AP French Language Exam [With CD]

I cracked this book open about a month and a half before my AP test. And I think I partly owe it to this book for getting a 5 on the test. This book is great for assessment. Its pre-test and 3 exams are very difficult. I was consistently scoring around 50% on each test- but I find that I learn best from my mistakes. I'm glad that the practice tests were very difficult rather than very easy, for I improved because of it. I would recommend that you buy this book simply for practicing. If it's April right now and you just started thinking about buying this book... DO IT. In my french class, we didn't practice listening or speaking very often. This book gave me an opportunity to make up for what was lacking: 32 listening questions x 4 tests and 2 speaking exam sketches x 4 tests + 19 additional sketches... That's plenty of practice right there. The book is accompanied by a CD, which has the listening portions of the practice exams and sample student responses to the speaking exams. If you happen to bomb the practice tests (like me), it helps a lot to look at the answers: the book gives you each answer choice translated into english (so you can see just how ridiculously wrong the answer you chose was), a detailed explanation of which answer choice is the correct one, and a transcript of everything said on the CDs (because they speak so damn fast). Of course, the book has a review section. A very extensive one: page 17 through page 306 are devoted to review. I didn't use this book for review that often, but my honest impression is that some of the review section was material we hadn't even covered in class (when to use plaire vs. manquer... the pluperfect subjunctive...) But erring on the side of too much information is better than too little information. This review might seem laudatory, but I really wanted to express my gratitude to the authors of this book and help other students. I was expecting a 3 or a 4 on this AP test, since only native speakers get 5's. Well, at least that's what I thought.

This book breaks down categories very well and the CD is beneficial also.

After struggling with other French prep materials, I was delighted to see an alternative on the market. I was more delighted that the book was decidedly more useful. Bravo! Specifically let me say that: 1. The grammar is more thoroughly reviewed and the explanations are much clearer for high school students. 2. The readings are imaginative, engaging and filled with challenging vocabulary. 3. The author includes 3 full practice exams and the voice quality is wonderful on the CD's 4. This book is more affordable for my students Bon Apetit! In conclusion, this is without a doubt the BETTER review book. Lynnette Lang French Teacher Wheaton Academy

As a high school student planning to major in French in college, I knew the importance of succeeding on the AP French Language exam. About a month before the exam was scheduled to take place, I purchased Ellen Knauer's AP French practice book, and I found that it really helped me prepare for the test. I practiced for about twenty mintues each day, by simply going over the sample exercises and listening to the various dialogues included on the book's CD's. By the time I took the test, I felt well prepared and confident in my abilities to express my knowledge of French while taking the exam. Since the formats of the practice tests are exactly the same in the practice book as the real exam in early May, each section was easy to complete and I even had time remaining before I was required to stop after each section of the test. Although I have not yet received my scores, I feel very confident that I earned a five as my total weighted grade on the AP French exam. I would not only recommend the book to anyone who plans on taking the exam in early May, but I would also recommend it to anyone who would like to practice or "brush up" on the different materials it covers before entering at the college level. The book showed me the areas I was weakest in, and it made me stronger at the subjects I already knew fairly well. I would recommend this book without reservation to anyone.