Spanish CLEP Exam

[SirTeacherGuy]

Hello, everyone. I am new here (so I apologize if this is in the wrong section) but figured this would be a good place to ask a question I have. I plan to take either or both the CLEP Spanish Language Level 1 and Level 2 exams and have already purchased the CLEP Official Study Guide (for 2009) and the REA's CLEP Spanish (w/ 2 Audio CDs) test prep books. I took four years of International Baccalaureate (IB) Spanish courses in high school (though I graduated in 2008 and have not taken a Spanish course since) and remain conversational. What would be your advice for preparing for these exams? Which do you recommend I take? How long a period of time do I need to prepare for these exams? What would be the best approach to take?

Thanks in advance for any and all help provided.

[NAP]

Welcome to the forum!

I can't help with most of your questions, but wanted to make sure you know about a couple of things. First of all, there is just one CLEP test. You will be awarded a different number of credits depending on how well you score on the exam. Also, consider adding the free Peterson's practice tests to your list of resources. Free Practice Clep Tests!

Best wishes on your exam!

[andy3000]

I am studding for Spanish CLEP as well. The test covers listening comprehension, reading comprehension and grammar. Your study plan depends on what your strengths and weakness are. I am pretty solid on listening & reading comprehension, but rusty on grammar, so I need to start doing grammar practice questions.

I have a bunch of Spanish language music I downloaded. I translated the lyrics and listen to them as a less painful way to review the language.

[ckawell]

I just took the Spanish CLEP yesterday and it was CRAZY hard. I passed with a 51 (needed a 50 for 6 credits) and, quite frankly, don't know how I passed. I studied for months...Rosetta Stone, Spanish Essentials for Dummys (you can get at the public library), The Best Test Prepartion book/Spanish CLEP and CD's,the 3 Peterson tests, and tons of flashcards. BTW, this was my last test to complete my degree and I was really stressed. I also have a 3.95 GPA, so I'm not an idiot. Here are my comments:

The Peterson tests I passed easily with scores of over 70 on all of them. It gave me a false sense of competency. These tests are SO much easier and basic than the actual CLEP.

I was told by some advisor at my university NOT to bother with the Spanish Test Prep book and CD's (Amazon for about $20), but this is what you should really concentrate on. These practice tests are difficult and include quite a bit of slang and are reflective of the actual test.

You can also go to collegeboard.com and check out a sample Spanish CLEP test for $10 and download it (about 30+ pages). These questions are also pretty difficult but give you a sense of the actual test. In fact, the practice questions on the CLEP are taken directly from the collegeboard practice exam.

My biggest problems with the actual CLEP was that during the listening portions, the readers spoke very quickly and with heavy accents (not so with the Peterson practice). During the first section, the reader will quickly read a statement or question, followed immediately by 4 quick answers. I found it best to close my eyes and really concentrate on key words in each statement/sentence. It goes VERY quickly so you need to really focus. After the 1st 10 questions, I wasn't sure I had answered any of them correctly.

The second listening section is a little easier because they will read an entire paragraph so if you miss the content of the first few words or sentence (or can't hear because of poor quality of the recording), you can try to peice it together during the rest of the narrative.

I did fine on time for the first two sections, but it goes so quickly at their pace, not yours (unlike the Peterson, again).

The final section is over 70 questions and you have 60 minutes to complete. Someone else may be able to explain the grading process, but I think it's better that if you have no clue about the question, to just skip it an go on. It was my understanding that "unanswered" questions did not count against you, but you should make sure of that. There were several questions that I could not tranlate any of the key phrases (not on any of my vocabulary lists).

I was at question 60 and had about 6 minutes left (and I'd also skipped several questions) and I truly couldn't get through the written passages to the questions and was sweating bullets when it timed me out. I sounds like enough time to finish all the questions, but there are some reading examples that are 3 and 4 paragraphs long with only two questions and so on.

My opinion, if you're looking for 12 credits, the Peterson will not help at all...much too basic. Check out the collegeboard website for a true sample of what to expect. (I thought that was easier than the actual CLEP_. If you have time to study and take the CLEP exam and wait another 6 months to study and take it again, by all means, do it. Don't mean to scare anyone, but I waited until the 11th hour and just got in under the wire. I studied A LOT and took Spanish for 6 years prior (years ago) and traveled in Central America.

Thanks for everyone's comments in these forums. I feel like I really owe you this response and hope it helps a few. GOOD LUCK everyone.

[burbuja0512]

The best preparation advice I can give you is during the listening parts, write down everything that they say. It's pretty obvious what they're going to ask afterwards, but remembering everything can be a challenge.

I'll illustrate what I mean by a fictitious example in English:

Speaker: Maria loves to travel and go to restaurants. She has traveled all over the world and her favorite countries are Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Spain, and Australia. However, she doesn't like to eat at restaurants in each of these countries. She prefers to go to restaurants only in Brazil, Spain, and Italy. She plans on going to China next year and hopes to enjoy their cuisine.

The questions might come up something like this:

Q: What are Maria's favorite activities?
Q: Which countries has she been to?
Q: Where is she going next year?
Q: In which countries does Maria prefer to eat?

If you don't take notes during the spoken part, you'll never remember all of this. I doubt that many people here (myself included) would even remember in English without jotting down a few notes. You don't have to understand everything that's being said, but write down what you can and if you can recognize certain "lists", you're almost guaranteed to get a question about it... kind of like the country question in the above example.

Other than taking notes, you should try to think in Spanish. I lived in Mexico for six years and when I stopped logically trying to think of grammatical rules and concentrated on what felt right, I learned how to speak Spanish. Kind of like in English... you may not always know which grammatical rule is broken, but you will know what doesn't sound right.

[NAP]

Wow ckawell, that was a close one. Congratulations on finishing your degree! Thanks for sharing all of this great feedback.

Note to future test-takers - Check the current policy, but as of now there is NO penalty for guesses/wrong answers on CLEP and DSST exams. Be sure to give an answer on ALL of the questions. It does not hurt your score and it could help.

[shelbaline4]

what score is needed on the Spanish CLEP exam to get 12 credits? thanks

[Maniac Craniac]

what score is needed on the Spanish CLEP exam to get 12 credits? thanks

Well, you need to check with your school, but the ACE recommends a score of 60.

My advice is to score a 70 so that you don't have to worry about it milelol:

[NAP]

what score is needed on the Spanish CLEP exam to get 12 credits? thanks

Definitely check with your school on this one. All of the Big 3 require a score of 63 to earn 12 credits in Spanish.