www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I visited Jaco beach for a week in december. Had a blast , did at least 1 sometimes 2 chicas from the Beatle Bar every day.The girls I were with are in the 7 to 10 range. Pete had the dry heeves and a soar head and shoulders by the third day. I think I would have had a better time if I could speak spanish. Does anyone know of spanish courses in or around San Jose, or Jaco. And a reasonably priced apartment. Thanks in advance, Raw.

These topics have been covered often. Use the search option. About a decade ago I stayed at Scotland Apartments and took a Spanish course around the corner. The apartments are nice, the lady who takes care of them is great, but if you are at all homophobic, it may not be a good place for you.

There are many Aparthotels in town where you can get an apartment for less than a regular hotel room. Look at the Tico Times and possibly AM Costa Rica for ads. Many other options can be found with a tiny bit of research.

Thanks, has anyone heard of HotelCalif in Escazu, 300.00 a month furnished. Ive found a school there that offers a 4 week course for 560.00, Thanks in advance,Raw

hey Raw:

Let me know how you make out finding a spanish class. There were some posts earlier (several months ago).

As far as the Beatle Bar goes, did you ever run into a colombiana named Andrea? Long blonde (bleached) hair. 29 years old. May still have braces. From medellin? Let me know.

Thanks

Check out a couple of detailed posts (do I ever do any other kind) that I made on the subject of language schools a while back:
http://www.costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2196&start=19
http://www.costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4708&start=14
The most important part of the post was the following which provides detailed reviews on language schools from all over the world:
http://www.123teachme.com

IPAI has a language school in Jaco ($655 for 4 weeks including free surfing lessons, rated good) http://www.ipailanguageschool.com/index.html.

The 2 schools that they had listed in Escazu were ILERI ($640 for 4 wks, rating average) and the one Raw must have been talking about, Academia de Idiomas Escazu ($140/wk, rated poor). Escazu is a nice area but nowhere near the night time activity you probably seek. You'd be better off at Jaco if you wanted to be near the beach or in San Jose itself, where there are several fine schools.

As for schools in SJ, I went to the Costa Rica Language Academy (CRLA $650 for 4 weeks, rated excellent in value and very good in quality) http://www.learn-spanish.com/. It is located between the Gulch and San Pedro (a short walk from the San Pedro Mall and less than 5 minutes by bus from the Gulch). I highly recommend this place.

Another school in SJ with very good ratings is Forester http://www.fores.com/($960). Two more with good to very good ratings are Academia Tica (sorry no links or exact pricing) and Instituto de Español Costa Rica http://www.professionalspanish.com/# ($733). Still a few more with good ratings: http://www.conversa.net($1600), http://www.cosi.co.cr/index.shtml($265/wk), http://www.intensa.com/($777), http://www.educaturs.com/ aka ICAI ($560) and http://www.ilisa.com/($980).

Unless otherwise specified the sample prices listed are for 4 hours of group lessons 5 days a week for 4 weeks w/o any homestay. Most include such extras as free latin dance or cooking lessons. If you want more or less weeks or hours, or want private lessons or homestay, etc. the price will vary and you should check out each to see what is best for your own personal situation.

