Post Title. 06/07/2011
 
Hola Sr. Riegg,
 
This morning I took the Spanish CLEP and passed with a high enough score to receive all 12 credits.  I know a lot of that was due to your help these past 3 years... thank you so much.  
 
The Spanish Language CLEP test in comprised of three parts:
1) Audio: remark and response  In this first section, all that appears on the screen are 4 answer bubbles, labeled A-D.  You put on headphones, are given an opportunity to adjust the volume of the headphones (I had no trouble with this), and listen to the test.  You'll hear one person make a comment, such as (the hypothetical) "¿Qué vas a hacer en la mañana?" Then you'll hear 4 response choices: "A. 'Vas a comer.'  B. 'Mañana es jueves.'  C. 'Nadie va.' D. 'Voy a correr.'" Then you have ten seconds to click on the bubble that corresponds with the correct answer choice.  In my opinion, the hardest part about this section was getting used to the format- it took me a couple tries with the REA (see resources, below) practice tests before I could remember what the original comment was at the end of all the answers.  (This section has about 18 questions.) 
 2) Audio: longer speaking, several written questions  During this section, you'll hear some longer dialogues/speeches/essays, and then have to answer questions about them (written in Spanish on the screen) once the audio has ended.  The hardest thing about this one is remember all the details of the passage.  I suggest you make use of the scratch paper the testing center provides- take shorthand notes while listening to the audio, because you can only listen to it once.  I've heard of some people who could speak Spanish very well who had trouble with this section because the questions asked for such obscure details.  Listen especially for lists- lists of places someone has been, ingredients to a recipe, etc.  In the questions, they like to give you a list of items and ask you to select everything that was on the list in the audio.  Also take notice of the overall plot, and the location(s) of the story or event.  As for timing, you'll have 12 minutes, not counting the listening time.   Every time the audio stops for you to answer questions, your time starts counting down again.  (This section has around 30 questions.) 
3) Written: grammar   This section is comprised of 3 smaller sections, totaling at about 73 questions:
    a) Supply missing word in single sentence  You'll be given a sentence with one word missing, and a list of four word choices to fill in the blank.  If you have done a lot of Spanish reading, this section shouldn't be too hard.  The Schaum's Outline (see resources) is also a big help for this section.  (This part includes pronouns, comparisons, verb forms, etc.)   
     b) Supply missing word in passage  Here you'll be given a reading passage with several blanks and asked to select the correct word to fill in the blank.  This deals with verb tenses quite a bit- which form goes in which kind of clause, and the kind of stuff you can pick up by doing a lot of Spanish reading.  It also has a fair amount of pronouns (be able to identify a pronoun's antecedent- Schaum's Outline has a great section on pronouns, which really helps with that). 
    c) Reading passages  In this section, the test gives you passages in Spanish, and then asks you questions (in Spanish) about the passages.  Sometimes the "passages" are advertisements or announcements.  This part stresses overall comprehension and vocabulary. 

Resources: 
Schaum's Outline of Spanish Grammar was my favorite book for this exam.  It typically introduces the grammatical concepts in a clear manner unlike the REA (Research & Education Association) book, which is slightly more ambiguous.  Schaum's Outline was very helpful, because it has exercises after each new grammatical concept is introduced, letting you immediately practice what you just read about.  It helped me start to "feel" the grammatical rules more, instead of just being able to recite them.  Many of the concepts discussed in Schaum's Outline were covered on the test, so this book is definitely a good thing to know well before taking the exam.
 
REA's CLEP Spanish Language-- Its strength is in the practice audio portions of the test. It comes with 2 audio CD's, containing three practice tests.  The audios were a fairly accurate representation of the actual test.  Of course the real CLEP test uses a variety of speakers- it doesn't repeat the same ones as the REA audio does.  But if you're used to listening to a variety of speakers this shouldn't be a problem. 

