Teach English in Costa Rica

Quick Facts

Job Qualifications

You don’t need to have any teaching experience to teach English in Costa Rica. You do need:

Required

• A passport from the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand
• A bachelor’s degree in hand in any field – no teaching experience required (A degree IS NOT required for USA and Canada applicants)
• A Native English Speaker

Preferred on case-by-case basis

• Between the ages of 22 – 49 years old
• No major medical or mental health diagnosis or medication in the past 5 years
• No communicable diseases
• No criminal conviction whatsoever (even misdemeanors)
• No visible tattoos, such as on the face, neck and hands

Get Started

Unsure? Get expert advice and guidance

We’ll send you more info, explain the program and answer all your questions.

Program Options

What’s included for each Program Option

Full Program Highlights

• Comprehensive pre-departure support and guidance

  • Getting the necessary documentation prepared prior to departure.
  • Assisting you with all planning, packing, visas, costs, budgets and booking flights.
  • Answering your questions to help ease any anxieties you may have regarding your trip.

• Logistics and safety when arriving

  • Airport pickup and transfer to accommodation.
  • Sim card provided with setup assistance (you’ll top it up yourself).

• A toolkit for navigating Costa Rican culture

  • Cultural Orientation.
  • Social events and meet and greets.

• Practical Teacher Training

  • To hone your craft and ensure confidence before you begin teaching professionally.

• Guaranteed Job Placement

  • At carefully vetted schools.

• An Internationally Accredited TEFL/TESOL certification

  • The knowledge required to teach english successfully.

• A support network of fellow teachers

  • Lifelong friendships and travel opportunities.

• 24/7 In-country support

  • Ex-foreign teachers and local, on-the-ground support staff provide you with personal assistance throughout the duration of your teaching experience.
  • You can rest assured knowing that any queries will be answered such as translation help, legalities, emergencies, travel options or school queries. Someone is on hand.
  • Teacher meet-ups.
  • We check in with you regularly and keep up to date with your teach abroad experience.

• Lifetime Teaching Placement Guarantee

  • Teach somewhere else after your contract and explore new cultures.

• Self-development and advantageous future employability

  • Add teaching abroad to your CV to stand out from the crowd.

Guaranteed Job Placement

We find you a teaching job or jobs to ensure you have the maximum work hours allowed under your visa.

• Teaching philosophy and environment
• Teaching materials
• School code of conduct
• Local staff support and English proficiency
• After school activities and requirements
• Disciplinary processes
• And many more considerations!

So you might find a job but you’ll be unprepared from a teaching, cultural, financial and emotional perspective.

Lifetime Placement Guarantee

• Pay one fee and you’re able to teach in any partner school on your program line as long as you like.
• It’s a once-off fee for a lifetime of opportunities to make a difference in the lives of your students and travel the world in a sustainable way.
• For example, once you’re finished in Costa Rica you can travel over to South Korea or Vietnam and experience a whole new cultural adventure.

Boost your employability

You might think you’re taking a step back by taking a year off but nothing could be further from the truth!

Although you may think it’s a halt in your education journey, you’re actually fast tracking yourself through:

• Learning independence.
• Learning how you react to different situations.
• Learning how to master and grow your confidence in public speaking.
• Learning how to overcome obstacles.
• Learning about yourself through your own personal self discovery.
• Learning how to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.

These would normally take much longer in a normal, sheltered environment and wouldn’t be nearly as much fun!

When you do head back home, you’re not just another resume in a pile of resumes – you are someone different who’s done something interesting and rewarding.

Teaching Placements

Teaching Placement Overview

Teaching Placements

There are three main types of placement in Costa Rica:

Language Academy: language schools (majority adults but with some young learners attending)

Online Placements: Teaching remotely for an online school, which may involve teaching students from other parts of central and South America.

International or Billingual School Positions: Education degree holders should strongly consider coming on the December or July courses, when international school positions are most commonly available.

Language Academies

Local academies in Costa Rica are private language schools where students sign up to take English language courses.

Teachers will work with small groups of students: typically between 4 to 10 students. Evening teaching is most common, shortly followed by morning classes. This works well as it leaves the best part of the day to enjoy the sunshine in Costa Rica.

Teachers will typically work 20 – 30 hours per week. Hours will be mixed throughout the day. Most teachers working at academies will start off with part time hours before moving up to full time hours.

