Spanish CLEP for a non-native speaker...

[cpstudent]

Has anyone here taken the Spanish CLEP even though they haven't grown up speaking it? Spanish is something I am going to learn in my lifetime, I know that, but how hard is it to CLEP it if you haven't either grown up speaking it or lived somewhere where you have to learn it.

I figure it couldn't hurt to try. I'm not worried about losing $80. I just want to know how much time it will take and if I should take the time to do it now (or at all).

BTW, I do have some knowledge of Spanish. I can get my point across in most everyday situations. I don't know much of the grammar stuff though.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[ShotoJuku]

[SIZE="2"][COLOR="Navy"]Sounds like a crap shoot to me but I guess there's always lady luck on your side too. The "Vegas-style odds" would suggest failure, but if you're not concerned about losing the money go ahead.

Remember with this one a "pass is NOT a pass" as a mere 50 will not give you 12 credits but a nearly perfect score of 80 will.

Come on seven - Baby needs a new pair of shoes and 3-12 credits too!

Good Luck!![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[mattie]

I did not grow up speaking spanish. I did take 2 years in highschool, and have been to a couple of spanish speaking countries for short visits. I passed this clep in the mid 70's. I believe that you need a 66 to get 12 credits. I didn't find the test very hard. But I had a very strong background in the grammar. Part of the test is actual audio listening, and answering the questions about what you heard. Each individual quetion is timed I think you get like 10 seconds after you hear the short conversation, to answer the question. 40% is listening, and 60% is reading. The reading section includes vocab, structure, and reading comprehension.I reviewed the official clep study guide, and took the petersons test. Petersons was very acurate on this test. ( suprise suprise) if anything, petersons was easier. I know, not very comforting. So, I would say. take some practice tests and see how you do, then go from there. Also, check for maybe the idiot's guide to spanish , or spanish for dummies or something. NO offense. but i've used those guides for other things, and they were great.
good luck!

[scoppage]

This is a very accurate description of the CLEP language exams (I took German):

I did not grow up speaking spanish. I did take 2 years in highschool, and have been to a couple of spanish speaking countries for short visits. I passed this clep in the mid 70's. I believe that you need a 66 to get 12 credits. I didn't find the test very hard. But I had a very strong background in the grammar. Part of the test is actual audio listening, and answering the questions about what you heard. Each individual quetion is timed I think you get like 10 seconds after you hear the short conversation, to answer the question. 40% is listening, and 60% is reading. The reading section includes vocab, structure, and reading comprehension.I reviewed the official clep study guide, and took the petersons test. Petersons was very acurate on this test. ( suprise suprise) if anything, petersons was easier. I know, not very comforting. So, I would say. take some practice tests and see how you do, then go from there. Also, check for maybe the idiot's guide to spanish , or spanish for dummies or something. NO offense. but i've used those guides for other things, and they were great.
good luck!

I suggest you take scrap paper with you to jot down notes for the audio portion. I didn't do this (because I didn't know); I still got all 12 credits though.

YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW PROPER GRAMMAR. Without my strength in grammar with German, all would have been lost. You should brush up on proper verb conjugation and adjective & article declination. If you're conversational with the language and spend maybe a week brushing up on those things, you should walk out with 12 credits.

Good luck.

[1more]

Has anyone here taken the Spanish CLEP even though they haven't grown up speaking it? Spanish is something I am going to learn in my lifetime, I know that, but how hard is it to CLEP it if you haven't either grown up speaking it or lived somewhere where you have to learn it.

I figure it couldn't hurt to try. I'm not worried about losing $80. I just want to know how much time it will take and if I should take the time to do it now (or at all).

BTW, I do have some knowledge of Spanish. I can get my point across in most everyday situations. I don't know much of the grammar stuff though.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

Since you are not worried about spending $80.00 and you can get your point across in every day situations, taking the exam is probably a good idea. You have an interest in the language and have probably been exposed to more Spanish grammar than what you think you know. A score of 50 will give you 6 credits, I believe, if things don't go very well. But if there are other exams to take, do those first while brushing up on Spanish grammar.

[adnerbe]

Hi,
As long as we are talking Spanish, I need to get 6 credits in a foreign language. I have had no classes from High School and have been told Spanish is the easiest. Where does one start?
Brenda

[1more]

Hi,
As long as we are talking Spanish, I need to get 6 credits in a foreign language. I have had no classes from High School and have been told Spanish is the easiest. Where does one start?
Brenda

I think a Spanish CLEP can be difficult for someone with very little knowledge of it. I don't know how much Spanish you know but would suggest taking a few quizzes (free of charge) to gauge your level of Spanish and take a decision on that fact: SPANISH lessons: online via Phone-Internet

[april004]

Am seriously thinking of taking the Spanish clep too. Although I only had a year of Spanish in high school, I did live in El Paso while stationed @ Fort Bliss and started to really learn the language there. Having a Mexican- American roomate helped a great deal too. She and relatives across the border in Juarex and she and I would frequent Mexico pretty much every weekend. All that Spanish immersion helped when I moved to Chicago too. For lo and behold I found myself using the Spanish I learned in El Paso to be of great use in Chicago. Plus having a Puerto Rican and Mexican roomate here in Chicago didn't hurt. I can make myself understood in Spanish and can understand it. I sometimes will pick up the Spanish newspapers here like La Raza just to keep up my Spanish reading abilites but I know that when I speak/write it my grammer is probably atrocious. Heck, my English grammar is horrible too. But seriously thinking of taking this test. I have a friend who passed two years of college Spanish and still can't speak it. Sure I haven't taken a college course but at least I've used it on and off for about 12 years. That should count for something, right?

Off to buy the REA Spanish Clep book!

[acs1122]

I suggest you take scrap paper with you to jot down notes for the audio portion. I didn't do this (because I didn't know); I still got all 12 credits though.

The Peterson's practice exams are KEY for this exam. With a little practice, you can ace this exam. And Peterson's will remove any surprises later.

As a native speaker, I took this exam cold, with no prep (basically, I took the exam for granted). What a Big mistake that was! I was struck by the timing ---I had just a few seconds to answer each question, with nothing on the screen. I felt rushed, I had to move fast and think fast and keep moving. I became very stressed out and more or less panicked to beat the clock before the question timed-out. I just wasn't used to the style/structure of the exam, right in the middle of it ---double :eek:!!!! I managed to get through it, and ended up with a 58 (6 credits). But, boy did I learn my lesson ---take nothing for granted, and practice, practice, practice!!! Bottom line, you do not have to be a native speaker, or have advance skills to ace this one. With good practice, it is very doable to walk away with the 12 credits.

Practice taking notes during the audio portion, this is good advice. And if you take the Peterson's practice test, you will be MORE than prepared for this exam. Something I wish that I did ahead of time :o .

Hope this helps,

[Mateo1]

Here is my two cents on the Spanish credits. If you have a good grasp of the grammar, and you understand when a native speaker is talking, go for the CLEP. If you can speak it but you are not good in grammar, go for the Oral Proficiency Interview [OPI], given by ACTFL. This last one, is approved by ACE and you can get up to 12 credits if you score on the advanced or superior category. It is just a proctored telephone interview that lasts 10 to 30 minutes. They score your oral proficiency and translate it into academic credits.
Go to Validated and Certified Proficiency Testing and check out the info. You can also go to the ACE web page to verify that they are approved.
Good luck!