AP SPANISH
LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE
AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam – Student Guide
AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam - Exam Overview
The AP Spanish 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 Spanish-speaking cultures.
Exam Duration
3hrs 03mins
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, and 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
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 an 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 scored.
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 Spanish-speaking community with which you are familiar to your own community or another community.
Modes: To pass the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam, students need to demonstrate proficiency in engaging in three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. Students need to possess skills in listening, reading, speaking, and writing in the following areas:
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Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication
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Written and Print Interpretive Communication
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Spoken Interpersonal Communication
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Written Interpersonal Communication
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Spoken Presentational Communication
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Written Presentational Communication
AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam – 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 Spanish Language and Culture Exam.
For more information about AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam and scoring, you can visit the College Board’s website.
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AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam – 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.
AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam - Study Resources
• College Board Classroom Resources
• Barron’s AP Spanish Language and Culture Premium
• Hablame
• TED en español (charlas de TED en español)
• Ver-Taal
AP World Language and Culture Exam Tips
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.
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, and 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.
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.
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.
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 Spanish Language and Culture Exam
Start by Assessing Your Skills
It’s important to start your studying off with a good understanding of your existing knowledge. Although the College Board does not provide a complete practice test, you can find sample questions with scoring explanations included in the course description.
Study the Material
The best way to study a foreign language is to truly immerse yourself in it. Although your course will be taught primarily in Spanish, this will account for only a tiny percentage of your day. You should find other ways to further your exposure to the Spanish language, and given the prevalence of Spanish in our own contemporary culture, this should not be difficult. You can easily find engaging young adult books written in Spanish, interesting YouTube videos or TV shows in Spanish, or even Spanish podcasts. Make sure you are speaking, listening to, and reading Spanish as much as possible, even outside of your regular study or class hours.
The College Board also provides some valuable study tools for your use. In addition, you should take advantage of the many commercial study guides available for your use like Barron’s AP Spanish Language and Culture Premium. There are also vast amounts of study materials available online. Taking one of the more popular AP exams means that many students have been in your shoes, and often they or their teachers have posted past materials to supplement their studying. You can find a huge database of resources including sound files, Spanish reading sites, and grammar sites—this site is a good place to get started.
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Finally, apps are a relatively new and fun way to squeeze in a little more studying. The Fluent U app is a great option for AP foreign languages.
Practice Multiple-Choice Questions
The College Board course description also contains a number of multiple-choice questions with answers and explanations. As you are reviewing these, keep track of which broad content areas are coming easily to you and which still require more effort. Think about what each question is really asking you to do, and keep a list of vocabulary, grammar, and content areas that still seem unfamiliar. These will be points for more review before you move on. You will be able to find plenty of these available online study.com for example.
Practice Free Response Questions
Even if you’ve studied for the free response section of other APs in the past, your studies for the free response section of the foreign language AP exams will be quite different. In addition to practicing your written responses, you’ll also need to fine-tune your listening skills and oral responses.
Begin your preparations focusing on your vocabulary and grammar. Reaffirm that your knowledge of vocabulary will allow you to express yourself as fluently as possible.
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Your studies should also include practicing written and oral responses. The best way to specifically prepare for both the written and spoken portions of your free response questions is to practice repeated similar prompts.
Take Another Practice Test
Take the Practice Test again and identify the areas in which you’ve improved the most, and areas still in need of improvement.
Conclusion
In taking the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam, although there is some emphasis placed on correct grammar usage, the College Board specifically warns against overemphasizing grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication. Instead, more time will be spent on applying interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication skills in real-life situations, exploring the culture in both contemporary and historical contexts, and building an awareness and appreciation of cultural products, practices, and perspectives. Knowing how the scoring works will help you focus and, improve in the areas where you needed to be the most. Just be 100% prepared and nothing can stop you from grabbing that passing score! Good luck!