If you’ve been taking Spanish all throughout high school, you might be wondering about the AP® Spanish class AP® Spanish Literature and Culture. If you are considering taking Spanish in college, or just want to get college credit, this may be perfect for you. This class will truly prepare you for college-level Spanish classes while earning you credit for college. Even if you are not planning on majoring or minoring in Spanish, some colleges now require a few foreign language classes.

First of all, take note that this is a separate class than AP® Spanish Language and Culture. The Language and Culture class is centered on grammar and linguistics. This class is much more focused on reading and analyzing texts in Spanish. Don’t let that scare you: your teachers don’t expect you to be fluent. The goal is to get more comfortable reading and writing in Spanish.

Course Overview

The goal of AP® Spanish Literature and Culture is to better your Spanish communication skills in reading, interpreting, and discussing literary works (including novels, plays, poems, etc.). The course uses literature as a vehicle to better your Spanish language skills by incorporating reading, writing, as well as cultural and historical lessons.

The texts will incorporate narratives from Spain, Latin America, and the United States. By reading pieces from different regions, you will learn about their histories, traditions, and ways of life. You will also notice that there are different dialects or language trends depending on the origin of the piece.

This class will test your literary criticism skills, just like any other literature class. You will have to discuss the themes of the novel, and how they are affected by the period and culture. You will have to analyze the theme of the work, and how it can be applied to current day.

Students will better their speaking skills by sharing ideas about the novels in class. You will participate in class discussions, ask questions, and present themes of the works in front of the class. By the end of the course, students will be more confident in their speaking abilities.

Students are also expected to write essays in response to literary works. They will have to craft a thesis, and use examples from the work, as well as background knowledge, to defend the thesis. Students will improve academic writing skills by writing these essays.

Skills Required

Do you have what it takes to ace this course? Let’s see. Here are a few of the skills required to pass the class.

First of all, you have to be willing to put forth an effort. This means participating in class, doing the homework, and maybe taking steps outside of class to better your Spanish. This is the most important skill: all other necessary skills will improve with a genuine want to get better.

You will need general literary analytical skills. This is something you’ve been practicing during all of your literature classes since middle school. You will need to identify the underlying themes of works, and cite the text as proof. This will include learning about the historical and cultural background of the text, and analyzing how those things affect the text and its themes.

In regards to Spanish, you will need to have a general grasp of grammar and vocabulary. These skills will be tested through speaking, reading, and writing. As we talked about before, this doesn’t mean you need to be fluent: your teachers don’t expect that from you. However, you need to know the basics: the different subject pronouns, verb conjugations, and basic vocabulary. During the class, you will acquire a literary vocabulary that will help you analyze and discuss each text.

You will need to have good listening skills. Your teacher will try to exclude English from the class as much as possible, so you’ll need to pay attention. There is also a listening section on the exam.

Challenges of the Course

In general, know that AP® classes tend to be a little more rigorous than other high school courses. This is done with good intention: by taking an AP® class, you will be more prepared for college classes.

The biggest challenge of this course is reading literature in Spanish. In the first years of high school Spanish, you read short texts in Spanish, and may have a textbook in Spanish. Literature is a different level of reading. You may have to read things twice: once for comprehension and once for a more critical approach. That is completely normal.

The course will also probably be mostly in Spanish. While other high school courses are much more relaxed about English in the classroom, this course will be carried out in Spanish. This can be a big adjustment, but being forced to speak in Spanish will guarantee better oral skills.

One of the best ways to overcome these challenges is to incorporate Spanish in your everyday life outside of the classroom: follow a Twitter account that is written in Spanish, listen to music in Spanish, etc. By making an effort outside of the class, the class work and high expectations will be less daunting.

Let’s Talk About the Exam…

The AP® exams may seem intimidating, but if you participate in class, you will be prepared to take the exam. The exam essentially tests the skills you’ve been building all year long.

The Basics:

The exam lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes and is split into two sections. Here’s the breakdown of the exam

Section I: 1 hour and 20 minutes

65 Multiple Choice Questions

• Part A: 15 Interpretive Listening Questions
• Part B: 50 Reading Analysis Questions

**10 minute break**

Section II: 1 hour and 40 minutes

4 Free Responses

• 1 Text Explanation
• 1 Text and Art Comparison
• 1 Analysis of Single Text
• 1 Text Comparison

This seems like a lot but listen: people pass it every year. In fact, the majority of the students who take the class pass the exam. Again, the point of the course is to prepare you for the exam, so this will not be the first time you see these things.

Let’s go through each part at a time.

