AP German Language and Culture

What the course covers

6 units

1. Unit 1

   Families and Communities

   Free
   Familien und Gemeinschaften. What counts as a family in German-speaking societies, which family values matter, and how families and communities experience the present day. Multiple-choice practice uses Audio and Chart, Article, and Promotional Material sets focused on explicit details (1.A.1) and main idea or purpose (1.B.1). Speaking practice starts the Project Presentation and Project Q&A: expressing opinions and preferences with varied vocabulary and structures, circumlocution, self-correction, and clear pronunciation. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   4 topics

   1. 1.1Community Activities (Gemeinschaftsaktivitäten)
   2. 1.2Family Relationships (Familienbeziehungen)
   3. 1.3Social Interactions and Relationships (Soziale Kontakte und Beziehungen)
   4. 1.4Urban and Rural Communities (Städtische und ländliche Gemeinden)

2. Unit 2

   Language and Culture
   Sprache und Kultur. How language and culture shape each other, how both change over time, and how technology influences them. Multiple-choice practice uses Audio Report, Article and Chart, and Literary Text sets focused on intended audience (1.B.2) and point of view, tone, or attitude (1.B.3). Writing practice builds the Argumentative Essay: a clear position, evidence integrated from sources, idiomatic expressions, correct written conventions, and an appropriate structure. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   3 topics

   1. 2.1Customs and Celebrations (Bräuche und Feste)
   2. 2.2Linguistics (Sprachwissenschaft)
   3. 2.3German in the World (Deutsch in der Welt)

3. Unit 3

   Art and Creativity
   Kunst und Kreativität. How art and creativity shape daily life, how art both challenges and reflects cultural perspectives, how communities value creativity, and how art records history. The 2026-27 course project is drawn from this unit and uses music as its lens. Multiple-choice practice uses Audio and Chart, Article, Literary Text, and Promotional Material sets focused on data points and trends (1.A.2) and organizing or rhetorical structures (1.B.4). Speaking practice for the Project Presentation and Q&A adds idiomatic expressions, register, pace and intonation, research strategies, cohesive devices, and describing products, practices, and perspectives. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   6 topics

   1. 3.1Architecture (Architektur)
   2. 3.2Artistic Heritage (Künstlerisches Erbe)
   3. 3.3Beauty and Aesthetics (Schönheit und Ästhetik)
   4. 3.4Fashion and Design (Mode und Design)
   5. 3.5Literature (Literatur)
   6. 3.6Visual and Performing Arts (Kunst, Theater, Musik und Film)

4. Unit 4

   Science and Technology
   Wissenschaft und Technologie. What drives innovation and discovery, how technology supports global communication, and what scientific and technological change does to society. Multiple-choice practice uses Instructional Guidance, Interview, Presentation, and Article and Chart sets focused on word meaning from textual cues (1.B.5) and connecting information within or across sources (1.C.1). Writing practice brings the Argumentative Essay to full exam complexity: integrating (not summarizing) all sources, citing them, and organizing with cohesive devices. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   4 topics

   1. 4.1Innovations and Emerging Technologies (Innovationen und Zukunftstechnologien)
   2. 4.2Personal Technology and Communication (Alltägliche Technik und Kommunikation)
   3. 4.3Science in Everyday Life (Wissenschaft im Alltag)
   4. 4.4Societal Impacts of Science and Technology (Soziale Auswirkungen von Wissenschaft und Technologie)

5. Unit 5

   Contemporary Life
   Das Leben heute. How everyday life has changed in the last twenty years, how cultural values and traditions shape it, and what influences how people judge what matters. Multiple-choice practice uses Audio and Chart, Instructional Guidance, Interview, and Literary Text sets at close to exam difficulty, focused on drawing logical conclusions (1.C.2) and inferring implied meaning (1.C.3). Speaking practice covers every Skill Category 2 and 3 objective for the Project Presentation and Q&A, including citing sources aloud, keeping one register, and comparing and reflecting on cultural products, practices, and perspectives. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   6 topics

   1. 5.1Education and Career (Bildung und Karriere)
   2. 5.2Entertainment and Media (Unterhaltung und Medien)
   3. 5.3Food and Health (Ernährung und Gesundheit)
   4. 5.4Pop Culture (Popkultur)
   5. 5.5Sports and Leisure (Sport und Freizeit)
   6. 5.6Travel and Tourism (Reisen und Tourismus)

