<p>Just wondering... is there anyone else here who took the AP German exam yesterday? If so, what did you guys think of it? I thought the listening was fairly straightforward for the most part. I'll admit that I was a little rushed on the reading, but the speaking and writing portions were laughably easy. Also, I LOVED the first reading passage! It was hilarious. I had to keep myself from bursting out laughing throughout xD</p>
<p>Anyway, I basically just wanted to say viel Glück an alle!</p>
<p>…niemand hat diese Prüfung gemacht?</p>
<p>Ich habe es gemacht!
I agree about the speaking and writing sections being real easy. But, I had a little trouble with the listening, especially because the proctor had the audio playing very quietly and a class next door was watching a movie with overpoweringly high volume. But overall, pretty easy. </p>
<p>Also, about the first passage being hilarious, was that the one that, without being too specific, dealt with a train and a young “couple”?</p>
<p>@ BoOwnsIzzo: Yes, that was it. I don’t know if you saw my post on the other thread, but some parts of the story were just so hilarious for me (especially the part where the girl said she was afraid of falling asleep because then she’d look silly with her mouth hanging open) that I actually was trying to keep from bursting out laughing! I snorted while trying to hold in my laughter and my proctor gave me a strange look…</p>
<p>What are you guys’ German background? I assume you have taken the AP german course? I was just curious because I’m in my fifth year of the language and my teacher advised all of us not to take it. This includes me and four others that spent a month there for foreign exchange. But I guess her curriculum that is regimented by the state or district is different than the College Board.</p>
<p>Regardless, she says that her students take placement exams and pass out of second year, sometimes even third year. So if you can do that, why take the AP exam? Just wondering.</p>
<p>My situation is actually rather interesting. Most of my knowledge of German has been gained primarily through self-study since 9th grade (but due to moving and other circumstances, it’s really been more like 2.5 serious years of study). I did spend two weeks last summer enrolled in an intensive German course where I went to class 6 hours a day (not including time spent doing homework from the lessons), so I definitely learned a lot from there. I’ve never actually taken a German language class at school (none of my schools offer German as part of their curricula anyway), so my primary motivation for taking the AP is just to see where I’m at and hopefully get exempt from taking first-year German in college…</p>
<p>I am a senior who has taken german since 7th grade and was enrolled in AP German at my high school this year. I’ve never studied abroad or traveled to Germany, although I really want to in the future! I took the placement tests for the school I am attending next year and I tested into the highest level you could, which is basically 5th semester german(or higher if I want to take a harder class). If I get at least a B next year, I will get 16 retrocredits. Also, if I get a 4 or 5 on the AP test, I get three additional credits in “German Conversation and Composition” which isnt an actual classs; it exists in name only for the sole purpose of giving credit for the AP test.</p>
<p>@ BoOwnsIzzo: Wow, you get to pass out of the first four semesters of German? That’s a pretty sweet deal! I’m not sure how much AP credit either Berkeley or Columbia will assign to this exam, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed…</p>
<p>I am a senior who has taken four years of German, though I tested out of German III so I’ve passed through five levels. I have never been to Germany and I have never spoken with a native speaker, though one of my friends grew up in his household speaking some German so he might be able to pass for a native speaker if you really wanted him to.</p>
<p>I thought the test was overall pretty easy. There was one listening passage that I couldn’t understand very well (I think I just temporarily lost focus), and a couple of the directed responses in the speaking section were rough for me. However, the essay, the cloze passage, the storytelling, and the reading sections were all ridiculously easy. I finished the reading and the writing sections each with 10-15 minutes to spare.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I got a 4, but I may have gotten a 5. We’ll see.</p>
<p>@ FallenAngel9: Very nice! 
Everyone here apparently thinks the test was easy too, so I’m expecting the curve to be harsh, but hopefully not too harsh. Do you have any idea what percentage would equal a 5 on the German exam?</p>
<p>No idea. All I know is that I got a 4 on the practice test I took, but that I was only one point from a 5. This test felt about the same in difficulty as the practice test, so I would assume my grade would be about the same. Sorry I can’t help any more than that!</p>
<p>Shameless bump! :)</p>
<p>How did everyone do? I ended up with a 4. I was secretly hoping for a 5 to round out the rest of my language AP’s (I scored 5’s on AP English Lang/Lit, AP Chinese, AP French, and AP Spanish Lang in previous years), but I think I’m satisfied since this was an easy test and the curve must have been harsher than usual.</p>
<p>Sorry to but in, especially since I’ve never taken AP German, but calgirl15 do you have a gift for languages? I just read your last post, that’s fantastic if you got 5s on all those language APs. I want to go into a language-related career and I just have to say that you’re an inspiration :)</p>
<p>Haha, thank you. I’m very flattered Many people tell me I have a gift, but for me, my success seems to stem more from my interest in languages than from some unquantifiable innate talent. For what it’s worth, English and Chinese are my native languages. French, Spanish, and German were acquired throughout my life so far (French in elementary school, Spanish in middle school, German in high school). I think it’s actually harder to maintain a language than it is to learn it, so the fact that none of my family members speak anything besides English and Chinese doesn’t help :/</p>
<p>Exactly, same here. My native is English with some Polish mixed in and I took to French naturally in high school; I’ve self-studied some German and I’m mildly proficient, at the very least I understand all the German in this thread ;)</p>
<p>I’d love to learn Arabic and Russian; unfortunately my school has no language APs :(</p>
<p>Well, the bright side is that you get to take both languages in college! And even if your school doesn’t offer any language courses (I never took a formal German course because none of my high schools taught German), you can still self-study and choose to take the exams on your own as I did this year.</p>
<p>I know, I’m looking forward to it. And I’d love to self-study, but I will be super busy as it is my senior year 
Immersion is the best way to learn, so I want to go to Poland next summer, and then hopefully Morocco and maybe Russia in college.</p>
<p>I agree with that - I actually gained my French through immersion (I attended a public elementary school in 3rd grade where every subject was taught in French), and most of my German as well. The secret to foreign language learning is just to expose yourself to as much of it as possible.</p>
<p>Hi all, thanks in advance for your indulgence with this relatively clueless parent… but I need some guidance!</p>
<p>I had the good fortune of moving my family to Austria from California some years ago. My now 14 year old son attended the local German schools there for grades 2, 3, 4 and 1st Gymnasium. </p>
<p>We’ve now been back in the US 3 years, and I want my son to capitalize on his relatively fluent German by preparing for and taking the AP German test. The problem is that none of the schools in his school district offer German; nor do the community colleges.</p>
<p>Is anyone here aware of online courses (preferably self-paced) or any other alternatives to traditional HS classes?</p>
<p>The goal is for him to take the requisite courses and earn a high enough AP score to complete his high school language requirement and at least 1 or 2 years of college credit.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help! :-)</p>
<p>He actually doesn’t even have to take a course if his knowledge of German is at a sufficiently high level. I’ve never taken a formal German course in my entire life (none of my high schools offered German as a language), and I still scored a 4 on the AP. I’m Chinese (so no native speaker points there), and have never attended school in a German-speaking country, so it’s possible to do well. He just needs to check with his school’s AP coordinator - or, if AP exams are not offered at his school, he could check with the AP coordinator at a nearby school.</p>