Self Study AP Chinese and Culture?

BL2017
Tue, 12 Apr 2016 22:14:58 +0000

I recommend the Barron’s AP book, which was my only source to study (aside from taking the AP Mandarin class) to get a 5. Like @silmaril said, you need to know most of the aspects about Chinese culture, including different cuisines, foods, holidays (know the background/story behind each holiday), China’s famous landmarks, etc. For the speaking sections, try to talk as long as possible. In those short response questions where you get 20 seconds to respond, try to make your response at around 15-18 seconds is the best. Restate the question in your response and provide several examples. Practice this a lot and get your timing right because if your response is over 20 seconds, you get cut off.
For the cultural presentation, you also need know most of the aspects of the Chinese culture. They give you 4 mins I believe to prepare your speech. DO NOT write out your whole speech. You won’t have time. You just want a short outline of what you want to say. For example, you can write out the first sentence you are going to say, but the rest should be bullet points. Use phrases like “Firstly, secondly, then, lastly, following… etc” to make your speech flow together. Add details in as you present.
Remember, this is a presentation, not a “formal” essay. So when you talk, talk as if you are giving a speech. You can throw in phrases like greeting the teachers (the people who are going to grade your exam) or a thank you in the end.

Again, don’t stress if you miss something. Just keep moving. I completely did not answer one of those short response questions (the 20 second one) because I did not understand and still managed to get a 5.

FYI: I am not a native speaker. English was my first language.