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AP French

AP French Language and Culture

Read, listen, argue, and present in French across six themes of the francophone world.

Category
World languages
Units
6 units
Exam
Exam May 6, 2027 (in 221 days)
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What the course covers

An upper-intermediate college-level course taught in French, built on the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational) and on cultural products, practices, and perspectives across French-speaking communities. This course follows the revised 2026-27 framework: six thematic units, a year-long course project that ends in an exam-day Project Presentation and Project Q&A, a source-based Argumentative Essay, and 55 multiple-choice questions on authentic audio, print, and data sources. The May 2027 exam is fully digital in Bluebook.

6 units

  1. Unit 1

    Families and Communities

    Free
    How families and communities are defined and lived across the francophone world, from family structures and generational roles to community life in cities and villages. Interpretive focus: supporting details (1.A.1) and main idea (1.B.1) through Audio and Chart, Article, and Promotional Material sets. Speaking focus: a first short cultural presentation and structured Q&A practice. About 19-21 class periods.
    4 topics
    1. 1.1Community Activities (Les activités dans la communauté)
    2. 1.2Family Relationships (Les relations familiales)
    3. 1.3Social Interactions and Relationships (Les interactions et les relations sociales)
    4. 1.4Urban and Rural Communities (Les communautés urbaines et rurales)

  2. Unit 2

    Language and Culture

    How language and culture shape each other: celebrations and customs, how French varies and changes, and the place of French in the world. Interpretive focus: intended audience (1.B.2) and point of view, tone, or attitude (1.B.3) through Audio Report, Article and Chart, and Literary Text sets. Writing focus: a modified Argumentative Essay built on two sources, with the emphasis on a clear position and relevant evidence. About 19-21 class periods.
    3 topics
    1. 2.1Customs and Celebrations (Les coutumes et les fêtes)
    2. 2.2Linguistics (La linguistique)
    3. 2.3French in the World (Le français dans le monde)

  3. Unit 3

    Art and Creativity

    How art and creativity reflect, record, and challenge culture: architecture, heritage, aesthetics, fashion and design, literature, and the visual and performing arts. The 2026-27 course project comes from this unit, with music as the lens, so this unit carries the heaviest speaking practice. Interpretive focus: data patterns (1.A.2) and organizing or rhetorical structures (1.B.4) through Audio and Chart, Article, Literary Text, and Promotional Material sets. Speaking focus: researched presentations and Q&A with cultural products, practices, and perspectives. About 19-21 class periods.
    6 topics
    1. 3.1Architecture (L'architecture)
    2. 3.2Artistic Heritage (Le patrimoine artistique)
    3. 3.3Beauty and Aesthetics (L'esthétique)
    4. 3.4Fashion and Design (La mode et le design)
    5. 3.5Literature (La littérature)
    6. 3.6Visual and Performing Arts (Les arts visuels et du spectacle)

  4. Unit 4

    Science and Technology

    How science and technology change daily life, communication, and society in French-speaking communities: innovation, personal technology, everyday science, and ethical and social impacts. Interpretive focus: word meaning from context (1.B.5) and connecting information across sources (1.C.1) through Instructional Guidance, Interview, Presentation, and Article and Chart sets. Writing focus: the Argumentative Essay scaffolded up to full exam complexity, integrating all sources and citing them. About 19-21 class periods.
    4 topics
    1. 4.1Innovations and Emerging Technologies (Les innovations et les nouvelles technologies)
    2. 4.2Personal Technology and Communication (Produits de technologie et de communication personnels)
    3. 4.3Science in Everyday Life (La science dans la vie quotidienne)
    4. 4.4Societal Impacts of Science and Technology (L'impact de la science et de la technologie dans la société)

  5. Unit 5

    Contemporary Life

    How people live today in French-speaking communities and what they value: education and work, media and entertainment, food and health, pop culture, sports and leisure, travel and tourism. Interpretive focus: drawing conclusions (1.C.2) and inferring implied meaning (1.C.3) through Audio and Chart, Instructional Guidance, Interview, and Literary Text sets at exam complexity. Speaking focus: full Project Presentation and Project Q&A practice, including cultural comparison, citing sources, and keeping a consistent register. About 19-21 class periods.
    6 topics
    1. 5.1Education and Career (L'éducation et le monde du travail)
    2. 5.2Entertainment and Media (Le divertissement et les médias)
    3. 5.3Food and Health (La nourriture et la santé)
    4. 5.4Pop Culture (La culture populaire)
    5. 5.5Sports and Leisure (Le sport et les loisirs)
    6. 5.6Travel and Tourism (Les voyages et le tourisme)

  6. Unit 6

    Global Contexts

    How global phenomena affect French-speaking communities and how individuals respond: global communication, the natural world, history, policy and planning, and transportation. Interpretive focus: every Skill Category 1 objective at full exam complexity through Audio Report, Presentation, and Article and Chart sets. Writing focus: complete, timed Argumentative Essays that integrate all three sources and describe, compare, and reflect on cultural perspectives. About 19-21 class periods.
    5 topics
    1. 6.1Global Communication (La communication mondiale)
    2. 6.2Natural World (Le monde naturel)
    3. 6.3History (L'histoire)
    4. 6.4Policy and Planning (La réglementation et la planification)
    5. 6.5Transportation (Les transports)

The exam, part by part

4 parts, 2 h 30 min in all.

