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JANUARY INTERSESSION San José, COSTA RICA: Spanish Language & Costa Rican Culture January 2010 Faculty Director Tentative Dates Application Deadline
INTRODUCTION - FACULTY PROGRAM DIRECTOR(S) - ACADEMICS INTRODUCTIONProgram Description and Location
The MU International Center and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures sponsor this January Intersession Faculty-Led study abroad program, hosted by the Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA) in San José, Costa Rica. MU Instructor Jacquelyn Sandone will accompany the group as the Faculty Program Director. In Costa Rica, students will be able to improve their Spanish language ability through a homestay with a Costa Rican family, intensive Spanish classes, and excursions into Costa Rica’s varied ecosystems. In addition to learning Spanish, students will have the option to take conversation, dance, and cooking classes during their free time. Students participating in the program will also have the opportunity to do volunteer work in San José. Students can then choose to use this experience towards an additional Service Learning designation through the University of Missouri, if they wish to continue to volunteer with Columbia’s Spanish-speaking community upon returning to MU. Program datesTentative Dates: December 27, 2009 - January 10, 2010 FACULTY PROGRAM DIRECTOR(S)University of Missouri faculty member, Jacquelyn Sandone, MU Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, will accompany the students to Costa Rica. Jacquelyn Sandone has experience leading summer and January Intersession programs to Costa Rica, and will be a great asset to the program. Faculty-Led Programs enrich the study abroad experience as well as the MU campus by providing students opportunities to study other cultures and disciplines in depth while gaining new perspectives on our own society. Faculty leaders serve as mentors, role-models, and resources, as students explore their host institution and country. "One of the great joys of being an on-site coordinator of this program is that in two short weeks, I watch students gain so much confidence in their abilities to successfully navigate in another culture and to communicate in Spanish at a much-improved level. Many students who do this intersession program go on to do longer study abroad programs, in part, I believe because they have gotten a taste of what - Jacquelyn Sandone, Faculty Program Director Jacquelyn Sandone"I was an exchange student in Bolivia in high school and the experience changed my life. So it gives me great pleasure to help students have an experience living abroad, however short it might be. Even though the intersession Costa Rica program is just two to three weeks long, students get to experience living with a Costa Rican family, negotiating the city of San José, attending an intensive language program, participating in ecotourism activities, volunteering in the community and interacting with members of the community." ACADEMICSCoursesSPAN 3150 — Advanced Spanish Conversation (3). Course puts into practice the linguistic skills learned at intermediate levels. It develops and increases the capacity for comprehension and oral expression in the language. Focus is on practice of certain syntactic structures and idiomatic expressions, and on acquisition of new vocabulary. Prerequisite: SPAN 2160 or equivalent. *The language and culture courses will be taught by CRLA faculty members. Academic credit
Students will enroll in one course for a total of 3 credits. You will be enrolled in an actual MU course and your grades will calculate into your GPA when the credit transfers to MU. Although you are guaranteed to receive credit for successfully completed courses, you must work with your academic advisor(s) to obtain pre-approval as to how you might fulfill degree requirements. EligibilityThe MU program in San José, Costa Rica is open to all undergraduates who have completed Spanish 2160 or equivalent prior to the start of the program and have a minimum 2.5 GPA. EXCURSIONSStudents will travel with the group, but they will have opportunities to explore some sites independently during their time abroad. Students can choose to participate in activities like zip-lining, rafting, and visiting local hot springs. 
Travel might include visits to:
LOCATIONHost ProgramThe MU International Center and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures sponsor this January Intersession Faculty-led Study Abroad Program, in conjunction with the Costa Rican Language Academy (CRLA). 
In Costa Rica, CRLA has a long history of helping students from all over the world study Spanish and Costa Rican culture. The academy is owned by Costa Ricans and all of the teachers are native Spanish speakers. CRLA provides students with not only Spanish courses, but lessons in dance and cooking and opportunities for service learning in the community. CRLA will arrange all student accommodations and most land travel for the duration of the program. Accommodations and MealsStudents will live with a Costa Rican host family (one student per family), which will offer you the unique opportunity to strengthen your language skills and learn about everyday life in Costa Rica. Your family will provide you with breakfast and dinner for the duration of the program. Each home stay has been carefully selected by CRLA’s resident staff in order to accommodate students’ specific needs and to ensure a comfortable living situation. Host City and Surrounding AreasSan José, Costa Rica, the capital city, is located in the center of the country at approximately 3,700 feet above sea level, with 1.3 million inhabitants.
Students will have the opportunity to greatly improve their language skills through their immersion in Spanish and Costa Rican culture. The Costa Rican Language Academy is owned and run by Costa Ricans and provides students with small class sizes and a variety of extracurricular activities. Students will also be able to apply their Spanish in practical situations during their homestay and through their everyday interactions with Costa Ricans. FINANCESProgram CostsMU attempts to make the costs of studying abroad affordable. As a program participant, you will be charged MU Educational and Technology fees (for the corresponding number of credit hours), and the Program Fee (which includes accommodations, field trips, local transportation, some meals, HTH Health and Sickness Insurance/MEDEX, and administrative costs). You will need to budget extra funds for round trip airfare, extra travel, and personal expenses. See the Program Budget Please note: Amounts listed are anticipated costs based on Fall 2009 amounts and are subject to change as a result of international economic factors, tuition increases, changes in the number of student participants, etc. Updated costs for January 2010 will be available in November 2009. Final Costs will be published December 2010. Financial Aid/Scholarship Resources
Most financial aid that you normally receive for your classes at MU should apply to the cost of the program. Non-Residents will be billed for MU Non-Resident fees and are eligible for any Non-Resident scholarships. Additional grants, loans, or scholarships may be available to offset the extra costs incurred on this program. Please visit the MU Financial Aid Office for more information. The International Center also offers study abroad scholarships for MU students. Scholarship applications are included in the MU Study Abroad Application. APPLICATION
CONTACT INFORMATIONStudy Abroad AdvisorJennifer Kirchgasler Faculty Program Director(s)Jacquelyn Sandone TRAVEL INFORMATIONForiegn Embassy(ies) in the USADepartment of StateTourismBROCHURE |
for more details about the cost of participating in this program.