The Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© course, is a self-paced video course, with live support, and a student community group. It includes everything you need to know to be fully proficient in the Chickasaw language. The program is recommended for ages 16 and up. Although, we've had participants as young as 14 years old go through the grammar course. Parents, or legal guardians of children, can determine if their child is able to understand the content, regardless of their age.This course has 4 levels.Each level has 5 modules, that include lesson exercises and quizzes. Students work at their own pace, and have access to the course, as long as they are subscribed.Live support Q & A (Office Hours) is conducted online, via the Zoom video conferencing platform and typically happens once a week...currently Tuesdays at 10am PST (11am MST, 12pm CST, 1pm EST, 7pm CEST) Participants will receive an email invite about a half hour before the session begins with a link to join. Students who are uable to join during the Zoom session, can submit their questions via a link in the email, and watch the replay at a convenient time, to hear their questions answered.

Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© - Level 1This self-paced program is designed to help you build a strong foundation in Chickasaw grammar so you can create clear, confident Chickasaw sentences - without the stress of keeping up with a live class schedule. Created from years of teaching Chickasaw grammar online (50+ groups and 120+ students since 2015) and thousands of hours of study, Level 1 guides you step by step so you always know what to do next.You can start anytime, learn from anywhere, and move at your own pace. And you won’t be learning alone: you’ll have access to the Student Community Group plus regular Office Hours for questions and support as you progress.What you’ll learn in Level 1- Pronunciation and syllable division - Basic greetings and conversations - Forming simple sentences and giving commands - Singular vs. plural; subjects and objects - Stative vs. active verbs and pronoun affixes (including I-verbs) - Recent past, present questions, and talking about the future - 1-place vs. 2-place verbs; this vs. that; word order - Combining prefixes and using the reflexive prefix - Possibilities and abilities - Counting to 10 - Translation practice, including translating a story By the end of Level 1, you’ll have the tools, practice, and support to start building Chickasaw sentences with clarity and confidence. Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© - Level 2 builds on the foundations from Level 1 and helps you move from basic sentence building to more confident, accurate Chickasaw grammar.In this self-paced level, you’ll learn how to add affixes to A-verbs, when to drop final vowels and change “ch” to “sh”, form causative verbs, and work with word order variations. You’ll also cover two ways of possessing nouns, creating negative and simple possessive sentences, and vocabulary for relatives. As you progress, you’ll explore how verbs change with dative prefixes (including combining D + dative prefixes), D-subjects, the HN-grade, the “Li” deletion rule, N prefixes, and adding endings to negative verbs.You’ll strengthen your ability to express meaning and emphasis with contrast noun endings, emphatic pronouns, expressing “wanting,” and understanding how O-verbs work with pronominal affixes. You’ll also learn practical language for everyday communication - saying “on,” doing something with someone else, specifying locations, drawing attention to an object, reciprocating actions, telling time, and more - plus you’ll get to play a game and sing a song along the way.Each module ends with a translation activity so you can immediately practice and apply what you’ve learned. Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© - Level 3 is an intermediate, self‑paced program for learners who’ve completed Levels 1–2 and are ready to build longer, more precise Chickasaw sentences with greater accuracy and confidence.You’ll deepen your skills with essential grammar and sentence-building tools, including “to be,” irregular verbs, switch references (after/if/when/and), counting into the thousands, “have/not have,” subject/object focus with noun suffixes, number verbs, modifying nouns with stative and number verbs, positional verbs, “where is” questions, three types of “with,” “about,” remote past, dependent sentences with switch references, bring/take, begin/start, ki’yo sentence types, color “have” verbs, ibaa± causatives, “not yet,” completion, hortatives, the N‑grade, comparisons, and specifying location.Each module ends with a translation activity so you can immediately practice and apply what you’ve learned. Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© - Level 4 is the final level in the series, designed to help you use advanced Chickasaw grammar with confidence in real communication.In this level, you’ll explore how verbs relate to one another, naming, “from” objects, and prefixes on irregular verbs. You’ll learn how to express “too much,” “but/although,” obligations and possibilities, speculation, and how to ask questions without verbs, like “who,” “what,” “where,” “why,” “how,” and “when” questions - plus how to use question verbs. You’ll also work with “some” and “any” words, build new nouns and compounds, and use key prefixes like “into,” “inside,” and “in,” along with the “because” switch reference.You’ll deepen your understanding by learning about the Y-Grade and G-Grade, practice “wow” exclamations, and expand how you indicate plurals, refer to “a bunch,” and say “and” with dual or triplural subjects and objects. You’ll learn to express “every” and “not any,” make direct and indirect quotes, say “too/also,” and build complex modifying phrases using active verbs. We’ll also cover three ways to say “only,” two ways to express wishing, and evidential language for showing you’re wondering about something.To wrap it all up, you’ll put everything into practice with a translation activity at the end of each module: so you finish Level 4 feeling confident using these advanced grammar tools in Chickasaw.