  • Section I, Part A: Speaking (Project Presentation and Project Q&A)

    Questions
    2
    Time
    15 min
    Weight
    35%
    Format details

    Task types: project-presentation, project-qa

    About 15 minutes. Question 1 (20% of the score): 3 minutes to prepare, 3 minutes to present, with a printed copy of the student's own Personalized Project Reference (PPR). Question 2 (15%): four prerecorded questions about the project, each heard twice, 40 seconds to answer each. Audio prompts and recorded responses in Bluebook with a wired headset and microphone.

  • Section I, Part B: Writing (Argumentative Essay)

    Questions
    1
    Time
    55 min
    Weight
    15%
    Format details

    Task types: argumentative-essay

    One essay typed in Bluebook, based on three sources (print, data, and audio) that present different viewpoints. The 55 minutes include two opportunities to hear the audio source; a 6-minute countdown before the audio lets students read the prompt and print sources.

  • Section II, Part A: Listening

    Questions
    25
    Time
    40 min
    Weight
    25%
    Format details

    Five sets of five questions, one set of each task type: Audio and Chart, Audio Report, Instructional Guidance, Interview, Presentation. Four answer choices, questions and choices in French. Sets may appear in any order.

  • Section II, Part B: Reading

    Questions
    30
    Time
    40 min
    Weight
    25%
    Format details

    Six sets of five questions drawn from four task types (Article, Article and Chart, Literary Text, Promotional Material), one to two sets of each; the mix varies by year but always totals 30 questions. Four answer choices in French.

How the 1 to 5 score is set

Section I (free response) and Section II (multiple choice) each count 50%. Within them: Project Presentation 20%, Project Q&A 15% (together the 20 project points are 35% of the score), Argumentative Essay 15%, Listening 25%, Reading 25%. Multiple-choice answers are machine scored with no penalty for guessing; free responses are scored by AP Readers on analytic rubrics (11, 9, and 10 points). The weighted composite is converted to the 1-5 AP scale using criterion-referenced cut scores set each year, not a curve. On every rubric, a response in a language other than French earns no points; on the two project rubrics, content that is plagiarized or evidently produced by machine translation or generative AI also earns no points.

What you bring and get

Fully digital in Bluebook; wired headset with microphone required (speaking responses are recorded in the app). On exam day students receive a printed copy of the Personalized Project Reference (PPR) they submitted through AP Digital Portfolio by April 30, 2027; no other notes. Note-taking is encouraged while hearing the essay audio and the Q&A questions. No dictionary or translation tools. The essay is typed; students should practice entering French accents and special characters in Bluebook. Spellings from la Nouvelle Orthographe (1990 spelling reform) are accepted and never penalized. The 2026-27 project theme comes from Unit 3 (Art and Creativity) with music as the lens; the Course Project Packet (prompt plus 6-8 sources) is released in January 2027.

Skills the exam scores

  • 1.ARecognize explicit meaning

    Skill Category 1 (Interpretive). Locate supporting or relevant details (LO 1.A.1) and read data points, patterns, and trends in charts, tables, and infographics (LO 1.A.2).

  • 1.BInterpret meaning

    Skill Category 1 (Interpretive). Determine main idea, theme, or purpose (1.B.1); intended audience (1.B.2); point of view, perspective, tone, or attitude (1.B.3); organizing or rhetorical structures and strategies (1.B.4); the meaning of words and phrases from textual cues (1.B.5).

  • 1.CSynthesize and infer meaning

    Skill Category 1 (Interpretive). Connect information within or across sources (1.C.1), synthesize to reach logical conclusions (1.C.2), and infer implied meaning from context (1.C.3).

  • 2.AUse language suited to purpose and context

    Skill Category 2 (Interpersonal and Presentational). Use varied grammatical structures (2.A.1) and vocabulary (2.A.2), idiomatic and culturally relevant expressions (2.A.3), and a register suited to the audience and situation (2.A.4).

  • 2.BMake communication comprehensible

    Skill Category 2. Use circumlocution and paraphrase (2.B.1), monitor and self-correct in speech (2.B.2), pronounce intelligibly for varied French speakers (2.B.3), keep an appropriate rate and effective intonation (2.B.4), and follow written conventions: accents, spelling, capitalization, punctuation (2.B.5).

  • 2.CShare ideas, information, and opinions

    Skill Category 2. Express ideas, preferences, and opinions (2.C.1); gather information and evidence through research (2.C.2); use examples to advise, inform, or explain opinions and emotions (2.C.3); integrate multiple sources to build a position (2.C.4); reference and cite sources (2.C.5).

  • 2.DApply organizational and rhetorical strategies

    Skill Category 2. Choose an appropriate organizational structure (2.D.1) and connect ideas with varied cohesive devices: relative pronouns, pronoun reference, conjunctions, transitions (2.D.2).

  • 3.AMake connections within and across cultures

    Skill Category 3 (Cultural Understanding). Describe cultural products, practices, and perspectives (3.A.1), compare them among distinct communities (3.A.2), and reflect on their significance (3.A.3).