Our Teachers and Methodology

Your language instructors all have years of formal training in Spanish and linguistics. We select instructors who share CPH's commitment to mutual respect and equality, support and team spirit in order to build a learning community of collaboration to produce excellent results.

Director Yamillette Sanabria

Yamillette Sanabria Rodríguez is a part owner and our school Director and has been a senior trainer with CHP for 25 years. Yamillette (Yami) is a specialist in teaching Spanish as a second language as well as adult learning and curriculum design. As overall administrator of the school she is also responsible for identifying host families and providing them with training in cross-cultural issues.

Senior Trainer Salvador Zelaya Garcia

Salvador Zalaya Garcia is a senior member of the CHP language staff and conducts training for new language nstructors in appropriate methodology and techniques and serves as an assistant to the director. Salvador has been with CPH for over 19 years. Prior to working with CPH, Salvador taught Spanish and English for high school and college level students in El Salvador.

Elena-Chavarría	Guisselle-Carballo	Lidia-Cabezas	Trinidad-Gómez

Our teaching methodology can be described as learner-centered instruction. Our program emphasizes developing spoken and written structures that students need in order to perform daily living activities. Our focus is on what the learner can do with the language, not what he or she knows about the language. Our curriculum includes the following characteristics:

Focus on life skills. Students learn Spanish to communicate in order to perform specific tasks. They learn language forms and skills required in social situations (with host families, friends, and neighbors).

Modularized instruction. The curriculum is broken down into manageable "chunks"; each one represented by:

• (a) a clear objective;
• (b) the linguistic skill (speaking, reading, writing, listening) to be learned;
• (c) the necessary grammatical structures and vocabulary;
• (d) the process we will use to be sure the student has mastered the skill.

Continuous and ongoing assessment. Students are checked regularly so we can determine which objectives they have met and which skills they still lack.

Individualized, learner-centered instruction. Learning objectives are defined in terms of individual needs, taking into account each participant's prior learning and experience. Students progress at their own pace, concentrating on the areas in which they lack competence.

CPH Language and Cross-Cultural School
Apartado 25-6150
Santa Ana, Costa Rica
Tel/Fax: (506) 282-9920
In USA Toll Free 1-888-233-1638
E-mail: info@spanishincostarica.com
Website: www.spanishincostarica.com