I’ve been taking French since 7th grade and will be a senior taking AP French this year. I am fast at learning French but my teacher the past few years has been awful and unfortunately I haven’t learned anything advanced. Now that I have some more free time this summer I want to improve my French so that I don’t bomb the exam (and also so that I can speak French). What AP prep books generally do students find to be the most helpful?
I took the AP French exam this year after 6 years of study in school and received a 5. Frankly, I think I got quite lucky. While I had an excellent teacher in middle school, my experience was not as great in high school, and my French skills remain quite basic. I did not use any prep book for the exam, and I don’t think one would be terribly helpful for French. I would recommend listening to French radio or watching French video to build listening skills, as well as reading French articles or prose to develop vocabulary. As for speaking try talking to yourself in French, or attempting to think in French.
Don’t worry, it’s easy.I got a 5 on it with only 4 years of study, and a teacher who was super easy and never gave any homework. While having a solid foundation in French helps greatly, I think it’s mainly a matter of knowing the structure of the test and practicing it. But anyways, to your question. For our AP French class we used the textbook Allons au-delà! Best resource as it has a myriad of readings with comprehension questions on each of the AP French themes. To prep for the exam we used Advanced Placement French: Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination, which has several practice exercises on each section of the exam. For me those two textbooks were more than enough practice. Hope this helps you, happy studying and good luck!