Question re: Spanish and /or French CLEP

[lexiiam]

Maybe someone who has taken one of these can help me?

I understand you can "get" as few as 4 credits or as many as 12 credits with these CLEPs.

1) Are these exams like the SATs and ACTS, inasmuch as they become progressively harder the further along on in the test?

2) If it is all a mish-mash of language, e.g. 1st year vs. 2nd year in terms of verb forms, etc, then how will I be evaluated in terms of where I belong in an official classroom setting?

Here is my problem: I have taken 3 years of high school Spanish (one year with a lousy teacher!) and I watch some Spanish on TV and I have traveled to Latin America numerous times for extended periods (one month, 5 weeks, etc). This makes me pretty fluent in "easy" Spanish. But when it comes to stuff like the subjunctive and conditional, I have big problems.

So, does the CLEP start off easy and become increasingly difficult? That would work really well for me. Or, is it just a hodgepodge of levels throughout? If so, how can you be graded accurately on what level you are?

I just do NOT want to start in Spanish! at college all over again if I can avoid it. I was hoping to pass the CLEP and gain at least one semester's worth of credit. Thanks for any help!

[rmroberts]

I took the Spanish test a few weeks ago and got a 49 after two years of high school spanish (50 needed for 6 credits or 62 for 12 credits) but I'm sure having been to Latin America numerous times will help tremendously on the exam. The first part is listening and the secong part is reading. My biggest problem was lack of vocabulary. I know alot of words, but there are a whole lot more that I don't! There were several grammer questions too. If you are a paying member check out specific exam feedback. If not, search Spanish CLEP.

[NAP]

It is my understanding that the Petersons practice exams for the Spanish CLEP are set up similarly to the real exam. It would give you a chance to see what the listening and grammar sections are like. Then you would have a better idea of what to expect.

[SmokeEm]

I took spanish the first time and made 62. Second time I made 67. If you want 12 credits you need a good vocabulary. Don't worry about the grammer too much on this test. I was able to understand spoken spanish pretty well, even though I can't speak much. Try to use online resources to listen to alot of spanish and learn as many vocabulary words as you can and go take the test!
Resources I found: studyspanish.com, annenberg media

[protester]

I am fluent in Spanish and scored a 77 on the test. It was the first one I took so my memory may be poor. I recall it being absurdly easy at first and it did get progressively more difficult. As SmokeEm said, vocabulary will be important. You should be able to at least get the required score for one semester. Give it a shot!

[WeAintGotNoBadges]

I took the French CLEP a couple of weeks ago but I'm a native speaker so I can't really comment objectively on its difficulty, and there is no glory in the good score (I got 80/80).

To answer your questions, it's not designed to be harder and harder: I feel that the listening portion of the exam may be harder for a beginner because it tests one's short-term memory as much as one's language skills. The speech was delivered at much slower-than-normal speed (normal speed is not far from Italian speed ) and the speakers' accents and articulation were France-standard and really perfect for someone just learning the language: no tricks there. You can adjust the sound level prior to a question series, but you can't go back and listen again.

In a nutshell, I don't feel that it would be easy for a first or second year beginner. French grammar and conjugation are tricky.

I'm not sure where this exam fits in term of 1st-2nd year of college, but the CLEP web site I'm sure would have that information.

Buena suerte with Spanish if that's what you end up taking.

W

[zefrench]

Then again if you took French with a teacher from Canada, you will find the accent and expressions not all that too familiar. I got 78/80, but I did not speak a word of English till I was 15. (I am from Canada)

I must say I have no idea where most of the US french programs and teachers originate from.

[WeAintGotNoBadges]

Then again if you took French with a teacher from Canada, you will find the accent and expressions not all that too familiar. I got 78/80, but I did not speak a word of English till I was 15. (I am from Canada)

I must say I have no idea where most of the US french programs and teachers originate from.

Yes, in Canada French instruction and associated exams tend to be home-grown, ie French (CA), whereas I think that in the States, people learn French with material--including videos series--based on French (FRA) which is the standard for "international" French. I agree that a beginning Canadian speaker could have some problems with some Canadianisms which have a different meaning than the equivalent French term. Also, problems with contextual information such as commercial advertisements or dialogues related to daily life, which are often colloquial in nature.

For a native speaker such as you, there is less of a problem I think because French Canadians are exposed to a lot of French (FRA) material via books, the media and movies.

W.