<p>Hello, I am to be a senior next year and I just completed Spanish 3. It was not a good year learning wise. My teacher barely spoke Spanish well herself, and all we did was arbitrary worksheets and powerpoints. We weren't even aloud to speak to each other without the headphone device. I had a great Spanish teacher freshman year but foolishly, I changed schools. Ever since then I have had gringas "teach" us Spanish that spent the majority of the time talking about their lives or keeping us busy with worksheets. The AP Spanish teacher is the same teacher I had this year, and I have heard from the recent seniors that the majority could not handle the AP exam. </p>
<p>Thus I must ask, how would one independently study Spanish to get a 5 on the AP exam and to also actually communicate the language?</p>
<p>I can get a tutor. Sadly, I cannot commit my whole life to the language, but I can commit a good amount of hours per week.</p>
<p>Think about studying in terms of each of the 4 main skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. Each one will be covered (about) equally on the AP exam. </p>
<p>Reading: Pick up some Spanish novels. Luckily, (you can’t say the same for German which is my “main” language for now) you can easily find them for kindles, at Barnes & Noble and online. Think of you favorite books and look for a Spanish edition (i.e. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc.)</p>
<p>Writing: Try to keep a journal or diary in Spanish. Just write, don’t worry about being correct. You can edit them later. I also suggest [Lang-8</a> - Multi-lingual language learning and language exchange | Lang-8](<a href=“Multi-lingual language learning and language exchange | Lang-8: For learning foreign languages”>http://lang-8.com/)</p>
<p>Listening: Find Spanish TV shows, movies and songs. La Sonrisa de Julia is a good Spanish band. Most movies in the US come with spanish dubs also.</p>
<p>Speaking: This is my weakest area. People suggest using Skype to find conversation partners but I’ve always been freaked out about video chatting with strangers.</p>
<p>Vocab: Use [Dashboard</a> | Memrise - the fun way to learn anything](<a href=“http://www.memrise.com/home/]Dashboard”>Memrise) it’s very easy and you can learn a lot of words quickly.</p>
<p>Grammar: [Spanish</a> Language: Learn Spanish grammar, vocabulary and culture](<a href=“http://spanish.about.com/]Spanish”>http://spanish.about.com/) I haven’t learned enough Spanish to be able to recommend any good books.</p>
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<li>Studying a language is easy and fun. My school has a great language program but I’ve always been advanced at it so I study a lot outside of class. Next year I’m taking AP German, IB Spanish ab initio I, and I’m studying French independently in order to take French III senior year. I’m hoping to learn enough Spanish to take the AP exam senior year. Good luck!</li>
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