Joelle's Life Transformation After Costa Rica TEFL

Joelle’s Life Transformation After Costa Rica TEFL

Meet one of Costa Rica TEFL’s graduates, Joelle! Joelle is from the UK and completed her TEFL certification with Costa Rica TEFL in September 2023. After dreaming of teaching abroad for many years, she finally found the courage to take the leap and begin her life transformation in Costa Rica.


Why Costa Rica and why Costa Rica TEFL?

Joelle ultimately decided she wanted to teach and live in Costa Rica because of the wildlife and nature and because it is a Spanish speaking country. She studied some Spanish therefore she wanted the experience to practice and continue to study. Her favorite parts about Costa Rica are the sunsets, the warm blue ocean, the animals, the people and the laid back way of life.
Beautiful Sámara and Costa Rica TEFL caught her attention. She did extensive research of other TEFL programs and courses but found that CRTEFL fit her wants and needs best, due to its location and reputation.

Joelle’s Experience at Costa Rica TEFL

Community is one of the most important aspects for us in our program at CRTEFL. This refers to our trainees, our local English students, our teacher trainers and staff, and the support that we get from the community of Sámara as a whole. We have built a thriving TEFL community over the past 17 years that continues to grow and get stronger.

For Joelle, the sense of community at CRTEFL was her favorite part of the course. She enjoyed working with and getting to know people from all over the world. She will never forget the many laughs shared with the group in class and with the students while teaching.

While there were many things learned over Joelle’s four week TEFL course, she pointed out a few that she found to be the most valuable and beneficial. These include teaching techniques and grammar, ways to motivate students, different learning styles, how to create a fun classroom environment and on a personal level, how to overcome a lot of her own fears and anxieties.

Joelle and her fellow trainees from the September 2023 group enjoying a weekend out in Sámara!

 

What is Joelle’s current teaching life like?


She is currently teaching English online to adult business professionals. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to know her students. She also loves to learn things from them, such as their culture, food, interests, language and about their lives in general.

Her favorite teaching memory is when her B1 level student achieved a C1 on her English assessment exam and she received a very sweet and thoughtful thank you message from the student. Joelle said, “It really made me feel proud of my student and also of myself”.

Of the many skills she learned at Costa Rica TEFL, she said the most important ones that she uses in her virtual classroom are how to give feedback, create a positive and safe learning environment, and create lesson plans that are relevant to students’ interests, jobs and English language levels.


Typical teaching week of Joelle:

 

Tuesdays to Thursdays she has a fairly full schedule with classes in the mornings and evenings, along with a few breaks when she can enjoy lunch and go for a walk on the beach. She also squeezes in lesson planning and takes Spanish lessons.

On Mondays and Fridays she works half days, which she loves because it gives her a longer weekend for adventures with her Fiancé!

Joelle and her Fiancé on yet again another adventure!


Did you read Fiancé?


Yes! She said I do. Another huge life transformation for Joelle was meeting the love of her life in Costa Rica and getting engaged. Congratulations, Joelle!

In her free time, they go on many adventures such as visit different beaches, go hiking, swimming and snorkeling and of course watch the beautiful Costa Rican sunsets. Besides traveling around Costa Rica, they have also traveled to Nicaragua and Colombia, with Guatemala being next on the list! As Joelle said, “every day is a new adventure!”


Zip lining through the luscious jungles of Costa Rica!


What advice can Joelle give to someone who may be interested in becoming TEFL certified?



A very simple answer: ‘do it!’ Joelle couldn’t emphasize enough that the course itself is an amazing experience and how it can open so many doors and opportunities, either here in Costa Rica or anywhere else in the world.

“Costa Rica TEFL gave me so much more valuable experiences than an online course would have, and I also got to travel and see a new part of the world while doing it”. We are so happy for you, Joelle! 

Are you ready for a life transformation? Is it time to finally find the courage to take the jump like Joelle did?

Send an email at info@costaricatefl.com for more information or for an application form!

By: Alexis Lattin
Administrative Coordinator CRTEFL

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