“Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savor their songs. I again realized that we were not different people speaking separate languages; we were one people, with different tongues.”
- Nelson Mandela -

The words of Nelson Mandela reflect the ideals of the English Department at Intercultura. The English department was developed in order to give back to the community, and to aid in closing the communication gap between cultures on a local and international scale.

 

STUDENTS:
The student body is made up mostly of Costa Ricans as well as Nicaraguans, Salvadorians, Colombians and Ecuadorians, making up a rich mix of Latin culture. The age groups are anywhere from 13 to 50 yrs, students and professionals. The student body has grown to 550 students, while maintaining the minimum of 4, maximum of 8 students per class, which promotes an atmosphere in which all the students are given the opportunity to speak.

CLASSES :
The classes are held in the evenings between 4:00 and 9:00pm lasting 1.5 hours each. The students sit face to face at tables, rather than in traditional desks, in order to promote conversation and more dynamic activities. We use the Communicative Approach, which is student centered, and upholds communication as the main objective. We use the Cambridge University texts and workbooks New Interchange and New Parade, which are communicative based.

ACTIVITIES:
Each month the English department holds "Intercambios" for the English and Spanish students which encourage the students to meet people from different cultures and practice the language they are studying. Each teacher also sponsors 4 excursions outside of school per term, to the local parks, discos, amusement parks, and cafes. These serve as another opportunity for the English students to practice their English. We also hold many "cultural" celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Halloween in order to share some of our culture with them. Learning a language also means learning a culture.

TEACHERS:
The English Department is staffed by native English speakers from the U.K, Canada and the United States. The teachers are all college graduates, and hold TEFL /CELTA certificates and have teaching experience. The teachers are contracted for one year and teach on average 20 hours a week, which includes a weekly staff meeting in which the teachers share ideas and give supportive feedback regarding classes, problems, etc.. The teachers are encouraged to take Spanish classes which are offered to them free of charge. We feel it is important that, while sharing their own culture and language, they immerse themselves into the Costa Rican culture and language. Teachers that are interested in applying should send their resume/CV, letters of references, photo, and letter of interest to the English Director at barbara@interculturacostarica.com . .