Academia de Español D'Amore Spanish Language School in Costa Rica

LA ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica was founded in 1992 and is today recognized as one of the best Spanish language schools in Costa Rica. In addition to offering excellent Spanish language programs, you will be hard pressed to find a more beautiful location within Costa Rica. When students arrive at the Spanish school in Manuel Antonio, they are given an oral proficiency interview to determine their level. Based on this interview, they are placed tentatively in one of six levels. Once placed in a class, students will experience the school’s total immersion methodology.

Location and Facilities

At only 30 minutes by plane from San José Costa Rica. ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE is located in the pacific coast town of Manuel Antonio just to the south-west of Quepos. Manuel Antonio is simply described as a tropical paradise. Its sandy white beaches and high cliffs are situated in a vibrant rain forest full of extraordinary flora and fauna surrounded by an endless blue sea. The school itself sits on the side of a mountain overlooking the Manuel Antonio Beach Park Area and the Pacific.

Classrooms are comfortable, and are situated both inside the building and outside on the comfortable patio. This school is the perfect option for those who want to get away from to the beaches and natural parks of Costa Rica, while at the same time learning Spanish. LA ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE offers free high speed internet service at specific times of the day. We also offer wireless connections for those interested in bringing their laptops.

Course Options and Fees

LA ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE offers six levels of Spanish proficiency to guarantee the student an appropriate placement. Students range from absolute beginners to advanced speakers of the language.

LA ACADEMIA DE ESPANOL D’AMORE offers the following Course options:

Group Classes: 4 lessons per day in class sizes of no more than 6 individuals. Average class size ranges from 4-8 students. During four lessons sessions (in the morning or in the afternoon), students participate actively in a small group environment. Each student is assured attention to his individual academic needs.

Private Classes: One-on-one Spanish language instruction is designed especially for people who want to progress at their own pace, work on specific vocabulary, have special needs or who have limited time available. The scheduling for these classes is similar to the Group 4 Spanish Program.

Combined Program: This is an excellent Spanish program. It allows people to study and learn Spanish in a very short period of time. In the mornings you will take the Group 4 Spanish Program. In the afternoons you will then take 2 lessons per day of private Spanish language instruction. The afternoon session can be used to reinforce what was learned

An additional “Gratis” Conversation Hour is also offered everyday for students to practice their conversational skills in a very fun and casual setting.

Classes only Classes & Family

Two week course $845 U.S. $995 U. S.

Three week course $1100 U.S. $1325 U.S.

Four week course $1340 U.S $1640 U.S.

Five weeks course $1675 U.S $2050 U.S

Six weeks course $2010 U.S $2460 U.S

Seven weeks course $2345 U.S $2870 U.S

Eight weeks course $2680 U.S $3280 U.S

Courses begin every Monday, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM or 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM. La Academia de Español D’Amore determines if student are placed in morning or

afternoon group. Payment is neither non-refundable nor transferable once classes begin. Deposit of $100.00 U.S. is required with application. Remaining balance of tuition must be paid the first Monday of course at 9:00 AM. Payment is accepted in U.S. Dollars, Costa Rican Colones, cashier’s check or

traveler’s checks, personal checks or credit cards are accepted. The school is closed for Costa Rican holidays, classes cannot be recuperated.

Teaching Method

LA ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE is renowned for its teaching methodology based on the holistic way of learning (Total Immersion Methodology.)

This is a way of teaching in which the target language is taught with strong active use without using any translations at all, and it is completely intended to help students achieve communicative competence since day one.

For those students that experience difficulty with the total immersion concept, the Spanish school offers supplemental instruction in English once a week to clarify any doubts or problems. The main goal of the school is to guide students towards the achievement of communicative skills that will help them interact in a more comfortable and confident class, homestay, and world setting. With this objective in mind, the staff of the school feels completely motivated to offer a high quality program compounded by four hour

classes, from Monday to Friday, with choices of two, three, four, or more weeks.

Accommodation

Students are suggested to participate in the homestay program designed to satisfy the fulfillment of a complete immersion in foreign language acquisition. Local host families are carefully selected and provide two delicious meals daily, cultural interchange and laundry service. As a guest in a host family, you will be treated as a member of the home by sharing meals and experiences together and enriching your international cultural opportunities. Our past students have commented that this program is one of the best aspects of the school. Alternatively, students can choose beach lodging at one of the many hotels or cabinas which surround the school.