As for apartments, check out this recent thread http://www.costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5570&start=5. The board favorite is Linda Vista located in Calle Blanco on the north side of town and within fairly easy reach of the Gulch(http://vistalinda.webcindario.com/frame.htm $375-425/mo). It is not as convenient in terms of buses to get to the schools near San Pedro. Scotland Apts. are better located for that being just east of the Gulch (A1 C27 223-0833), but they're a little pricier. As I recall the nicer apartments there were over $600/month. Also a little pricey and across from the mall are Apartotel Los Yoses http://www.apartotel.com/ (225-0033) and a few blocks south Apartotel Don Carlos (C29 A6/8 221-6707). In San Pedro near UCR are D'Galah (234-1743) and Apartotel The Palm Trees (253-0182). Downtown and closer to the Gulch (near the National Museum actually) are Apartotel San Jose (222-0455) and Apartmentos Lamm (A1 C15 221-4920). Another couple I got from the Forester website are the Tairona Inn http://www.taironainn.com/ just north of the Mall but extremely pricey starting at $1290/mo. and thus probably won't interest anyone. However another one was VERY INTERESTING (to me at least). Pension de la Cuesta http://www.suntoursandfun.com/lacuesta/index.htm (A1 C11/15 256-7946) is that quaint looking little purple wooden house some of you may have noticed on Ave. 1 just past the MasXMenos. I have no idea how chica friendly it is but their rates for 1 person are only $16-20/nt (plus tax of course) and even lower weekly rates are available and it is only 3 blocks from ground zero. This certainly deserves further research.

Of those places, I've only checked out myself the first 3 and ending up staying at the Linda Vista. The other places I got from an old listing (except for the pensione and Tairona, which I added) and don't know if they're even still around or if the numbers are any good. Perhaps someone could give them a try and let us know what they find out. I suspect if you can get ahold of these places you will find their rates are similar to Scotland and that LV may still be your best deal for some place reasonably close to downtown.

Monthly rates for furnished 1 bedrooms in the city typically start at close to $400. You can find listings in http://www.economicos.com under "Bienes Raices>En Alquiler>Apartamentos. But, not speaking spanish, that won't do you much good. Ads in the Tico times, while in English, will be a bit pricier. In general, finding a regular furnished apartment that will rent by the week or month (w/o a lease), in advance of your trip will be exceedingly difficult. The "apartotels" will be more practical and probably be your best bet. They'll be cheaper than hotels but not by a lot. Of course, it also might help to keep your costs down if you were going with someone else and could split a 2 bedroom place.

Another possibility is to see if you can negotiate a lower rate for extended stays at a regular hotel. I believe the Castillo (http://www.hotelcastillo.biz/ weekly rates 20% off regular rate) and the Gran Via (http://www.hgranvia.com/ing/index.htm) both do this and I imagine some of the other places mentioned on this board might as well, particularly if they're running less than full during the off-season.

Prolijo, thanks a million for the info and links. Im leaning towards the language school in Jaco. Thanks again,Raw

Trust me... four hours a day is WAY TOO MUCH. The brain turns off after about an hour, anyway.

Plus... this whole idea of immersion. You're living in the country, so you're already immersed.

My recommendation (from experience) is to pay for one week at a time.

I went to Idiomas in SJ... most boring week of my life.

I'm enrolled in a class in San Diego but because I'm always on the road I never get to go. I'm in Florida today. You're right the brain does shut off but I think two hours is a good time for an attention time. It's less than a football game or a movie. What's the story on the school in Jaco?

Prolijo,

I just want to say that you are a credit to the board. Your detailed answers are not just a help to the one who asked, but all of us. Thanks for being selfless here with your time. You are appreciated!

KS

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Tex,
Everybody is different. For some, even an hour is WAY TOO MUCH. Zef thinks 2 hours is fine. I actually went for the 5 hours/day 4 days/wk course and for the most part didn't feel too overstrained by it. Sure, some days I was ready to get out of there by mid afternoon, but other days I actually stuck around for the free conversational practice class, dance class or cooking class. A good school with good instructors will make it interesting and bearable if not quite fun. You went to Idiomas, which got a "poor" rating and which might have had at least something to do with why you found it so boring.

Also, practicing comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, learning grammar and conjugations and adding to your vocabulary, etc. is not the same thing as hanging with your buddies at the BM happy hour speaking in english, or using the handful of words you know with a chica to negotiate a deal before going back to your room with her and speaking primarily in the language of love. Occasionally engaging your waiter in a brief exchange of comments or asking a guy on the street directions is not the same thing as forcing yourself to carry on an extended conversation without relying on yours or theirs english. "Living in the country" for a week at a time and hanging out in GRINGO Gulch, where it is easy not to speak any spanish is not the same thing as immersion. For many of us its just too easy to avoid REAL immersion unless we have some sort of structured program that forces us to really exercise what we learn.

