Teen Spanish Immersion Program

IPED's Teen Spanish Summer program is designed for 14-17 year olds to come unaccompanied to study Spanish at our Heredia campus in Costa Rica. At IPED our main concerns and aims are the well-being and safety of the students, their integration into the Costa Rican culture, the unique methodology we employ in our classes and the activities and services we provide.

Teens can Join the regular classes any other time of the year and participate on the activities that are normally held for all the students.

 

HOMESTAYS

 

One of the most important ingredients is the homestay Spanish program which is an integral part of the Total-Language experience.

 

The true essence of the Costa Rican culture lies in its families. Your exposure to that side of the culture will give you an insight into Costa Rica that a tourist that just comes to travel around will never see.

 

Participating families are carefully screened and chosen for their friendliness and helpfulness towards the students. They really enjoy sharing and showing their culture and way of living with foreign students.

The teen Spanish Program participants will be supervised at the school, homestays and on trips and activities. They will need to walk to and from their homestays by themselves and therfore, need to have a high level of maturity. Our homestays are all within a five to twenty minute walk from the school

 

HEREDIA

 

We are located in the safe, provincial town of Heredia. Although we are only 7 miles north of the capital of San Jose, the pace and flavor of life is very distinct from a large Central American capital city. We really have the best of both worlds in Heredia.

 

It is small enough to maintain the personal, humanistic side but, also, big enough to provide all the amenities of a bigger town. It really is an ideal place to live and study and you will feel very comfortable here.

 

The great thing about Heredia is that it is not a tourist destination and so you can still find a more authentic experience than in San Jose or the big tourist spots like Monteverde or Manuel Antonio or other beach and mountain areas, for example.

 

They have become just tourist destinations and so you don't get a real feel for the beautiful culture and people like you do in Heredia.

 

CLASSES

 

Classes wil be held for 4 hours daily alternating in the mornings and afternnons.

 

IPED employs the communicative methodology for teaching Spanish to ensure that academic excellence and the most effective learning systems are provided along with the most important aspects of the latest trends in language teaching.

 

Spanish classes are lively, active, and creative and you’ll be amazed at you quick advancement. We want our students talking 70% to 80% of the class time.

 

The communicative approach is based on the following theory of how language is acquired. Psycholinguists believe that information goes first into our short memory storage. It may stay for a few seconds, a minute or an hour or so and if it is not stimulated correctly it will disappear. In a communicative class the material is presented and practiced with creative, task-based learning activities.

 

These communicative type activities stimulate a transference whereby the information goes from the short memory storage and imprints on the long memory storage. This approach ensures and encourages your active involvement in the learning process. You participate in discussions, roleplays, problem-solving exercises and small group activities. The small groups (2-6 students) ensure extensive practice using Spanish in contemporary, realistic situations. We blend this method with the Natural Approach and other methodologies along with taking into account the differences in learning styles of each student to create a unique classroom situation.

 

ACTIVITIES

 

IPED also provides the students with all kinds of age appropriate activities such as Latin dance classes, cooking classes, craft classes, soccer games, hiking trips, city trips, conversation hours with our Costa Rican students who are studying English and amazing excursions to see rain forests, active volcanoes, hot springs ,museums etc. They will be able to see all kinds of animals like monkeys, toucans, sloths, snakes, tree frogs, butterflies and many others. 

 

There will be a chaperone with the students in all the activities and students are required to tell the house mom and the directors where they are going to be and who they are with at all times. 

For more information on the activities see schedule below.

 

DATES

 

The dates for the summer teen program are from July 15th to July 30th.

 

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

Please arrive on the Sunday prior to the start of the program. Departure should be on a Monday. Although students can sign for one week we recommend to take the 2 week program to be able to enjoy the full cultural and Spanish benefits.

 

COSTS 

 

Cost per week is $1300 a week. It includes all meals, day trips, activities and weekend trips. It does not include the plane ticket. 

 

WEEKEND TRIPS

 

Details of weekend trips are on the schedule and a more detailed schedule will be sent to the students once they enroll.

 

RULES AND REGULATIONS 

Students and parents will be sent a contract to be signed and mailed prior to arrival. Students that fail to comply will not be able to enroll in the program and will cover their own expenses to return home in case that they have already arrived in the country.

 

PAYMENT AND ENROLLMENT 

 

There is a deposit of $150 in order to ensure a place in the homestay and in the program. Payment is due on the day of arrival or the first day of classes with cash or travelers checks. There are no refunds on the deposit. 

Students are also required to fill in the registration form on line