worldtraveler414

I am a young adult that wanted to do a month-long, summer Spanish immersion experience. After researching several options, I chose the Forester Institute (or, Instituto Forester Internacional) in San Jose, Costa Rica. I chose a month of daily, one-on-one private tutoring and living arrangements with a host family.

My host family was great. I think Forester does a great job at screening host families and setting guidelines and rules for both host families and host students.

My teacher was very knowledgeable, kind, and fun. My teacher tried hard to make my experience a positive one.

Unfortunately, the Forester Institute has a set curriculum that teachers aren’t allowed to deviate from, even in one-on-one tutoring. I found that the school’s materials and format wasn’t always helpful to me; but we still had to use what was given to us, even though I feel that it held me back from learning as much as I possibly could. Don’t get me wrong; I gave 100% of myself in every class, practiced with my host family, and did all the homework. But I still faced a lot of learning blocks that I feel could have been avoided with a few adjustments to the course format.

I tried sharing my needs and concerns with the school administration (calmly and professionally) and I do not feel that I was treated respectfully when I did so. My concerns were never resolved.

The bottom line for me: If I’m paying good money for one-on-one tutoring, I want it to come with some flexibility to work with my own learning style, my strengths, and my weaknesses. And because I’m the client, I expect some basic standards of customer service – those being respect for me as a person, and consideration for my needs and requests for the services provided.

If you’re thinking about investing some of your hard-earned money into a Spanish immersion experience, check out Costa Rica’s schools – but I encourage you to stay away from the Forester Institute.