AP FRENCH
LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE
AP French Language and Culture – Student Guide
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AP French Language and Culture - Exam Overview
The AP French Language and Culture Exam will test your ability to apply communication and language skills developed in the course and ask you to demonstrate your understanding of French-speaking cultures.
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Exam Duration
3hrs
Exam Components
Section IA: Multiple Choice - 30 questions | 40mins | 23% of Score
This section presents 4 sets of authentic print sources (announcements/advertisements, literary texts, articles and charts, letters) with questions. The questions will ask you to:
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Identify the main ideas and supporting details
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Determine the meaning of vocabulary words in context
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Identify the author’s point of view or the target audience
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Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural or interdisciplinary information contained in the text
Section IB: Multiple Choice with Audio - 35 questions | 55mins | 27% of Score
This section includes a variety of authentic audio sources, including conversations, audio reports, interviews, instructions, and presentations. It is divided into 2 subsections:
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The first includes 2 sets of audio sources that are paired with print materials on the same topic with questions (articles and audio reports, charts and conversations)
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The second includes 3 sets of audio sources with questions (interviews, instructions, presentations)
You will respond to questions about main ideas and supporting details. Some questions will require you to show understanding of cultural or interdisciplinary information. You will have time to read a preview of each selection and skim the questions before listening to the audio. All audio texts will be played twice. You are encouraged to take notes during this part of the exam and are given writing space for that purpose. Your notes will not be graded.
Section IIA: Free Response Written - 2 questions | 1hr 10mins | 25% of Score
There are two writing tasks in this section:
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Interpersonal Writing: Read and reply to an email message (15 minutes).
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Presentational Writing: Write an argumentative essay based on 3 sources, including an article, a table, chart, graph, or infographic, and a related audio source (played twice), that present different viewpoints on a topic (~55 minutes total: 15 minutes to review materials plus 40 minutes to write). You will have access to the print sources and any notes you may take on the audio during the entire 40-minute writing period.
Section IIB: Free Response Spoken - 2 questions | 18mins | 25% of Score
There are two speaking tasks in this section:
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Interpersonal Speaking: Participate in 5 exchanges in a simulated conversation (20 seconds for each response). For this conversation, you will be provided with a preview of the conversation, including an outline of each exchange.
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Presentational Speaking: Deliver a 2-minute presentation in response to a prompt in which you compare a cultural feature of a French-speaking community with which you are familiar to your own community or another community.
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AP French Language and Culture – Scoring
For the first section (multiple-choice), for every question you answer correctly, you will get one point each. There is no negative marking. It means that even if your answer is wrong or left blank, no points are deducted.
Next is the free response section. Its scoring system is a bit complicated. Rather than being graded by AI, it is reviewed by AP graders and scored following these guidelines for AP French Language and Culture.
For more information about AP French Language and Culture Exam and scoring, you can visit the College Board’s website.
AP French Language and Culture – Credit
Keep in mind, credit and advanced standing based on AP scores vary widely from school to school. Though a score of 3 is typically considered passing, it is not always enough to receive credit. Regulations regarding which APs qualify for course credits or advanced placement depend on the policy that your desired college or university has for AP exams.
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AP German Language and Culture - Study Resources
• College Board Classroom Resources
• Barron’s AP French Language and Culture Premium, 2023-2024
• Radio France Internationale (RFI)
• Yabla
• Parle Français Pratique Orale
AP World Language and Culture Exam Tips
In today’s global community, competence in more than one language is an essential part of communication and cultural understanding. Your study of another language not only provides you with the ability to express thoughts and ideas but also gives you access to perspectives and knowledge that are only available through the language and culture. Advanced language learning offers social, cultural, academic, and workplace benefits that will serve you throughout your life.
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Developing Your Communication Skills
As you develop language proficiency, you learn to use your language skills within the three modes of communication.
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In Interpersonal Communication, you engage in conversations and discussions, express ideas, and exchange opinions using both spoken and written language.
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In Interpretive Communication, you understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
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In Presentational Communication, you present information and ideas to an audience using spoken and written language.
Interpersonal Communication
Take every opportunity to use the language as much as you can. Participate actively in class discussions, get to know exchange students, advanced students of the language, or connect with students from around the world using technology. Don’t worry about making mistakes, just use the language. If you find yourself struggling to remember a word, think about another way of expressing your idea.
In this mode of communication, you’ll need to be able to ask and answer a variety of questions, exchange information and ideas, and state and support your opinions. You’ll also need to interact appropriately in formal and informal situations with adults and peers.
Interpretive Communication
You should read, listen to, and watch a variety of materials from countries where the language you are studying is spoken. Explore your personal interests and find podcasts, websites, and videos that are especially interesting. Learn about current events by watching the news or reading online newspapers and magazines. For enjoyment, watch movies or cartoons, read stories, or listen to music. The important thing is you are using your language skills—and learning something about the cultural products, practices, and perspectives of the places where the language is spoken.
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In this mode of communication, you’ll need to be able to understand the main ideas and some details; recognize the purpose, points of view, and target audience; and you’ll think about perspectives different from your own. You don’t have to understand every word to be successful.