6. Unit 6

   Global Contexts
   Globale Zusammenhänge. How global phenomena affect German-speaking communities, what role individuals play in responding to them, and how complex issues shape a society's culture. Multiple-choice practice uses Audio Report, Presentation, and Article and Chart sets and draws on every interpretive objective (1.A.1 through 1.C.3). Writing practice is the full Argumentative Essay under exam conditions, adding comparison of and reflection on cultural products, practices, and perspectives across communities. About 19-21 class periods in the CED pacing.
   5 topics

   1. 6.1Global Communication (Globale Kommunikation)
   2. 6.2Natural World (Natur)
   3. 6.3History (Geschichte)
   4. 6.4Policy and Planning (Richtlinien und Planung)
   5. 6.5Transportation (Verkehrsmittel)

The exam, part by part

5 parts, 2 h 30 min in all.

• Section I, Question 1: Project Presentation

  Questions

  1

  Time

  6 min

  Weight

  20%

  Format details

  Task types: Project Presentation

  Part A (Speaking). 3 minutes to prepare, then a 3-minute recorded presentation on the course project prompt, delivered with the printed Personalized Project Reference (PPR) the student submitted by April 30. Section I (all free response) is 65-70 minutes and 50% of the score.

• Section I, Question 2: Project Q&A

  Questions

  1

  Time

  5 min

  Weight

  15%

  Format details

  Task types: Project Q&A

  Part A (Speaking), directly after the presentation. A prerecorded interlocutor asks four questions about the project and research; each question plays twice, then the student has 40 seconds to record a response. Questions are not known in advance. Part A (Questions 1 and 2) runs about 15 minutes including directions.

• Section I, Question 3: Argumentative Essay

  Questions

  1

  Time

  55 min

  Weight

  15%

  Format details

  Task types: Argumentative Essay

  Part B (Writing). A typed essay in German based on three sources with different viewpoints: an audio source (heard twice), a print article, and a chart or infographic. The 55 minutes include both plays of the audio; 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 per task type: Audio and Chart, Audio Report, Instructional Guidance, Interview, Presentation. Every question has four choices (A-D). Stems, choices, and advance organizers are in German.

• Section II, Part B: Reading

  Questions

  30

  Time

  40 min

  Weight

  25%

  Format details

  Six sets of five questions across four task types (Article, Article and Chart, Literary Text, Promotional Material), one or two sets of each, varying by year. Four choices per question, all in German.

Skills the exam scores

• 1.ARecognize explicit meaning

  Skill Category 1 (Interpretive Communication). Pick out the supporting and relevant details a text, recording, or data display states directly (1.A.1), and read data points, patterns, and trends in charts, tables, and infographics (1.A.2).

• 1.BInterpret meaning

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

• 1.CSynthesize and infer meaning

  Skill Category 1. Connect information within one source or across paired sources (1.C.1), synthesize meaning to reach logical conclusions (1.C.2), and infer what is implied but not stated from context (1.C.3).

• 2.AUse language that fits the purpose and context

  Skill Category 2 (Interpersonal and Presentational Communication). Use a variety of 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, such as du versus Sie (2.A.4).

• 2.BMake communication comprehensible

  Skill Category 2. Keep communication going with strategies like circumlocution and paraphrase (2.B.1), monitor and self-correct spoken language (2.B.2), pronounce German comprehensibly (2.B.3), speak at an appropriate rate with effective intonation (2.B.4), and follow the conventions of written German such as noun capitalization, spelling, umlauts, ß, and punctuation (2.B.5).

• 2.CShare ideas, information, and opinions

  Skill Category 2. Express ideas, preferences, and opinions (2.C.1), use research strategies to gather information and evidence (2.C.2), use examples to give advice or information and to explain opinions or emotions (2.C.3), integrate information from several sources to develop and support a position (2.C.4), and reference and cite sources appropriately (2.C.5).

• 2.DApply organizational and rhetorical strategies

  Skill Category 2. Organize a response with an appropriate structure (2.D.1) and connect ideas with a variety of cohesive devices such as relative pronouns, pronoun references, conjunctions, and 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). Assessed in the free-response tasks; the multiple-choice sources are cultural or interdisciplinary in content.