What to get better understanding AP Spanish audios?

Think of your ear as a muscle; you need to train it.

There are 21 countries and territories where Spanish is spoken, and each has its own accent. Some are easier for students to understand than others.

One of the best ways to prepare for fast AP audio clips is to listen to podcasts with different accents.

The College Board often uses audio clips from “La audioteca de las Naciones Unidas”, which can be challenging.

If that feels too difficult, start with these:

• News in Slow Spanish – Advanced (weekly news program from Spain)

• News in Slow Spanish – Latino (weekly news in a Latin American accent)

• TED en Español

• Hoy Hablamos

• El Hilo – from Radio Ambulante Estudios

Start with shorter episodes and listen with intention. Pause and briefly summarize what you hear.

Ask yourself:

• Did I understand the main idea?

• Can I identify two key details (a statistic, an expert’s opinion, etc.)?

Then, check your understanding using the episode transcript.

¡Suerte y a practicar!