AP® Spanish Language & Culture

All-Gender Course; Prerequisite - Successful completion of at least three years of high school Spanish required, suggested four years of high school Spanish or three years with an immersion experience;      Full-year course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
AP® Spanish Language and Culture is intended for students who wish to develop proficiency and integrate their language skills using authentic materials and sources. The course aims to sharpen students’ communicative skills in Spanish through advanced study and review of grammar, culture, and literature. Conducted fully in Spanish, the class provides quality opportunities for students to synthesize their language skills through performance assessments, the use of cultural materials, and focused class discussions. Students will work to achieve a high level of ability with formal writing, interpersonal and presentational speaking and writing, and aural comprehension through level-appropriate media and texts. This course prepares students for the AP® Spanish Language and Culture Exam in May.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY

“I feel I grew as a writer in Spanish. I learned how to write with less hesitation, and that I shouldn’t let an unknown word or verb conjugation stop me from understanding or saying what I want to say.”

"The teacher has been very understanding throughout these unprecedented times. Spanish has been one of the subjects I look forward to."

"I love Señora Noriega! She always responds to emails and is very good at communicating with everyone in my class."

WHAT STUDENTS DO
Learning is an active process at One Schoolhouse. Students design, create and apply. And, they engage with classmates and connect with their teachers through discussions, video conferences, and projects. Specifically, in this class students will:
  • Set goals that drive their learning. Students reflect regularly on their growth, and meet on video chat with their online teacher to review progress towards their goals.
  • Have choice in how they learn new content and practice new skills. Students are given agency to determine the best ways for them to learn.
  • Apply what they are learning to the real world. Learning is meaningful and connects to concepts outside the classroom.
  • Practice constructive engagement in a diverse and changing world. Students interact with classmates from across the country and around the world.
  • Gain academic maturity. Online learning takes greater discipline and independence than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Teachers support students to build this skill.
MEET A TEACHER FOR THIS COURSE
SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES
Examples of signature activities and projects for this course are:
  • Interpersonal Writing-writing and responding to emails
  • Presentational Writing-reflective and persuasive essays (1-2 pages)
  • Interpersonal Speaking-having a conversation with a classmate or audio recording
  • Presentational Speaking-cultural comparison activity​
​OUR RESEARCH-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING LANGUAGES ONLINE
​​One Schoolhouse designs competency-based courses with the student-teacher relationship as the cornerstone of our personalized pedagogy.  While students excel in our language AP courses, for many years we did not offer full sequence language courses because there was little research to support the efficacy of online language learning at the early levels.  The research shows that fewer than 1% of Americans are proficient in the language they studied in traditional classrooms. Not wanting this outcome for One Schoolhouse students, our goal is to inspire deep learning so we strive to ensure that the online learning experience increases the effectiveness of second language acquisition. In recent years, we have honed our approaches to delivering the four language competencies – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – in the online space, and have therefore endeavored to build out our Chinese, French, and Latin sequences.  The limitations of other online language programs are mitigated by the centrality of the student-teacher relationship, including interactive sessions where students speak, listen, and translate with their peers and teacher, at One Schoolhouse.  J.C. Narcy-Combes’s research on second language learning online shows that, “meaningful interaction will trigger learning processes,” which we know to be true anecdotally, and that, with intentional design, students can be taught to learn language effectively online.  Carrier et. al. have more recently shown that educational technologies and online learning are rapidly transforming second language acquisition, and that intentional practice can create a highly effective digital experience.  Because One Schoolhouse students have pathway options where they can practice in the target language at their own pace, get feedback from their teacher, interact with peers from around the country, and demonstrate their mastery through both traditional assessments and creative projects, students have the full complement of research-based learning activities in their online courses that you would expect to find in any independent school language program.  Additionally, our language teachers have advanced degrees from American universities, are trained in both their language and the best pedagogical practices for delivering language online, teach in independent schools around the US, and are AP readers.  
COURSE APPROVAL
This course is approved by the College Board and the NCAA. 

One Schoolhouse is fully accredited with the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges through December 1, 2025; we are an approved online publisher for the University of California. ​
Lydia Noriega-Ecke
she/her/hers
Language Teacher
BA Universidad De Sonora
MA University of Arizona