Costa Rica is typically thought of as a rather Americanized country and is a very popular tourist destination for Americans as well as natives of other countries. It may be surprising to learn that there is a large demand to teach English to natives of Costa Rica who are eager to learn English in order to improve their financial status.

“For most Costa Ricans, speaking English is a way to get hired or move up the ladder in their jobs or careers. This means that many people [in Costa Rica] need to know English, and there are many ESL jobs available,” writes Laura Dulin in her article Teaching English in Costa Rica: When, Where and How to Land a Job.

As the capital of the country and the largest city in Costa Rica, the majority of the schools that teach English can be found in San Jose and surrounding areas.

“Most paid teaching jobs in Costa Rica are located in the Central Valley. San Jose, the capital, has many schools. There are some schools located in the smaller surrounding cities such as Heredia, Alajuela, and Cartago,” writes Laura Dulin in her article Teaching English in Costa Rica: When, Where and How to Land a Job.

One of the first things to consider when planning to work in Costa Rica is a work visa. It is actually quite difficult to obtain a work visa in Costa Rica. However, most of the schools that operate there are willing to look the other way on this issue and many teachers of English enter the country on a tourist visa.

The website for Ingles Empresarial, a school that teaches Business English in Costa Rica has this to say regarding work visas and teaching English in Costa Rica:

“A large percentage of the foreigners teaching English here are working on a regular tourist visa because of the difficulty in getting working papers. To date, immigration authorities have not paid any attention to this. As long as the teacher is not openly announcing that he/she is working, there are no problems. In the years that we have been in operation, we have never had an incident with our foreign teachers.”

The website for the Embassy of Costa Rica states that citizens of the United States do not need to require an actual visa. All that is required is a valid passport and a prepaid return airline ticket. This allows you to stay in the country for 90 days. You can leave the country for 72 hours and then return and stay for another 90 days.

According to Laura Dulin, in her article, Teaching English in Costa Rica: When, Where and How to Land a Job, the best time to look for an English teaching job in Costa Rica is late December or early January as the school year begins the beginning of January.

Another thing to consider when traveling to any foreign country is required and recommended vaccinations. According to the Treehouse Cityguide website, there are no required vaccinations to enter Costa Rica. Recommended vaccinations include Hepatitis A and B, Rabies, Typhoid and Yellow Fever.

The website for General Information about Costa Rica states, “You are unlikely to encounter any serious diseases in Costa Rica. Sanitary standards are high and the health system is excellent.”

As with teaching English in any foreign country there will be trends with how the students learn. Geraldeen Woods, in his article Teaching English in Costa Rica: What to Expect and How to Prepare, lists some teaching tips for Costa Rican learners. As with teaching anywhere he suggests things such as being creative and dynamic, firm but flexible and patient. One interesting point he makes seems to reflect something that is intrinsic in the character of Costa Ricans or tico(a)s.

“Do not allow them to laugh at one another. Ticos hate making mistakes in public; if anyone laughs at them even once they will never practice again for fear of humiliation,” he writes.

References

Article: Teaching English in Costa Rica: When, Where and How to Land a Job by Laura Dulin

Article: Teaching English in Costa Rica: What to Expect and How to Prepare by Geraldeen Woods

Nathan Galster