For the first month until classes have built up, teachers may need to supplement with online classes or savings. Pay is hourly, usually from $7 to $12 USD per hour. On average academy teachers will earn around $900 – $1300 USD per month.

Demographics

The most common demographic of English language learners in Costa Rica are young learners aged 5-12 and adult learners.

Professionals: There are many professionals in their 20s, 30s and 40s that are looking to learn English to benefit them in their jobs. These may be people in corporate positions, or in technical fields such as engineers or medical professionals. They are often learning English to gain an extra skill to help them progress in their careers. Some language schools even work with corporations such as Amazon and P & G and teach their students business English.

Young adults: There are many learners that have left high school, but haven’t gone on to university that want to gain a practical skill that will increase their employability. They are people that are looking for a skill that will help them gain employment in key sectors such as tourism.

Young learners: Participants working at local academies will less commonly work with young learners. Most academies have 70% adult learners and 30% or less young learners. Some don’t have any young learners at all.

Online Schools

Lots of teachers in Costa Rica choose to work in online positions full time. This gives location independence and schedule flexibility.

Participants commonly work online for Central American organisations. So they may have students from Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile or elsewhere!

It is common to work for more than one organisation to maximise teaching hours.

Tutoring: There are lots of positions where participants will work one to one with their student. These are often professionals that want to learn English for a practical reason, so opt for one to one learning for a more tailored approach rather than a group class.

Small Group Classes: There are positions with local language schools and Central American organizations where participants will teach small group classes.
There are positions teaching adults and positions teaching children.

International or Bilingual Schools

These positions are much less common but sometimes obtained by qualified teachers.

They generally pay over $1000 – $1800 USD per month. They follow the school year so typically hire in January and need teachers to commit to at least one year.

These positions are much less common outside of January but do come up occasionally. They are great opportunities for qualified teachers or bilingual teachers. Whilst we can’t guarantee them we will endeavour to place qualified teachers taking the course in December in these higher paying positions.

Earning Potential

For language academies and online schools how much teachers earn depends on how much they work.

Occasionally there is a difference in pay based on whether they are working at peak or off peak times and whether the class is business or general English.

Frequency of pay will depend on the school, some pay weekly, others pay monthly! Monthly is most common.

Costa Rica has a lower cost of living than participants may be used to in their home country, however it is not super cheap. Beach areas in particular are more expensive. Pay is enough to cover the cost of living but will not typically stretch to a lot of trips and activities so it is best for participants to bring some savings for these!

Working hours

For both language academies and online positions the hours teachers work will be irregular.

The most popular times for classes are in the evenings and the mornings are also popular for classes. So teachers may work for a few hours in the morning, then log back on in the evenings. This works out well for being able to be outdoors enjoying the Costa Rican sunshine for the best part of the day!

International schools or bilingual schools follow the traditional school day.

Placement locations

There are language schools across the country but the greatest concentration of language schools is in the central valley – one of the most populated areas of Costa Rica.

Most in person language academy placements are in the central region rather than by the coast. We have international school positions both closer to the coast and in the central valley area.

Holidays in Costa Rica

There are 12 public holidays each year in Costa Rica. These are typically, but not always, days off for teachers.

Schools may provide additional paid leave days but this is not 100% guaranteed particularly for contracts less than one year.

Most schools are closed during Christmas and easter week. The exact vacation allowance across each school will differ but rough outline can be found below:

Online Teaching Positions

Paid Annual leave?

• Each school has their own policy. Teachers can generally request time off in advance and as long as they can still work a minimum number of hours in the month (sometimes around 16hrs/month).

Unpaid leave?

• If teachers make an effort to get their shifts up for pickup they are usually pretty understanding and most of the time the shifts get picked up.

Sick leave?

• There is no sick leave. If they have a class they can put it on a pickup board, however if nobody takes it they are liable for it. Whenever they miss a class/shift they have to submit a form explaining what happened.

Academy Positions

Paid Annual leave?

• Paid leave is generally provided on public holidays if the teacher usually has scheduled classes on that date.

Unpaid leave?

• Generally schools will close over the Christmas and Easter breaks for one week. Teachers typically take unpaid leave during this time.

Sick leave?

• Some schools will pay sick leave for the times they were due to work but others will
  not. Teachers are paid hourly without guaranteed hours so sometimes schools won’t pay for hours not worked.

