Who can teach English in Costa Rica? Do I have the requirements in order to get a teaching job in Costa Rica? These are questions most people have that are looking at teaching down here. Let's look first at what you do NOT need in order to teach.
1) You do NOT need to speak Spanish.
In fact you are not ALLOWED to speak Spanish in your classes. Your classes must be taught 100% in English, so the fact you did poorly in your grade 10 Spanish class five years ago is irrelevant. Any Spanish you know or can remember will help you in your day-to-day life as far as ordering beer and buying bread; however, in the classroom there is zero Spanish.
There are some countries where you need a degree to teach; however, Costa Rica is not one of these countries. Many of our grads are either taking a gap year before they graduate, or who have never attended university, Schools down here are more interested in your personality and work ethic, rather than whether you have a degree or not. Plus, there are so many jobs available that schools can't always be too picky.
3) You do NOT need any teaching experience in any form.
Very few of our grads have any teaching experience. That is why you take the course: so you can teach regardless of past experience. We will train and certify you so that you can get a job and walk into your classroom confident and ready.
4) There is NO age limit.
There is a minimum. You need to be 18; however, there is no age limit. This is a myth that unfortunately keeps many older people from having this amazing adventure. Most schools prefer older teachers in their classrooms. It gives them a certain amount of prestige, and they feel older teachers might be more dependable. I'm not going to comment if I agree with that.
What you DO NEED to get work is: a high level of English, to be 18 or over, and most importantly, you NEED a TEFL certificate. The days of finding a teaching job just because you speak English are thankfully over. That was back in the 90's. Now you must be properly trained and TEFL certified, which is what we will help you achieve. We can make this dream a reality for you. Contact us TODAY to save your spot in one of our 4-week, onsite TEFL courses!
