This learning resource is for beginners as a first introduction to the Mam language. In this resource, we center the story of Sofía and how she would encounter real conversations in San Juan Atitán as a member of the community who is visiting for the first time and learning new aspects of the language. We recognize that this is not how language resources are usually structured, but we feel it is important to provide learners with real conversations and contexts to learn from. 

The learning path is divided into 5 sections plus one foundational lesson on the alphabet. Each section includes 4 lessons. Each lesson has a conversation, vocabulary, metalinguistic notes, and a grammar lesson. Each Section also includes one cultural lesson relevant to the specific conversations and/or contexts in the section.

Each conversation is accompanied by audio so you can hear what the language sounds like and make connections between the spoken and written language. In addition, there are illustrations in each lesson that are based on photos from San Juan Atitán so you can see the context for the conversations. The vocabulary lessons are integrated with Quizlet, where we have built flashcard sets with audio so that you can learn word by word. The metalinguistic notes provide context and insight into different conversational practices that may differ from English or Spanish. Finally, the grammar lessons provide explanations and examples of how to build words and sentences in Mam. 

The entire resource is in SJA Mam, Spanish, and English. We present this multilingual resource as an invitation to diverse communities who may wish to learn Mam. We also encourage bilingual learners of Mam to toggle between the English and Spanish translations, as each is only an approximation of the Mam meaning. We believe that engaging multilingually will enrich your learning experience.