International School Teaching Positions

Paid Annual leave?

• Paid leave is generally provided on public holidays if the teacher usually has scheduled classes on that date.

Unpaid leave?

• Generally schools will close over the Christmas and Easter breaks for one week. Teachers typically take unpaid leave during this time.

Sick leave?

• Some schools will pay sick leave for the times they were due to work but others will not. Teachers are paid hourly without guaranteed hours so sometimes schools won’t pay for hours not worked.

Cultural Preparation

Part of the success of your experience comes from understanding the culture that you’re going to be living and working in.

Our Program Includes:

Pre-departure Support

We assist you with all planning, packing, visas, costs, budgets, booking flights and any questions or information you need. 

Pre departure Support

• We’ll outline the entire process you’ll follow to realise the teaching abroad dream.
• You’ll be provided comprehensive information relating to each step in the pre-departure process and you’ll have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you like, no matter how silly you may think they are!
• We’ll explain and help you get the necessary documentation prepared prior to departure.
• We’ll assist you with all planning, packing, visas, costs, budgeting and booking flights.
• We’ll ease any anxieties you may have regarding your trip and share the positive and life-changing adventures of the teach abroad experience.

Logistics and Safety when arriving

We’ll pick you up from the airport and introduce you to your support team in-country.

Logistics and Safety when arriving

• Airport pickup.
• We’ll introduce you to your 24/7 support team on the ground.
• Transfer from the airport to your accommodation is included for all participants arriving within the designated time frame prior to the start of the course.
• We provide you with a SIM card (airtime and data for your own account) so that you can contact your loved ones back home and your new friends you’re about to make on your epic orientation!
• We provide guidance setting up a local bank account so you can save money on international withdrawal fees. Your salary is paid into your local bank account.
• You’ll get to meet and greet fellow teacher travellers.

A toolkit for navigating your new country

The perfect foundation for adjusting to life in your new country and meeting your fellow teachers and in-country stafff members.

A toolkit for navigating your new country

Our 1 week cultural orientation on Costa Rican culture and language gives you the perfect foundation for adjusting to life in Costa Rica as well as an opportunity to bond with your fellow teachers-in-training and in-country staff members.

Learn foundational Spanish language

We help you with foundational language to help you navigate:

• The bustling markets.
• Grabbing a taxi.
• Ordering a delicious meal.
• Garnering respect from locals.

(plus it’s pretty cool to impress your mates at home or add it to your resume!)

Cultural and History lessons

• Learn from local Costa Rican staff and ex-foreign teachers who have made their home in Costa Rica.
• You’ll understand the cultural dynamics so that you don’t feel like a fish out of water.
• You won’t be making any faux pas or disrespecting the locals.
• How to address locals and your fellow teachers.
• You will know what you can and can’t do in Costa Rican classrooms.

Relevant Cultural Excursions

Excursions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Tour of San Ramón to familiarise yourself with your home for the month.
• Experience the beautiful Las Musas Waterfall.
• Participating in authentic cooking lessons.
• Animal Rescue Center Day Visit, a non-profit rescue center that focuses on conservation, animal welfare and environmental education.
• We visit a coffee farm that produces the coffee that participants will have been drinking on a daily basis at the hostel! Participants will see where their coffee comes from, learn about different types of coffee and enjoy a tasting session afterwards!
• Trapiche Visit (Sugar Cane Mill) o see a traditional livelihood take place in a village and watch traditional sugar cane processing take place. Then afterwards grab a local lunch!
• Costa Rican Cooking Class – learn how to buy food from the markets and cook delicious Costa Rican fare!
• Beach Trip (Optional) – we make reservations for a beachfront hostel on the coast and offer to arrange transportation for anyone looking to head to Jaco beach on the first weekend. This enables participants to experience the stunning coastlines of Costa Rica.

A support network of fellow teacher travelers

In addition the personal assistance and 24/7 support we provide, you’ll also have a support network of fellow teachers.

24/7 In-Country Support

• Ex-foreign teachers and local, on-the-ground support staff provide you with personal assistance throughout the duration of your teaching experience.
• You can rest assured knowing that any queries will be answered such as translation help, culture shock, legalities, emergencies, travel options or school queries. Someone is on hand.
• Teacher meet-ups
• We check in with you regularly and keep up to date with your teach abroad experience.

