Is AP Chinese Hard? Should I Be Taking This Class?

Being a high school student opens opportunities for exploring different subjects and challenging oneself academically, especially those for which you can get college credit. Advanced Placement, or AP, classes, take learning to a whole new level.

If you are on the Chinese language path, consider taking the Chinese AP exam. But you might be wondering, "Is AP Chinese hard?"

We will deep dive into the intricacies of AP Chinese, examine its difficulty level, and provide insights and considerations to help you determine if you are investing your time and efforts.

Whether you have a passion for languages or are considering the potential benefits of learning Mandarin, let's navigate through the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead.

Understanding the AP Chinese Exam

AP Chinese page, AP Central CollegeBoard

The College Board administers the AP exams, including the AP Chinese Exam, to test students' Mandarin Chinese proficiency and knowledge of Chinese culture.

This language and culture exam requires students to prove they understand cultural customs, traditions, and history by demonstrating their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in the language.

Overview of the AP Chinese Exam structure and content

The AP Chinese Exam, often called the AP Chinese Test, is a two-hour computerized examination with multiple choice questions and free response tasks to evaluate students' listening, writing, speaking, and reading ability.

Here is the breakdown:

• 20 minutes for multiple-choice questions based on audio

• 60 minutes for multiple-choice questions based on reading passages

• 20 minutes for a written free response

• 10 minutes for spoken free response

This exam contributes 50% from each of its sections towards determining an overall grade for students who take it. It is important to note that its difficulty level corresponds roughly with HSK Level 4, which means understanding Chinese enough to converse about daily life topics. 

What skills are tested in the AP Chinese exam?

The AP Chinese Exam is designed to gauge proficiency across four aspects of Mandarin: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. It also evaluates their understanding of the Chinese cultural context, which is necessary for full comprehension.

Additionally, students must have a certain level of knowing characters, grammar rules, and syntax to perform successfully.

The importance of cultural knowledge and understanding in AP Chinese

A thorough understanding of Chinese culture is essential to succeeding in the AP Chinese Exam.

The inclusion of cultural knowledge is rooted in the belief that language and culture are inseparable. Including cultural aspects, the exam aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of a student's language abilities and ability to navigate and communicate effectively within a Chinese cultural context.

Why is AP Chinese hard?

There are many reasons why AP Chinese is difficult. We found three common answers.

It takes a lot of time if you're starting from scratch.

According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) scale, it can take 88 weeks for someone to be proficient in Chinese Mandarin and Cantonese for a native English speaker.

Luckily AP Chinese is usually offered for those already on the Chinese language course at their school. That means they have already passed previous Chinese classes or have equivalent knowledge of Chinese language class three.

To help progress your language ability, you can start by learning Chinese hanzi characters with Pandanese. Pandanese will maximize your Chinese learning potential by combining mnemonics and SRS to keep building your Chinese vocabulary.

Once you build up your vocabulary, you can start fully engaging in Chinese tv broadcasting, watch tv shows on Netflix, read articles, scroll on social media and hold a conversation in Chinese.

Chinese characters and tones are complex.

To speak Chinese, you need to understand the character's meanings and tones.

From an English speaker's perspective, distinguishing and pronouncing the 4 Chinese tones can be difficult. But not impossible. It will take lots of practice to know these tones and the characters that are associated with them.

It is difficult to grasp Chinese grammar, syntax, and idiomatic expressions fully.

The AP Chinese Exam poses a unique set of challenges regarding grammar, particularly due to the different sentence structure compared with English.

For instance, word order and usage of Chinese particles can be difficult for those not used to speaking or writing in Chinese often. Idioms present an added obstacle since they often involve phrases that may have no direct parallel English translation.

Strategies for success in AP Chinese

Various approaches can be taken to help students do their best on the AP Chinese Exam.

Practice, practice, practice.

We know that saying, "Practice makes perfect."

Constantly being exposed to Chinese to improve your listening, reading, writing, and speaking will intensely help you get used to Chinese words, grammar, and nuances.

There are plenty of free online Chinese resources from Youtube channels and films. Five minutes a day can help you retain your Chinese. Additionally, knowing someone who speaks Chinese will immensely help you build confidence to speak Chinese for the spoken free-response section.

Use past exam questions and study materials.

