Las Diferencias en la Educación Entre los Estados Unidos y Costa Rica

Grand Valley State University 

Universidad Veritas

After taking classes in Costa Rica for the past two weeks, I have realized that there are many differences between universities in the United States and Costa Rica that I did not expect. Universidad Veritas, my university in Costa Rica is much smaller than Grand Valley and is a private university that aside from the international students program, only has a few majors, mostly design, fashion, and architecture related. College is much more expensive in the United States than here, and public universities are free for Costa Rican students. Education is high priority in both countries. 

Veritas consists of a few main buildings, all located in the same area. There are no dorms at this university, a huge difference from the U.S., and instead, students live at home or with host families. It is a very different experience living with a family instead of in a dorm, apartment, or house with friends. For my month abroad, I enjoy living with my host mom because it helps me practice Spanish and understand the culture (also breakfast and dinner are cooked for me and my host mom does my laundry); however, throughout my four years of college, I would want to live on my own with friends like I do at home. 

The professors teaching styles are much different here than in the United States. First of all, speaking with them and in class only in Spanish is a huge change, but is very beneficial. In Costa Rica, it is considered "tico* time," which means that people are usually running late. My classes do not actually start until 10 minutes or so after they are supposed to. The lifestyle here is much more relaxed and not rushed, which is a nice change. We also have a half-hour break during our four hour class to relax, eat, and talk with our friends and ticos. My professors have been more lenient and open about the structure with presentations and assignments than at home; we are often allowed to present how we want and complete an assignment in our interpretation. There are rarely handouts with complete instructions or rubrics given out. Since we are studying the language, talking is the main focus in class and homework assignments, rather than written work. We spend most of the class period talking and reading aloud, instead of the teacher lecturing or doing individual work. 

I enjoy that we spend most of our class period in Costa Rica talking and working on pronunciation. Since there is only 3 of us in my class, it is easy to receive quick feedback and make changes. In the United States, class sizes are much larger and lecture based, which makes it difficult to work on pronunciation and fluidity (something that is very important when communicating with native speakers). I didn't realize how many letters and words that I pronounced wrong before taking my class abroad. I would like to see more of an emphasis on speaking in college classes in the U.S. On the other hand, I appreciate the structure of Spanish classes in the United States more. As someone who is detailed-oriented, it was difficult for me to complete assignments and projects without a rubric or set guidelines. Both styles of teaching have their positives and negatives, and I am thankful I have had the opportunity to learn both ways.

*A tico is a native Costa Rican person