QINTI
Quechua Innovation and Teaching Initiative
QINTI (Quechua Innovation and Teaching Initiative) is an initiative housed in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Illinois that aims to represent Quechua language and culture as global and diverse, shaped by migration processes, the rise of indigenous self-identification, and use of both modern and traditional technologies. This aim is achieved through the coordination and facilitation of efforts on the part of Quechua instructors and activists in the United States and Andean nations.
An important goal for QINTI is to define shared objectives and content for Quechua language instruction, including clear targets for each proficiency level in terms of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Based on this shared curriculum, QINTI members collaborate in the development of open-access pedagogical materials that showcase grammatical, lexical, and fundamental cultural elements from a Pan-Andean perspective while simultaneously highlighting rich regional diversity. Thus, alongside the speakers living in rural communities, we include heritage-speakers and their families in urban Andean contexts and abroad.
Ultimately, QINTI supports the growing community of learners and instructors of Quechua as a second language. While QINTI is currently focused on the Southern variety spoken in Peru and Bolivia, we hope these materials will prove useful to instructors and students of other Quechua varieties in the Central Andes, the Northern Andes, and the Amazon, who are also encouraged to join us in this project.
