I participated in a week-long intensive Spanish course for beginners at Estelar and was blown away at how much I learned in just 20 hours! Previously, I had never taken any Spanish in school and was nervous about my lack of vocabulary when I started, but the teacher created a very welcoming environment where you were not afraid to try out new skills.
The classes were centered on conversation and real life topics that were immediately useful for living in a Latin country. The relevance of what you were learning helped to keep you focused and motivated, as did the support from the teacher and peers! Games and role-plays helped bring the material to life in a dynamic way and kept the 4-hour classes fun. Also, there were several great extracurricular events offered as part of the package, and I really enjoyed them! We cooked a typical Tico dish, patacones with refried beans, took a cultural tour of the White City, and attended a bilingual meetup called Spanglish with locals at a nearby restaurant.
After graduating, I felt much more confident and capable of interacting with other Spanish speakers; the Spanish immersion experience is one I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn this beautiful language!
This blog was contributed by a Canadian Spanish student at Instituto Estelar Bilingüe in Liberia, Costa Rica, after completing the first course of our 15-course program.