Also, Multnomah University is a great place to take CLEP exams.
Espero que Ud. y su familia tengan un buen verano,
Tami :)
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I copied this from the College Board CLEP website:   http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/ex_cls.html  
"Most colleges that award credit for the Spanish Language exam award either two or four semesters of credit, depending on the candidate's test scores."

I take that to mean that even if you don't get all 12 credits possible for the Spanish CLEP, you might get 6 credits.  Everybody takes the same test, but some people score higher and get 12 credits, some score lower and get 6 credits--and, of course, it is possible to get no credits (which would be really disappointing).  My guess is that the lady at Multnomah meant it is really hard to get all 12 credits.  But it might be worth trying for 6 credits.  

I am sure it is a really hard test, and I don't plan to take it myself.  :-)  And I'm certainly not trying to talk anybody else into taking it.  I do not want to make light of the study and work that should go into preparing for the test.  I just wanted to make sure people are seeing this odd way of doing the test--of having the same test, with different scores, count for different amounts of college credit.  Luke may have looked at the test and thought it was 12 credits or nothing, which could be a daunting way of looking at the test.

One CLEP test website Tami uses (not the College Board one) says that anybody with even one year of high school Spanish should at least attempt the Spanish CLEP.  This may be a bit optimistic (he was in the military, where CLEPs are free), but his comments may be worth reading.  The link is   http://www.free-clep-prep.com/Spanish-Language-CLEP.html   

I was hoping that one of the things Brad could do in the special CLEP tutoring session was "administer" the aural part of the practice test.  In the CLEP prep book it is laid out as another reading assignment, but in the real test the student listens (and can only hear it one time!) instead of reads it and then selects the correct answer from several written answers.  Apparently 2 out of 3 sections involve a lot of listening.  However, the total score is 40% listening and 60% reading.  

So many things to consider.  May God lead each of us.And, Brad, we have the CLEP test prep book, so we aren't expecting you to go buy anything.  We actually have two copies of the book right now, one from the library.  They are different editions, but close enough we can work with it.

Cherry
P.S.  Tami helped me find more information on line about the Spanish CLEP.  These are things people who took the test and wrote about it on some forum said.

Study the Schaum's Spanish Outline
  1. Go to the grammar links found @ Free Spanish Lessons and Spanish Language Courses
  2. Take the 2nd Peterson's exam (take shorthand notes during the audio.)
  3. Review your exam 1 & 2 trouble areas.
  4. Repeat 1 & 2 above.
  5. Take the 3rd Peterson's exam (take shorthand notes during the audio.)
  6. Review any exam 3 trouble areas.
  7. Repeat 1 & 2 above.
  8. Go take the CLEP (take shorthand notes during the audio.)

My feedback:

- The vocal accents on the practice exams through Peterson's are very clear. However, there are a wider variety of vocal tones/inflections/accents in the actual exam -- and some of the conversations are more rapid and less clear. Because of this, I highly recommend interacting with Spanish speakers, watching Spanish language news (you already know what's going on in the world, so it's a little easier to translate in your head), or finding alternative audio material on the 'net.

- In the second audio portion, you only get to hear the audio once and you have to answer multiple questions about that audio. The Peterson's practice exam allows you to replay the audio for every question. Keep this in mind during study time and try to answer all of the questions for each scenario the "real" way.

- Vocabulary is definitely important.
.. Vacations/travels
.. Foods/meals
.. Parties/dates
.. Clothing/shopping terminology
.. Giving directions
.. School/work
.. Family members
.. Museums/libraries
.. Time and date
.. Por vs Para
.. Llegar vs Llevar
.. Ser vs Estar

- Verb tenses and reflexive pronouns come into play big time in the 3rd section. You can probably scrape by sections 1 & 2 without a detailed knowledge of these, simply by being strong in vocabulary. However, you will struggle in the 3rd section without a good grasp of tenses and reflexives.

All in all, I thought it was somewhat harder than the Peterson's practice exams. The great thing about using the practice exams, though, is getting through the 3 different sections of the test. It is set up differently than other CLEPs so it's worth it to have the exposure prior to going in.
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