The multiple-choice section of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture Exam was my least favorite part of the test until this year. In the past, I felt this section was too discouraging for students, and I didn’t think there were any specific strategies that could really make a difference.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to teach AP. I love to see my students grow in their linguistic proficiency and cultural competency. However, in the past, I mainly focused on making the AP content accessible and relatable to them and supporting their production of the language.
You can go HERE and HERE if you want to read more about that. In these two blogs posts, written in collaboration with my friend Bertha Delgadillo, we explain how to tackle the Free Response sections of the AP® Exam.
The multiple-choice section was almost left out in my class. Anytime I grabbed a multiple-choice practice text, I scratched my head and wondered how in the world I could support my students.
Instead of doing multiple-choice practices, I opted for using the Interpretative Quick Quizzes created by AnneMarie Chase because I felt that they were much more effective and encouraging for students.
Nonetheless, this year, I decided to dig deeper in the multiple-choice section of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture Exam, and I’m starting to really enjoy this part of the exam. How?
3 Successful Strategies for the Multiple-Choice Section
Question Starters
One of the aspects that I disliked about the multiple-choice section was the type of questions. I believe that, most of the time, my students were able to identify the main idea and most important details of the text, but the questions were so wordy and incomprehensible to them.
So, I decided to take different prep exams from different sources and pay close attention to the wording of the questions. Then, I connected them with the different AP Category Skills. At that moment, everything started to make more sense!
For example, the question, “Who is the text addressed to?” is asking for the audience of the text. This question is related to the Skill Category 3 Interpret Text: Interpret the distinguishing features of a text.
This exercise took some time, but now I can get any text we are using in class and ask these questions to my class using these question starters.
By using this simple strategy, my students not only work on the skills for the AP exam but also get familiar with the wording of the questions.
If you’re interested in this Question Guide, click HERE to get it FREE in your inbox! It’s in Spanish and English.
Check out other examples:
- “Who could benefit from …?”: Interpret the audience of the text.
- “Which would be a suitable title for this text?”: Describe the literal meaning (main idea).
- “What does the phrase “…” indicate?”: Determine the meaning of familiar and unfamiliar words.
What have been the results? Amazing! My class now gets excited to do multiple-choice practice after we read or listen to any text because they feel much more empowered. Also, when they take the AP Classroom practice exams, they do so much better.
Understanding the Questions
The first strategy to successfully tackle the multiple-choice section of the AP Spanish Exam cannot work if students don’t understand the question.
Therefore, my second strategy to get the success that we want in this multiple-choice section of the AP Spanish Exam is to explain the questions to our students.
It took me several years to realize that even though some students understood the words of the question, they didn’t know what they were being asked.
For example, when they read the question “With which of the following statements would the author agree?”, they didn’t quite understand that they were being asked about point of view.
Now, using this same guide, I can easily explain to my students what each question is truly asking. At this point, questions related to the main idea, details, point of view, audience, and purpose are easily identified by my students.
In addition to explaining to my students what each question is truly asking, I have my students underline the question while they read it and read the question carefully before they read the answers.
I also show the question by itself before even showing the possible answers so that we are focusing on understanding exactly what we have been asked. This strategy is so powerful, especially when students have more than one source.
Understanding and Chunking the Text
At the end, strategy #1 and #2 cannot be effective unless our students understand the text. A lot of print and audio texts of AP can be overwhelming and confusing for students. At least in my class, most students come only after three years of Spanish at intermediate low levels. This year, none of my students are native speakers. Their Spanish has been learned in class for three years.
Even though it’s challenging, it’s also super rewarding. I love to see their growth. However, I know that the content and expectations of the class can easily discourage the most motivated student. Therefore, making the AP content more accessible to our students is essential.
I always see it as building a bridge between the linguistic skills of my learners and the level of the text. The wider the gap, the stronger and longer the bridge must be.
Supporting the Linguistic Skills of Learners
How do we build this bridge?
- Read or listen to the text first.
- Identify the key words that are unknown to your students.
- Find a visual that relates to the text.
- Orally explain to the students what the text is going to be about.
- Emphasize the key words.
- If the text is too long, divide it into parts. Since the questions usually go in order of the text, you can split the text into 2 or 3 parts and have students answer the corresponding questions. This works great with two sources.
I hope these strategies help you prepare your students for this section of the AP Exam and get them ready to answer any question. Don’t forget to get your copy of the Question Guide HERE!
Would you like to learn more about strategies for advanced courses? Make sure to check out the course that Bertha Delgadillo and I created. Find out more HERE.
