University Indigenous Students’ Perceptions towards Kichwa, Spanish and English

Abstract

Even though there has been a significant advancement in human rights, social justice and social practices around the world; some Ecuadorian indigenous students still struggle against many social and linguistic limitations, especially in Chimborazo province. This research was carried out with 30 Ecuadorian indigenous students who studied English as a compulsory subject for five months. The aim of the study is to explore the general attitudes of indigenous university students about Kichwa, Spanish and English languages in the Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, at the Political and Administrative Science College. It also aims to find out which language demands more of their attention. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected into three-time stages by applying a questionnaire asking for students' attitudes towards Kichwa, Spanish and English. Participants were asked about their language exposure in each of the mentioned languages. Answers were tabulated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The outcomes revealed a substantial difference in the students' attitudes in favor of Spanish language. Students showed a high exposure and attitude percentage towards Spanish language through social interaction with native speakers. Additionally, they listened and read information in Spanish with the most accuracy. The participants have been exposed to Spanish more than 20 years, as well. Conversely, students do not show a significant attitude towards English or Kichwa. Additionally, their social and academic contexts do not demand that the students to speak Kichwa and English, as a priority in students' daily communication.

Adaptation of the Periodic Table to Kichwa: An Ecuadorian Native Language

“…This may be due to the participants’ preference to keep the names closest to their correspondents in Spanish for learning purposes, as seen by the acceptance of phonological translations and as stated in the comment section of the survey. As shown in a previous work by Armijos, in 2018, 30 Kichwa college students from Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo in Ecuador preferred Spanish as the primary language for learning purposes above Kichwa or English. Their attitude toward Spanish was a consequence of daily exposure to Spanish over 20 years.…”

“…Their attitude toward Spanish was a consequence of daily exposure to Spanish over 20 years. Kichwa and English were not considered a priority in their daily communication . Given the respondents’ preference for the letter <f>, the elements francium and rutherfordium retained this letter within their respective Kichwa translations for the adaptation purposes of this work.…”

“I am Kichwa”: The Funds of Identity of an Indigenous Ecuadoran NNES Teacher

“…In Ecuador, people use the word Indigena as an insult, implying that a person is uncultured or unsophisticated, similar to the word redneck or hick in English (Monar et al., 2018). Due to persistence of these prejudicial attitudes, Roberto maintained careful boundaries around and between his cultural identity and his professional teaching identity.…”

Un retrato de Carmen: Orgullosamente kichwa de Saraguro

“…Debido a que este artículo se enfoca en compartir las experiencias de Carmen, una mujer kichwa, es importante dedicar esta sección para brevemente abonar al conocimiento general sobre los kichwas en Sudamérica y en los Estados Unidos. Los kichwas -preferido en la actualidad sobre el término quichuas (Limerick, 2018)-son un grupo indígena andino transnacional autóctono de Ecuador, Colombia, y Perú (Armijos Monar, Fuertes López, Delgado Altamirano, & Villa Villa, 2018). El idioma kichwa es una de las lenguas andinas pertenecientes a la rama lingüística del protoquechua (Heggarty, 2005) y, de acuerdo con González-Andrade y Sánchez (2004), es una variación lingüística antropológica derivada del proceso de mezcla ocurrido después del período inca.…”