AP JAPANESE
LANGUAGE AND
CULTURE
AP Japanese Language and Culture – Student Guide
AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam - Exam Overview
The AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam will test your ability to apply communication skills developed in the course, including interpreting different types of written and audio texts, writing to and speaking with others, and presenting your ideas in written and spoken Japanese. Throughout the exam, you will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of Japanese-speaking cultures.
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The exam is administered in schools on computers. On exam day, you will read text on the screen, listen through a headset, type using the keyboard, and speak into a microphone. The input method for typing Japanese is the Google Japanese IME, which allows you to type in different modes including hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Instructions are provided on the exam screens. Let’s review the 2022 AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam Overview for more information.
Exam Duration
2hrs
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Exam Components
Section IA: Multiple Choice Listening - 30–35 questions | 20mins | 25% of Score
This section consists of a variety of audio materials, including public announcements, voice messages, instructions, cultural presentations, school debates, radio reports, and dialogues.
Questions will test your ability to:
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Identify the main ideas and supporting details in the audio material
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Determine the meaning of a variety of vocabulary and deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words
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Decide the meaning of a text based on cultural and/or interdisciplinary information
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Infer implied meaning through context
Section IB: Multiple Choice Reading - 35–40 questions | 1hr | 25% of Score
This section consists of a variety of written materials (e.g., journalistic and literary texts, emails, letters, instructions, and travel brochures). Questions will test your ability to:
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Identify the main ideas and supporting details in the written material
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Determine the meaning of a variety of vocabulary and deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words
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Decide the meaning of a text based on cultural and/or interdisciplinary information
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Infer implied meaning through context
Section IIA: Free Response Written - 2 tasks, 7 questions | 30mins | 25% of Score
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Interpersonal Writing: Read and answer text-chat messages (10 minutes; 12.5% of exam score)
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Presentational Writing: Write an article comparing and contrasting 2 given topics or perspectives (20 minutes; 12.5% of exam score)
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Section IIB: Free Response Spoken - 2 Tasks, 5 questions | 11mins | 25% of Score
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Interpersonal Speaking: Respond to a series of 4 related prompts as part of a simulated conversation (3 minutes, respond time: 20 seconds per question; 12.5% of exam score)
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Presentational Speaking: Deliver a presentation on your view or perspective of a Japanese cultural topic. You’ll have 1 minute to read the prompt, 4 minutes to prepare, and 2 minutes to present. (7 minutes; 12.5% of exam score)
AP Japanese 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.
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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 Japanese Language and Culture Exam.
For more information about AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam and scoring, you can visit the College Board’s website.
AP Japanese 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.
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AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam - Study Resources
• College Board Classroom Resources
• Strive for a 5: AP Japanese Practice Tests (English and Japanese Edition) Bilingual Edition
• Coscom
• Easy Japanese – Learn Japanese from the Street!
• Hirogaru
• JPLANG
• MATCHA
• MLC
• Wasabi
• 1 Hour of Advanced Japanese Listening Comprehension
• 51 Minutes of Intermediate Japanese Listening Comprehension
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. 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 or other 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.
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 audience; and 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 responding to text-chat messages, making a speech, writing an article that compares and contrasts two given topics, 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.
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 support. Depending on the goals of your presentation, you’ll need to be able to elaborate, describe, explain, compare/contrast, or justify your opinions.
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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Choose: Select a topic among provided choices.
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Compare/Highlight: Provide a description or explanation of similarities and/or differences.
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Describe: Provide the relevant characteristics of a specified topic.
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Explain: Provide information about how or why a specific perspective is significant.
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Hear: Listen to directions and an audio source
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Imagine: Visualize ideas related to a stimulus.
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Make a presentation: Orally respond to a prompt.
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Make a speech: Deliver a speech.
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Narrate: Describe or recount a complete story (with a beginning, middle, and end) as suggested by the pictures.
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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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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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Type: Use a keyboard to type answers in the target language.
Best Ways to Study for the AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam
Assess Your Knowledge of the Material
It’s important to start your studying off with a good understanding of your existing knowledge. You can find practice questions in the course description to use for a formative assessment.
Study the Material
The best way to really learn any foreign language is to immerse yourself in it. Although it might be difficult to surround yourself with native Japanese speakers if you don’t already know them, it is not nearly as difficult to find Japanese multimedia content. You can find Japanese videos on YouTube, podcasts in iTunes or the app store, and tons of websites with Japanese text and audio.
