<p>I'm considering self-studying for the AP Spanish Language test next year, as my school does not offer an AP Spanish Language class, and I'm highly self-motivated in this subject.</p>
<p>Does anyone have a preferred study book (or books)?</p>
<p>Those who have taken the new AP Spanish Language exam (or are planning to take the class/self-study for it next year), do you have any suggestions or tips for studying and preparing for next year?</p>
<p>¡Muchísimas gracias por la ayuda!</p>
<p>A native speaker would say "gracias por ayudar."
And I hear this is a beast of a test. I won't be taking it because my college credits in Spanish will make up for my lack of AP scores:)</p>
<p>Listen to Spanish and read Spanish at least a month before the exam. (Set your home page to some good newspaper)</p>
<p>Thank you for correcting me, sishu7. I'll remember that expression in the future.</p>
<p>Cooljoe, I like the idea of setting my homepage to a good newspaper and listening to spanish. I listen to spanish music -all- the time (it's almost all that I listen to right now, actually). I'll definitely search the web for some good online newspapers. Thank you for your advice.</p>
<p>Danger, Will Robinson! </p>
<p>I just took the exam this year, and it's really tough. I'm not saying it's impossible, but if you want to do well(4+) you're really going to have to work hard. I reccommend practicing the tasks as much as you can. </p>
<p>Most of the books we used in class were teacher/student edition type textbooks, and probably pretty expensive. Triangulo is good for practicing the tasks/vocab, and the Prentice Hall(3rd edition) has pretty much all the review you could want to do. I think it was designed to be a textbook all year, but we only used it the last 2 months or so. </p>
<p>I think the hardest part for you will be not having anyone to check over your writing, or your speaking. If you have a Spanish teacher at your school that's competent and would be willing to help, I reccommend taking your stuff to him or her, even just for grammar checking. </p>
<p>Also, on the newspapers: BBC mundo is pretty fantastic. I used it for my noticias presentations all year. </p>
<p>Noticias = bimonthly presentations of something news related. For speaking practice. We did them in class. </p>
<p>Also, if you can find a native speaker that's willing to chat with you, I reccommend it. Sometimes they can catch errors, and talking on a regular basis makes you more comfortable with the speaking tasks. I can't express myself in Spanish as articulately as I can in English, but I'm comfortable speaking in both English and Spanish. </p>
<p>Good luck. Shoot me a PM if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help.</p>
<p>¡Gracias por tus palabras, ELorax!</p>
<p>Those seem like -really- good suggestions. I'll put those books on my list of study tools to check out.</p>
<p>I've talked to my current Spanish teacher and she said she is willing to help me in preparation for next year. So I will be able to have her go over my speaking and writing.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, my school had 2 foreign exchange students this year, both from spanish speaking countries (one from México and the other from España). I've had the opportunity to speak with them, going through some simple phrases and sayings when it's appropriate, but never for an extended period of time in one sitting. I'll try to keep in contact with them over this coming school year through the internet...that could be helpful with simply practicing my writing skills.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your comments, ELorax.</p>
<p>Anyone else have some suggestions for a student on a lonely road...? =P</p>
<p>I self-studied AP Spanish this year with Barron's and an old teacher that I met with once a week. I wasn't very comfortable with speaking and so we would just speak in Spanish for an hour or so about whatever, it was really helpful. She would also read my practice essays and correct them, so that was nice. I would definitely say you would need some kind of mentor teacher, or at least a native speaker, if you want to pass. It is a HARD test.</p>
<p>Barron's was OK, but it put a huge emphasis on arcane grammar that wasn't on the test. There was only one verb-fill in the blank section this year, and it didn't have any subjunctive on it; the Barron's book spent over 100 pages on verb fill-in the blank, which was frustrating. Also, they gave us bad info about the oral interview.</p>
