Earn your TEFL certification in paradise!

Richenda Bok

The Costa Rica TEFL program is not just AWESOME but their curriculum is one of the best and their staff are exceptional and professional. There whole program is organized and well-structured with all the resources you need to expand your career as a professional TEFL instructor!

Susan Corbett

The best part about the program was that the instructors modeled as well as taught the student centered approach to teaching.  I highly recommend this program!  Playa Samara is a wonderful place to spend a month in.

Philip Edlin

I personally feel like I have acquired so much knowledge about teaching English as a foreign language and classroom management. Your lessons have been extremely fun and interactive!

Beatriz Jirón

Costa Rica TEFL gives the opportunity to students to live a real teaching experience due to their teaching program, and that was one of the most amazing experiences

Kelly Mack

It was so fun to meet the locals in the classes we taught. I loved the opportunity to teach all different levels. I loved everything!!

Paul Morgan

I loved my teacher trainers. They were incredibly personable and approachable. I never felt intimidated and they were both fountains of knowledge. Thank you for providing a challenging but powerful learning environment!

Chris Nemeth

It has been a great “self discovery” experience. I would recommend this to my friends and family!

Debora Winsor

I can walk away knowing that I have gained important skills to continue teaching and knowing that I have a strong support system when I leave here.

Austin Sanders

The TEFL teachers were extremely qualified and well-trained individuals and I learned an incredible amount from them! This school really prepares you to be a confident teacher, even with no prior experience. Barbara, helps you with everything, from tweaking your resume to landing you a job during your TEFL course

Chris Leelum

This course is fun. challenging and rewarding. I took this course because I wanted to travel and practice Spanish. It was inexpensive and a great experience! Thanks to Costa Rica TEFL, I feel extremely confident in my teaching and lesson planning abilities!

Morgan Blair

When I remember my Costa Rica TEFL experience, I look back at it with love and gratitude. Not only were my TEFL teachers passionate and amazing, but I made life long friends in the program.  Another quality about Costa Rica TEFL that I find really special is that even after a student leaves Sámara, they continue to support you and help you find your dream job.  They helped me achieve my current position at a University in Mexico

Kate Reilly

It’s been more than a year since my November 2017 program, and I still look back at that time of my life as one of the happiest. I met great friends, spent a month in the cutest little beach town (a place I still call my Costa Rican home), all while being trained by some of the best teachers. Above all, the program was so much fun and I left feeling fully equipped to teach in any situation, which is necessary when you’re traveling to countries where supplies are limited. With the help of the staff at Costa Rica TEFL, I found a job in Guanacaste before I even graduated.

Lucile Parrado

I am so thankful to Costa Rica TEFL.  The program brought brought me stability and confidence within the classroom, and it allowed me interactions with beautiful people. I feel accomplished and I love going to work, preparing my classes, teaching my students, and giving it the best effort that I can.

Morgan Elliott

My confidence as a teacher has grown more than I could ever imagine and I am so grateful I made the choice to transform my life, starting with Costa Rica TEFL. The effort, hours, and collaboration that the Costa Rica TEFL staff  members put in allowed us to have the best experience possible and it does not go unnoticed by their past TEFL students.

Gabe Smith

Costa Rica TEFL was absolutely pivotal in my success in the classroom. Learning how to always engage students in the target language (English) was a central component of the TEFL course. It is something I carry with me today. Their program helped me understand and identify the different types of learners. By identifying different learner types, I can implement a variety of activities and assignments that correspond to their styles. The communicative approach is something that I strive for in my classroom. Additionally, Costa Rica TEFL has provided me with TONS of ideas for engaging activities. I use them weekly and will continue to use them throughout my teaching career.

Kelvin Salmon Peters

I have had some of my greatest moments teaching. My favorite teaching moment is when, at the end of the course, my students can speak with confidence. They may not be fluent but they have achieved a goal and have truly learned something from me just like the way I have learned from Costa Rica TEFL.

Kyle Stürmann

The course itself is fun, beneficial, and enriching, let alone the opportunities that will come after. Samara is a special place. There are friendly people, great nightlife, and an unforgettable beach. It’ll be hard to leave after, but if you do, you’ll probably be going somewhere incredible anyway.

Alexis Dorman

Costa Rica TEFL is a program designed to help you discover your own potential as an individual and as an English teacher. The staff were extremely professional and personable while instructing throughout the day and night. They were available and ready to provide beneficial feedback that allowed for me to carry out more concise lessons and to create a better classroom environment. The director of the program, Barbara, met one on one with each student for job placement assistance. She listened carefully to where each student would like to be placed and what kind of teaching experience we were looking for. She helped me land my dream job, teaching EFL in a coastal town in Costa Rica! Thank you as well to my teacher trainer’s, Vanessa and Margaret. Both teacher trainers were so respectful in a process that can sometimes seem quite intimidating. The group of students in our session came from all different ages and countries. It was very interesting to hear and to view their diverse teaching methods and experiences. Thank you to Costa Rica TEFL for an incredible learning experience!

