AP Italian

How Do I Self-Study AP Italian?

7 min read•july 11, 2024

Charly Castillo

So, you're thinking of self-studying for AP Italian Language & Culture this year, but you're a bit hesitant as to whether you should go for it or not. Maybe you're worried about not having the right resources, since you're studying outside of the classroom without a teacher to guide you? Maybe you think that self-studying the class may be too difficult?

Well, in this post, we'll be discussing what you need to know before making that decision while trying to guide you through the process. Let's go!

What are the pros and cons of self-studying?

Because self-studying can be such a commitment, you must weigh both your pros and cons before making a final decision. Below, we listed some of the major ones:

Pros

Getting AP Credit 5️⃣: If you end up going to a college that accepts AP credit, you may get placed out of an intro course if you score a 3 or higher on the exam 🤯 Of course, this depends on the school, so be sure to check out this page to find out whether the colleges you're applying to do this and for what scores.
Extra Class Period ➕: Let's say that you want to self-study a course that is offered at your school and fits in your schedule 🗓️ By choosing to learn the class yourself, instead of taking it during school, you'll have an extra class period to take another course! This is great if you'd rather take a class that conflicts with AP Italian or need to squeeze in another graduation requirement.
Learning About an Interest 🧐**:** Have you always been interested in Italian language and culture, but haven't been able to take the AP course because your school doesn't offer it? By choosing to do self-study, you'll learn whatever subject that you're interested in, even if your school 🏫 doesn't have it.
Better for Native Speakers 🇮🇹**:** If you're a native speaker or consider yourself to be completely fluent, self-studying for AP Italian may be the way to go! By choosing to go down this route, you won't have to review the material that you already know. Check out the College Board's Course and Exam Description for more info about the exam.
Your Schedule 📅: Self-studying allows you to create your own schedule, so you don't need to work at specific times like you would in a classroom. This way, you can learn whenever you have the time or energy to. However, this may be a con if you're a procrastinator (felt that) or find it hard to get motivated without the support of a teacher or grading 💯 Cons
May Be Harder for Nonnatives 😬**:** If you're a nonnative speaker of Italian or don't have someone to practice your language skills with, self-studying AP Italian may be more difficult for you. This is because the AP exam tests your communication skills 🗣️, which can be hard to work on if you don't know other fluent speakers that you practice with. Also, most nonnatives won't have access to full language immersion, like you would in a classroom or in the home of an Italian-speaking family.
Time Commitment ⏰: Self-studying is a time commitment, and on top of all the things that you already do like schoolwork, jobs, extracurriculars, and just living your best life 😎, it may be too much. That's why it's important to look at your schedule before choosing to self-study. See if you have enough time to make the commitment and maintain good mental health.

Image from Meme Generator. Getting a 3 or higher on the AP Italian exam can get you college credit at some universities.

What Does the Test Look Like?

The CED or Course and Exam Description is an AP student's saving grace because it mentions all the topics that are tested on the final exam and how it'll be formatted. Here's what you'll see on the AP Italian exam:

Topics

Unit 1: Families in Different Societies 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 👨‍👦 👩‍👩‍👧
Unit 2: The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity 🎼
Unit 3: Influences of Beauty and Art 🎭
Unit 4: How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives 🤖
Unit 5: Factors That Impact the Quality of Life 🏚️
Unit 6: Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges 🌪️

Test Format

Section 1: Multiple Choice (65 Questions | 1 Hour, 35 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score)

Sets 1-4: In the first four sets, you'll answer multiple-choice questions using information given to you in print sources like newspaper articles, letters ✉️, charts 📊, and much more.
Sets 5-6: These sets will test your ability to understand print 📝 and audio sources about similar topics and answer questions about their content and perspectives.
Sets 7-9: In these three sets, audio sources like interviews and presentations 🗣️ will play twice as you go through questions asking about their central ideas and supporting details. Section 2: Free Response (4 Tasks | ~ 1 Hour, 28 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score)
Written Tasks: The first writing free-response question has you read an email in Italian 📧 and formally reply to its sender using the content mentioned in the message and your knowledge of Italian. The second question has you write an argumentative essay using 3 given sources.
Spoken Responses: In part 1 of this section, you'll participate in a simulated conversation and provide five 20 second responses to what the person on the other end says 📞 The last task has you give a 2-minute-long presentation where you compare an aspect of Italian culture to one in a different community. Hopefully, knowing a bit more about the topics tested on the AP Italian exam and its format will help you make your final decision. If you feel like you can learn about these topics (or maybe you already know them!), then you may want to consider self-studying for AP Italian 🇮🇹

Resources

How Do I Find Resources That Work for Me?

Since you won't be given resources by a teacher while self-studying, you'll have to find ones by yourself. This can be really hard for a class like AP Italian that only a couple thousand students take and has limited study materials 📚, so we listed our favorite ones below. For info on these resources' pros and cons, be sure to check out our Best AP Italian Textbooks and Prep Books post.

Textbooks 📖

Prep Books 📚

Other Resources 📰 💻

How Do I Make a Studying Schedule?

If you do decide to self-study, you'll need to figure out when and how you're going to review. Some people prefer having a strict schedule where they work a certain amount of time each day 🕒, while some like studying whenever they have free time. Before creating your studying schedule, be sure to try out both for about a week and see which one you prefer. Once you do that, go on to the next steps:

So, you prefer having a strict schedule?

For students who like having an exact schedule, we recommend following the Pomodoro method, since you can change it to be whatever amount of time you want. Here's how it goes:

25 minutes: Work on a task of your choice like reading, notetaking, studying, etc.
5 minutes: Take a break.
Repeat the steps above 4 times.
15-30 minutes: After that, take another longer break.
Repeat as many times as you'd like (⬅️ this customization is great for students who want to work for specific amounts of time)

So, you'd rather have a more flexible one?

If you'd rather not have a studying schedule, that's completely fine too! Just make sure that you study for the course and try to avoid procrastination by following the next few tips.

Stay Organized: Keeping your workspace and study materials organized will make you more motivated to work.
Set Yourself Goals: When you decide that you want to study, create goals to keep yourself on track as you work like finishing homework by a specific time or getting through another chapter.
Get Rid of Distractions: It's always a good idea to put away anything that you don't need to study and may distract you if they're nearby like a phone.

Where Would I Take the Exam?

Since the answer to this question depends on your school 🏫, be sure to ask your AP Coordinator where you would take the AP Italian exam several months in advance. If you are self-studying, but the course is offered in your school, you will most likely take it there with the students in the class. If it is not, though, there are two likely scenarios:

Scenario 1:

You'll get to take the exam in school, but will either be testing by yourself or with other self-studiers from your school. This would be ideal, but unfortunately, most schools don't do this, and you'll probably have to do...

Scenario 2:

You'll need to travel to the nearest school that is offering the AP Italian exam and take it there with that school's AP Italian class. If you live in a rural area or a place where few schools offer the course, this may not be a practical option, since it would require a bit of travel 🚗 That's a wrap! Regardless of whether you end up taking the AP Italian exam, hopefully, everything that we went over in this post will help you make the decision of whether or not to self-study. In bocca al lupo 🇮🇹

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