Instructors were very friendly and helpful when planning my last trip to Costa Rica. They worked out details to ensure classes met my interests (potter & horticulutre) and needs (immersion). They also made arrangements and accomanpied me on travel to offsite locals to enrich my cultural understanding of Costa Rica. When necessary they translated lectures. Especially interesting were the personal experiences such as the pottery workshop, grocery shopping and visiting a homeowner who just built a custum Costa Rican style home. I highly recommend contacting this school to see if your personal travel interests can be met.

We appreciated the total experience the school provided above and beyond the classroom - visits to museums, restaurants, markets. The homestay was excellent - good food, exposure to "real life" in Costa Rica. Excellent value for the money. The teachers adjusted their teaching methods and efforts to our skill level. This is a student-centered school. We highly recommend the school.

me encantó mi experiencia en esta escuela pues he estudiado en muchas antes pero la metodología en ésta me pareciò diferente y muy interesante.

The International Spanish School of Costa Rica gave me the best immersion experience I could have imagined. I had no prior spanish instruction and became a competent speaker in just a month. I had one-on-one instruction that was tailored to my interest in medical spanish. My teachers were were fantastic and went out of their way to help me get the most out of my month in Costa Rica. They arranged everything from my pick up at the airport, homestay with a wonderful family, medical experience in the local hospital and all of my weekend travel adventures. I could not recommend them more highly.

The International Spanish School was a great program. Wes and Rafa are both very knowledgeable teachers and the one on one teaching really focused on the ability to speak the Spanish you learn. The program also included cooking and cultural lessons, trips to local sites of interest, and basic help with any other activity you wished to pursue while in Costa Rica. I was able to learn some conversational medical Spanish since I am a medical student that was helpful during my rotations. Students are also able to live with a host family (they help you set that up) which only reinforces what you learn. They also pick you up from the airport. I had a great experience! My only regret is that I should have stayed longer!

Rafa y Wes helped me to make great improvements in Spanish. Their classes are organized around the specific needs of a student; I found that to be extremely appealing. Often I would choose the topics that I wanted to discuss or practice. I have attended classes with them on three separate occasions recently, and I plan to return this year for more. I strongly recommend them.

Sometimes one just stumbles into something great. That was my case when I attended the International Spanish School of Costa Rica in January 2012. This was a learning experience that was better than any I could have hoped for or imagined. Wes and Rafael, who are the owners and instructors, are very caring, kind, and considerate. They went far out of their way to ensure that I had the best learning experience possible. I am an intermediate level student who studied for two weeks with Rafael. Rafael is a wonderful instructor. His teaching method emphasizes conversation and minimizes stress. We chatted for over four hours a day in spanish, always working on my grammar, telling funny stories, improving my vocabulary in a natural way, and just having a very enjoyable, fun, and productive time. My spanish improved much more here than at another school that I had previously attended in Mexico. This was the perfect school and experience for me and I plan to go back again for more instruction in the future. If you are serious about improving your spanish, I strongly recommend attending here. I think that this school is the best. John F. Gold River, California, USA

A very personal, small school that really pays attention to the individual student. The school is really concerned about its students and pays interest not only in the lessons taken but also in other aspects of your stay in Costa Rica. Quite often my individual lessons lasted longer than scheduled, because the teacher liked what they was doing.

We spent two weeks taking Spanish classes with the International Spanish School of Costa Rica. Unlike many schools, the lessons here are completely conversational with grammar points covered as and when necessary. Although the classes did not take place in a dedicated school building, this certainly does not indicate a lack of dedication or professionalism on the part of the tutors (and directors), Rafa & Wes. Listening and talking only in Spanish for 4 hours a day (or more!), Monday to Friday, for two weeks was at times difficult, however it was an enjoyable and largely stress free experience, and we don’t think we would have learned as much in this short space of time in another school with a different methodology. As there was for the most part only us two students present over the two weeks, the tutoring was mostly one-to-one, with all four of us joining together for a coffee break mid lesson where we had delicious treats to eat (sometimes baked by Wes – yum yum). The conversations were very interesting ranging from our own personal interests to the cultures of our own country and Costa Rica. In this way we also learnt a lot about the country we were currently in, including the occasional Costa Rican only words and slang - every time we subsequently heard two muchachos calling each other mae, we thought of Rafa & Wes. If you are looking for a school to really learn Spanish and how to speak it in day-to-day conversations, then you cannot go wrong with the International Spanish School of Costa Rica.