As I said before, everybody is different. Some people do not need a class to learn or practice. They can force themselves to sit down for an hour a day everyday for weeks on end with Pimsleur or some other program AND then go out and practice what they learn in EVERY conversation they have for the rest of the day (which is all immersion really is). Others find it too easy to fall back and rely on what they already know (namely their english) even in a country where Spanish is the primary language (since many of the Ticos we deal with speak at least some english as well) and therefore need a structured program to force them to work their minds and tongues.

Your idea about signing up for a week a a time first is not necessarily a bad one though, especially if you don't know which category you will fall into or how you will react to your course of study.

Zefross, I was with a Columbian named Andrea 4/9in Jaco. I just uploaded a couple of pics. Let me know if she's the one. No braces and a bit of a wild cat she told me 28.

You see signs for language instruction everywhere. Most language schools are primarily for teaching English to Costa Ricans. Ticos do invest heavily in learning English, because it is the ticket to good jobs for them.

There are a lot of Spanish language schools, but no real accreditation system exists. That makes it hard to find a good one. The quality issue may be more about the instructional materials than the teacher. Expect to learn from a cheaply photocopied workbook. No matter how good your teacher or instruction is, how much you learn really depends on you.

The schools that actually have websites are usually more expensive, and cater to foreign students, typically American. They may even be set up to offer credits, and if they are, they are probably quite good. I have spent several weeks attending one of them, and it was enjoyable for its student life and atmosphere as well as being a good place to learn.

If you are a more advanced speaker, beyond the stage of learning grammar rules, then all you need is somebody to talk to, somebody with an education and good pronunciation, so that you don't pick up bad habits. You can find private conversation lessons, probably for less than minimum wage in the USA.

I recommend that anyone who can afford it choose private lessons. (Notice that I used the English subjunctive correctly in the last sentence. That's something you will become aware of as a Spanish student.)

Private lessons in Spanish are so cheap in Costa Rica that it is a better use of your money, because you will get more out of them. Take a group lesson and your will end up with the lousy accent of other American students.

Nevada_Doc

OF COURSE, YOU CAN LEARN A LOT FROM THE KIND OF TEACHER THAT CHARGES $50-$100 FOR A WHOLE NIGHT, BUT OFFERS MANY OTHER BENEFITS. SHE'LL BE HAPPY TO SPEAK SPANISH WITH YOU, AND SHE'LL TEACH YOU THINGS THAT ARE NOT IN THE DICTIONARY OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SPAIN.

Doc raised a lot of interesting points. Most of which I agree wholeheartedly with. Some I'd like to emphasize and some I'd like to qualify or add a caveat.
This is absolutely 110% true. It is too easy to fall back on your English ability. This is particularly true when we choose to hang out with and speak English with our buddies at the BM happy hour (or with fellow students outside of class), but is also true when with the chicas to use the english words or whole sentences when our spanish fails us. It is even true while in class (although the teacher will usually rap you on the knuckles with a ruler if you do that just kidding)

Obviously this is the route I took in my search and so can't speak to the quality or the cost savings of going with a smaller more local educator. For me, I guess its like going with G&G. I felt better having it lined up in advance and knowing for sure that I was going to have a quality experience. It may have been more expensive than I could have or should have paid, but didn't seem that way to me (that sounds like the excuse the cien/hr payers use). The problem is how do you know whether a completely unknown private instructor is any good? At least, between reviews on other websites (such as the one I listed above) and the fact that they're "accredited" enough to have their credits accepted by US colleges, one can get some assurance that their money will be well spent on any of the top schools I mentioned. Perhaps, other members can recommend particular private tutors that they know to be good.