The College Board website has past exam questions and scoring information that you can use. They also provide:

• Past years' free response questions.

• Audio prompts.

• Example responses that the scorer seeks.

For more resources, you can go to your Chinese teacher. They can provide more accurate study materials for AP Chinese as they prepare you for this exam.

After some research, resources such as Barron's AP Chinese Language and Culture and Strive For a 5: AP Chinese Practice Tests are the most popular resources and study material for the Chinese AP exam. While they can be difficult, as some prompts require you to know immediate Chinese, they both provide practice tests, audio prompts, and mock exams to prepare you for the AP Chinese exam format and time restraint.

For Chinese learning websites, there's Pandanese, which will help you build up your Chinese vocabulary, FluentU with audio-visual content that includes subtitles, Pleco translating Chinese words, and Tandem to communicate and make Chinese friends.

Ask for help.

If you are having trouble, ask for help. Your teachers, tutors, instructors, and language partners are here to help you improve your Chinese. Especially those in the teaching industry can provide you with more resources and practice tests.

Do not be reluctant when it comes to asking for guidance. These people can provide personalized advice and feedback.

Is AP Chinese worth taking?

Yes! Taking AP Chinese classes allows you to learn Chinese at a higher level. This class allows you to take the AP Chinese exam to get college credit.

Even if you don't take the exam, there are other long-term advantages, such as improving your language skills, deepening your understanding of Chinese culture, and expanding your opportunities in the future.

Get college credit.

Overview of how AP Exam scores works, College Board

If you take the AP Chinese Exam, you can get college credit and waive your language requirement if your college or university requires one.

Taking AP Chinese will also let you learn Chinese at a structured and accelerated pace.

Even if you take the exam to get college credit, you can waive your college or university's language requirement by taking their language proficiency test. This test varies through schools, so be sure to check your requirements.

Study abroad!

A potential place for you to study abroad: Chengdu, China

If you continue to learn Chinese, you can study abroad or work in a Chinese-speaking country. Here’s how you can ace your Chinese interview: Preparing for a Chinese Interview? 4 Essential Parts To Know.

Other long-term advantages.

Learning Chinese or another language stimulates your brain and enhances cognitive function as it helps improve memory, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking abilities.

Gaining a cultural understanding provides a different and global aspect of different customs, traditions, and values. Providing you with a different insight into their history, art, and literature.

Challenges and workload associated with AP Chinese

If you're new to the language, starting with beginner Chinese is always best. 

But if you're a native Chinese speaker, have a background in Chinese, or have been studying Chinese for a while, AP Chinese is the perfect choice.

The AP Chinese course involves a high level of language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, character recognition, cultural knowledge, workload, exam preparation, and time management to balance your other courses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are AP Exams?

Advanced Placement, or AP, Exams are college-level tests on a specific topic. With a high enough score, it can earn students college credit.

AP exams are also recognized around the world. While AP scores are mostly recognized in the United States and Canada, some universities abroad also accept AP scores for college credit.

Who can take AP exams?

AP exams are for high school students in the US and Canada who are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

What level of Chinese is AP?

AP Chinese is about the fourth semester of a Chinese language course, around upper intermediate fluency.

Additionally, AP Chinese is equivalent to HSK 3-4.

Is it easy to self-study AP Chinese?

Native Chinese speakers would likely find self-studying for the AP Chinese exam easier than those learning.

Self-studying for AP Chinese is possible with proper guidance, self-discipline, and determination. However, it will require you to seek learning materials, lesson plans, and practice tests.

What percent is a 5 on AP Chinese?

Getting a 5 on any AP exam is an amazing award. For AP Chinese, roughly 60% of all test takers scored a 5 in 2019 and 2022.

What skills are tested in the AP Chinese Exam?

The AP Chinese exam tests listening, speaking, writing, and reading in Chinese—linguistically and culturally.

In closing

So are you still thinking, “Is AP Chinese hard?” If you use available study tools, devise a plan, and get additional help, you will be better prepared for the exam.

Ultimately taking the AP Chinese course and exam depends on your intentions and how dedicatedly you pursue them. Still, the associated advantages may make all that hard work worthwhile in due time.

Tammy Dang is the project manager for Pandanese. She specializes in writing learning tips, educational resources, comparison articles, and content related to Chinese culture.