itself is a small, local community offering a variety of activities, such as the sunset football games on the beach, eating "bocas" (local dishes serves in small portions with drinks), going to the disco, playing cards, or simply chatting with those who live there. It has a typical Tico character, with a local art gallery on the beach and several ocean-side seafood restaurants and bars. Services available include: internet café, farmacy, laundry, small supermarket, post office, medical clinic, car/bike rental, tour services, beach wedding planners, nature exploration, sports facilities, etc.

Each month we have a new activities calendar of special events and a variety of fun excursions, which are accompanied by a staff member and in which we encourage all our students to participate so as to promote social interaction with the locals. These activities include special dance or theater shows; soccer games; discussion groups; live music; discos and more.

LATIN DANCE CLASSES: From Monday through Thursday students have the opportunity to participate in classes where they will learn salsa, merengue, cumbia and marcado, the most popular dances in Costa Rica. This enables them to go out to discos with confidence and interact with Costa Ricans.

LECTURES: We hold periodic talks that cover a wide range of subjects and inform students about topics such as the ecology and environment of Costa Rica, Latin-American literature and politics. In the nearby National University, a permanently scheduled lecture series on the indigenous culture, peoples, and languages of Costa Rica is available to our students.

COOKING CLASS: Once a week we teach students how to make typical Costa Rican dishes, a nice skill to take home and share with friends and family!

LATIN MUSIC CLASS: In this weekly class students learn traditional and modern songs from different Spanish-speaking countries, analyzing their meaning and cultural significance. Feel free to join in and bring your own instrument!

FILM NIGHT: Once a week we show a film in Spanish, an entertaining and practical way to practice the language.

CUENTA-CUENTOS: In Sámara, we combine Latin music with cuenta-cuentos (story-telling in the Latin oral tradition)

YOGA CLASS: Yoga and other exercise classes are given several times a week on the beach at Sámara.

FIRE-DANCING: We also offer Poi (fire-dancing) at our Sámara campus.

Homestay
Homestays with local families include breakfast, dinner and laundry, for 7 nights per week, and are a wonderful introduction to rural Costa Rican customs and lifestyles.

Families live within walking distance of the school and beach (bikes may also be rented for easy coming and going).

Hotels
If you prefer, there are several hotels within walking distance where we make your reservations. We offer several hotel options for those interested. Hotels include different amenities, based on rates and availability. Most have AC and/or swimming pool. Prices are based on double occupancy; singles will have a surcharge applied. Hotel rooms all have private bathrooms with hot water.

Note: The hotel option is based on a 5-night occupancy: Sunday through Thursday nights, leaving Friday. We also offer a 7-night option for a higher price, which includes weekend nights.