Teaching English in Costa Rica, 2003 Version

Teaching English in Costa Rica
When, Where, and How to Land a Job
By Laura Dulin
I have lived and taught English in Costa Rica for almost three years. Costa Rica is a lush tropical country with kind and hospitable people. In Costa Rica, you can experience their own unique version of traditional Latino culture, dance to salsa music, and escape to tropical beaches.
For most Costa Ricans, speaking English is a way to get hired or move up the ladder in their jobs or careers. This means that many people need to know English, and there are many ESL jobs available.
If you are considering teaching English in Costa Rica, here are a few tips that might help you along the way:
Search For the Job While in Costa Rica
First of all, there are not many schools that will hire you from overseas. However, many will hire you on the spot if you walk into their office, speak English, have a college degree (in anything), and have an agreeable personality.
Proper Appearance
Costa Ricans place a high value on appearance, and a neat, professional appearance will make a good first impression during an interview. Men should wear slacks and a nice shirt to an interview, and women should wear nice pants, or a skirt. The laid back, “I just got back from the beach” appearance turns Costa Ricans off. They even have a special derogatory name for the way gringos look when they are traveling, “gringos cucinos,” which means “dirty gringos.”
Certification Not Necessary
As for TESOL certification, it is necessary only if you want to land a job from overseas. The majority of schools here do not require certification, but it is a plus, and might result in a slightly higher starting salary. Most language schools in Costa Rica do not provide enough TESOL training to develop a comfortable feel for teaching English to natives. Therefore, getting some sort of TESOL training before you arrive in Costa Rica is recommended.
When hiring, schools usually make no differentiation between a TESOL degree that was earned in two weeks on the Web and cost $200, and a course that cost $4000 and was completed in six months. Having a Master's in TESOL will impress the employer, but you will not be paid extra for your expertise.
Income
On average teachers make about five US dollars per hour. You may be paid a few dollars more per hour to teach private classes to businessmen. Teaching around 20-25 hours per week for a private language school, I usually make about six hundred dollars a month. Although this sounds frighteningly low, I can actually get by on that income just fine. In Costa Rica this represents enough money to live in a basic apartment, go out for beer after work, travel to the ocean a few times a month, and generally enjoy life. It is not enough to save money or pay off big student loans. Most people come here with a few thousand US dollars to spend, which enables them to travel to nearby countries in their free time.
When to Look
It is also important to look for a job at the appropriate time of the year. In Costa Rica, the school year begins at the end of January and ends in early December. The best time to be looking for work is at the beginning of January. It does not hurt to get a resume in at the beginning of December such that they have you in mind when they are hiring. Teachers are often hired at the last minute.
The tendency for last-minute hires is due to the fact that schools do not wish to offer jobs until they know how many students are actually enrolling for the new year. After the beginning of the year, the next big opening for jobs usually comes in April, when some North American teachers quit and head back to the states for the summer. A few jobs become available in September, but after September, it is difficult to get hired until the following January.
Type of School
Other important factors to consider are the type of school that would be the best fit for you, your length of commitment, and where you want to live. Most paid teaching jobs in Costa Rica are located in the Central Valley. San Jose, the capital city, has many schools, but it is noisy, polluted, and can be a little dangerous until you know your way around the city. There are some schools located in smaller surrounding cities such as Heredia, Alajuela, and Cartago. I consider these areas more livable, but it all depends on where you feel most comfortable and what is most important to you.
I have worked for three schools since I arrived in Costa Rica in 2001.
The first school for which I worked, The Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center, offered a volunteer position teaching English and environmental education to children in the northern, rain-forested region of Costa Rica.
Pro-English in San Jose was the second school for which I worked, and there I was able travel around the city and give private English classes to businessmen. This job was the most lucrative, but it was stressful to travel downtown all day, and the noise and car exhaust could soon drive anyone crazy.
I now work for Intercultura in Heredia. The school is well run, and has a supportive community of teachers to rely upon. It also offers teachers free Spanish classes.
