AP® Spanish Language and Culture Self-Paced

Note: This course will be revised for the 2026-27 academic year to address College Board CED updates.

Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture follows criteria, designed by the College Board, to parallel third-year college-level courses in Spanish Composition and Conversation. The rigor of this course is consistent with colleges and universities and will prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. Upon successful completion of the exam, students may receive college credit and will be well-prepared for advanced Spanish coursework. Additional details on this course from College Board can be found here: AP Spanish Language and Culture.

In this course, students will explore six big ideas:

(1) Families in Different Societies;

(2) The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity;

(3) Influences of Beauty and Art;

(4) How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives;

(5) Factors That Impact the Quality of Life; and

(6) Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges.

Students will develop their Spanish skills through three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. There are six required course themes: Families and Communities, Personal and Public Identities, Beauty and Aesthetics, Science and Technology, Contemporary Life, and Global Challenges. Each unit targets a primary theme but also connects to additional recommended contexts for those themes. Teaching to multiple themes ensures a rich curriculum that will spiral, as the themes are revisited through a variety of lenses throughout the course. This allows students to experience the study of language and culture in a variety of authentic and engaging ways.

This course is a rigorous course taught exclusively in Spanish that requires students to improve their proficiency across the three modes of communication, further divided into six course modes. The course focuses on the integration of a wide variety of authentic resources from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Through these authentic texts, students gain meaningful linguistic and cultural growth and insight, leading to greater communication and also interculturality. Using rich, advanced vocabulary and language structures students will build proficiency in all modes of communication toward the intermediate high to advanced low proficiency levels (ACTFL Performance Descriptors).

Students will be expected to enroll in My AP Classroom through their VHS Learning AP course and will be guided to complete review work in My AP Classroom throughout the course. My AP Classroom resources include AP Daily Videos and unit-based Personal Progress Checks, which include AP-style multiple choice and free response questions.

Students enrolled in VHS Learning Advanced Placement courses with a passing grade are expected to take the AP Exam. Students register for AP exams through their local school or testing site as “Exam Only” students. AP exam scores will be reported to VHS Learning through My AP Classroom; exam results will not affect the student’s VHS Learning grade or future enrollment in VHS Learning courses.

About the Self-Paced Course Model

Self-Paced courses are comprehensive and designed for students who need or desire more flexibility in their academic schedule. VHS Learning teachers will regularly interact with students in asynchronous discussions, will host weekly office hours, and will invite students to monthly 1-on-1 progress meetings. Teachers will support students, answer questions, and provide feedback on work. Students will work independently on course activities; the course does not include class discussion assignments or other collaborative work.

Students may start this course on any Wednesday from September through the first Wednesday in December. Students must maintain enrollment for a minimum of 20 weeks and have until mid-June to complete all assignments in the course. It is expected that students will work for approximately 330 hours to complete this course, though the amount of time may vary depending on a student’s work habits and comfort with the material.

Acknowledgements

At a minimum, completion of Spanish 3 if the course is equivalent to an intermediate high proficiency level course; completion of Spanish 4 is recommended. Heritage speakers may have followed a different path.
Grade of a B or better in the most recent Spanish class.
Grammar and syntax of the language and strong skills in speaking, writing, reading, and understanding Spanish are required.
In addition to the enrollment fee, this course has an Additional Course Fee of $80.
I acknowledge my student is enrolling in a self-paced course.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

How has the role of families evolved in contemporary societies?
How have developments in science and technology impacted language and the ways we communicate and, ultimately, how we see ourselves?
How does art both challenge and reflect cultural perspectives?
What are the social consequences of scientific or technological advancements?
What influences one’s interpretation and perceptions of the quality of life?
How do environmental, political, and societal challenges positively and negatively impact communities?

Course Learning Objectives:

Comprehend written, audio, audiovisual, and visual text through the ability to describe the literal meaning of the text.
Make interdisciplinary and cultural connections through data and connections among cultural topics.
Interpret the content of written or audio text by identifying the point of view, rhetorical structures, tone, or other distinguishing features of a text.
Determine the meaning of familiar and unfamiliar words through the use of idiomatic and culturally authentic expressions.
Communicate interpersonally by speaking with others through understanding and applying appropriate communication strategies and varied syntactical expressions in interpersonal speaking.
Communicate interpersonally by writing to others through understanding and applying appropriate communication strategies and varied syntactical expressions in interpersonal writing.
Communicate through spoken presentations by using appropriate vocal and visual strategies to communicate an idea for the intended audience in presentational speaking.
Communicate through written presentations by planning and researching an issue or topic using appropriate writing strategies to communicate with varied syntactical expressions or ideas in presentational writing.

Additional Requirements

Access select YouTube videos throughout the course.
Access to special characters specific to the language, including á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, ñ, ¡, ¿.
Access to a device with headphone, microphone, and camera.
Students will be expected to record and upload videos of themselves speaking in target language in order to exhibit proficiency in the speaking domain using a video tool within the course platform.
Students in this Self-Paced AP class will be required to complete the AP Summer Work assignment as a prerequisite knowledge activity before beginning Unit 1 of the Self-Paced course. Students who enroll prior to their chosen start date are welcome to visit the AP Summer Work Directory and complete the assignment for this course, so they are ready to submit it when they receive access to the course.