Cultural Embrace offers a wonderful opportunity for you to affordably live in Costa Rica! Teach and tutor a local Costa Rican family with your native language. Improve the grammar and oral skills of the family in exchange for room and full-board six or seven days a week (depending on family). You will be responsible to teach for 15 hours per week.  This will allow enough spare time to explore this beautiful country, learn the language and culture of Costa Rica, gain a new perspective of your own life, and make new friends!

Teaching experience and foreign language knowledge are helpful, but not required. Your host family will be carefully selected through our local partners.  These families have been chosen taking in to account that they are culturally sensitive and have a genuine motivation to share their culture and home, and to learn the participant's mother tongue.  They will open their homes to bring in another world, exchange and share customs and ideas and create friendships that last a lifetime. 

Discover the Similarities - Share the Differences!  

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Teach in Costa Rica Offers:

• The satisfaction of helping others
• An opportunity to broaden your perspective and worldview
• An economical way to live and travel abroad
• An opportunity to participate in and learn local cultural activities (e.g.: language, music, cooking)
• Memorable travel experiences with the chance to see exotic sites you have always dreamed about 
• The ability to make lifelong friends from around the globe
• A valuable work experience that strengthens your resume
• A great way to develop and support your self-confidence and interpersonal skills 

Cultural Embrace Offers:

• Guaranteed Teach/Tutor Position Prior to Departure
  Teach placements with local Costa Rican families
• Accommodation & Full-board
  Furnished private room and 3 meals per day, 6-7 days per week.
• Optional TEFL Certification
  Preparation of skills and techniques useful for inexperienced teachers, but not required.  Learn at the leisure of your own schedule and computer with our online course. This 20-unit course requires approximately 80-100 hours of attention.   Cost is $295.  You may also take an on-site 4-week certification program in an internationally recognized TEFL course.  These courses are located in China, Thailand, New Zealand, Egypt, France, Spain, Italy, and Costa Rica.  There is an extra fee for taking these courses and accommodations can be pre-arranged.
• Arrival Assistance
  Airport meet and greet will be included from San Jose Airport. Assistance to your local host family will be organized for your convenience.
• Visa Assistance
  Cultural Embrace will assist you with information to obtain a visa, but we have no control nor the ability to guarantee government issuance and/or visa availability. Due to the nature (cultural exchange) and duration (<3 months) of the program, most participants will be able to participate in this program with a tourist visa.
• Travel Insurance Assistance:  Basic Major Medical Coverage 
    Purchase one of several policies that we offer for low cost quality insurance.   Cultural Embrace highly recommends additional travel insurance.
• Cultural Embrace Teacher's Kit
  Useful tips, advice, and information to prepare you for the adventure of living and working abroad as well as advice on teaching in Costa Rica.
• Full-time Representation
  Cultural Embrace provides representation in the United States and Costa Rica prior to, during, and after your placement.
• Certification
  If you wish to receive a certificate indicating the hours you taught, please let us know, and we will provide the necessary documentation.  

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• Good command of the English language
• Bachelor's degree in any discipline; Education majors and classroom experience preferred, but not required
• Enjoy leading groups and teaching children and/or adults
• Good lesson planning and organization skills
• Attendance at staff meetings
• Open to foreign cultures and living abroad
• High level of responsibility
• Dedication to the full term of commitment
• Health tests and immunizations may be required to obtain the proper work permit
• A criminal background check may be required by some schools and positions

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1. Obtain the Teach Abroad Application Forms & Procedures documents in one of three ways: 

(a) Download the forms:  Teach Application (pdf) and Language Exchange Details (pdf).

(b) Fill out an online application request form and the forms will be e-mailed to you within 2-3 days.

(c) Call Cultural Embrace at 1-512-469-9089 or (US/Canada toll-free) 1-888-214-8570 to have the forms mailed to you in 7-10 days.

2. Read the instructions carefully and complete all forms.

3. Submit your completed application packet to:

CULTURAL EMBRACE
7201 Bill Hughes Road
Austin, TX 78745 USA 

Completed packet should include:

• Teach Program Application
• Signed Teach Program Agreement
• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter explaining why you want to teach abroad
• Copy of your Bachelor's degree and other significant credentials
• Copy of your passport (information page only)
• Three Letters of Recommendations (your referrer can send it directly to us via post or email)
• Medical report verifying physical and mental health
• Police background check
  
• Four passport-size photos
• One full-length picture
• US$200 non-refundable deposit (credited towards your program fee)

 

Start dates vary depending on availability of host family. Limited availability during peak summer holiday months.

Upon receipt of your application, we will contact you for ~20-30 minute phone interview to learn more about your skills, experience, needs, etc; and to discuss the program details and expectations.  After acceptance to our program, we will invoice you the remainder of the program fee.

*Cultural Embrace will require an expedited application fee for those applying 12 weeks or fewer before the desired date of departure. Applications received 8-12 weeks prior to your desired departure date will be charged $150. Applications received fewer than 8 weeks before the desired departure date will be charged $250.

Upon receipt of full program fee enrollment, your placement will be confirmed by email including the following information: teach abroad placement and confirmation date, details of host family (address, family members, house rules), details of the community, hours of teaching per week, start and end dates, geographic characteristics of the host community location.

For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at teach@culturalembrace.com or you can call us at 1-512-469-9089 or (US/Canada toll-free) 1-888-214-8570.