how does one prepare for ap spanish after spanish 3 in school?
Response from Bellatrix:
I believe Gendive is teaching AP Spanish again this year, so I recommend really knowing grammar rules. You will be thrown in to the different sections of the AP test, and you have to already know the foundations of all of the tenses, formal vs. informal, etc. Also the Spanish 3 rubrics for the persuasive essay and email are VERY helpful because you will have to write a lot of those. Know early on what your weaknesses are. For me, I knew I was very bad at reading comprehension and audio activities. In turn, a lot of my homework and independent study revolved around listening and reading in Spanish, and it only took about 15-20 minutes every other night for me to improve.
In general though, immerse yourself in the language. AP Spanish is when people start expecting you to gain some fluency in the language and getting an A or a 5 will also be a whole lot easier if you feel comfortable speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Spanish. Listen to latin pop, read articles on El Economista or Spanish CNN, and even watch Netflix in Spanish to help with building fluency AND culture.Â
Culture is actually an overlooked section of the class, but the title is AP Spanish Language and Culture. Reading the articles and watching hispanic shows or movies helps A LOT with the culture aspect since it is tested throughout the entirety of the course. Be familiar with current events and traditions in a handful of countries (ex. Mexico and Puerto Rico). Though don’t worry about being a Latin American expert during the summer, you will have opportunities throughout the year to develop that knowledge as well.
tl;dr this sounds like cliche or overused advice, but try to get better at the language rather than trying to get an A or a 5. Practice, practice, practice is what AP Spanish is all about. Not too much lecturing, but more self-guided practice, so identify your weaknesses and work on those as well as knowing important tid-bits of hispanic/latin american culture and history. Good luck!