Presentational Communication
Being able to present your ideas in an organized way to various audiences is an important aspect of communication. Presentational Communication includes telling a story, making a speech, writing an essay or movie review, and making a presentation to your classmates or members of the community. No matter what the situation, you’ll need to prepare your thoughts and ideas in an organized fashion to reach your audience effectively.
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In this mode of communication, you’ll need to be able to organize your presentation around the main idea and develop it in a logical fashion with relevant details and supporting evidence. Depending on the goals of your presentation, you’ll need to be able to narrate, explain, compare, or persuade.
Task Verbs
Pay close attention to the task verbs used in the free-response questions. Each one directs you to complete a specific type of response. Here are the task verbs you’ll see on the exam:
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Ask: Request information or details.
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Compare: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or differences.
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Defend: Explain or justify.
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Demonstrate: Show ability to respond appropriately.
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Hear/Listen: Listen to directions and an audio source
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Identify/Indicate: Indicate or provide information about a specified topic, without elaboration or explanation.
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Make a presentation: Orally respond to a prompt.
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Organize: Determine and arrange a logical sequence for a response.
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Participate in a conversation: Respond to spoken prompts (such as providing a greeting; offering details, explanations, opinions, or perspectives; accepting or declining an invitation or suggestions; proposing solutions; and/or concluding a conversation).
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Prepare: Plan your response.
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Present: Provide information or ideas.
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Read: Look at or view printed directions and information.
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Record: Capture spoken responses digitally.
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Respond: Reply to a question or prompt.
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Speak: Express ideas verbally in response to a specific question or prompt.
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Use: Select and use appropriate register (formal or informal).
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Write: Produce a response in writing.
Best Ways to Study for the AP French Language and Culture Exam
Assess Your Skills
Take a practice test to assess your initial knowledge of the material. Although the College Board does not provide a complete practice test, you can find sample questions with scoring explanations included in the course and exam description. Additionally, there are free practice exam questions available on practiceexam.com. You may also find a practice or diagnostic exams in many of the commercial study guides.
Study the Theory
To really devote yourself to this study, you should endeavor to immerse yourself as much as possible in the French language and culture. You should listen to, speak, and read French as much as you can. You can find interesting books in French, watch YouTube videos in French, read French news (like Le Monde), follow French blogs, or listen to French podcasts. Try to find engaging sources of information presented in French and use them as much as possible. You will be amazed by how much your own listening, spoken language, and written French will improve simply from exposing yourself to the language more often.
For a more specific idea of where to focus your studying, you may consider using a commercial study guide. Barron’s AP French Language and Culture Premium, 2023-2024 offers a comprehensive guide to the exam content. Another convenient way to study is to use one of the recently-developed apps for AP exams.
Practice Multiple-Choice Questions
Once you have your theory down, test it out by practicing multiple-choice questions. You can find these in most study guides or through online searches. You could also try taking the multiple-choice section of another practice exam.
The College Board Course and Exam Description includes many practice multiple choice questions along with explanations of their answers. As you go through these, try to keep track of which areas are still tripping you up, and go back over this theory again. Focus on understanding what each question is asking and keep a running list of any vocabulary that is still unfamiliar.
Practice Free Response Questions
Your preparations for the free response section of the AP French Language and Culture exam will differ from the preparations for those of other AP exams. Although you’ll still need to practice some writing responses, you’ll also need to practice your listening skills and oral responses.
Regardless, you should begin your preparations for the free response section by brushing up on your vocabulary and grammar. Quizlet has good online flashcards available for free. Make sure you have a solid selection of verbs to fall back on in both conversational and formal tones, and practice using them in multiple contexts. Although you won’t officially be scored on your grammar, you’ll still need to be able to communicate effectively, so make sure you can get your point across.
Your best preparation for the written prompts is simple: repeated practice prompts. You can find tons of sample questions from AP French Language and Culture Past Exam Questions and Scoring Information.
The oral portion of the free response section is perhaps the hardest to prepare for since it can be difficult to gauge your own speaking abilities. One suggested practice method is to record your own sample answers using the past exam prompts, and then replay them for yourself after you’ve reviewed the scoring criteria. You might also team up with a classmate to compare responses and offer each other some constructive criticism. Another less direct method of preparation is simply to make sure you are hearing and speaking as much French as possible on a daily basis.
Take Another Practice Test
As you did at the very beginning of your studying, take a practice test to evaluate your progress. You should see a steady progression of knowledge you’ve accumulated, and it’s likely that you will see patterns identifying which areas have improved the most and which areas still need improvement. If you have time, repeat each of the steps above to incrementally increase your score.
Conclusion
Students who are interested in gaining proficiencies in the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of French communication are best suited for this line of study. If you are interested in taking the AP French Language and Culture exam—whether you have taken the class, are a native speaker, or have self-studied, remember that the quickest way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. Have a positive mindset and always look forward to your goal, this will give you motivation. On exam day, if you make little mistakes, it's okay! If you’ll succeed, then you’ve proven that you are indeed talented in being a multi-lingual individual. If you fail, do not be afraid to try again. Good luck!