The Spanish Language Institute, Costa Rica

The Spanish Language Institute employs experienced, qualified instructors who specialize in teaching Spanish as a foreign language to missionaries and Christian workers. Teachers are trained to provide intensive language instruction with a focus on biblical faithfulness and prayer, integrating faith-based perspectives into the learning process. The Institute has been training missionaries and Christian workers since 1942, giving its faculty decades of accumulated expertise in helping students acquire language skills for ministry purposes.

Students at The Spanish Language Institute come primarily from Christian backgrounds, including missionaries, pastors, Bible college students, and church workers who need Spanish for ministry purposes. Many students are sent by denominations and mission agencies that have long-standing partnerships with the Institute. The student body is diverse in age and nationality, but united by a common goal: to learn Spanish in order to share their faith and serve Spanish-speaking communities in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America. The Institute also accommodates families, as the bilingual school on campus allows children to learn alongside their parents.

The Spanish Language Institute is affiliated with FEDEMEC, a national evangelical mission sending agency in Costa Rica, as well as ACEP, an association of private schools in Costa Rica. The Institute is governed by a non-profit Costa Rican organization (Asociación del Instituto de Lengua Española) and overseen by an annually elected Board of Directors made up of Costa Rican pastors, missionaries, and representatives of various denominations and mission agencies. The school operates in accordance with Costa Rican educational regulations and maintains a high standard of language training for its students.

The Institute is located on Avenida 52 in San Francisco de Dos Ríos, a district of San José, situated close to local amenities including shops, parks, and churches. The campus features classrooms designed for intensive language learning, as well as a bilingual school for children so that families can study together. Students have access to common areas for study and fellowship, and the Institute provides recommendations for excursions and places to visit throughout Costa Rica. Dress code guidelines emphasize modesty and professionalism, with specific expectations for campus attire for both male and female students during and after class hours.