In sum, Costa Rica is a great place to teach. The students are laid back and friendly. Weekends it is easy to jump on a bus, and lay out on a tropical beach with warm water, while drinking the cold, cheap beer. Costa Rica’s most famous saying says it all: “Pura Vida” or "life is good".
For More Information
Below is a long list of schools that you can contact for further information. John Hall was the person who gathered most of this information. Please mention his name if this information leads you to a job at one of these schools.
Please note that there is only one telephone area code for all of Costa Rica, and it is 506.
Intercultura, www.interculturacostarica.com.Teach children to seniors ages 10-60 in small classes of 6 to 8 people. They offer free Spanish classes and prefer a year-long commitment.
Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center, www.learningcentercostarica.org.The SCLC is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing low-cost or free education to the rural community of Sarapiqui and surrounding areas. Volunteers work in a rainforest setting with children and adults.
Academia Europea, Paseo Colon, San Jose.With branches in other Central American countries already, they have finally entered the market in San Jose. Academia Europea teaches English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German. Low pay for their teachers but may be a good option for travelers without teaching experience. Tel.: 248-2360, 248-2221, 248-1214.
Academia New LearningGuadelupe, a suburb of San JoseTeach business English. They are a new private language institute. Tel.: 283-385; newlearningcr@racsa.co.cr; www.newlearningcr.com.
Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano Barrio Dent and La Sabana (eastern and western sides of San Jose).A reputable language institute that is part of a long-established and respected culture and art center. Teach kids and adults. Holds a national conference of English teachers once a year. Maintains good academic standards, but offers a low salary. Provides work visa. Requires all teachers to go through its own training program first, which the teacher has to pay for. Tel.: 207-7500; Fax: 224-1480; mercadeo@cccncr.com, www.cccncr.com.
Centro Linguistica ConversaProgram is in Paseo Colon, on the western side of San Jose.This is a language institute with intensive and semi-intensive courses and good academic standards but low pay. Tel.: 221-7649; Fax: 233-2418; info@conversa.net; www.conversa.net/ingles.
English Academy of Costa RicaPaseo Colon, on the western side of San Jose teaches company classes. Competitive salary, but low academic standards, and is poorly administered. Tel.: 256-7556.
ESP, English for Special PurposesRohrmoser (western San Jose)Teaches business English. For 18 years now, Heidi Smith and Bonnie Brown have been teaching English to professionals here in San Jose. They have the highest standards of professionalism of anybody in town. You usually need to have a Master's degree to work for them, and you must be legally eligible to work in Costa Rica. Sometimes hire teachers for special projects funded by the American Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Embassy, etc. Contact Heidi Smith at heidiesp@racsa.co.cr or Maria Araya at quiraya@racsa.co.cr.
English Learning Centers, Universidad Interamericana Carretera a HerediaMostly university classes, but also kids and company classes. Averages 12 students per class. Full-time and part-time positions available. Only hire Americans and Canadians. Prefer experienced and qualified teachers. ELCs (there's one in Panama City as well) are private language institutes attached to this privateuniversity. The school is a good option for those wanting to live and work away from downtown San Jose. The school provides an excellent starting salary of 2555 colones per hour. I taught a few classes there last year. The only negative is that management does not have a teacher-friendly attitude. Good teachers and Academic Directors there in the past have been fired for spurious reasons. Tel.: 261-4242, ext. 261 (to speak to the present Academic Director); Fax: 261-3212; elccr@uinteramericana.edu; www.uinteramericana.edu.
Escuela de Idiomas BerlitzSan Pedro and Santa Ana (suburbs of San Jose).Local franchises of the international Berlitz chain for adults, kids and features company classes as well. Low pay. Tel.: San Pedro: 253-9191, Santa Ana: 204-7555; Fax: San Pedro: 253-1115, Santa Ana: 204-7444; www.berlitz.com.
FundatechSan JoseVery low pay, very large classes. Do you really want to know any more?
