<p>I was wondering the best way to self-study AP Spanish. Would Rosetta Stone software be of any benefit, and if yes, what levels are required? I take Spanish in high school, but AP is not offered at my school. Of course, I know that practice tests are necessary for doing well on any AP, and I shall take every one I have thoroughly. I only want to get a score of 3 on either exam, as that is the score I need for credit at my school and would be willing to "wing it" because I have other more important APs to take, but still would like a foreign language. Thanks for the input and help.</p>
<p>DO NOT waste your money on Rosetta Stone, it’s nothing more than an overpriced program that’s trying to jump on the train of “learn like you did as a child” courses. The problem with that is that in order to learn like a child you have to be a child, or have to be living in the country that speaks the language. There’s no way that a program can immerse you enough that you’ll learn like you were a child. Also, as an adults (or young adults) we have a lot more tools at our disposal that can help speed up the process of learning, such as rules of grammar.</p>
<p>If you want a good Spanish coursebook, I’d advise you to look at Assimil Spanish with Ease, the Colloquial series of books, and the Teach Yourself Series (although I’m not happy with how they’ve been dumbed down recently, so you may want to pick up an earlier out of print edition).</p>
<p>Also, check out how-to-learn-any-language.com and look at the forums for other course suggestions. There’s a ton of information there from tons of self-taught polyglots (those who speak multiple languages).</p>
<p>@Termstudent, Thanks for the advice. I will look into ordering those books tomorrow!</p>
<p>I should probably just let you know that Assimil probably isn’t the type of language instruction you’re used to. Assimil uses bi-lingual text, so one side is Spanish and the other is an English translation with grammar notes. It’s a fantastic course, probably the best out there, but if you’re someone who likes heavy grammar explanations you may want to pick something else up as well.</p>
<p>I took both AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature. Both of these classes would be difficult to self study in my opinion, but Language would be easier than Literature.</p>
<p>Like you said, practice tests are key. It’s important to understand the format of the test because there are a lot of different sections for reading, writing, speaking, and listening.</p>
<p>For books, our class used Abriendo Puertas: Lenguaje by Judy Armen and Triangulo by Barbara Gatski. Abriendo Puertas offers useful vocab and grammar review. Triangulo also has vocab but focuses more on practice exercises similar to those found on the AP exam.</p>
<p>Total immersion in the language is key. Watch television in Spanish, talk with native speakers, keep a journal in Spanish, etc.</p>
<p>I used 5 Steps to a 5, which was awesome. The CD that comes with it is really helpful bc it has a bunch of practice prompts and such.</p>
<p>Listen to BBC Mundo podcasts and write a couple-sentence summary for it to practice listening comprehension.</p>
<p>Doubt I will do it, but how would one go about self-studying for Spanish Lit. I took lang this year (got an easy 5), but my school doesn’t offer lit. I am a semi-native speaker and do well on all aspects of the Language except grammar and writing (seems crucial in Literature…).</p>
<p>Rosetta Stone- no. The other books shouldn’t be necessary either if you already have a grip on the language. Chances are that if you’re considering the exam, you’re already at a decent level and you just need to cement your grammar. I used REA’s AP review for this. Each chapter focuses on a certain aspect of grammar and there’s a quiz at the end of all of them. The hardest part for native speakers will be accents–learn those rules as early as possible. For learning expressions and usage, just use native resources–i.e. listen to Spanish music, watch Spanish entertainment, read Spanish books. </p>
<p>A few weeks before the exam, you should feel really comfortable with grammar and move on to preparing for the exam itself. Students tend to mess up a lot on the informal speaking, so pay attention to that. Talk in complete sentences and drag your responses on until you hear the beep at 20 seconds. No one-word replies. The formal speaking flies really quick. For any formal exercises, take notes and you’ll be fine. Informal writing is pretty easy once you know the grammar and accents.</p>
<p>Hey, Greywolf! I stumbled across this thread because I’m self studying AP spanish lit too, and it’s not very similar at all, as far as I can tell, to AP spanish lang.</p>
<p>I took AP spanish lang last year, and there are a lot of resources out there for that class.</p>
<p>Lit, on the other hand, is kind of like the Sahara of AP tests… no Barron’s book, one half of a princeton review book, etc. What I ~did~ find was "Momentos cumbers de las literaturas hisp</p>