Learning Quechua online during COVID-19 : transformational encounters with ‘cosmovision’, community and wellbeing

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people began to learn Quechua online in ways that were not frequently used or possible before the transition to online learning in 2020. However, literature on online learning during COVID-19 (Bissessar, 2021a; Fayed & Cummings, 2021; Zhang et al., 2022) and language learning during COVID-19 (Chen, 2021; Harsch et al., 2021; van der Velde et al., 2021) does not consider the role of adult minoritised language learning online in Latin America. This research explores how Quechua was taught and learnt online due to increased engagement during the COVID 19 pandemic, and investigates who was involved in this, and why. This study draws on ethnography collated online between June 2020 and January 2022. I attended over 600 hours of online Quechua classes, recorded over 360 hours of these, and conducted 14 semi-structured online interviews with teachers and learners of Quechua and one informal focus group. The corpus highlights three key themes: the role of the Quechua worldview in language teaching, Quechua language learners as a community, and reconnecting with heritage and Indigenous identity or connecting with this for the first time, often as a way of healing. The findings show transformation through engaging with Quechua language learning online, with participants reframing their language ideologies, communities, and sense of self. I argue that online Quechua language classes provided a virtual and temporal ‘breathing space’ (Fishman, 1991, p.58) in which participants could examine their experiences with Quechua language and culture, in an intentionally welcoming space for learning Quechua. Through these classes, participants could boost their wellbeing and encourage others to achieve their language learning goals, by reengaging with their heritage, language and culture and reimagining its role in their lives. Considering Quechua language classes as a healing space during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the potential of the digital sphere for Indigenous language reclamation.