Interpretive Listening: For these questions, you will listen to an audio and answer questions. The audios will contain an interview with an author, a poem that is not on the reading list, and a presentation on the literary topic. A suggestion would be to read over the questions before the audio plays, so that you know exactly what you’re looking for.

Reading Analysis:In this section, you will have to respond to six sets of questions from the texts provided to you. Some will be from the required reading lists, and some may not be. The writers of the test want to test your ability to analyze the text and pinpoint its theme, tone, main characters, etc.

Break:This 10-minutes break is just as important as the other sections of your exam. Okay, maybe not just as important, but still important. Take a walk or eat a quick snack. Whatever you do, don’t just sit there and think about the first half of the exam: you need to refuel for the free response part of the exam.

Short Answer Text Explanation:You will read an excerpt of a text that comes from a specific reading list (see the More Questions section). From there, you will talk about the author, the time period it is written in, and how this section of the text relates to the overall theme of the work. AP® suggests 15 minutes to complete this question.

Short Answer Text and Art Comparison:This is exactly what it sounds like: you will have to make a comparison between a text and a work of art. These pieces may have a similar theme or image, or may be from the same time period. AP® suggests 15 minutes to complete this question.

Essay Analysis of a Single Text: Note that this free-response question is different than the first two and should take a significantly more amount of time to complete. You will be given a longer excerpt from a text from the required reading list, and a prompt that will ask you about the genre, time period, theme, or cultural context. AP® suggests 35 minutes to complete this question.

Essay Text Comparison: You will be given two texts: one from the required reading list, and one that you have never seen before. They will have a similar theme. You will have to talk about how the authors craft the theme, and cite the works as proof. AP® suggests 35 minutes to complete this question.

Grading the Exam

The AP® exams are graded on a scale from 1-5, with five being “extremely well qualified” and 1 being “no recommendation” for college credit. To earn said credit, students must earn a 3 or higher.

You might be looking at this and asking: what does this mean? It means that in 2015, 73/100 students could receive college credit for taking this exam. This is assuming that all colleges accept 3, 4, and 5, which is not always the case.

What is important to know is that the essay section is graded by 70% content and 30% language abilities. This means you don’t need to spend 30 minutes trying to remember how to conjugate tener in past tense. It’s more important to have insightful things to say than worry about a small grammatical error.

Is AP® Spanish Literature and Culture Worth it?

In the end, this course could save you money. Depending on the score you get on the AP® exam, you can earn college credit. As it becomes more difficult to graduate college in 4 years, going into college with any credit is a huge advantage.

It will also save you time: if you pass this exam and plan to continue taking Spanish in college, you are not going to be placed into a 101 class. What does that mean? It means you’re not going to be placed into a class that’s too easy for you.

If you like this course, it may help you figure out what type of career you would like. CollegeBoard offers a list of possible majors or jobs that pertain to this specific exam.

And speaking of jobs, speaking Spanish is a great resume booster. By speaking a foreign language, you will be more marketable to companies, especially those who work internationally. As I’m sure you’ve heard, it has become more and more difficult to find a job directly out of college. Speaking a foreign language is a way to make you stand out in a group of applicants.

Next Steps

If you’re interested in taking this course, let’s talk about how to move forward in the process. First of all, it’s good to get a little bit of feedback. Talk to your parents about taking the course, and see what they think. We also suggest talking to your current Spanish teacher to ask if he or she thinks you could handle the class. Your teacher has a good idea about your grasp on the Spanish language and if you are prepared for the next level. Here’s a brief guide that helps you break down some questions about AP® courses before talking to parents or teachers.

There technically are not any prerequisites for the class, but it is normally the fourth and last Spanish course of high school. It is important to note that AP® Spanish Language and Culture is a separate class, and you do not need to take it before taking this course.

If your high school does not offer this course and you’re still interested in taking it, don’t worry. You can always talk to your school’s guidance counselor about looking into an online course.

You also have the possibility of taking the exam without taking the course. This option is not available to anyone and it’s only suggested for native or near native speakers. These students still need to follow along with the general course objectives to know what is expected and should take practice exams during the year.

If you’re ready to take the class, now is the time to start preparing. Save any notes you have on basic concepts that could help you in the future. Look for ways to use Spanish outside of the classroom. Talk to any students that are currently enrolled in the class for advice.

More Questions?

If you still aren’t sure about AP® Spanish Literature and Culture, there are plenty more resources available to you.

• This is a full report of the class’s framework, including its curriculum, as well as a step-by-step guide of how each section of the exam is graded. Warning: it is 94 pages, and basically stretches out what we’ve just talked about.
• Check out our site’s study questions to give you an idea of the course’s content
• Browse the required reading list and see if any of the texts spark your interest.

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