You may feel like you’re killing it in your French class, but the AP French exam is a totally different matter altogether. Even though you’ve been studying hard and practicing your French each day, you will need to prep with test-specific materials to pass the AP French test with flying colors. Here are some study tips, exam resources, and practice tests to help you prepare.
The AP French exam isn’t just about knowing plenty of French vocabulary and verb conjugations. This test measures how fluently you can speak French, as well as how well you understand the language itself, and its relation to French culture and history.
Thus, there are several areas of the test that a student needs to be proficient in. First, there are two multiple-choice sections. These each account for about 25% of the score and have 30 or 35 questions. These questions cover:
Then, there are two free-response questions, each of which is 25% of your score. There are two questions in each section. In the first free-response section, one section requires the student to read and reply to an email message and the second requires an argumentative essay.
In the second section, the student needs to engage in five conversational exchanges and give a two-minute presentation in response to a prompt comparing French culture to their own.
For this section, students may want to think about using a French language app such as Babbel or Duolingo to help them prepare. Lessons included within language courses often include mock conversations with fluent speakers, which is a great way to improve your verbal skills (the French course from Rocket is a good option).
The AP French test has a particular method of scoring to determine who passes as qualified (3), well-qualified (4), or extremely well-qualified (5).
If you want to know how you’d score based on your current skills, this is a practice tool that you’ll want to explore. The test averages together the student’s score in each of the following areas, and then puts it together on a curve for each particular year.
Once the interactive widget puts your projected score together, it will tell you whether that will be a score of 1−5 for that year, based on the projected curve.
There are heaps of AP French practice tests and other helpful study tips on the internet. However, you want to make sure that the practice tests you’re taking and tips you’re using are going to be actually beneficial to you.
Here are some tried-and-true AP French practice tests that truly emulate what the test is going to be like and that will help you prepare.
AP Central: French Language and Culture – This resource gives you plenty of past exam questions as well as information about how the test is scored. It has a list of free-response questions from the past ten years. If you’re able to answer all of these with confidence, then you can trust that your French skills are on par with what the AP test moderators are looking for.
Practice Quiz: AP French Exam Prep – On this site, you can choose from the study mode that fits your learning style best. Whether you want to study through an entire practice test at your leisure or take an actual time-crunched mock exam, Practice Quiz helps you strengthen your skills. They will also email you a free daily question to remind you to study your French.
Albert: AP French Language – With Albert, you can get rid of all the stress surrounding the AP French test. They have free-response questions that mimic the actual AP test as well as assessments to help you gauge your skills and proficiency. Each assessment is themed for a certain section of the test, such as literature, music, visual arts, or architecture.
College Board: AP French Language and Culture – This resource gives you a host of background information on the entire test so that you understand how it’s structured, what the scorekeepers are looking for, and how the test itself was developed. It tells you how the test will be presented and gives practice tests, too.
Even though you’ve been studying and speaking French for years, some real-life helpful tips go a long way. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for solidifying your French proficiency before the exam.
👉 Watch movies. No, this isn’t just a leisure activity. Foreign-language films show you how people speak the language in real life.
👉 Listen to music. Music helps our brains learn many types of things, and hearing phrases, vocabulary, and verb conjugation helps the brain solidify knowledge. Listen to real French music and look up songs that help you memorize vocabulary with catchy jingles.
👉 Read books. Pick out books that you love in English that have been translated into French. This will relax your brain with texts you enjoy while giving you practice.
👉 Talk with friends. Engage your classmates in conversation outside the classroom. Even better, find someone who is a native speaker and ask them to practice with you.
👉 Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Fluent doesn’t mean perfect. Plus, mistakes are one of the best ways to learn. Don’t be afraid to take risks and ask for guidance.
Of course, another way to expand your vocabulary and improve your speaking skills is by purchasing a French language course from companies like Busuu or Rosetta Stone.
Courses make the language learning process fun and really speed up your progress. A few of our team’s favorite apps or courses are Babbel French and Pimsleur French.
You’ve been studying French for years and now you’re hoping that all your hard work will pay off. You want to pass that AP French test (hopefully with a 4 or 5) so that you can earn some college credit and move forward with your French skills. These free practice tests will give you confidence so that you can finish the test calmly and confidently and the tips will help you show your knowledge as best as possible.
Most test takers agree that the hardest part of the test is the free response section. Having to draft a lengthy response in French is difficult.
The AP French exam is extremely challenging. On average, only around 50% of students score a 4 or 5 on the exam.