Have some fun and embrace your new adventure!

Internationally Accredited TEFL/TESOL Certification

There are so many options when it comes to TEFL/TESOL courses that it can be quite overwhelming to understand what’s legitimate and what high quality schools require from teaching staff.

A quality TEFL/TESOL course helps teachers avoid the frustration and pitfalls of being unprepared in the classroom and provides all the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively teach English.

Educational Philosophy

Course Location

Our headquarters are in San Ramón. San Ramón is a quaint city set in the lush and mountainous central valley of Costa Rica. Known as the city of presidents and poets, San Ramón has a significant history with many influential people hailing from here.

San Ramón is a medium sized town with a quaint, local feel, surrounded by lush hills and mountains. It borders the central valley, northwest of the capital city San José.

This region is known for agriculture and produces coffee, sugar cane, and vegetables. It is also known to have one of the best climates on earth, with average temperatures in the upper 70s.

Course Components

• Information and discussion about Costa Rican culture, history, politics, and society to provide exposure and help students navigate their new environment
• Significant instruction in Spanish language
• Strong grounding in the history and theory of teaching English as a foreign/second
  language. This is taught in a way that emphasizes application of theory to enhance
  success in the classroom
• Significant practical training in teaching listening, reading, speaking and writing in the
  classroom, including extensive lesson planning, presentation, and feedback from
  peers and instructors
• Tons of tips, tricks and examples of how to teach English to every age group
• Advice and guidance for effective classroom management
• Teacher practicum in a local charity school and/or language center.
• Significant focus of teaching adults as most placements entail teaching adults English

Detailed Course Overview

Week One – Orientation

The first week of the course is an amazing, interactive, orientation on Costa Rican culture and language, as well as an opportunity to bond with other teachers-in-training and staff members.

The program is taught by area experts, and includes several exciting and informative cultural excursions.

Week Two

The second week of the course is a deeper exploration of theory in the discipline of English as a second language and how to teach grammar.

Students learn about the structure and key elements of a lesson plan. Every lesson requires a detailed lesson plan that lays out the procedures of the class, and encourages teachers to consider the challenges, technology resources, and other factors that can impact a successful lesson in the classroom.

During week two, students will also learn how to teach speaking and grammar. Grammar can be challenging to teach. One of the reasons for this is that it has been a long time since native English speakers have reviewed grammar rules, so we provide students with a bit of a refresher. The major assignments for week two are to create a lesson plan for teaching grammar and to present a full lesson just as a teacher would in a classroom.

Week Three

The third week of the course focuses on how to teach reading and listening.

The major assignments for this week are to create lesson plans for teaching reading and present full lessons just as a teacher would in the classroom. During this week participants will learn more about teaching young learners and practice planning lessons for kindergarten students.

Additionally, our participants will learn about curriculum development for long term learning goals for their students.

Week Four

The final week the class is dedicated to classroom management and preparing for and conducting the teacher practicum in a local language school.

While classroom management may be the final topic covered, it is in fact extremely important, especially in cross-cultural contexts. Classroom management is about setting ground rules, apply them consistently, getting to know your students, and earning and maintaining their respect and commitment.

Students spend several days preparing their lessons for the Teacher practicum.

During the final week there will also be an in-class final exam.

International Accreditation

Our internationally accredited TESOL course is accepted by employers around the world and is accredited by Accreditat. Accreditat is registered under the UKRLP (UK Register of Learning Providers), Number 10065351. Registration on the UKRLP means they have been verified against a recognised legal source.

Graduates of our internationally accredited 120-hour TESOL course have used their TESOL certificate to successfully find employment in ESL teaching and education fields in nearly every Western, native-English speaking country, as well as across Europe, Asia, South America, and beyond.

Accommodation

Accommodation during the TEFL/TESOL Course

Your accommodation for your TEFL/TESOL course is all pre-booked and sorted for you before you arrive in San Ramón.

Accommodation is shared occupancy with an en-suite bathroom and fans. Those wanting more privacy can request and pay for a private room. This will need to be pre-approved and will depend on availability.

We provide airport pickups to all participants arriving within the designated time frame prior to the start of the course. Participants will arrive by flying into the main airport in San Jose (SJO). They will then be driven 45 minutes to San Ramón and check in to the Hostel.

