Spanish for Teachers | Total Language Immersion in Costa Rica & Nicaragua
2-weeks total trip length
2-6 weeks in length; you choose!
2-4 weeks in length; you choose!
Spanish for Educators Summer Immersion Program in Costa Rica and Nicaragua!
You will not find a more integrated and supported program for your Spanish language learning needs!
This program is inspired and implemented by educators and for educators. Program planning, host family coordination, language classes and leadership are designed intentionally for YOU the educator! Read what our participants have to say about this program!
Spanish for Teachers Immersion Trip; thoughts from a recent traveler:
I would say that my time in Costa Rica had truly met or exceeded all of my expectations! I came down knowing only a few words, and after three short weeks, I’m leaving with the ability to communicate in Spanish with my students and their parents – what a gift! I’ve also gained so much by being immersed in this culture and truly believe I will be a better teacher in the future because of it.
Read more testimonials here!
Why should I choose Common Ground Spanish Immersion Program for Teachers?
- We offer the best language and cultural outcomes: The primary difference with our Educator Spanish immersion programs is that we weave 4 Spanish language components into your everyday experience to help you learn Spanish for your profession (and general conversational Spanish) through everything you do Mon. – Fri. Here is how we do it:
- You learn Spanish for educators in daily Spanish immersion classes (and general Spanish immersion classes) with native Spanish speaking teachers
- You stay with a local host family so that you’re immersed in speaking Spanish 24/7 and acquiring Spanish as you relate to your host family and experience daily culture in Central America
- You deliver educational topics in our outreach projects to target communities with identified educational needs
- You visit local schools and interact with local teachers
- You can earn Continuing Education Credits and Graduate Level Credits
- You’re not alone: When you travel with Common Ground, you are not on your own. At a very minimum, you have the CGI onsite coordinator with your during your whole trip. Additionally, you will work closely with one of our lead Spanish instructors for at least a portion of your trip. We in country to support you!
- We prepare you before you travel: Preparation is essential for establishing clear expectations for your trip, staying safe while you travel, knowing the day to day plan, and positioning yourself and your Spanish for maximum success on your program. Our custom pre-departure course is an amazingly effective online course that connects you with your fellow travelers and prepares you for every single detail – including culture shock!
- You know where we live: We’re a Colorado-based organization with a clear track record of amazing Spanish immersion programs. You can call us up at any time, speak English (or Spanish), and get your questions answered immediately. That’s worth its weight in gold!
Whether you are a classroom teacher with a high percentage of Spanish speakers, a dual language immersion teacher or a middle school/high school Spanish teacher, our Spanish for teachers immersion program in Costa Rica and Nicaragua is the best way to improve your Spanish over the summer!
Program Objectives: The goals of the Spanish for Educators immersion program are to help you:
- Improve your Spanish communication skills
- Gain insight into education norms and standards in Central America
- Connect linguistically and culturally with your LEP students and parents
- For Spanish teachers: fine tune your spontaneous and “out-of-classroom” grammar and vocabulary
For many classroom teachers, Spanish has become an extremely helpful tool to connect with Spanish-only parents; and the ability to understand families on a cultural level is invaluable.
Spanish teachers benefit as well! It’s easy to get into a rut with your Spanish if you’re teaching the same levels over and over every year. Spanish teachers know that every 3-5 years they should get abroad to immerse themselves in the language and polish their Spanish.
Continuing Education: Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) and Graduate Level Credits (PDU’s) are available for an additional cost for teachers who would like to apply for them.
Lodging: Stay with a host family, in a hotel or in a hostel! In Costa Rica this Spanish for educators immersion program is set in a small city. In Nicaragua, this immersion trip is based in a larger, very colonial & historical city. Your host families in either country will take care of all of your basic needs:
- Provide you with a private bedroom
- Share breakfast and dinner with you
- Make sure that you are as comfortable as possible in their home
We recommend host family stay to complete the 24/7 immersion aspect of the program, your general Spanish conversational skills will sharpen quickly! Of course, you have the option in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua to stay on your own in a hostel or hotel. You will miss out on some conversational Spanish, but if you need your private space, you can certainly get it.
Spanish for Teachers Immersion Classes: Spanish immersion classes are a central part of this Spanish for Teachers immersion program. Spanish classes are held four hours a day, Monday – Friday. You will take a Spanish placement test upon arrival to ensure that you’re working on exactly the grammar topics and vocabulary themes that you need most. As noted above, “Spanish for teachers” can mean a couple of things: Spanish for classroom teachers or Spanish for Spanish teachers. During the pre-travel period, you will define for us which type of Spanish immersion you’d like your classes to focus on.
- Our Spanish for classroom teachers curriculum revolves around classroom management and parent conversations in Spanish.
- Our Spanish for Spanish teachers curriculum could focus on simply refining higher level communicative proficiency in Spanish, and/or it can include a focus on tips and techniques for teaching Spanish back home.
Community Service opportunities: Our community engagement projects give you the opportunity to practice and improve your Spanish in an educational setting and a real life context. Not only will the community service activities help meet the needs of the under-served in Costa Rica, but they also require teachers to be using Spanish in a practical context to meet certain objectives. This is an important piece to your language development and improving your Spanish. We generally volunteer between 9 and 12 hours per week.
