One of the remarkable things about these AP exams is that I can self-study using a highly helpful test prep book suggested by Barron’s, Princeton Review, Kaplan, or the College Board and still have the potential to get a 4 or a 5. With that being said, how about foreign languages? What if I tried to learn Spanish today using test prep book without ever even taking a Spanish class before in my life? Would I still have a great chance in acing the test? I think that for one thing languages are different. Acing those tests is all about being able to understand and apply the material, so that means I’ll have to learn Spanish using the book and the CD’s in the back of it, which will help my pronunciation. Is this feat possible? Has anybody ever tried using this method for foreign languages? What if the language I was studying today wasn’t Spanish and was a much harder language, like Latin, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean? Would the task be still possible, and what is the time range that it would take for me to master the material? How big of a difference does it make if I self-study between easier and more difficult lanauges? This same question would also apply for SAT Subject Tests, as the exam format would be very similar for both programs. Who has tried learning more than one language by self-studying? And if so, how many languages did you attempt, and who is so intelligent enough that he/she was able to take an attempt at every language and comprehend them?
No it is not possible. AP Languages are designed so that you have to take classes in that language for at LEAST a few years. In my school for example, a student takes 4-5 years of Spanish before taking AP (same with French, Latin, and Mandarin sequence).
I highly discourage relying only on books to learn a foreign language. You should practice regularly with people who are fluent with the language.
For example, I’m currently studying Chinese, and it would’ve been extremely difficult just to get the tones and pronunciations (e.g. q-, x-, z-, c- sounds in pinyin) correct without help from a native speaker, let alone the vocab, characters, and grammar (which is generally simpler than English, but different in many ways).
Yes, I’m about to get a 750+ on the Japanese subject test this coming November and a 4 or 5 on the AP test for Japanese Language/Culture a year from now.
Completely self-studied (no classes/tutors/speakers in household). It is possible.
Personally, I would find your advice to be more beneficial if you actually had achieved those scores.
There’s no advice I’m giving, other than to believe in yourself and reach for your goals with the right attitude and work ethic if you truly want to achieve something (not this “no-can-do” junk the first two posters are encouraging).
Anyways, I’ve already taken the 2007 released mock test (AP), a few N3s/N4s, and the Collegeboard blue book diagnostic (subj.), so I know full well where I stand. If the OP really wants to achieve his goal of self-studying a language and he’s motivated, I’m sure he can achieve, because it’s very possible.
Yay, kudos for being a fellow language lover! We’re highly underrepresented on CC.
If by your post you mean whether “self-studying” a language is possible, I agree with @Kyuutoryuu that it’s definitely possible. However, I would recommend supplementing books with other methods – native speakers, entertainment (music was the reason why I started learning German & co.). Just books, like everyone else has said, isn’t the best plan.
Language difficulty: I may be biased, but I’ve found on the CB website that practice questions for Chinese + Japanese (“harder” languages) are a lot easier, subjectively, than questions for say Spanish + French.
Time frame: very subjective. Personally, I’ve self-studied Spanish for 2/3 years on and off, and I’ll be prepping for AP next year. YMMV, but good luck with languages no matter what! 
You are joking, right? There is an actual listening and speaking portion on this exam. It tests actual proficiency, not test taking skills.
It’s POSSIBLE, but highly unlikely. You would need to study every waking minute of every day. But yah, most people have 3-4 years of a language before taking an ap language and culture exam
Definitely possible, but also definitely requires an immense amount of commitment and work. Also, prep books will probably not be enough. I would start by going through a lot of vocab lists for the exam on quizlet, and start switching some things to incorporate the language into your life (for instance, try switching your Facebook default language from English to whatever language you’re studying).
Also, since there is a speaking and listening portion to the exam, I would start listening to either the radio or the TV in that language (only do this after you feel you have a reasonable grasp on the language if not comprehension would become extremely difficult). This really helps with picking up the accent and style of speech, as well as with listening comprehension, which plays a big role in all foreign language exams.
Finally, I would find a partner who is also self-studying or taking a class in the language, to practice speaking to. Most languages have a conversational aspect to the exam, where you will be required to interact with an audio (answering an posing questions) and having a conversational partner once in a while will really help you.
Prep books and vocab flashcards can definitely get you through most of the written portions of the exam, but for the speaking and listening portions, a more proactive approach is probably needed. Good luck, and happy studying!
@Thatuser Hey that’s what I’v been doing on my Facebook account too! I’ve changed the default language on every account that I use from English to French, be it on Google, Google+, Gmail, Facebook, or Yahoo, and some of the other social media outlets connected to these websites like Instagram or Youtube instantly become changed from English to French. However, I am not self-studying French, as I have already taken a year of French, and I plan to continue pursue French. I am about to enter my sophomore year in the fall. Great advice! Some people claim AP foreign language exams to be easy but speaking in 20 seconds for a conversation or two minutes for a prompt is almost impossible or awkward unless someone practices speaking that language or use audio resources available over a long period of time. Classroom instruction alone will simply not be enough. Thank God that the AP test instructors aren’t that strict on the speaking grading. You don’t have to be fluent to get a 5. What’s most important is that you express as many ideas as possible but as coherently as possible in regards to the task.