Costa Rica » Spanish Service Adventure

Costa Rica: Spanish Service Adventure
Interact on a deeper level, and take your language skills to the next level. Designed for high school students, our GLA Experiential Language Curriculum TM seamlessly integrates language into many aspects of the program, including community service and cultural activities. Our teachers use classroom time to prepare students to speak the language as they interact with local people. We currently offer Language programs in Spanish and Mandarin.

On this adventure, you’ll learn all of the important Spanish words for: climb, zip, hike, swim, serve!

Highlights

Volunteer at an impoverished school
Learn Spanish while serving a community
Camp on the beach and learn to surf
Zip line through the rain forest – check out this video!
Raft and inner tube down roaring rivers – check out this video!
Hike to the crater of a volcano

Overview

This is the best way to learn Spanish – in a fun and meaningful way in beautiful Costa Rica! Costa Rica is home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, mountains and forests, and also to warm and friendly people.

Over three weeks, catapult your Spanish skills to the next level while volunteering at rural schools, studying the language, and enjoying the breathtaking biodiversity of Costa Rica. In our free time, hike to waterfalls, try your hand at surfing, snorkel through crystal blue waters and coral reefs, and relax on pristine white sand beaches.

Read student blog : GLA Alum Emily Creek writes about things she learned in Costa Rica.

Community Service

You will volunteer every weekday morning at an elementary school in a rural, impoverished area teaching arts, crafts, sports, or basic English. This will allow you to help the children of the community while practicing your Spanish language skills. Most importantly, you will be a friend and role model to young children who have limited exposure to the rest of the world.

Check out a feature article on GLA Costa Rica Alum Max Gehring and his contributions to the local community.

Hands-On Learning

There’s no better way to learn Spanish than living in the country and practicing with local children, while being coached in the classroom by experienced teachers. Designed for high school students, our GLA Experiential Language Curriculum™ seamlessly integrates language into many aspects of the program, including community service and cultural activities. Our unique combination of classes and community service allows beginners to quickly learn the basics and gives advanced speakers the confidence to use their skills with native speakers. Students will have 45 hours of language immersion. In addition to language, you’ll also learn about Costa Rica culture through workshops on dance, cooking, music and social issues.

Adventure

We will explore a wide range of places in Costa Rica. We’ll visit a local coffee farm and learn about the production of organic coffee. During the weekends, we will do some excursions that will get your adrenaline pumping. You’ll zip line through the treetops of a rain forest, spend a day at one of Costa Rica’s pristine beaches, visit a volcano and whitewater raft down a beautiful raging river surrounded by nature. We’ll even camp out on the beach one night and scout for breeding sea turtles.

Lodging

The GLA Home Base is a large house in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. It is near the Pacific Ocean. Students will be staying in gender segregated rooms with three bunk beds, linens, fans and a private bathroom for each room. In the afternoons, you can cool down after a day of work in our swimming pool. The GLA Home Base is used exclusively by our staff and students. Food will be hearty and healthy, locally grown food that consists of meats, beans, rice, vegetables, and fruit.