We have to pick out a schedule this week for our senior year. I’ve figured out the rest of my schedule, except for the issue of which Spanish to take. I am currently taking Spanish 3. I’ve asked around my school and have come up with the following:
Student remarks
- []The teacher for Spanish 4 and AP is the same. They’re both hard.
[]There’s more reading and immersion in AP, and more production of the Spanish language, versus just reading out single sentences or paragraphs from a textbook. Spanish 4 is more grammar-oriented.
My current Spanish teacher’s comment
[ul]
[li]Spanish 4 is more literature. AP Spanish Language is more grammar. (exact opposite of what a senior told me?)[/li][/ul]
As you can see, there’s a pretty glaring contradiction in here. Could anyone offer some insight on AP Spanish or Spanish 4 (although I’ll allow that Spanish 4 varies between schools)?
Thanks in advance.
Ask kids you know in the class. Any answer you get here is probably going to be wrong; Spanish 4/5/AP/etc. curriculums are not uniform between high schools, and the only people that are going to give you a good answer are people who are familiar with your school’s specific courses.
AP Spanish supposed more grammar knowledge that you apply to reading and writing.
In Spanish 4 the pace is slower so you spend more time on the grammar, and therefore have less time to actually use it.
The BIG difference is that many colleges will offer advanced placement if not credit for an AP score (3, 4,5 depends on the college) whereas they won’t for just completing Spanish 4. As a result, an AP score may shorten the amount of foreign language classes you have to take for graduation requirements. On the other hand, the students in AP Spanish will be stronger so you need to know whether you’re a strong enough student.
Spanish 4 is focused on grammar (and at my school, it’s a review of 1-3), while AP Spanish Lang is all about the reading, writing, listening, and speaking. In my AP Spanish class, we don’t read Spanish literature but rather articles that talk about Spanish culture, so both your teacher and the students may be right.
@Muufeen So there’s no new content in Spanish 4? I asked a few other people at my school today and they also said that it’s just review of 1-3.
I assume that in Spanish 4 you practice the grammar and make the proper use of the forms and vocabulary more automatic .
In my school you learn 12 tenses in Honors Spanish 4, including all the subjunctive forms. (guess who’s going to take it anyway!)
I am taking AP Spanish right now and went from Hon Spanish 4 to AP. Honestly, AP Spanish is very relaxing. I am a non-native speaker. You’re expected to be able to read/speak/write at a pretty high level though. We write a lot of essays, but they’re easy as long as you hit all the points. Honestly, it depends on the teacher. My teacher is very laid back.
I did much more grammar in Spanish 4. In AP Spanish, we just analyze articles/stories that are focused on various aspects of Latin-American and Spanish life.
@shkodra14
Is this akin to APUSH DBQs?
@mohammadmohd18 I didn’t take APUSH but I’ve taken other APs (AP World is what I’m guessing its most like?) and I can confidently say they’re not like those DBQs. These essays are usually just 5 paragraph essays (intro, argument 1, argument 2, counterargument, conclusion) and are based on pretty elementary topics.
The other day I wrote an essay about discrimination in government against immigrants and its effects, and we had to use articles that we had already read and analyzed (again, they’re usually not super advanced articles with intense vocabulary that even natives question). I talked about things like the unfair lengthy legalization process and how many immigrants leave their countries because of bad conditions. It’s really just arguments you can come up with in your head and don’t require much content learning or any studying. I’d compare it more to an essay you might write as an 8th or 9th grader in English class than an APUSH DBQ. That’s how majority of the essays go.
But, again, this is just my teacher and class.
^Actually, all AP foreign language classes have to cover 6-8 themes, the same broad themes that must be studied through a variety of media (press articles, short videos, films, short book excerpts). The curriculum content is decided nationally and the broad themes were decided 4 or 5 years ago.
Welp, then I guess the content should be the same. I was in the dilemma of going into Spanish 5 or AP, and I’m glad I went with AP. I’d suggest it if its anything like my class.
All AP classes have standardized themes but teachers are allowed to choose whatever film, press article, and video clip that they wish. So, the themes and exercises will be the same, but the support documents may well be different. In addition, press articles tend to be very recent and as such change often.
Thanks for all your insight. 
One more question, though, if you don’t mind:
So if I go on to AP Spanish, I’ll need to patch any holes in my grammar during the summer, since I won’t be taking 4. Do you have any sites to recommend or book(s) to get?
English grammar for students of Spanish is good.