Hello all,
I am currently an 11th grader in high school, and I would like to take the AP Spanish Language exam this year in order to show to my colleges of choice that I am capable of learning a foreign language. I would like to attend UT Austin, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, and Caltech. MIT is my top choice.
I have taken Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 PAP in 9th and 10th grade, and I am not taking Spanish 3 this year due to schedule conflicts. I am beginning to self-study for the AP Spanish Language Exam by watching movies and podcasts in Spanish. I am also planning on reading a book in Spanish. I am also using Duolingo and the Barrons book as sources. I will be practicing my speaking and writing skills as well in Spanish.
I would consider myself to be about average in my Spanish as a non-native.
So, how good are my chances in getting a mega 5 on the AP Spanish Language Exam if I study my Spanish about 1 hour a day?
To be frank, I don’t think your chances are very good. First of all, it’s very hard to practice speaking/writing in Spanish if you don’t have anyone to correct you. Are you going to ask a teacher to give feedback on your reading/writing?
Secondly: Keep in mind it’s not just the AP Spanish Language exam, but the AP Spanish Language and CULTURE Exam. There are definitely going to be cultural elements to the exams (how should you start/end an email? can you do a cultural comparison on the six (?) themes of the course?) and if you don’t study those, you’ll be in trouble.
Also, are you just starting to study now? If so, that’s late. In my opinion, way too late (especially with only an hour per day).
Long story short: no, I don’t think you will be able to get a 5 on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam if you study Spanish an hour a day. That’s not enough time, and you run the risk of practicing too-easy readings/audios/etc. My advice is to not bother taking the exam now (if you want some standardized test in Spanish, take the Spanish subject test) and try to take AP Spanish next year.
I also have to agree with @Faultystart; it is very late for you to start studying for this test. Not to burn your enthusiasm nor motivation, but it’s really hard to become a proficient AP test taker in Spanish if you haven’t had sufficient practice in constantly speaking Spanish, on a daily basis, with native speakers.
I’m a native speaker and I thought the test was hard (when my kids asked me questions about the test subjects). You have to read and interpret full essays and give opinions about the situations in a culturally appropriate dialogue. Your writing style has to reflect and convey full thoughts, with no grammatical errors.
You had Spanish 2 and that doesn’t cover the cultural verb forms.
!Buena suerte porque la vas a necesitar!