The Institute will arrange airport pick-up and housing with a Costa Rican family, for those who request it.

Your Costa Rican family will be at the airport (if required) to meet you at the time you indicate on your application form. You will need to pay them $30 (the equivalent of taxi fare from the airport).

You should plan to arrive no later than the evening before classes begin.

Placements interviews and Orientation to the Institute and living in San José will be given at 8:30 am the morning classes begin.

Pre-registration fee (sent with application): $75

Books and materials: $45

Tuition: depends on length of time (see chart below)

Room with private bathroom (includes meals and laundry) with a host family:

            $380 monthly, per person       

            $395 monthly, per person, with Internet access

            $735 monthly, per couple, including Internet access

Our 2012 schedule is as follows:

Many students have received college credit for studies completed at the Spanish Language Institute. You will need to give your university a copy of your transcript and a description of the courses that you took. Both of these can be obtained from the Institute’s Academic Director's Assistant. (Transcripts cost $10.) If possible, check with your university’s Spanish department chairperson before coming to the Institute. If they have any questions about the program, invite them to contact the Institute’s Academic Director, who will be happy to respond.

Extended stay:

If you are planning to stay beyond the last day of the course and would like to continue your Spanish studies, please indicate the length of time on your application form and any special areas of interest (cultural differences, medical terms, composition, etc.). We will do our best to arrange an independent study program (50 minutes per day) with a teacher.

Additional time with your host family will cost $13 per day.

For students studying at the Institute in June and July, we offer the following special packages:

Guided excursions. This package consists of excursions to: 1) downtown San José, the capital of Costa Rica, 2) Manuel Antonio Beach, on the Pacific coast, 3) Cartago, the Irazú volcano, and the Orosi Valley, and 4) an ecological tour (choose between canopy tour, white water rapids or an ecological farm). Cost for all four excursions, including transportation, meals, accommodations and tour guide: $500.

Volunteer service. Opportunities range from caring for young children, to youth ministry, to helping with oral and written translations. To participate in the volunteer service program, students must have at least an intermediate level of Spanish. The cost for setting up the program is $100. Those who desire to receive college credit will be required to complete written assignments under the supervision of a teacher and will be charged an additional $200.

We have literally spent decades developing a unique Spanish-learning program for "Second Career" students.

This variation of the usual Intensive Course is designed for students who may be concerned that learning a language might not be as easy as it was back in college. The course aims to teach students basic Spanish vocabulary and grammatical structures that will help them get around the city and communicate everyday needs. We use special learning methods and visual aids to maximize the learning time.

Debbie and I have been full-time missionaries in Costa Rica since November 2006.  We look back fondly at our year at ILE and are so thankful for the foundation we received, not only in the Spanish language but also in learning about the Latino culture.  As a couple in our 50’s we arrived in this new country having left family and friends and everything familiar to start a new chapter in our lives as missionaries. We were very impressed that our language school was also a great community of other missionaries and people who were in the same boat as us. We encouraged one another, laughed and cried together, developed close friendships and, at the same time, learned the fundamentals of the Spanish language. We are very thankful for our time at ILE.  -- John and Debbie Overholt (Class of 2007)