How do we give back to the local Community?
We love Costa Rica, and our local community here in Sámara. This page highlights a few of the things Costa Rica TEFL does to give back to the community that has supported us for so many years.
Free English Classes
Our primary community service project is our free English school. As a major part of our organization, we run an English school with 40 to 60 Costa Rican English students. The classes are offered Monday through Friday in the afternoon, and are free for everyone. We teach all levels from Beginner to Advanced for students aged 7-12 (Children’s classes) and 13 to Adult (Adult classes), and the sessions run concurrently with our TEFL courses.
TEFL Course Scholarships for Costa Rican Teachers
We offer scholarships for Costa Rican English teachers to improve their English teaching skills and become certified through our program. Some of our Costa Rican graduates are described below:
– Jesus graduated our TEFL program in July 2022. He was already teaching at a local elementary school, Samara Pacific, but decided to get his TEFL certification to further enhance his education.
– Ofir graduated in April 2017 and teaches our trainees and tourists here in Samara and surrounding areas. He teaches both group and private classes.
-Darihan, Ilsen, Kelvin and Carmencita are all local Samareñans who completed our program and work as Spanish teachers at the local Spanish language school, Intercultura. Carmencita teaches the free Spanish classes to our TEFL trainees.
-Allan came to our program in 2014 as an experienced English teacher in the public school system in Nicoya, Costa Rica. He continues to teach EFL and uses his CRTEFL knowledge on a daily basis.
-Andrea completed our program in July of 2012 and then went on to teach EFL classes and was the Coordinator for the English Department at Inglingua Language School in San Jose, Costa Rica.,
Allan at the Regional MEP English Teacher Conference. Photo via Facebook.
Andrea during her Costa Rica TEFL course. Photo via Instagram.
Darihana teaching children’s English classes in Samara. Photo courtesy of Asociación CREAR.
Community Support
Costa Rica TEFL regularly provides fundraising support, sponsorship and other contributions to various local schools, organizations and recreational activities which help to build community. These projects include: Samarun, Asociación CREAR, Beach Soccer League, Samara Pacific School and the local public schools: Liceo El Torito y Liceo de Samara. Our Director, Barbara Miller, also serves on the board of Asociación CREAR.
Halloween Event
Every October, Costa Rica TEFL sponsors and organizes a safe Trick-or-Treating event for the children of Playa Sámara. Families visit local businesses and organizations who participate in the event and take children around town in their costumes to collect candy and treats. Following the trick-or-treating, everyone gathers for the piñata at Costa Rica TEFL!
English Teaching Workshops and Spelling Bee
Our Director, Barbara Miller works with the Ministry of Public Education in the Guanacaste province to provide additional training for English teachers and support English language learning in the region. Some of the events include workshops for English Teachers in public schools throughout the year and English Spelling Bees designed to get kids excited about learning English.