If you are serious about improving your conversation and applying all those rules you learned in grammer classes, this is the type of school you are seeking. I have had several years of hit or miss classes in the U.S. and some brief forays to language schools in Mexico but never have quite tied it all together. My wife was a true beginner but is always very focused when she begins a task. For both of us this school was a success. The methodology permitted me to converse in a normal manner about varied subjects with occasional guidance to correct errors and reinforcement when problem areas became apparent. My wife's classes were one-on-one and I shared my profesor with another student part of the time. My wife made rapid progress and was able to understand and contribute during conversations with our home-stay hosts in present and past tenses in less than two weeks! Our homestay was a very enjoyable facet of our visit. We were introduced to new, healthy cuisine and cooking methods and given an opportunity to learn many things about Costa Rica. The emphasis on staying with Spanish during the home-stay meant more reinforcement of our lessons in an entertaining manner. The emphasis is on learning, as there are not a lot of tourist attractions that you can visit during the week given the class hours and location. (I would prefer an earlier start and finish). The instructors are willing to shift times a bit as necessary to accomodate the student's wishes and are very helpful in assisting with travel, hotels etc. for weekend excursions. Overall I rate this school very highly for furthering one's conversational Spanish proficiency. The instructor's overall knowledge base and willingness to research details in medical, technical and other fields make this a good choice for serious students. Charles and Joanne, Sammamish, WA

Wes and Raphael are so nice and warmfull. They really make the most of it to make you learn spanish. There is one teacher for one student and they provide a lesson who match your level. More than a teacher, they care for you and help you to achieve the rest of your experience in Costa Rica. We definitely recommand them!

The four weeks that I spent learning with the International Spanish School of Costa Rica was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Wes and Rafael are phenomenal professors and people. The school was completely personalized-- we went at my pace, discussed topics I was interested in and as an attorney, they added in specialized legal terms free of charge. It had been six years since I had taken any courses in Spanish and I left feeling nearly fluent after leaving. My home stay mother was also amazing! My accommodations were comfortable and I was fed incredibly well. I expected to learn Spanish but I received much more from this experience than I had even anticipated. I would recommend this school to anyone who truly wants to learn Spanish and be immersed in the culture of Costa Rica.

Loved the program. I really think their methodology and philosophy on teaching is the best. They teach grammar and all of the essentials, but in a really focused and practical way. I have a basic foundation in Spanish, and even the little time that I spent with Wes and Rafael helped me go up another level.

My sixteen year old son and I recently completed a three week language intensive/homestay with ISSCR. We could not be more pleased with our experience. Our every need was taken care of by the Co-directors of ISSCR, Wes and Rafael. We specifically looked for a learning program that could be tailored around our experience and needs. Wes and Rafael took the two of us, myself a beginning Spanish speaker and Noah having had ten years of Spanish immersion/classes in school , and created a program to meet our individual needs. Placing the emphasis on grammar through conversation made learning fun and exciting. In real time we were able to correct our mistakes and to increase our knowledge of Spanish. Our homestay was wonderful and definitely helped us to improve our language skills. Beautiful meals were prepared each day for us and catered to our vegetarian preference. Our homestay host, Dona Ligia truly made us feel like her home was ours. We could not have asked for a more perfect and caring environment to learn a language in. The extra touches are what make ISSCR unique. Rafael and Wes helped us arrange tours, transportation and hotel reservations at a reduced price, taking no fee for securing us the tours like most language schools do. We were treated like friends and family, invited to their lovely home for a wonderful and absolutely delicious meal, cooking with Noah, shopping in San Jose, and inviting us to meet friends for a fun evening of conversation (a terrific way to practice our Spanish) and coffee. As a parent, safety was a concern for me. Wes and Rafael always made sure that we were in a safe environment or else made sure to accompany us. We travelled around the country and the city without concerns. We leave Costa Rica richer by our experience here. We have made lifelong friends, who through their patience and knowledge have improved our ability to communicate in Spanish exponentially. Our only regrets are that we are not able to stay longer. We are already thinking of a return to Costa Rica and ISSCR. So, if you are looking for a program that immerses you not only in the language but in the culture and everyday life of Costa Ricans you have found it in ISSCR. Hasta Luego! Wendy & Noah Cloak August 2012