Advanced Placement ®
Spanish Language and Culture
Syllabus 2013-2014
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Advanced Placement ® Spanish Language and Culture
The Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture course is holistically designed to
offer students a proficiency-based, rigorous college-level experience to maximize their potential in
interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational skills in Spanish. The following graphic displays the
six global, overlapping course themes of instruction and their related sub-themes:
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The Loudoun County Public Schools Advanced Placement ® Spanish Language and Culture
course actually begins in the FLES program (Foreign Language Elementary School), where
students gradually develop the essential listening, and speaking skills. The students then advance
to the development of reading and writing skills in the SAMS program (Spanish at the Middle
School, 6th grade). Embedded in culturally authentic, meaningful contexts the students continue
developing their skills in the high school program beginning in 7th grade. This enables students
to function at more advanced cognitive, analytical, and communicative levels as the pre-AP ®
sequence begins in Level IV Honors. Students build confidence in Spanish by continually
developing comprehension and comprehensibility, a rich breadth of vocabulary, language
control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness throughout the curricula of study from
the FLES program through AP. In order to connect the course with the ACTFL National
Standards of Foreign Language of Learning for the 21st Century, students are expected to
communicate entirely in the target language in AP ® Spanish Language and Culture as they
compare and contrast Spanish-speaking cultures with their personal communities and connect
their studies with other disciplines in their high school curricula.
¡Se habla español! Spanish is the dominant language of communication in this course among
teachers and students. Students learn to use circumlocution techniques to interpret and convey
vocabulary and structures when meaning is compromised in situations where specific terminology is
not yet known. The goal is to develop a comfortable setting in which there is an appreciation and love
for Spanish language learning where students feel free to take risks in order to maximize their level of
proficiency.
INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES and ASSESSMENT
AP ® Spanish Language and Culture course instructors design their instructional techniques to
set reasonable learning objectives for students. They also describe acceptable performance at
distinct achievement levels as designated in the AP ® scoring rubrics, design thematic
instruction supported by a variety of interesting, meaningful classroom activities, and then
assess student progress towards the initial objectives per unit. Teachers are responsible for
differentiating or redirecting instruction as needed to strengthen proficiency skills. A large
majority of the summative assessments in Levels I-AP are designed to be similar in style to the
AP ® Spanish Language and Culture exam.
The following six groups of learning objectives are used to design activities throughout the scope and
sequence of Spanish I –AP:
Spoken Interpersonal Communication
Written Interpersonal Communication
Audio, Visual, and Audiovisual Interpretive Communication
Written and Print Interpretive Communication
Spoken Presentational Communication
Written Presentational Communication
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College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture Course Design
Align with national standards
Course revisions integrate the instructional goals, Communications, Cultures,
Connections, Comparisons, and Communities, as outlined in Standards for Foreign
Language Learning in the 21st Century.
Focus on communication
Students demonstrate proficiency in the three modes of communication:
Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational.
Encourage cultural awareness
Students develop an awareness and appreciation of aspects of the target culture,
including products (tools, books, music, laws, conventions, institutions); practices
(patterns of social interactions); and perspectives (values, attitudes, assumptions).
Incorporate a thematic approach
A thematic structure enables students to study a variety of concepts in interesting,
meaningful, and engaging contexts.
Provide clear learning objectives
The learning objectives describe the college-level knowledge and skills students
need to succeed on the AP Exam.
Provide achievement-level descriptions
Performance indicators enable teachers to gain insight into students’ performance
and adjust curriculum and instruction to meet their needs.
The following is a more specific language skill breakdown accompanied by activities which shall be
completed by students:
LISTENING:
Students are exposed to new vocabulary, conversational
patterns, and grammatical structures via constant target
language use by the teacher. There are opportunities for
students to hear a variety of accents to provide authentic
models by which students effectively develop their
aural/oral interpretive skills.
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It is vital for students to take notes when listening to dialogues or exchanges for which they
are being asked to seek information to provide assistance when answering questions.
Students facilitate their own growth in listening comprehension by working in cooperative
learning groups. They communicate with each other to express messages in response to
prompts from their partners. A general list of activities follows, all designed for acquisition
of stronger listening comprehension skills:
 Audio recordings from classroom text publications
 Authentic recordings/broadcasts from Spanish language media programs (i.e. radio, television,
film, Podcasts)
 Classical and popular Spanish music, ranging from traditional compositions to modern top
singles in the Spanish speaking world
 Opportunities to speak with Spanish-speaking guests
 Communicative exercises and games
SPEAKING:
Students continue to develop speaking proficiency in Spanish
via a particular sequence. First, they orally reproduce models
presented, focusing on style, intonation, and correct
pronunciation. Students subsequently engage in interpersonal
conversational exercises to gradually master newly
introduced thematic vocabulary and supportive grammatical
sequences. By maintaining Spanish as the essential language of communication, students improve
their speaking ability since their thought patterns are focused on responding in the target language.
Students gain greater confidence in presentational speaking by taking risks in communicative
exercises, all in an enriched, supportive academic environment. They acquire a greater sense of both
formal and informal forms of the Spanish language, often times acquiring vernacular expressions
from their assigned exercises.
