Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

1. Build your vocabulary. Try to learn a minimum of five new words daily.
2. Watch Spanish TV programs. Keep a note pad by your side and jot down new words and expressions. Later use the dictionary to look up any words and expressions you don’t understand.
3. Pay attention to the way the locals speak the language.
4. Listen to Spanish music.
5. Talk with as many different Spanish speakers as you can. You will learn something from everyone. Carry a small notebook and write down new words when you hear them.
6. Read aloud in Spanish for five minutes a day to improve your accent.
7. Try to imitate native speakers when you talk.
8. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
9. Practice using your new vocabulary words in complete sentences.
10. When you learn something new, form a mental picture to go along with it—visualize the action.
11. Try to talk in simple sentences. Remember, your Spanish is not at the same level as your English, so simplify what you are trying to say.
12. If you get stuck or tongue-tied, try using nouns instead of complete sentences.
13. Remember Spanish and English are more similar than different. There are many cognates (words that are the same of almost the same in both languages).
14. Learn all of the basic verb tenses and memorize the important regular and irregular verbs in each tense.
15. Study Spanish grammar, but don’t get bogged down in it.
16. Read the newspaper. The comic strips are great because they have a lot of dialog.
17. It takes time to learn another language. Don’t be impatient. Most English speakers are in a hurry to learn foreign languages and get frustrated easily because the process is slow.
18. Study a little bit everyday, be dedicated, persist and most of all enjoy the learning process.

¡Buena suerte! Good luck!

Tiquismo of the Week: Chispa refers to a person who is very intelligent.

If you are seriously considering moving to a Latin American country, you should begin to study Spanish as soon as possible.

Here are a few suggestions that will give you a head start in learning the language. Look for some type of Spanish course that emphasizes conversation as well as grammar and enroll as soon as possible. University extension, junior colleges and night schools usually offer a wide range of Spanish classes.

You should also consider studying at a private language school like Berlitz if there is one near where you reside. Many of these schools allow the students to work at their own pace.

Another excellent way to learn Spanish, if you can afford it, is to hire a private language tutor. Like private schools this type of instruction can be expensive, but is very worthwhile. The student has the opportunity of working one-on-one with a teacher and usually progresses much faster than in a large group situation.

If you happen to reside in an area where there are no schools that offer Spanish classes, you should go to your local bookstore and purchase some type of language cassette. This way, at least you will have a chance to learn correct pronunciation and train your ear by listening to how the language is spoken.

Listening to radio programs in Spanish and watching Spanish television are other ways to learn the language, if you are fortunate enough to live in an area where there are some of these stations.

You can also spend your summer or work vacations studying Spanish in Mexico or Costa Rica. This way you will experience language in real life situations. These language vacations can be enjoyable and rewarding experiences.

Finally, try befriending as many native Spainish speakers as you can who live in the area where you reside. Besides making new friends, you will have someone to practice with and ask questions about the language.

By following the advice above and making an effort to learn the language, you should be able to acquire enough basic language skills to prepare you for living in a Spanish speaking country. Best of all, you will acquire the life-long hobby of learning a new language in the process.

Although many of Costa Rica’s well-educated people speak English, (and more than 30,000 English-speaking foreigners live permanently in Costa Rica), Spanish is the official language. Anyone who seriously plans to live or retire in Costa Rica should know Spanish — the more the better. Frankly, you will be disadvantaged, handicapped and be considered a foreigner to some degree without Spanish. Part of the fun of living in another country is communicating with the local people, making new friends and enjoying the culture. Speaking Spanish will enable you to achieve these ends, have a more rewarding life, and open the door for many new, interesting experiences.

Most English speakers who come to Costa Rica will find it hard to understand and communicate with the locals. Even people with knowledge of the Spanish language have a difficult time with the local slang. Like English, Spanish has become very idiomatic. Everyday conversations are filled with local jargon called, tiquismos. This guide will help you decipher most of the local idioms and enable you to communicate on a basic lever. It is the result of twenty years of experience, experimentation and research in the field of bilingual education. Tiresome grammar and tedious exercises have been eliminated to both accelerate and facilitate the learning process and make this book more enjoyable. Thus, people of all ages and from all walks of life can profit from it.

It must be pointed out that this book not be considered a complete course in the Spanish language. However, with the regular practice of the pronunciation exercises and memorization of all the indispensable vocabulary and useful phrases, you should be able to communicate and handle most daily situations you will encounter in Costa Rica.