Mitch Easterby

Who wouldn’t want to live by the beach while you learn by the best! I had the best time studying at Costa Rica TEFL, Samara and I will tell you why!An average day would be spent surfing (if tides permitted) or yoga in the morning followed by a hearty breakfast before a short bike ride to the TEFL centre. We would have a morning and afternoon session of theory but with the incorporation of activities/games that could be transferable to our classroom pedagogy. In the evenings we would be teaching or planning various classes with abilities ranging from kids – C1. These students were local Costa Ricans that wanted to learn and improve their English. Although the days were long, you were always busy engaging with the other trainees and planning fun lessons. With English being my native tongue, I didn’t realise what I didn’t know until I started this course. I realised I literally knew nothing about the English language but by the end I felt very comfortable delivering classes to all ages and levels! The Instructors ran a tight ship, and you could tell they were experts in this field. Additionally, spending most days with the other trainees brought us all very close together, and I am happy say I have lifelong friends. If you want to become TEFL certified and love the Pura Vida lifestyle and beach, this program is for you!

Amy Clancy

I feel like I have learnt more over the past month than I did in my last few years of school. The course is clear, concise and incredibly engaging. I never, ever dreaded coming to class. Not once. The course has re -sparked my love for learning. I would recommend Costa Rica TEFL to anyone!Even if being a teacher isn’t a goal of yours, the skills and learning styles are applicable in any aspect of life where one has to work with people.

Shane Doherty

Loved my time in the TEFL School in Samara. Barb and the whole team were helpful from day one and made the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable! The TEFL team helped make booking the course easy and stress free . They helped with securing accommodation in Samara and organised group activities to help meet my new classmates.

The school itself offers both teacher training and practical teaching practice, teaching both local adult and kid Ticos. After the course they help secure an English teaching job either online or in-person, or both.

Love my time at TEFL Samara and would recommend it to anyone interested in becoming a TEFL teacher while exploring beautiful Costa Rica!

Lizzy Fenn

I did this course in October of 2022 and had such a transformative month. I learned so many new skills that have allowed me to grow as an educator. Additionally, I made life-long friendships and got to live in one of the most beautiful countries on earth. I highly recommend applying for Costa Rica TEFL. The staff are kind and easy-going, and they are there to support you throughout the entire journey!

I am so thankful for the experience and all of the opportunities that the course has brought me! Barb and her staff are truly the best!

Alaina D’Alessandro

I chose Costa Rica TEFL because I knew Sámara from a previous trip and like it. Also I wanted to go to a school that was not a chain school, and Costa Rica TEFL is the only location. I really loved the space accorded to the students, the way the program was organized. The staff were all amazing too. The course content was really good and relevant. The fact that we had hands-on teaching experience with Ticos from the community really struck a chord with me too. I have benefited so much. I love the new skills have I learned and the connections I have made. I also feel in much better mental health than when I started the course. Honestly it has done me so much good! Thank you.

Nelli Marafejeva

I had a great time at Costa Rica TEFL. I loved the course, and the teacher trainer. And well, I think Barb has a magic power of connecting with people. I learned how I operate as a student, how I want to overachieve. How I operate with others, and how do I behave as a new teacher. I also gained some new theoretical knowledge. I loved how they incorporated the review into everyday studies. At the end, if you were paying attention throughout the four weeks, you didn’t have to study hard, it was enough to review the materials. I also loved how we were thrown into the deep, and that we had to teach from week one. I would definitely recommend this program!

Alexis Lattin

I have benefited in many ways from Costa Rica TEFL. I have learned a huge amount about teaching in general, teaching English to non-native speakers (of course), classroom management, explaining myself more clearly and more. I have also benefited on a more personal level with self growth and awareness. Lastly, I have benefited socially and culturally within this town. I truly enjoyed the constant engagement throughout the course. Every lesson included activities that were presented to us through implementation so that we could see how they actually work and how we can then implement them into our lessons/classrooms. Also, everyone was always very encouraging and supportive every step of the way. I felt at home.

Charlotte Alderwick

The atmosphere created by the teaching staff and other staff at Costa Rica TEFL was so supportive. The interactive teaching style really helped us model how to become good teachers ourselves. And the students were great. I have benefited in so many ways! The course reminded me why I love teaching, it made me reflect on myself – on who I am as a person as well as who I am as a teacher, it gave me a confidence boost and I met some amazing people.

Matt Giffen

I can confidently say I learned more in one month at TEFL than my four years at high school. I now have the confidence to teach a full class of strangers. I have the confidence to go find something I am passionate about and actually do it. I met some life long friends and gained the experience from teaching of a life time. I truly enjoyed the teachers because they were so welcoming and warm. The students were amazing and super nice. I loved the way we were taught. It’s much more hands on, fun and my learning style. I loved how relaxed and chill everyone was, it made it a very welcoming environment.

Ava Soltesz

I have studied a lot about EL curriculum and history, but nowhere in my college career have I ever been able to actually apply it. This course gave the so many opportunities to realize the methods and work with students to experience what it is actually like to teach a language. It has given me a wonderful foundation as a future educator.

Taylor Resso

I enjoyed the entire program, truly. I think every aspect was incredible. I feel I learned, I feel I grew and I feel I had so much fun. I’ve said it to anyone I’ve told about my experience that this specific program was incredible. The team you’ve created WORKS. Everyday was exciting to show up to. The learning was made fun and without needing to go home for hours and go over everything we did, we learned because of how you implemented everything. It truly was an experience, thank you.