Countdown to Costa Rica

Language is the door to broadening students’ horizons and helping them develop connections with the larger world around them. Providing a glimpse into the culture behind a language only deepens their engagement. When 8th graders live in a rural Costa Rican farming community for a week in early May, they are able to apply the lessons learned in the classroom in new and authentic ways.

 

While in Costa Rica, students stay in homes and help their host families with daily activities and chores. They also help the community understand and adopt more sustainable practices. To prepare for this, 8th graders spend the year learning about the benefits of burning clean energy and how to build bio-char stoves. Then, it is the students’ task to share this information and instruct the community on how to build bio-char stoves—but there’s a twist: the students must give all of the directions in Spanish.

 

“The whole point of learning Spanish is being able to communicate,” says Spanish Teacher Sara Hodges. Of course, communicating in a second language is easier said than done. So, preparing students for the challenges of communicating with native Spanish speakers in a foreign country begins on day one of 8th grade. Eighth graders are expected to speak only Spanish during their language blocks. And, throughout the year students are challenged to tackle increasingly sophisticated structures and work towards independent conversation and storytelling.

 

The 8th grade Spanish class prepares students for the Costa Rica experience in other ways, too. Learning about tourism in Costa Rica leads to conversations about economic and environmental issues. Learning about the food allows students to preview the traditions and local customs that bring meaning to the lives of Costa Ricans. Through lessons covering the history of the country, race relations, and fair trade, 8th graders not only practice conversation skills, grammar, and vocabulary, but begin to find the connections that will keep them investigating and embracing other cultures for a lifetime.