I know Chinese fairly well, and would like to take the AP exam without taking the class. I’m a native speaker, but came to America at a very young age so my Chinese is definitely not flawless. However, I understand the general basics. I was wondering what prep book I should get, considering that I’m more interested in taking practice tests that simulate the actual exam, instead of buying a book that will focus too much on the content, and not enough on testing strategies and practice exams.
Barron’s has a great book and the CD with listening, which is how the test is formatted. The main thing to worry about with the Chinese test is that you have a 10-second clip to listen to, and the program does NOT allow you to replay the audio clip. It’ll test your listening comprehension. I know it’s late, but if you have any further questions about the structure of the exam, I would be happy to give you a brief overview of the other components of the AP Chinese exam.
Hello! I assume you didn’t take today’s AP Chinese test.
Agree with @polarknut, Barron’s is probably the best book out there for Chinese. Something else to consider too is that the test is completely computerized, and the writing section is typed. Most people who take it are native speakers, which is reflected in the amount of 5’s each year (for the past few years it has been around 60%).
This link gives you pretty much the exam’s format:
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap-student/pdf/chinese/2013-AP-Chinese-Exam-Overview-Final.pdf
The 2007 exam is the only released one for Chinese. The FRQ section has changed quite a bit but the MC is pretty much the same. Every year, CB releases the FRQ questions and sample answers. If you have the chance, you should take a look at those because it gives are good idea of what CB is looking for.
I took the exam today. The reading section was a lot easier than expected, but I reviewed vocab like crazy after taking the 2007 test as practice and completely bombing it. I’d recommend practicing the culture questions too.
@BunnyMonster @polarknut Thank you both so much! I am planning on taking the AP Chinese exam next year, but wanted to get a head start and start prepping in the summer since I have a busy schedule over the school year and would not like to burden myself with last minute cramming for the exam. I don’t know how to write in Chinese, but I am very good at pin yin and can type it on the computer perfectly fine. Is writing going to be a concern that I should focus on? Also, I’ll be sure to buy the Barron’s book soon. As far as the culture section goes, does Barron’s do a good job at addressing the cultural questions that would be asked?
If you can use pinyin, you should be fine. I’m also Chinese, but not exactly fluent, and I just took the AP exam last week. For me, I found that reading comprehension was the hardest part just because I didn’t get a lot of everyday practice taking an independent study that met once a week, so that was what I focused on most when I was preparing for the exam. I used the Barron’s book too, and it does have a cultural notes section, but since it’s written in Chinese it was a little tedious to read (but it also helped me learn new characters). The four main parts tested are listening, reading, writing, and speaking, so I would just work on whatever you think are your weaker areas. Hope that helped, and good luck!
To be completely honest, @CS1211, there are little to no culture questions on the actual exam. I feel as if it’s more for your reading comprehension to understand the specific vocabulary pertaining to these traditional holidays. Since you’re a native speaker, I’m certain you’ll do fine on the actual test with moderate review over the duration of the summer. Here’s a rough study plan you can extend on and modify to fit your needs:
- Read through the Barron's book and skim over anything you already know. Focus on characters that you don't understand or are unfamiliar with, highlight them and write them down into a separate notebook.
- Listen to the CDs and run through related listening questions.
- If your parents are native speakers, use several given essay prompts in the Barron's book with 4 pictures as guidelines. Use Chinese Input (Google it; you use pinyin to type) and type up some essays/stories related to it, and make your parents proofread it and give you feedback.
- Invest in a visual Chinese dictionary. Those are nice.