Also quite true. CRLA had a very nice atmosphere, with a nice courtyard to hang out in between classes. The other students were quite varied. Only about half were americans, usually old farts like myself. The other half were mostly Europeans, usually young and attractive girls . Add in the opportunities for home stays, dancing and cooking classes, internet access, and the plenty of free time to pursue other "interests" etc. and it was a very nice way to spend my vacation.

I agree that private lessons are better, but they are also usually more costly. Failing that try to pick a school with small class sizes. At CRLA, when I was there, the typical class had just 3 students. Though, I signed up for all group lessons, I was even lucky enough to fall into a "group of 1" on many classes and ended up getting private lessons at the group rate. The other students did hold me back somewhat. OTOH, the private lessons were so intensive that I appreciated the opportunity in the group sessions to sometimes be able to just sit back and listen to the teacher instruct the other students.

I disagree somewhat re: pronunciation. The teachers were constantly correcting our pronunciation to the point that I could easily tell when my fellow americans were speaking incorrectly (the european students tended to have much better pronunciation). Incidentally, I have yet to get a BM chica correct my grammar or pronunciation for me with any sort of regularity even after I implore her to correct me.

Again, 110% true. I learned enough in just a month to be able to feel comfortable enough to do just that. Unfortunately, after I got back to the states I didn't have the opportunity to do just that and have lost a lot of what I learned, but I'm sure most of it will come back to me once I'm back down there.

Here comes the caveat I mentioned at the beginning of the post. If you want "somebody with an education and good pronunciation, so that you don't pick up bad habits" that probably eliminates 99% of the "working" chicas you'll meet as good candidates for teaching you spanish. I've seen that idea floated around here quite a bit including at the end of Doc's post.

I'm not sure if Doc is referring to a teacher that also is interested or willing to provide other benefits or a "working" girl that is also willing to teach you some spanish. It's certainly nice to get it all in one package either way and to learn aspects of spanish not normally covered in formal lessons. But I wouldn't rely solely on this type of arrangement with a "working" girl, unless you don't care about learning proper grammar and conjugations or speaking with a "barrio" accent.

Okay, let me rephrase what I wrote above and put it in context:

First, I am living here, full time. I live in an upper-middle class Tico neighborhood where most of my neighbors do not speak any English. Also, I do not spend much time in the gulch.

My experience has been that most Ticos do not speak English. Occasionally, if you're lucky, you can walk into a store that has many employees and maybe find one employee that speaks enough English to have a basic level of communication with. But most do not. Perhaps 1 of 15 will have a basic level of fluency in English.

So... I agree... once you leave the gulch, you're in a state of immersion.

Your average taxi driver doesn't speak a lick of English, either. Once you get away from the major Gringo hotels.... most taxi drivers speak about as much English as the average American speaks Spanish. I don't know if this has been everyone's experience, but it's been mine.

I had a German girlfriend about 10 years ago who's mother was a linguist and spoke 7-9 different languages. I read (or she read... I can't remember!) somewhere that one's ability to pick up languages has a genetic component to it. Or more specifically--- one's EASE at picking up new languages. (Don't get me wrong... hard work will get you across the finish line, one way or the other)

Personally, I'm a very talkative guy. I talk with everyone. I enjoy learning the language contextually, but hate learning the language from a text book. (Contextually vs. Textually... hmmmm....)

It's been a grind to force myself every night to sit and learn new vocab words from the book-- although I do mentally note the new words I learn everyday in day-to-day interactions much easier and have noticed they stick much better.

Anyway, the next step will be to hire a private tutor. They're super cheap. About six bucks an hour or less. And I don't think you need somebody with a college degree in education, once you've got the fundamentals down. I'm continually surprised at how much my domestica teaches me, just in day to day, "Hey, Dina... did I write this note correctly?" kinda stuff.

I'll stop now. Probably the pain meds talking, anyway.

All the best,
- Rolex.

Texasrolex wrote:



Have lived here for a year and a half and think Texasroles hit it right on the head in my experience.

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