This project creates experiences in international collaboration for current and future educators. The project has three main objectives: collaboration between U.S. educators and a Costa Rican community and its educational system, preparation of future educators to work within a global society, and language immersion in the Spanish speaking country of Costa Rica. The experiences outlined here could be adapted to other countries and offered through other colleges or universities seeking to promote a more global understanding of the world for future educators. The term educator is used very broadly to encompass not only classroom teachers, but also any individual working within the social service sector. The collaboration with a Costa Rican community first began with relationships developed during a Peace Corps assignment in Colorado, Costa Rica over 20 years ago. Since then Spanish professor Dr. Genny Ballard has initiated trips to this spot with her own students. Recently a partnership was formed between the Spanish professor, Education professor, and Costa Rican community members to offer a language immersion experience for students at Centre College. This international partnership will help prepare future educators to work in a global society. Spanish speaking students gain the opportunity to converse with native speakers and improve their own oral language skills. Students with a limited Spanish vocabulary gain a perspective on what it is like to struggle with a new language in a foreign cultural environment. Students learn about the emphasis on environmental education and examine the economic trends in this foreign country: coffee, banana, African palm, and tourism. Ultimately, future educators gain experiences that will help them to better serve English as Second Language (ESL) students. In the role of Education professor the author immersed herself within this Costa Rican community to research the educational system for comparative analysis. Personal observations and experiences will provide a forum to emphasize the importance of an international perspective not only with teacher candidates but ultimately within all K-12 classrooms.