<p>BTW, I am predicting a 2 or a 3; this is after skipping three years of Spanish over the course of my junior high/high school career. (I skipped Spanish 2, 5 and AP 6, took it as a fourth year sophomore). A 4 would be nice but unlikely. If you want a 5, you will have to study your ASS off, I studied 2 or 3 hours a night the month before the test and maybe an hour a day the rest of the year and still struggled. </p>
<p>Escribame si querr</p>
<p>I plan on spending as much time as necessary to receive a good score on this exam (I'll be aiming for a 4 or 5). I'm definitely willing to put the time required into this test. It helps that I absolutely love Spanish, I think. :)</p>
<p>Hmm...so it looks like I won't be getting the Barron's review book...heh...</p>
<p>I've been taking Spanish all of my high school career with a year or so in middle school. I'll be taking this exam after the completion of my fourth year of high school Spanish.</p>
<p>Muchas gracias Southeasttitan.</p>
<p>Te escribir</p>
<p>I wouldn't get the Barron's review book either, but as far as I can tell, the Princeton Review didn't have CDs with theirs, and since like 1/3 of the test is listening...I don't really know what to tell you.</p>
<p>espero poder tener exito</p>
<p>I used Barron's....great CDs :) remember to set up a grabadora as it'll be a large component of the NEW AP Spanish exam.</p>
<p>Unless you are a native speaker, I don't recommend it. I've taken 6 years of Spanish, and won numerous awards in my school for it, and I still think I got a 2 or 3. Native speakers mess up the curve A LOT.</p>
<p>Brown man1987, how much time outside of class did you spend studying for the AP Spanish Language test this year? I'm curious.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"espero poder tener exito"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Was that a correction of my Spanish, or were you adding your own sentiments on the subject, matty7589. ;) Either way, thanks for commenting. ((Olvidaste el </p>
<p>I'm still extremely motivated self-studying for the AP Spanish Language exam.</p>
<p>I've checked online and there's a new 5 Steps to a 5 AP Spanish Language book coming out at the end of December and it says that it's completely updated to the new test and even includes CD's for listening.</p>
<p>Did anyone use the 5 Steps to a 5 book last year?</p>
<p>Any further suggestions for self-studying this (from what I've heard) quite challenging test?</p>
<p>This test is a breeze. Didnt study, and my friends all aced it (ok, they were natives)</p>
<p>if ur a native speaker, why not?
if ur not, why the hell would u?</p>
<p>hahaha im not a native speaker and im thinkin about takin the test in may. i am currently in the class at school, but it looks like a LOT of hard work and i think i could spend that time on studyin for other APs. idk tho, still debating..</p>
<p>It's not impossible =)
Most important thing - practice out loud. Listen to stuff in the foreign language. Grammar is easy, writing is easy. The hardest stuff is listening and speaking, so focus on that.</p>
<p>So I just received 5 Steps for a 5 for the AP Spanish Language Exam, completely updated for the revised test form. I'm taking the diagnostic test at the moment, and I've come across a problem:</p>
<p>This guide does not include a CD with which I would listen to the listening sections....I have a Spanish teacher who is willing to help me with reading the listening sections to me for practice but she is not a native speaker.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any books or study guides that include CD's or any other resources that would be useful in studying for this, from what I've studied thus far and from many have said, very tough exam?</p>
<p>Gracias a todos por escucharme.</p>
<p>you've probably made your decision already, but I've taken the test and I just wanted to say what I thought :]</p>
<p>I breezed through the test because I am a native speaker, but I seriously cannot fathom how anyone who isn't could even pass it.
I think you can do it if you really set your mind to it, but just be aware that it's a hard test.
I would especially recommend talking with people who have different accents, if that's at all possible. In last year's listening section, one of the narrators was from Spain, and it was very difficult to understand what he was saying, even for me. He spoke extremely fast, and his accent was very thick. So that's just something to keep in mind. I think if you get used to hearing the language spoken by people from different regions with different accents you will really benefit from it. :]
Best of luck!</p>