Idioma InternacionalNow located near Hospital Mexico in La Uruca, San Jose.The company classes are run by an energetic American - Brian Logan. To work for him, you must be qualified, experienced, serious about teaching English, and willing to commit for a year. Training sessions twice a month. Starting salary was US$7.50 per hour (more than 2500 colones per hour) last year, and was paid in U.S. dollars. I worked for him and it was a good experience. He sometimes has a short-term position available for a female teacher in a five-star Guanacaste beach hotel (room and board free, US$500 stipend per month)! Tel.: 290-1229, 290-1227; Fax: 256-9863; Email: info@idiomacr.com; www.idiomacr.com.
Ingles EmpresarialLomas de Ayarco, an eastern suburb of San JoseCompany classes. Frequently looking for teachers. Often recruits through Dave's ESL Cafe. The staff does quite a bit to help you get settled in Costa Rica. Training provided. Has some classes outside of the Central Valley sometimes (e.g., Guapiles); Tel.: 283-0175, 272-2000; Fax: 272-4676; teachingeslcostarica@hotmail.com; www.ingles-empresarial.com.
Ingles IndividualRohrmoser, a wealthy western suburb of San JoseThe small language institute holds classes of less than six students. Also teaches children and Business English. The school requires irregular hours for teachers. Easy teaching. US$4 - 4.50 per hour. Tel.: 231-7294.
Ingles Sin Fronteras, S.A.San Pedro (eastern suburb of San Jose), Heredia Company classes. Difficult to get info on this low profile company! They used to go by the name "The New International Language Institute". Run by women only, they have classes in Classes are taught in San Jose, Heredia, Alajuela, etc., and even some outside of the Central Valley at times. Salary is lower than at their major competitors. Tel.: 265-8084, 389-9157, 283-6137.
InLingua de Costa RicaSan Pedro, eastern suburb of San JoseLanguage institute with less than 12 students per class, company classes. Tel.: 225-8758
Instituto Americano de Ingles and SpanishSan Jose, San Carlos, and SiquirresTeaches conversational English to kids and adults as well as providing. Company classes. For those of you looking for work outside of the Central Valley, you might want to phone their offices in San Carlos and Siquirres. Tel.: San Jose: 258-1482. San Carlos, C.Q.: 460-7570. Siquirres: 768-8284.
Instituto BritanicoLos Yoses (eastern San Jose)A long-established language institute with a good academic reputation. The School offers some company classes as well. Full and part-time available jobs teaching English are available. Full-time consists in a one-year contract with four weeks holiday. Split shifts. Semester system. Provides work visa. Low pay, and if you work for them you cannot work for others. Often recruits teachers by means of Dave's ESL Cafe. For those of you looking to get qualified, they offer the CELTA (Certificate of English Language Training to Adults) course in January and July. Tel.: 225-0256; Fax: 253-1894; britanico@amnet.co.cr; www.institutobritanico.co.cr.
Instituto CepiaSan Jose, near Plaza de la CulturaSame management as the Instituto Shakespeare.
Instituto de Cultura y Lengua CostarricenseCarrillos de Poas, AlajuelaTel.: 458-3157; Fax: 458-3214; www.iclc.ws.
Instituto de Idiomas GEOSEscazu"Flexible schedules, nice work environment, attractive compensation", they advertise. Escazu is a wealthy suburb of San Jose. Apparently they were set up by GEOS Canada, not GEOS Japan; geoscr@racsa.co.cr.
Instituto ShakespeareCentral San JoseTeaches computers and English. Pay and academic standards are very low. Tel.: 257-1415.
Intensa, Instituto de IdiomasBarrio Escalante (suburb of San Jose) and Alajuela The language institute is well known for its 3-hour intensive English conversation evening classes. Good academic standards, but very low pay. Tel.: Escalante: 281-1818; Alajuela: 442-3842
InterCulturaHerediaThe school is a private language institute. Good academic standards and resources. There are free dancing, cooking, and Spanish lessons. It has a "good atmosphere", one teacher told me. Pay, though, was lower (in 2002) than in San Jose: 1570 colones per hour for weekday classes, 1700 colones per hour for weekend classes. Must have degree and/or TEFL/CELTA. In U.S. and Canada, phone toll free for info: 1-800-205-0642. In Costa Rica, phone 260-8480; Fax: 260-9243; www.interculturacostarica.com/efl_program.html.