Participants are asked to arrive on the Sunday before their course starts between 8am and 6pm. Those arriving earlier should arrange to stay in a hostel near the airport if they would like to use the airport pickup on Sunday.

Accommodation is clean and simple and perfect for your first month during your TEFL/TESOL course.

Air con is not needed in San Ramón as the temperature is no more than 78 degrees all year around with a nice breeze. There are also some common areas for study and relaxation as well as a kitchen.

There is a large, spacious living room area that is reserved for course participants.

There is a kitchen area where participants can prepare meals. Participants typically cook their own meals. There are minimarts with supplies a few minutes walk from the hostel and a large supermarket a ten minute walk from the hostel. There is also a local cafe next to the hostel that opens early. This is a popular spot for an affordable breakfast and lunch for those that prefer not to cook.

The accommodation is located a 15 minute walk from the town centre and a ten minute walk to a beautiful viewpoint where participants can enjoy the sunset and see the whole city.

Classroom Space

The classroom is located downstairs in the same building as the participant accommodation. It is separated from the participant living area and rooms.

This means no traveling to class and participants can enjoy the convenience of having their rooms and kitchen facilities available nearby for breaks, but enough separation from their work space!

Accommodation after the TEFL/TESOL Course

Teachers are responsible for their own accommodation after the course, but we will provide advice on finding housing, and schools often assist as well.

There are many different accommodation types and locations where teachers could be based. The decisions teachers make on where to live next will be down to personal choice. We will guide each step of the way and assist teachers in navigating accommodation arrangements once they know what you are looking for.

• Step 1: Teachers will look for accommodations based on their budget, preferred/necessary location, and any other factors.
• Step 2: Teachers can ask us for advice / support in negotiation, language barriers or considering options.

Where To Live

After teachers have their placement confirmed they can start considering where to live. This will primarily depend on their placement and where they need to be located.

Academy and International School Positions

If teachers are working for a local academy and teaching in person, it will be best to find an accommodation nearby so they can easily get to classes each day. Academies will be able to guide on which neighborhoods they recommend. Some academies are able to recommend homestays.

Online Positions

If teachers are working online remotely, then they have many options available. Working online provides a great opportunity to be location independent, allowing for opportunities to travel.

Teachers may choose to sign a six month lease on an apartment.

Alternatively, they can look into shorter term rentals so you can see several different areas of Costa Rica.

With tourism affected by the pandemic, there are many accommodations that are not being used and there are good deals to be found.

We will guide participants on how to narrow down options.

How much will rent cost?

• Teachers will be given guidance on accommodation options in areas accessible to their school.
• There will be resources available (both from us and from the partner school) to find accommodation in the area (other teachers, staff at the center, list of common accommodations).
• Accommodation is typically $300 – $500 per month USD. The cheapest option would be a homestay, the most common option is a houseshare or renting a studio apartment.
• Accommodation is generally considerably cheaper in small and medium sized towns in the central region than in San Jose or beach towns.
• Homestays are available locally in the San Ramón area for those looking for a low cost cultural experience. This is a low cost way for a new teacher to find suitable housing and immerse themselves in the culture. Homestays are commonly around $100 USD per week with 2 meals a day included.

Couples or friends traveling together

For couples or friends traveling together we will work to find a placement option that will work for them staying together. If two in-person placements close to each other aren’t available then we would endeavour to place either both or one person in an online role. That way they can work remotely and choose where to live so they can stay together even if their friend/partner has a fixed location at a local academy.

Dates

• One of the huge advantages of taking the TEFL/TESOL course in Costa Rica is that the course itself prepares people thoroughly for teaching in a Costa Rican environemnt and gives you first-hand experience teachin adults during the practical portion of the course.
• The course begins on Monday morning, we typically have a welcome meeting on the Sunday afternoon before the intake. We would want all participants to be in country by Sunday afternoon before their course starts.
• Placement-only candidates will join one of the dates outlined below for their orientation before heading to their placements.

Budgets

• Costa Rica is generally affordable to travel to, so you should be able to manage on
  a relatively low budget if necessary.
• This section outlines program costs that you should be prepared for.
• Although Costa Rica may appear inexpensive, costs add up and it can be easy to overspend.
• This guide is to provide you with an approximate budget for your initial few months.
• These values will vary depending on your personal budget and spending habits.

Fees

The following costs make up the program fee and are payable to TravelBud before you head over to Teach English in Costa Rica.