<p>I am going in to my Sophomore Yr. and I will be taking Spanish 3 Pre-AP. I easily maintained an A+ in my two previous Spanish classes, and I am pretty sure that I will get an A+ in Spanish 3 Pre-AP. Even though I have such great grades, I am still afraid of AP Spanish Language. I have heard rumors about the AP Exam being extremely frightening. With this in mind, I am tentative on whether or not to take the course. Would top colleges like Brown or Columbia care if I were to not take AP Spanish Language? If the top colleges will like to see me taking this course, how can I ace the course and AP Exam (get a 4 or 5)?</p>
<p>The rumors are true-- language tests are probably the most difficult and terrifying (in my opinion) AP tests that are offered. (But hey, the rest of your tests will seem downright relaxing afterwards!)
If you take the AP class and don’t take the test, top colleges won’t see it as a benefit-- but depending on the rest of your application, it might not hold much weight. If you feel that you are likely to get a 5 (or even a 4), take the test!
I don’t know if you’re planning on taking the test during your third or fourth year, although I personally would suggest waiting until your fourth year. There are two parts for studying for the test away from school:
- Try to get as much exposure as possible, and work especially hard in areas with which you struggle. Watch movies without the subtitles, talk to real people who speak Spanish (preferably as their native language), read books written in Spanish (not children’s books), and travel if you can! I realize that traveling isn’t exactly a standard study plan, but if it’s even remotely possible, try to do it. Even a few weeks of immersion (or semi-immersion) will improve your Spanish tremendously. Obviously most students don’t do this, though, so don’t worry too much if it’s out of the question.
- Take practice tests. And then take more, and more, and more. You tend to improve after taking practice tests, since you get used to the test itself and how it’s set up, so don’t even consider skimping on this step!
For now, you probably don’t have anybody who can score the oral/written parts of the test for you (aka a teacher), but that doesn’t make them any less crucial. You need to get used to giving spontaneous 2-minute talks, having conversations with a recorded voice (this one has hilarious results sometimes), and writing both informal and formal pieces. Get comfortable talking to a tape recorder.
Practice the listening and reading multiple choice parts. Practicing for the SAT subject test probably would be a better place to start for now, since it’s a little bit easier and gets you used to the general feel of the test. If you end up taking the SAT Spanish subject test (the real thing, not a practice), don’t freak out if your score isn’t perfect (I got a 710 on the test in October, and got a 5 when I took the AP in May).</p>
<p>As far as what books to use… Barron’s is great but notoriously more difficult than the actual AP (which means that you won’t be scoring perfectly… I routinely got 4’s with the Barron’s book). My teacher/my mom (I’m lucky enough to have my Spanish AP teacher living in my house! Yay) used Triangulo, Barron’s, Abriendo Paso, Jose Diaz’s Preparing for the Spanish Language Examination, and the McGraw Hill 5 Steps for a 5. Those last two were the ones we used most. Keep in mind that most books don’t have the scoring guide in them (so, if you take a practice test, you won’t have the answer guide) unless you have the teacher’s edition.</p>
<p>Basically, I think that you should take the test if you feel that you would be prepared. Don’t go into it without understanding what you’re getting into. Taking that test was probably the most terrifying school-related thing (possibly un-school-related thing, too) that I’ve ever done, but getting a 5 was wonderful. Often, colleges count it as two credits rather than one, so it has more bang for your buck. </p>
<p>(Oh, and by the way, Columbia’s better 
) (But I may be biased for marching-band-related reasons…)</p>
<p>Is watching soap operas a good idea? And how about news? I just discovered I have one spanish channel (Univision) and I want to start watching but I get intimidated since they talk so fast lol</p>
<p>It’s listening practice, so yes. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every single word (as in, don’t try to translate it in your head!). Just try to understand the gist of things. Keep in mind that the listening portions of the test aren’t nearly as fast as television Spanish (Mexican stuff especially! They love to talk super fast). I personally get fed up with watching TV in Spanish and give up, though… So I hope you’re patient :).</p>
<p>Yea, I actually do get the gist of it, as in why they are laughing or crying and I hope it helps. And that’s a relief that the test passages are slower. I’ll try to be patient but I do get frustrated if I’m sitting there clueless for a while lol</p>
<p>That’s good! And yeah, the test makers try to make the passages mildly coherent :).</p>
<p>As far as listening practice goes, be sure to get used to the different accents (Univision is mainly central American I think? I’m not completely sure, I know it’s founded in Miami), especially Spain-Spanish accents. The test mostly has Mexican and Spanish, they won’t throw anything really strong like Argentinian. Watch foreign movies (not American movies dubbed in Spanish, the accents won’t be as diverse).
Knowing the culture is also important (it helps during the reading and listening portions, and gives you a chance to write really impressive essays). Stuff like Motorcycle Diaries (about Che Guevara… it will give you a whole new look on a man who Americans unfortunately tend to sum up as a “Communism/Marxism supporter”), The Devil’s Miner (quite sad), La Bamba, Il Postino (this is technically Italian but it centers around Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet)… The list is endless. I strongly suggest you watch those four plus whatever you can get your hands on (ask your Spanish teacher!).</p>
<p>Also, do you know if your teacher teaches with a Spanish or Latin American accent? I’ve heard that Spanish accents tend to give a disadvantage due to general biases (but I’m not sure about it).</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the advice, I’ll definitely look into those. And I’m not sure where my teacher’s from but can you clarify what you mean about the disadvantage?</p>
<p>Try doing as many listening and speaking exercises as possible! I did a bunch of them in class so I was very comfortable with them during the AP. Also, don’t buy any prep books for the AP - I found that they were too long and definitely not worth the time.</p>
<p>^
Don’t buy prep books? I would say don’t try to buy an AP book that will teach you Spanish, but definitely get the books with techniques and as many practice tests as you can get. It’s not like you go through the whole thing page by page…
Besides, you don’t need to shell out big money if you buy them used (in good or very good condition) on Amazon or Ebay.</p>
<p>And by disadvantage, I mean that Latin Americans don’t like Spain very much, for the most part, and tend to really hate their accent. If your scorer has connections with Latin America they may, possibly, score you down due to a subconscious prejudice against a Spanish accent. So don’t go flaunting that lisp if that’s how your teacher taught you… However, this should really be the least of your concerns. I just wanted to mention it.</p>