<p>My kid has scored excellent on SAT 1, SAT II and all the AP exams he has taken. He is done for all SAT II exams for all but one school. However he is applying to a very reputable program where foreign language is an integral part (Huntsman @ Wharton in RD round). Since he has not taken the test he does not know how he would perform. His prep school has exposed to him good Spanish language in class immersion but unlike his school classmates he has no Spanish culture immersion where he has a chance to improve his Spanish language by going to a Spanish speaking country. Do parents whose kids have taken AP Spanish or SAT Spanish have any suggestions how to do better in Spanish SAT II exams? Thanks for your wonderful suggestions.</p>
<p>My only suggestion (coming from a past Rotary Exchange student to Chile) is to go to a Spanish speaking country. There's only so much you can do learning off paper, reading, and studying Spanish.</p>
<p>Nah, there is no need for a Spanish immersion--at least this late in the game.</p>
<p>Here's an easy roadmap worth following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Buy the latest SAT Subject Tests from the College Board.</li>
<li>Decide on the test that is better suited. Listening is only offered in November, and ONLY listening is offered in November.</li>
<li>Check your TV schedules for Spanish broadcasts and have your kid listen to the news or any program of interest.</li>
<li>Drive to the hispanic community in your town and check the bookstores for any magazine that might interest your kid, especially if there is a comparable version in English. An example would be Vogue or PC Magazine.<br></li>
<li>Read the magazine CRITICALLY, play the recognition game, and pay attention to the grammar. </li>
</ol>
<p>Fifty bucks, at the most. With the savings, let the kid download a bunch of songs into the IPOD!</p>
<p>Xiggi thanks a lot :) I hope RSI give him a boost. he was going for a spanish language immersion from a paid scholarships but other programs came into pictures.</p>
<p>With most DVDs you can select Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles. The subtitles are especially important when the audio is dubbed, since it can throw a novice listener/viewer off if the mouth movement doesn't match what is being articulated. Start with familiar favorites, then branch out to new titles as comprehension increases. There will no doubt be a few translations that would strike a native speaker as quite hilarious (I'll never forget "viscoso pero sabroso" for "slimy but satisfying" in El Rey Leon), but this method really does help the learner internalize authentic vocab and syntax, and I've never heard of a kid who balks at movie "homework." For the most benefit, you son should keep a notebook handy and jot down a few new expressions each time (whenever he finds himself thinking, "so that's how you say that.")<br>
If you have satellite access to Univision or one of the other Spanish language networks, the telenovelas might be entertaining and educational, too.</p>
<p>Have your son do some reading in Spanish every day. All the major newspapers are online. A few that come to mind are elpais.es (a centrist Madrid paper, try the sports and entertainment sections for higher interest material for a teen) and granma.cu. That one is always a fun read--it's the official online publication of the Cuban news agency. The good thing with granma is that there is an English version, so your son can read an article in Spanish and then check comprehension in English. As you might have guessed, I'm really a whole-language proponent, but if your son wants to work on discrete grammar points, try conjuguemos.com to practice verb conjugations and such (requires registration, but free).</p>
<p>Depends...did he get a 5 on his AP Spanish Language exam? If so, he can easily score in the upper 600s on the SAT II. To get to the higher 700s, he has to study a bit more (this is out of personal experience and what I've seen with several classmates). There are SAT II prep books. I used Barron's and liked it (800 on Spanish with Listening).</p>