Intensive Quechua Language

The Center for Social Well Being offers both 3 and 6 week Intensive Quechua Language courses.  The program is designed for students who require class instruction and Quechua immersion contexts to develop language proficiency. FLAS Foreign Language and Area Studies grantees are eligible to apply.

Quechua, known as the “language of the Tawantin Suyu empire,” is spoken by an estimated 10 million people today in Andean South America. The Huaylas Quechua spoken in the Department of Ancash, where we are based, is one of the most significant for its antiquity. Of the two major families of contemporary Quechua, Huaylas Quechua is classified within the north-central Peruvian group, which extends from the Sierra of Lima all the way to the Huallaga valley region of Huanuco.

Beginning, intermediate and advanced courses are offered that provide concentrated class hours focused on grammar, vocabulary and the development of speaking skills and listening comprehension. The Center for Social Well Being is affiliated with the Regional Academy of Ancash Quechua, an association composed of bilingual school teachers, historians, writers, folklorists, musicians, poets and other professionals dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of the Quechua language.  All university-trained bilingual teachers, our team of Quechua instructors provide an academically rigorous program, complemented with an orientation to Quechua creative expressions of local myths, legends, songs and poetry. 

The program is structured into 4 hour classroom sessions each morning, and a 2 hour workshop of conversation, songs and poetry every afternoon. The six week course provides 180 contact hours with native speakers, equivalent to 1 year of university study. Our teachers, who are natives of villages throughout the valley, guide students to their home communities and the schools where they teach for in-context language practice and skills acquisition. A highlight of the program includes the participation of students in the revitalization of Andean rituals in honor of the spirits of the earth and cosmos, organized by the Regional Academy of Ancash Quechua.

The Center for Social Well Being is located on a rural ranch in the Quechua-speaking community of Cajamarquilla. Students lodge here for the duration of the program to fully engage in rural activities where there are plenty of opportunities to practice Quechua conversation with workers on the ranch and with local neighbors. Optional excursions to places of interest such as archaeological sites, glacial lakes, hotsprings and impressive mountain passes are also offered. 

Course themes
WEEK:

1. Introduction: pronouns, nouns, adjectives, verbs; vocabulary
2. Questions: inquiry/response
3. Relationships: family, social reciprocity; humans and nature
4. Time: diurnal/nocturnal, Andean calendar
5. Space: toponyms, spatial concepts
6. Ritual: paying respect to the earth; communal ceremonies; fiestas

Schedule

Bibliography of Huaylas Quechua

Carranza Romero, Francisco
2003            Diccionario Quechua Ancashino-Castellano. Madrid: Vervuert.

Chávez Reyes, Amancio
2003            La toponimia en la zona andina de Ancash. Con especial referencia sobre el topónimo “shiqui.” Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

Julca Guerrero, Félix Claudio
2009            Quechua Ancashino: Una Mirada Actual. Lima: Pedagógico San Marcos – Fondo Editorial.

León Huarac, Martín, et al.
2007            Educación por la diversidad cultural. Carhuaz, Ancash: Red de Docentes “Alli Shunquwan Rurashun” y Urpichallay.

Menacho López, Leonel y J.H. Cooper
1998            Guía de lenguaje Quechua para docentes. Quechua del Callejón de Huaylas. Huaraz: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano.

Parker, Gary J.

Parker, Gary J. y Amancio Chávez

Requena Mena, Solio Amador

Swisshelm, Germán
1972 Diccionario del Quechua de Huaraz. Huaraz: Estudios Culturales Benedictinos, No. 2.

Yauri Montero, Marco
2000 Leyendas Ancashinas. Lima: Lerma Gómez EIRL. [1961]

Spanish Immersion Program

This year we offer an intensive Spanish immersion program aimed at students and travelers at various levels of exposure to the language who require both classes and Spanish-only contexts to develop language proficiency. Beginners, intermediate and advanced level learners are welcome to apply. Based on a preliminary test of prior language skills (if any), participants are placed in appropriate classes taught by our Spanish faculty (see below).

Course Activities
Students attend 3 hours of class daily focused on needs according to learning levels. Class content includes vocabulary, grammar, verbal and comprehension development, in addition to homework assignments to reinforce coursework. Classes prepare students to identify clear learning and practice objectives to pursue in their daily interactions with local residents. Outside the classroom students dedicate 3-5 hours daily to immersion activities in Spanish-only settings. Innumerable opportunities for language acquisition in context are available for the practice of greetings, information sharing and conversation. Natural settings, such as agricultural activities, market interactions, fiestas, visits to artisans’ workshops, encounters with neighbors, gatherings at the local store and school provide opportunities for context-bedded communication where students gain cognitive skills that include the interpretation of meaning through gestures, tone of voice, use of activity-specific terms, etc. At the close of the 2 week course students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their language achievements through creative writing, poetry, song and the performance of a short theatrical piece composed by participants to show the understandings gained of the language and local culture.

Quechua Language: Introductory course
An introduction to the Quechua language, native to the region will be offered to those interested. Basic components of the alphabet, pronunciation, grammar,

interrogatives and conversational structures will be emphasized. Significant cultural expressions such as origin myths, songs, poetry, jokes and riddles will also be taught to guide students toward an understanding of Andean thought. Participants will be encouraged to practice their Quechua skills with the local population, the majority of whom are bilingual (both Quechua and Spanish). Excursions to remote communities at higher altitudes will provide experiences for practicing language abilities with monolingual Quechua speakers.

Quechua Language: Immersion
Fluent Spanish speakers may apply for an immersion experience in Quechua, which follows the same format and intensive methodology as the Spanish immersion course.

Extra curricular excursions
The language program provides excursions to important places of interest in the region that include:

• museums
• archaeological sites
• hotsprings
• glacial lakes
• artisan workshops and fairs
• seasonal fiestas

Click here * for LANGUAGE FACULTY

Click here * for an APPLICATION