You’ll also need to learn the material specific to the test. The material includes basic abilities to communicate by using three modes of communication. These modes are interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. Specifically, the learning objectives for the course require that you:
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Engage in spoken interpersonal communication
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Engage in written interpersonal communication
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Synthesize information from a variety of authentic audio, visual, and audiovisual resources
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Synthesize information from a variety of authentic written and print resources
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Plan, produce, and present spoken presentational communications
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Plan and produce written presentational communications.
In your mastery of communication, you will need to be able to request and confirm the receipt of information, ask for and provide directions, and issue and respond to invitations. In addition, you will need to be able to express yourself through written word, and as such will need to have a basic command of many of the prevalent kanji characters and efficient Japanese typing skills.
Unlike most other AP foreign language courses, the standards for the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam do not require that you become an advanced Japanese communicator. Instead, you will only need to display proficiency at the Intermediate-Low to Intermediate-Mid range in each of the three modes of communication.
There are other study materials available online. Free Japanese Lessons, though not specific to the AP exam, has many helpful language-learning tools. There are also a number of relevant study sets available on Quizlet posted by former AP students and their teachers. Another site, the Japan Foundation of Los Angeles, provides various learning tools including a database of tests for assessing your proficiency. Finally, many course syllabi and study guides can be found through online searches.
Apps are another fun, relatively new way to brush up on your material. The Kanji Practice Dictionary allows you to practice your vocabulary and knowledge of kanji characters, the sad thing is, it is not for free.
Practice multiple-choice questions
The multiple-choice section of the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam is divided into two parts. The first part of the multiple-choice section involves listening and tests your interpretive communication skills. You will listen to various genres of auditory materials and answer questions pertaining to them. These genres might include announcements, conversations, instructions, presentations, or debates
The second part of the multiple-choice section involves reading and tests your interpretive communication of written and print resources. You will read a variety of documents and respond to questions about them. These documents could include emails, letters, instructions, news stories, or short fiction.
The best way to prepare for the multiple-choice section is to practice lots of sample questions. You can find some in the course description. As you practice, focus on what each question is asking you to do. If it’s difficult or you get the wrong answer, try to classify the question by type — that is, identify if the question is audio or written, and what specific kind of communication it involves. Also, keep track of any specific vocabulary or grammar that is still difficult for you. By keeping a running tally of the question types that are tripping you up, you’ll have a ready-made review list.
Practice Free-Response Questions
The free-response section of the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam consists of four tasks. The first task is the interpersonal-writing task, which will ask you to read and respond to six text-chat prompts. This interaction will be informal in nature and will imitate a casual text conversation you might have with a friend or family member.
The second task in this section is the presentational writing task, which contains a single prompt. You will be asked to write a compare-and-contrast article in Japanese for a specific purpose and for a specific audience. This will be a more formal representation of your Japanese writing skills.
The third task in this section is the interpersonal speaking task, which contains four prompts. This will be a simulated conversation in which you listen and respond to four questions.
The final task of the free response section will ask you to display your presentational communication skills in the context of an oral Cultural Perspective Presentation. You will be asked to describe and express your opinion about a Japanese cultural practice or product. For this task, you will have a single prompt and you’ll be given four minutes to prepare your response.
The best way to prepare for the free response section of your AP Japanese Language and Culture exam is to practice repeated sample questions from the AP Japanese Language and Culture Past Exam Free-Response Questions and Scoring Information provided by the College Board.
Not only are the questions a valuable practice tool, but also the provided scoring criteria, samples of authentic student responses, and scoring explanations are all great resources for understanding how your answers will be assessed.
Take Another Practice Test
Once you think you’re ready to take the real exam, test your knowledge with another practice test. You should see a steady increase in your knowledge. Repeat the above steps as necessary to increase your score, bit by bit.
Conclusion
The aim of the AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam is not just to study a foreign language but to go beyond the ability to simply express thoughts and ideas by further providing access to perspectives and knowledge that is only available through that language and culture. The quickest way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. Be confident! On exam day, make sure to speak confidently into the microphone. Even if you make little mistakes, it's okay! You have studied hard and all your work will pay off. Good luck!