When you sign up for a TEFL course in Costa Rica, you expect to learn teaching techniques, lesson planning, and classroom management. But one of the most rewarding parts of the experience happens outside the classroom—living with a host family.
Staying with a local family offers more than just a place to sleep; it’s a cultural immersion that can transform your entire TEFL journey. These host families often become family for life for TEFL students. Not only that, but it can have lifelong positive impacts on your life and perspective. Here’s why it can be such a game-changer.
Cultural Immersion
Living with a local family during your four week course gives you a life-changing opportunity to immerse yourself with a completely new culture. Experiencing a new house structure, family interactions, celebrations, and different lifestyle is sure to expand your world view from then on. This also will translate into your teaching, allowing you to better understand your student’s cultural norms and backgrounds. This ultimately gives you an advantage in and out of the classroom.
Real-Life Spanish Practice
In Costa Rica, many tourists try and practice their Spanish in restaurants, hotels, or social settings. Most Costa Ricans in these settings speak enough English to the point that it’s easy to resort back to speaking English with them. Getting to immerse yourself in the language in an in-home setting will help you to pick up more words quickly, as well as put this new vocabulary to use right away.
Home-Cooked Costa Rican Meals
Living with a host family means you get to experience authentic Costa Rican cuisine every day. Fresh tropical fruit, homemade tortillas, gallo pinto. These meals are absolutely delicious, but they’re also a big part of Costa Rican culture. Sharing meals is a big part of social life everywhere, but especially in Costa Rica. Meal time with your host family is also a great way to learn more about their own family’s food customs that they have held for generations, while also practicing your Spanish!
Lifelong Connections
Many TEFL graduates stay in touch with their host families for years. Often, these hosts become family for life for TEFL students. You may find yourself returning to visit them, sharing life updates, or even inviting them to your home country one day. Making connections with a local family can also bring you the opportunity to connect your own family with them one day in the future. It also leaves you a sense of safety and community if you choose to stay in the same town/country. These lifelong connections can very much impact both students, as well as the families.
In Conclusion:
Living with a host family during your TEFL course in Costa Rica is more than just accommodations: it’s an experience that shapes your personal growth, language skills, cultural immersion, worldview, and life in the future. It helps you become not only a better teacher but also a more open-minded person in general.
If you want your TEFL experience to be as rich, warm, and authentic as possible, a local Samaranian family stay is one of the best decisions you can make.
👉 Ready to start your adventure? Apply now and become part of our Costa Rica TEFL family!
By:
Courtney Perich
Administrative Coordinator