The three modes of communication (Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational) defined in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century are foundational to the AP Spanish Language and Culture
course. The AP course provides students with opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency in each of the three modes in the Intermediate to Pre-Advanced range as described in the ACTFL Performance Guidelines for K–12 Learners. As such, the AP Spanish Language and Culture course has been designed to provide advanced high school students with a rich and rigorous opportunity to study the language and culture of the Spanish speaking
world that is approximately equivalent to an upper-intermediate college or university Spanish course. It is expected that this course will be offered as the first step in the study of college-level Spanish after
Approximately three to five years of language study for classroom learners.  For native and heritage speakers, there may be a different course of study that leads to the AP Spanish Language and Culture course. Students who are successful in this course and exam may continue their study of college level Spanish by taking the AP Spanish Literature and Culture course and exam, as well.  The AP Spanish Language and Culture course takes a holistic approach to language proficiency and recognizes the complex interrelatedness of comprehension and comprehensibility, vocabulary usage, language control, communication strategies, and cultural awareness. Students should learn language structures in context and use them to convey meaning. In standards-based world language classrooms, the instructional focus is on function and not the examination of irregularity and complex grammatical paradigms about the target language. Language structures should be addressed inasmuch as they serve the communicative task and not as an end goal unto themselves. The AP Spanish Language and Culture course strives to promote both fluency and accuracy in language use and not to overemphasize grammatical accuracy at the expense of communication.
In order to best facilitate the study of language and culture, the course is taught in the target language.  The AP Spanish Language and Culture course engages students in an exploration of culture in both contemporary and historical contexts.  The course develops students’ awareness and appreciation of products, both tangible (e.g., tools, books) and intangible (e.g., laws, conventions, institutions); practices (patterns of social interactions within a culture); and perspectives (values, attitudes, and assumptions that underlie both practices and products). Students will be required to take the AP Exam or take a final exam at the end of the school year.  Students will be responsible for the cost of the AP Exam.