The AP® Spanish Language Course hones in on students’ abilities to communicate through writing, reading, speaking, and understanding spoken Spanish. Targeting interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication, the strategies emphasized in the classroom include improving vocabulary, learning complex language structures like the subjunctive verb tense, discourse with an emphasis on cultural etiquette, and building contemporary and historical knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world. Instruction is done solely in Spanish.
This AP® Spanish study guide will briefly outline the format of the AP® Spanish Language Exam, putting particular emphasis on the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice section. It will provide insights into why the multiple-choice section is important to the overall test results, discuss content covered in the multiple choice section, and inform interested test takers on how to prepare for the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice section. Finally, this guide will provide you with AP® Spanish Language Exam tips to help you answer the multiple-choice questions on the day of the test, and provide AP® Spanish Language practice questions.
What is the Format of the AP® Spanish Language Exam?
The AP® Spanish Language Exam takes about three hours to complete and consists of two sections divided into various components. The first section is multiple-choice and consists of a number of listening and reading comprehension questions. Here students listen to prerecorded interviews, radio programs, podcasts, or read articles from newspapers, web pages, special reports, or literature and then select the best answer from a multiple-choice selection.
Students are given an hour and 35 minutes to complete the 65 questions that make up the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice section. The first component contains 30 interpretive communication questions based on printed texts like websites, blogs, online newspapers, and magazines. The second component, testing interpretive communication, likewise contains 35 multiple choice questions. Unlike the previous part, this one asks questions that are based on a number of both print and audio texts like podcasts, broadcasts, or music.
Why is the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice Section Important?
The multiple choice section makes up 50% of your final grade on the AP® Spanish Language Exam – so it is definitely important to your overall results! Scores are run through a machine where test takers receive a raw numerical score. You will not be penalized for incorrect answers, and points are not given for unanswered questions. In other words, your total score on this section is based on the amount of questions that test takers answer correctly. Later in this study guide, you’ll learn about ways that you can use this to your advantage.
What Content is Covered in the Multiple-Choice Section of the AP® Spanish Language Exam?
Your AP® Spanish Language class had you cover a number of social, cultural, academic, and workplace issues; all germane to taking the exam. Global challenges, science and technology, contemporary life, personal and public identities, families and communities, and beauty and aesthetics appear in one form or another in the multiple choice questions you’ll be answering. Print materials like journalistic and literary texts, advertisements, letters, maps, and tables are some of the documents test takers are also presented with. Here there may be multiple choice questions about the main ideas and supporting details presented in the document, the meaning of vocabulary words in the context of the document, or questions about the author’s voice, perspective opinion, or prospective audience. Cultural queries are also common.
True audio materials, including interviews, podcasts, dialogues, and presentations, sometimes paired with print materials, also appear. These require students to read, interpret, and evaluate the documents and then answer a number of multiple choice questions. Fortunately, students are given the opportunity to briefly read through the material and skim the multiple choice questions before listening to the audio. Audio documents are also played two times each for the test takers’ benefit.
How can Test Takers Prepare for the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice Section?
In this section, you’ll find a few suggestions on how you can conduct your own AP® Spanish review during your free time. The CollegeBoard likewise offers some additional insights to get test takers ready for test day. You can find out more by clicking here.
In the multiple-choice section, you’ll be asked to recognize main ideas, intent, and point of view, and interact with views that may be similar or contrary to your own. Though you may not understand every word, there are ways around this that will still allow you to successfully compete in this section. For starters, take every opportunity you can to engage with the language. Participate in class discussions and activities, talk to native Spanish speakers in your community, or use various social media platforms to extend your network further throughout the world.
For the multiple-choice section, you can also prepare by reading, listening to, and watching books, music, podcasts, and movies made by native Spanish speakers. These activities are often enjoyable for many AP® students. If you’ve selected an interesting topic, you’ll have the opportunity to improve your language skills while learning new cultural repertoires from countries as diverse as Chile, the Dominican Republic, or Spain.
How can Test Takers Answer the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice Questions?
Albert offers test takers some useful tips to prepare them for the multiple-choice section of the AP® Spanish Language exam (see Albert’s The Ultimate List of AP® Spanish Language Tips for further details). Below you’ll find some more useful tips on how to increase your chances of selecting the correct answer on the multiple-choice exam on the day of the test.
- Since you are not penalized for incorrect answers, be sure to try to answer all of the questions. Take an educated guess – if you get it wrong it won’t hurt your score, but if you get it right then you will receive full credit for a guess. No bad, right?
- What do we mean by “take an educated guess”? Well, this means that you are making a guess but you are employing logic and reason to formulate it. One way to do this is by the process of elimination. Cancel out any definite “No’s” until you have a narrower selection of “Maybes” to choose from. Once you have just two choices that may be right, take your best guess!
- In any listening component, you’ll be given two chances to hear the audio text. On the first go, do your best to understand what’s being said. On the second listen, jot down notes or anything else that has stuck in your brain.
- Try to devise a strategy to keep track of time. Wear a watch and have a look at the time after answering a certain number of questions so that you can stay on task.
- When looking at printed texts, jot down summary words and phrases in the margins, next to each paragraph. This will help you remember what you read and guide you in the right direction should you need to search for an answer quickly.
What are the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice Questions Like?
Below you’ll find some examples of real multiple-choice questions from CollegeBoard’s AP® Central (you can check out more details and specific multiple-choice questions on page 43). Try a few of these questions in the months before the test to ensure you are getting your fill of AP® Spanish practice!
Example
Students are given a text to read or an audio file to listen to in Spanish. The text is then followed by a series of multiple choice questions that may ask:
Cuál es el propósito del artículo? (What is the purpose of the article?)
Que técnica usa el autor del artículo para comunicarse? (What technique does the author of the article use to communicate?)
A que se refiere la frase…? (What does the phrase …mean?)
How can I Practice for the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice Section?
On a final note, the AP® Spanish Language Exam may be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to count you out. There are materials available to test takers interested in studying for the AP® Spanish Language Multiple-Choice section. Students can pull from interviews, radio programs, podcasts, newspapers, web pages, special reports, or literature in Spanish to expand their foreign language literacy. Meet with your fellow students, Spanish teachers or Spanish speakers in your community to attend Spanish cultural events and films, or to deliberate on current global events; the latest tech gadgets; or your love, family, or work life. In other words, if you engage with the language on a daily basis, over the course of a few months, you’ll be developing skills that will assist you for the day of the test, and you’ll be opening yourself up to one-of-a-kind social worlds you might never have otherwise experienced.
Looking for AP® Spanish Language practice?
Kickstart your AP® Spanish Language prep with Albert. Start your AP® exam prep today.