Office Hours is a Q & A session, with Chickasaw Grammar Expert, Sherrie BegayIt's an opportunity for participants to get their questions answered, so they can stay unstuckThe sessions are typically held every week Participants are informed of the current scheduleThe schedule is subject to change, and holidaysParticipants can submit questions via email link, if they are unable to attend the live sessionSessions are recorded, so participants can watch them at their convenienceReplays are posted in the student group

Each student who completes a level of the Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© course, and fills out the course evaluation, is awarded a Certificate of Completion equal to 5 credit hours for World Language study. While our courses are unaccredited, our course credit has been accepted by Homeschoolers, as well as colleges on a case by case basis.If you have more questions regarding course credit, please email your questions to info@chickasawonlinelanguagearts.com

To have the best experience, you’ll need to ensure that you have reliable technology.You’ll need a good internet connection, with good internet speed. If you plan to attend live Q & A sessions (Office Hours), please ensure that your webcam and microphone are in good working order, so that your audio and video can come through clearly.Most modern laptops have built-in microphones and webcams, which usually work fine in live Office Hours. Devices: During Office Hours sessions, the instructor may share material on the screen in order to answer your questions. We recommend using either a laptop, desktop, or 9"+ tablet/iPad, and a headset. Using smartphones is unadvisable, as the screen is usually too small for shared content. Set up your free account with Zoom so you can attend Office Hours.

In order to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning, during live Office Hours sessions, remember that you’ll need to attend from a quiet room, free from distractions and other noises.Wear appropriate and modest clothing.Silence your cell phone.Please, don’t drink alcohol, smoke or vape during live sessions. Keep in mind that we record the Office Hours sessions. This is a valuable part of the program, that students use to get the answers they need, and continue to progress unhindered.Alert your family/household members that you are attending a live meeting, so they don’t streak by in their bath towel or birthday suit! 😅 Attention Adults: please keep in mind that underage students may be in live sessions or watch replays, therefore we ask that you help maintain a safe environment for all participants.

When you subscribe to the Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© course, you will be connected to the student group.Please check it out and join the discussions. You'll likely learn more about Chickasaw from other participants.The content shared in the connected group, courses, or recorded sessions, are for the benefit of subscribers only.Sharing recorded or proprietary/copyrighted materials to those not subscribed to the community is strictly prohibited.Be kind and courteous to all participants.We’re all in this process together, and we want to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning. Keep it clean.Out of respect for others, especially our under age members, please don’t post inappropriate content, profanity, drug related or suggestive content in the group chats, or express such things during our live sessions.Posts and comments deemed inappropriate, by the Group Moderator, will be removed, and member may be considered for expulsion from the group and/or course.For more information see our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Mission/Policy

All communication is via email Please send your questions and concerns to info@chickasawonlinelanguagearts.com To work on your speaking skills, we recommend attending live Office Hours sessions. Time permitting, we will practice speaking in Chickasaw, after all the Q & A has been covered.

Because this is a self-paced course, you have access as long as you are subscribed, so take as much time as you need. If you are wondering about recommended pacing: for reference, when this course is taught live, it takes 120 class hours, plus homework time, divided between a two-year period, with classes twice weekly, to complete all 4 levels. We will offer level specific cohorts from time to time, if you'd like to join others working on the same material at the same pace. Check the group chats for announcements of upcoming cohorts.

Chickasaw Online Language Arts reserves the right to change the course program, at any time, as deemed necessary. Participants will be notified of any changes via email.

The Zero to Hero Chickasaw Grammar Essentials© course is taught by Certified Chickasaw Language Instructor, and Chickasaw Grammar Expert; Sherrie Begay (Fani' Iskanno'si'). The content is the culmination of her 29+ years study of Chickasaw grammar, over 10k hours in the language, and years of teaching experience since she began live online classes in 2015. She spent over a decade deciphering all the Chickasaw grammar rules, and cross-referencing with actual speakers of the Chickasaw language, to provide the most accurate information to her students, as well as publish the Unofficial Answer Key for the grammar book by Munro and Willmond. Order your copy here Students say that Sherrie (Fani' Iskanno'si') makes difficult concepts simplified and easy to understand. Where they previously got stuck working on their own, Sherrie has helped them to be able to continue all the way through to completion, and get all their questions answered.Sherrie grew up hearing the Chickasaw language spoken by her father, and has studied Chickasaw since he gave her a copy of The Humes dictionary in the 1980's. She is the great-granddaughter of past Sheriff of Tishomingo; Peter Courtney, the granddaughter of original enrollee and Chickasaw church pastor; Reverend William (Willie) Courtney, and the daughter of Reverend Bennie G. Courtney.