<p>If I took 4 years of Spanish but never took the AP Spanish Language test and have not been exposed to Spanish for 2 years after high school, should I start from Spanish 2 or 3?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>If you don’t know how to form the preterit of verbs, especially the tricky ones (tener -> tuve; querer -> quise) or know/remember what the imperfect tense is, Spanish 2.</p>
<p>If you do know that, but don’t know/remember the subjunctive and conditional tenses, Spanish 3.</p>
<p>thanks, any other opinions?</p>
<p>Spanish 3 is intense. I sat in one of the classes and the people there are like almost-native, seriously. If you can hold a relative fast-pace conversation about topics like environmental science and political debate, go for it. If not, Spanish 2 is a safer bet.</p>
<p>I think the above poster is right about the grammar part, but I felt like Spanish 3 concentrated more on like legit conversation and “real” essays (not just the string of simple sentences you did in high school).</p>
<p>(When I sat in on Spanish 3, I had four years of Spanish including AP Spanish language.)</p>
<p>If I had 3 years of high school spanish (4 years ago!!), would it still be better to opt for Spanish 2 rather than Spanish 1?
Also: Does anyone know which professors are good??</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Derevko, check out Spanish 12 because you don’t qualify for Spanish 1 and they will kick you out. You start out with the simple stuff (“Hola, me llamo ___”) for about a week while they weed out people, but then it gets really intense and you come out ready for Spanish 3. I decided to take it because I didn’t want to go to Spanish 2 after not taking Spanish for two years, and I’m really liking it.</p>
<p>I would recommend looking at the Spanish Department’s website or the general catalog regarding prerequisites. In Spanish 3+, there will be native speakers who of course would have it easier on oral exams and don’t need dictionaries as much, but in terms of analyzing literature, everyone has an equal shot.</p>
<p>@arduouspallor: If you had AP Spanish in high school, you may have been able to take Spanish 25 at Berkeley from the start. I remember being intimidated by Hispanic speakers in my class (and my GSI who seemed to speak a mile a minute in Spanish). I just spoke loudly at my own pace, used hand gestures to facilitate my responses and made sure I knew what to say before I raised my hand.</p>
<p>Spanish here is complete raaaape. I got a 5 on the AP really easily, and I have like a B- in Spanish 4 right now . . .</p>