Meet Kylie, our Costa Rica TEFL graduate who decided to teach English and change lives.
In 2021 Kylie was living in Des Moine, Iowa with a dream to do something that truly mattered. After leaving a job that she felt didn’t serve her, she looked for a job that truly made a difference in the lives of others-. A kind, and determined spirit with a love for learning, Kylie set out to find a new adventure-to learn to teach English. This is when she came across Costa Rica TEFL. Kylie has always had a love for travel, but she was particularly eager to start the Costa Rica TEFL course, because she previously lived in San Jose, Costa Rica as a college student and fell in love with this beautiful country and Pura Vida culture. Excited to cross this experience off of her bucket list, Kylie signed up for an opportunity to learn to teach and make a difference. She would later discover how much of a difference she truly could make after understanding the significance of the TEFL certification she was working towards.
Lifelong Skills
Kylie admits that she was never afraid of a challenge, but she also offers that the intensity of the course helped truly prepare her to be the teacher she envisioned. With prior experience substitute teaching and volunteering in education, Kylie was happy to gain new skills in the TEFL classroom that would help her make a difference in the lives of others. She offers that she finds it important to leave an impression on the students she interacts with. She does this by teaching her students in a fun and interactive classroom. Her students are actively engaged in the learning process and therefore highly motivated. While completing her TEFL course, Kylie was happy to receive all the new information she learned in class and would later come to understand just how much of this knowledge she was able to effectively utilize in the classroom. Kylie also adds that she did not expect to build the relationships she did during the TEFL course; she made new friends in TEFL that she still keeps in touch with today! These grads teach English like Kylie! Not only did Kylie obtain lifelong skills during her time at Costa Rica TEFL, but she also made lifelong friendships.
What Qualifications did Kylie need in order to get TEFL Certified in Costa Rica to teach English?
While Kylie was more than qualified to take the course at the time she chose, the only things necessary for someone to start their TEFL certification journey and learn to teach English is that they must be at least 18 years old with a native or native-like ability in English with an open mind and readiness to learn. Not only did Kylie have an open mind, but it was her love of learning that drove her motivation to take this next step. Kylie studied Spanish in college and had the opportunity to stay with a local family in San Jose, Costa Rica where she further developed her love for Latin Culture and Spanish. She describes this experience as something that made a difference in her life and she notes that this is a reason she felt called to come back to Costa Rica and learn to teach English. The impact that the Spanish speaking, rich culture of Costa Rica had on Kylie is something that played a huge role in her wanting to get TEFL certified. Teaching English has been one of the most rewarding jobs she has had. She includes that getting TEFL certified in the beautiful beach town of Samara, was a bonus to her adventure abroad.
Returning home to teach English and make a difference in other people’s lives
Kylie was sad when she had to return to the United States and leave Costa Rica, but also excited to go home to her boyfriend and dog. Upon arrival she knew that she wanted to use her TEFL certification right away. With her new skills and TEFL certification, Kylie landed a job working for Des Moine Area Community College as an English teacher for an ELL program. At this community college, Kylie has the opportunity to work with immigrant and refugee students from places like Afghanistan and Ukraine. The program that she runs is 100% free to those who want to learn English and runs for 8 weeks at a time.
Kylie lives in Iowa with her family, and continues to teach every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the community college in her town. She gets to meet new people from all over the world, and she notes that she loves to learn about her students and their different cultures! Kylie is taking advantage of all that she learned during her TEFL certification course to keep her students engaged: the warmers, videos, games, and overall interactive structure of her TEFL curriculum from Costa Rica TEFL. Kylie’s boss noticed her fun and interactive classroom and asked her to teach more classes! Additionally getting TEFL certified gave her the confidence to branch out and teach Spanish to kids!
How did the experience abroad at Costa Rica TEFL change your life?
When Kylie was asked, “How did TEFL change your life?” She responded with, “During the course I was made to feel validated and realized that teaching was my second nature.” She also added that she was “…proud of herself for committing to something and finishing it during what felt like a rocky time in her life.” Costa Rica TEFL made Kylie trust herself more than she could have ever imagined, and the difference she is making in people’s lives every day as a language teacher has opened up more dreams and ideas for Kylie in how to make the world a better place. Kylie mentions that one of her dreams is to open up a language school in a Latin American country as well as in the United States to serve as a connection between the two cultures and languages. What an amazing dream Kylie!
Kylie is someone that radiates good energy and positivity wherever she goes and it’s apparent that she brings this into every class that she teaches. Costa Rica TEFL exposed a side of Kylie that made her excited to teach as well as travel. She started and completed something that has value and significance in the eyes of learning, and it is evident that we can expect amazing things from this TEFL graduate. Whether she is teaching in the United States or Costa Rica or any other place for that matter, she is making a difference in the world and doing something she is truly passionate about. We couldn’t be more proud of this graduate, as well as excited to see how she continues to have a positive impact on her students’ lives.
By: Emily Abono
Administrative Coordinator CRTEFL