Activities

As a reinforcement of this Total Immersion Program, ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE considers the strong importance of the cultural interaction for learning Spanish with more efficient results. Therefore, La Academia de Español D’Amore offers:

Latin Dance Classes (Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia). Learn how to dance Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia in a fun and entertaining way. Learn the origin and history of these dances, and vocabulary of the human body. Learn gradually from the basic steps to the most artistic pirouettes. Feel the rhythm of Latin music while moving your body in a very healthy and relaxing way. Practice what you learn in these classes with “ticos and ticas” in the different dancing places of Manuel

Antonio, and Quepos. Make friends and practice your Spanish while you dance and have fun.

Tropical Fruit Classes. Learn the names of the most delicious fruits in the world. Taste the flavor of the most intriguing and juicy shapes, sizes, and colors. Learn and taste different categories of vocabulary that have to do with the healthiest products of the tropical forests.

Latin Music Classes. Consider music and its lyrics as one of the most productive strategies to learn Spanish and the culture that is behind it. Strengthen your listening comprehension skills, your grammar patterns, and increase your vocabulary with some of the most popular Latin American and Spanish singers. Listen, learn, and sing with the most beautiful songs of love, life, and passion. Bring your musical instruments and play while you sing songs that will captivate your heart and will enhance your love for Costa Rican and Latin American culture and folklore. Also, once in Quepos/Manuel Antonio you will have the chance to enjoy yourself with horseback riding, sport fishing, international cuisine, bars and discos, river rafting and expeditions in kayaks, surfing, snorkeling, bird and butterfly watching, quiet beaches, astounding sunsets and the most exclusive Spanish Immersion Center in Costa Rica! One day a week, students participate in a field trip that focuses on a social or environmental issues in the Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica area or the town of Quepos.

LA ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE offers the opportunity to study and concentrate on SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES. Spanish for Medical Professionals or Students: This is a linguistic concentration on the Human Body and its anatomy, illnesses and diseases, symptoms and characteristics, prognosis and diagnosis, treatments and procedures, the hospital and its human and physical components, etc. Spanish for Lawyers or Law Students: Legal terminology and documentary will be the main focus in this program. Creation of fictitious legal situations together with analysis of real events will

lead the student to a better grasp and usage of legal procedures in a Spanish context. Spanish for Business Professionals or M.B.A. Students: Deep study of the language mainly concentrated on different areas of business action and all of the technical terminology involved in this field of work: advertising, marketing, finances, foreign trade, Costa Rican economy, etc. Spanish for Teachers and Professors: Learn how to interact in a teaching-learning process setting in Spanish. The main concentration of this program is based on the teaching procedures: designing the curriculum, planning a class, preparing activities, giving instructions, explaining material and contents of study, learning the Costa Rican educational system, etc. These programs are offered only under private instruction and the schedules will be designed to the convenience of both teachers and students. ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE Schedule

ACADEMIA DE ESPAÑOL D’AMORE is open year-long except for the last two weeks of the calendar year and the following Costa Rican National Holidays: Holy Thursday and Friday (April 21st, April 22nd), Día de Juan Santa Maria (April 11), Labor Day (May 1), Anexión de Guanacaste (July 25), Mother's Day (August 15), Independence Day (September 15) Culture Day (October 12). Classes can not be recuperated on these days. To assure the highest quality education it is suggested that the students accommodate their travel plans to begin the school on the following Mondays, 2011:

Students that enroll on other Mondays will be placed in an existing class.

Arrival information

When the students arrive in the school, they are given an O.P.I. (Oral Proficiency Interview) according to the A.C.T.F.L. standards (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). Placements are based on the Conversational Approach; that means the students are placed according to how much they can produce orally, in small groups of no more than five students. This group size allows students to have a more intense contact with the language and a more personalized interaction with teachers and other classmates.

P. O. Box : Costa Rica – Apdo. 67-6350 Manuel Antonio, Quepos Tel/Fax: (506) 2777-0233 – (505) 2777-1143

2812 Horseshoe Bend, Hartland, WI 53029 Tel/Fax: (262) 367-8598

4150 Arch Dr. #216, Studio City, CA 91604 Tel: (818) 434-7290

www.academiadamore.com info@academiadamore.com

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