<p>Hey all! My younger brother took Spanish for 4 years:</p>
<p>Spanish I A in 7th grade
Spanish I B in 8th grade
Pre-AP Spanish II in 9th grade
Pre-AP Spanish III in 10th grade</p>
<p>He's done pretty good in those classes, all A's I believe except maybe for one or two high B's in Spanish II. (he slacked off!)</p>
<p>He did not take Spanish his junior year, and has not reviewed or looked at Spanish at all this past year. He is considering a minor in Spanish in college, and wants to take AP Spanish Language his senior year. However, seeing as he missed out on a whole year, I'm not sure this would be a good idea.</p>
<p>What are your opinions? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>It may take him a few weeks to get back up to speed, but it’s not unheard of.</p>
<p>Hmm that’s risky. While it’s not ideal, you should keep in mind that part of AP Spanish is review. If your brother really wants to take AP Spanish, then I recommend he start reviewing and practicing his Spanish as soon as possible. How much does he remember? That’s a big factor as well. I also highly recommend talking with the AP Spanish teacher. I’m doing the same thing as your brother (skipped junior year Spanish, might be taking AP Spanish senior year) and my teacher offered to help keep me updated. Do you guys use Yabla or watch Destinos? Those two are extremely helpful in getting familiar with the language. Also, tell him to start speaking the language regularly and listening to Spanish speakers in public (like at the mall or something lol). It’s going to be rough at first, but if your brother is up for it, I’m sure he will do fine. As you know, AP Spanish isn’t an easy class; it’s definitely not for kids who take it for the AP title (which doesn’t apply to this case :-bd ). Many kids even skip a year and go straight to AP. If he truly feels passionate about the Spanish language and truly wishes to minor in it, then I don’t see why not! Good luck. :)</p>
<p>That’s still more Spanish than when I went into AP–but yes, change your radio station to Spanish and start immersing yourself. Read the Spanish versions of literature (written material) and compare it to the English after you are done. My 2 weeks (although they were too late) of trying to cram/immerse for the AP exam allowed me to probably be very close to a 3 (a 2 in which I heard the last passages were easy) while most of my classmates got 1s. And to this day, I believe my immersion has a painful back thought of trying to do lots of things in Spanish when I know my ability isn’t the strongest… But you can get a lot done very quickly, just had I done my process for a longer time I know I could’ve guaranteed passed the exam!</p>