Image
Body
COME LEARN QUECHUA! - ¡HAMUYCHIK RUNASIMI YACHARIKUQ!
The Quechua people is the most widespread indigenous group in the Americas (approx. 8-9 million people in 6 different Andean nations). Learning Quechua is crucial to understand the indigenous heritage in the Hispanic world. It also provides an excellent gateway to becoming familiar with both the grammar and the worldview behind indigenous people. Quechua is also important for those interested in doing research or field work in the Andean region from Southern Colombia through Northern Argentina: educators, health practitioners and health policy makers, anthropologists, linguists, historians, as well musicologists studying the Andes will gain new insights and tools by learning the language of the descendants of the Inca Empire and other Andean civilizations that expressed their culture through Quechua. Our courses are taught by Carlos Molina-Vital, a PhD Candidate in Quechua Linguistics from the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Perú and a co-founder of the Quechua Innovation and Teaching Initiative (QINTI).
Fall 2025 Courses
| Course | Title | CRN | Schedule | Location | Instructor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST 445 | Beginning Quechua I | 77348 | MWF 10:00–10:50 AM | 301 Architecture Building | Carlos Molina-Vital | 3 undergrad / 4 grad credit hours. Intensive intro course. |
| LAST 445 | Beginning Quechua II | 47621 | – | – | Carlos Molina-Vital | 2nd semester of beginning sequence. Prereq: Beginning Quechua I. |
| LAST 445 | Intermediate Quechua II | 67050 | – | – | Carlos Molina-Vital | 2nd semester of intermediate sequence. Prereq: Intermediate Quechua I. |
| LAST 210 | Life in the Andes: Topics in Quechua Language and Culture | 72378 | – | – | Carlos Molina-Vital | Open to all students. No previous experience required. |
Title
CARLOS MOLINA-VITAL
Body
Image
Carlos Molina-Vital is a Peruvian linguist and language teacher, and CLACS's Quechua instructor. He has experience teaching Spanish, General Linguistics, Syntax, and Semantics and has been working with Quechua languages since. His fieldwork has taken him to Ancash (Callejon de Huaylas and Conchucos), Cuzco (Maras, Urubamba, Calca), and Ayacucho (Huamanga, Huanta), in the Peruvian Andes. His Interests are:
- Grammar description under a functional-cognitive framework
- Applied linguistics (pedagogical grammars and standardization)
- Language and cognition (in particular the interaction between culture, categorization and grammar)
Carlos is happy to answer any questions you might have about the Quechua Program! You can email him at: crm5@illinois.edu