Natural Learning Corporation NLCSabana SurA new age approach to learning English! Sleep learning, superlearning, etc. Teaches students, professionals, civil servants... well, anybody willing to buy into their unorthodox methodology! Tel.: 291-1123; idiomas@racsa.co.cr; www.nlccorp.com.
Pro-English, Executive Language TrainingZapote (eastern suburb of San Jose)Company classes. They hire almost all year round. Competitive salary. I have been working for Pro-English for more than three years now, and have at times been regularly scheduled for over 30 hours per week. Phone Monica Salazar in the mornings to arrange an interview. Their website is an online job application form. They will assist you in obtaining the work visa. Tel./fax: 280-6053, ext. 11.
Sarapiqui Conservation Learning CenterA volunteer teaching position. Teach English in the jungle! This one program you participate in just for the experience. Sarapiqui is located in a heavily forested area of northeastern Costa Rica. Teach English to local kids in this remote small town. Lots of frog sounds at night! Regularly advertise on Dave's ESL Café. www.learningcentercostarica.org/home.htm.
Soluciones IdiomaticasCentro Comercial Plaza La Uruka, in the vicinity of Hospital Mexico in La Uruca, San Jose.Teaches English in mostly company classes. Wilford Augustus, who hails from Belize and used to be a teacher himself, was helping Brian Logan run Idioma Internacional last year, but now Wilford has set out on his own. At the time of writing this, he had about five teachers and is still expanding. Pay is good at 3000 colones per hour for company classes, 2500 colones per hour for classes in the Plaza Uruka office. I have some classes with him, and I think that he is a good person to work for. Tel.: 232-9710; Cell: 361-9250; waug@solidiomatica.com; www.solidiomatica.com.
The English InstituteHatillo 6 (southern suburb of San Jose)Teaches conversational English for individuals and companies. Tel.: 296-2613
Universal de IdiomasAvenida Segunda, San JoseA language institute. Teaches company classes as well. Low pay and low academic standards; Tel.: 223-9662.
Universidad de Costa RicaSan PedroBest English program of any university in the country. They may cccasionally hire foreign professors of considerable merit. They also offer a Master's degree in Teaching English.
Universidad LatinaVargas Araya, San PedroThis well-known high-tuition private university appears to be aiming to turn itself into a bilingual university. You usually have to be legal to work in Costa Rica to work for them. Foreigners are more likely to be hired in the English Speaking Center than in the English Dept. The pay in this new program is very good for Costa Rica at 4000 colones per hour. Inexperienced, unqualified teachers need not apply. Be forewarned though that students get exactly what they want at ULatina, and they have been known to demand (and get) the heads of good teachers that make them work too hard. Phone Academic Director Dora Hernandez at 207-6036; dorherpo@ns.ulatina.ac.cr.
Universidad Libre de Costa RicaBarrio California (between San Jose and San Pedro)A small private university that started an English language program in 2002. At that time, they were doing some company classes as well. They were looking for native English speaking teachers, preferably experienced. Classes in San Jose and in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste! The latter is the cultural and transportation hub of Guanacaste, and is where many buses can be picked up to go to those beautiful Guanacaste beaches. The university was developing courses for the staff of the big hotels in Guanacaste. Most classes in San Jose. Pay: 2500 colones per hour, but if you end up teaching the classes in Guanacaste, you will have your transportation (and accommodations, if necessary) paid for as well. Speak to University President Carlos Paniagua Vargas, or Indra Calderon. Tel.: 233-8196; alevargas27@hotmail.com.
Laura Dulin has taught English for the past three years in Costa Rica and holds TESOL Certification and a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and Literature. She has traveled throughout Central America, Europe, and worked six summers on a boat in Alaska. She plans to seek a Master's degree in TESOL and use her Spanish fluency to teach English to immigrants in California while pursuing a writing career.
Web Editor Note: Due to the overwhelming volume of email received as a result of this article, Laura suggests visiting the web sites for the resources listed above as well as the ESL Cafe's Forum on teaching English in Costa Rica for other specific information.