Meet Naomi! In 2014, Naomi came to Costa Rica from the UK to get TEFL certified with the intention of making a difference in the world through teaching. 7 years later and she is still doing exactly that! She is a currently a primary school teacher living and teaching English in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. Having the freedom to explore beautiful Costa Rica, help others and immerse herself in a new culture really locked her into a TEFL career!
While getting TEFL certified with Costa Rica TEFL, Naomi says she developed persistence, creativity and learned never to give up. Everyone learns differently and during her training, Naomi was able to explore her creativity to be able to adapt to other peoples’ learning styles. Some of Naomi’s best experiences included lesson planning with peers, our Final Review Jeopardy game, and most importantly, teaching the Samara beach locals.
Naomi originally planned on staying here for a year and half, which has now turned into 7 years – that’s what we call a TEFL career! Naomi states that the Pura Vida lifestyle captured her heart, from the friendly people you pass on the street to her kind and loving students. She loves the Costa Rican culture and the value they place on family. That same warmth and acceptance has allowed her to form her own family of friends abroad.
When Naomi arrived to Costa Rica, she didn’t speak a drop of Spanish, now she speaks Spanish fluently! In Naomi’s free time, she plays rugby for the Cartago team here in Costa Rica, a sport often played in her home country. When she’s not busy playing rugby, she spends time traveling the country and exploring the beauty Costa Rica offers.
Her Teaching Experiences
Naomi highlights her favorite part about teaching abroad as getting the opportunity to see the spark in students’ eyes once they’ve accomplished something they have struggled with. She especially loves the moments when there is a rush of excitement from the students as they call out “ Teacher, Teacher! ” because they figured out the answer. She feels an honor to be a part of those “lightbulb” moments.
Naomi is a compassionate, successful teacher and says that part of her success is her ability to teach with empathy; “having the ability to understand your students’ feelings and really putting yourself in their shoes is crucial to the learning process so the teacher may be able to understand the students’ difficulties and help them to perform better in class”. She has received praise from her students as well as her supervisors and continues to strive in her Costa Rican classroom abroad. Even with the current COVID mask mandates and protocol, she and her students have adapted and make the best of each day they share together. She feels fortunate to be able to live and teach in such an amazing environment and we feel fortunate to have met her and add her to our list of Career TEFL teachers!
To all of our future Costa Rica TEFL Teachers out there, Naomi’s advice is to, “take that leap of faith! It might just be the change you’re looking for,” and she closes her interview with, “I am and will forever be grateful to Costa Rica TEFL! It has changed my life!”.
What are you waiting for? Take the leap of faith and join us in the “Pura Vida” where we teach, learn and explore every single day!