A general list of activities follows, all designed for acquisition of stronger speaking skills:
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Spiraling vocabulary and structures
Interpersonal speaking activities
Dialogue performances / Mini-speeches / Readings / Picture Sequence Descriptions
Role-play / Dramatizations / Skits / Songs / Games
Interviews / Oral practice drills / Interviews / Debates / Socratic Seminars
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READING:
Students improve reading skills while refining the listening and speaking elements of newly acquired
vocabulary and structures. Students learn additional vocabulary and grammar patterns from contextbased readings in individual and collaborative group settings. Readings are derived from textbook
selections and authentic resources. Students are formally exposed to samples of classic and modern
Spanish literature as part of their studies. Students read silently and aloud to promote guided literacy
skills, supporting the acquired listening/speaking skills. They learn to effectively read a text,
summarize, and offer analysis of various literary elements which drive the theme, content, and style
of the reading. Students also make connections and comparisons to their native cultures via the study
of the Spanish-speaking culture in their readings. Students develop critical thinking skills in the target
language in response to both closed and open-ended exercises based on their reading activities.
Finally, students interpret texts to answer related questions, interact with the teacher and classmates
orally on the theme(s) associated with the text, and create original presentational responses based
upon their readings.
A general list of activities follows, all designed for acquisition of stronger reading skills:
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Spanish literary excerpts from a variety of sources
Spanish Plays
Novels
Poetry
Songs
Online Newspaper Articles and Advertisements
Journals/Magazines
Vignettes
Short stories
Essays
Textbook assigned readings
Comics
Peer compositions
Riddles
Proverbs / Idiomatic expressions
Subtitled films
Games
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WRITING:
Students increase their written proficiency in Spanish by engaging in a variety of directed and openended activities, in support of the previously outlined skills of listening, speaking, and reading.
Students respond in informal and formal styles. They begin by writing new vocabulary, extend to
patterned exercises of grammatical structure and style, respond to questions/exercises focused on
acquisition of new structures and enrichment of previously introduced items, and finally graduate to
direct application of learned structures in composition-based activities. Students spell Spanish words
and use grammatical structures correctly to build language control and support their level of
proficiency. They learn how to compose an introduction, supportive body, and conclusion to a
thematic composition. Various creative writing styles shall be implemented, including descriptive,
compare/contrast, persuasive, and critical response formats. Students make connections from the texts
they read and use them as prompts to compose their own work.
A general list of activities follows, all designed for acquisition of stronger writing skills:
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Responses to textbook-based and teacher-created exercises
Vocabulary strengthening exercises
Personal Journals
In-Class Timed Writings/Themes
Homework-assigned compositions / Themes
Skits / Dialogues
Creative writing essays
Poetry
Songs
Speeches
Debate responses
Games
Dictations
Pen-pal communicative activities
Calligrams/Concrete Poetry
Critiques
Descriptive / Persuasive / Compare-Contrast Essays
MAIN TEXTS / RESOURCES
Students use a variety of textbook-based and authentic resources throughout the year in AP ®
Spanish Language and Culture. The following is a basic list of the many resources which may be
employed in the course:
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MAIN TEXT SERIES
Díaz, José M., Margarita Leicher-Prieto, and Gilda Nissenberg. AP* Spanish:
Preparing for the Language Examination (Fourth Edition). Boston,
Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2014.
Frisancho, Jorge, María T. Redmond, and Marta Lucía Restrepo Bravo. AP* Spanish: Language and
Culture Exam Preparation. Boston, Massachusetts: Vista Higher Learning, 2014.
Sandstedt, Lynn and Ralph Kite. Cumbre: curso AP* de la lengua española.
Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle Cengage Learning, 2014.
Smith, Olga Gallego, Concepción B. Godev, Mary Jane Kelley, and Rosalba
Esparragoza Scott. Más allá de las palabras: Intermediate Spanish. University of
Michigan: Wiley,
2010.
THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® SPANISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE EXAM
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 AM Exam (8:00 a.m. start time)
Students enrolled in the AP® Spanish Language and Culture course have the option to take
the Advanced Placement® Spanish Language and Culture exam on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 during the
morning session. Students are given every opportunity to be thoroughly prepared for the assessment
via the activities completed in class. They are continually assessed in the same format and expectation
level as on the AP exam.
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Students are afforded opportunities to practice for the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam in the
following manners:
 Class time activities
 Practice AP tests scheduled regularly throughout the year
 Individual meetings upon request and also upon requirement
 Participation in Spanish Club, Spanish NHS, and travel opportunities
IN-CLASS ASSESSMENTS: In order to adequately prepare students for the May 2014
AP Spanish Language and Culture exam, scoring rubrics matching those used for the AP exam are
also used throughout the year when assessing students on production skills. A percentage grade shall
be assigned to the performance according to the following generalized tables.
AP ® Spanish and Language 2013-2014 Scoring Guidelines:
Presentational and Interpersonal Speaking and Writing Assessments
AP ® SPANISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE SCORE GUIDELINES
5 : Response demonstrates strong
communicative skills.
4: Response demonstrates good communicative
skills.
3: Response demonstrates fair
communicative skills.
2: Response demonstrates weak
communicative skills.
PERCENTAGE EQUIVALENT
AP ® Spanish Language and Culture
98% A+ (5+)
95%A (5)
92% A- (5-)
88% B+ (4+)
85% B (4)
82% B- (4-)
78% C+ (3+)
75% C (3)
72% C- (3-)
68 % D+ (2+)
65%D (2)
62% D- (2-)
58% F (1)
1: Response demonstrates poor
communicative skills.
0: The response is totally incomprehensible or does 0% F (0)
Not address the question at all. / Unacceptable
The specific rubrics for the AP ® Spanish Language and
Culture 2014 Scoring Guidelines are located on the College Board
website, specifying all of the details which show the characteristics of each
performance factor listed in the charts above to the left.
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