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SAT II German study guide


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http://www.amazon.com/SAT-Subject-Test-German-Best/dp/0738601608/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277066330&sr=1-2

The REA book was what I purchased in '08 (have since sold it however). The current prices in this link are ridiculous - I paid about $15 or so I think. This book and the CD you can order for free from the College Board are helpful if you are doing the listening part too.

 

Good luck!

 

Mary

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Thanks Mary and ITGWNorth!

 

I'd seen that REA book and the price and thought that was ridiculous, that there must be something else out there. I guess I'll have to keep my eye out for it.

 

I'll get some of the AP materials, but the level would be higher that SAT subject tests wouldn't it?

 

How can there be such a scanty selection? Are there that few people doing it?

 

Joan

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I think the SAT subject tests, especially in language, may be harder than the AP tests, at least that's what I've heard.

 

 

I have heard this was one person's experience for Latin.

 

My son did both for French and thought the SAT easier in that you did not have to write a text (or speak for the nonlistening one). But I don't know how the grammar levels compare.

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Kareni, that is a very helpful thread (just FYI, the German didn't have any recs) because of the physics and other study guide recs. I've been asking that question for other subjects, but couldn't find much on old threads. And ds is tired of Barron's. So thanks!

 

Joan

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My apologies, Joan; I clearly did not look too closely at the thread. I did a little more browsing and most of the recommendations I see are for the REA book. I'm assuming that ILL is not an option for you in Geneva?

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Kareni,

 

What is ILL? It didn't catch my eye either - where did you see it?

 

I am really glad you proposed that list though!:001_smile: I'd been trying to figure out where we would be able to look at SAT/AP books in the US this summer and now I have a jump on the info.

 

Thanks,

Joan

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Ah, it's my day to sow misunderstanding. ILL is an abbreviation for inter-library loan. I checked WorldCat, but I don't see any libraries in Switzerland that have the REA book. (In fact, there are only a few in the US that have it.)

 

Regards,

Karen

Edited by Kareni
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Kareni,

 

That is a very helpful website! It shows the various possible books as well as sites that sell it. Plus, low and behold, there was a cheap REA book that suddenly appeared! Did one of you suddenly offer one? If so, thanks!

 

Thanks again,

Joan

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I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a study guide for the German SAT subject test?

 

It doesn't seem like there are many options..

 

Thanks,

Joan

 

Are you thinking of SAT II to document the language study or because you need to submit some SAT II scores? I ask because you might also want to look at the German proficiency exams available from Goethe Institute.

 

DH and I took the B1 level exam when we lived in Germany. There are also youth versions of A1, A2 and B1. This might be something that would be a significant capstone exam for your kids.

 

There are some exam prep files under the materials section that might give some useful practice.

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Are you thinking of SAT II to document the language study or because you need to submit some SAT II scores? I ask because you might also want to look at the German proficiency exams available from Goethe Institute.

 

DH and I took the B1 level exam when we lived in Germany. There are also youth versions of A1, A2 and B1. This might be something that would be a significant capstone exam for your kids.

 

There are some exam prep files under the materials section that might give some useful practice.

 

 

Sebastian, that is a very good idea! I'd looked at Goethe Institute before about their courses but found them expensive. So you are saying they offer exams for people who aren't taking their courses?

 

It's funny because I'd just been thinking about these levels for French and was trying to figure out where he could increase his French level outside the normal school and then take the tests. It hadn't crossed my mind about German yet.

 

Thanks for the idea,

Joan

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You can definitely take the test without taking the course. The local high school German teacher got approved to be a testing center and dd took the B1 test this year. They sent someone else to do the oral part, but the German teacher gave them the written part. You need the C1 level for a German speaking uni. They are doing it next year.

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You can definitely take the test without taking the course. The local high school German teacher got approved to be a testing center and dd took the B1 test this year. They sent someone else to do the oral part, but the German teacher gave them the written part. You need the C1 level for a German speaking uni. They are doing it next year.

 

Good news!

 

Oh good - then you can answer about how B1 compares with the AP? Could I ask how costly it was too?

 

Thanks,

Joan

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She took German IV at the high school last year and they paid for it. I have no idea how much it costs. I suppose we'll find out next year because she's not planning on taking German there- class was a waste of time and the teacher was a pain in the neck.

 

She said both the AP and the B1 were easy. She passed the B1 but the AP scores aren't out yet.

 

The tester told her they would be more picky about endings on the oral part for the C1 level, so I guess that means they weren't for the B1

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Another tidbit...just got an email from ds German teacher who says that the SAT II questions are equivalent to what they do in German III or IV, but that my ds could do it after part of German III...

 

She also said that "The AP test is more difficult and more comprehensive. It requires students to write an essay, orally describe a picture sequence, orally answer spoken questions, answer questions on lengthy and fairly complex listening texts, etc. The AP test requires students to be fairly fluent in the language. For us, AP German is the 5th year German. At our university, students who pass the AP German test with a grade of 3 or better (out of a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best) receive credit for 13 semester hours of German."

 

Sounds like a big difference and what a lot of semester hours...I wonder if there is any difference among the language levels of the different language AP's?

 

Joan

 

 

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She took German IV at the high school last year and they paid for it. I have no idea how much it costs. I suppose we'll find out next year because she's not planning on taking German there- class was a waste of time and the teacher was a pain in the neck.

 

She said both the AP and the B1 were easy. She passed the B1 but the AP scores aren't out yet.

 

The tester told her they would be more picky about endings on the oral part for the C1 level, so I guess that means they weren't for the B1

 

 

I was adding the tidbit post while you were posting this...thanks for this info...

 

Joan

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Wow, that is a lot of credit for the AP exam. Probably correct given the fluency that a beginner has after just two years of a language. I really need to dust of the kids' German books.

 

You can definitely take the Goethe Institute exams without taking their courses. When dh and I took our tests, it was given at a Volkshochschule and the B1 level as mostly people who had lived in Germany for a couple of years and needed to certify their language ability for work purposes.

 

It did tend to mess with the speaking section of the exam. People were paired up as conversation partners and given topics to discuss. I had to plan a bike and camping tour with my partner, who was Filipina. Dh's speaking partner was Kazakh.:001_smile:

 

If you poke around the Goethe site, you can see pretty extensive sample tests. They even have audio downloads with the listening portion of the exam. And you can find sample AP exams at the College Board site.

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it was given at a Volkshochschule

 

Was that in Germany or the US?

 

It did tend to mess with the speaking section of the exam. People were paired up as conversation partners and given topics to discuss. I had to plan a bike and camping tour with my partner, who was Filipina. Dh's speaking partner was Kazakh.:001_smile:

 

Do you mean that depending on who you were paired with, your grade could be affected (when you say "mess with")?

 

If you poke around the Goethe site, you can see pretty extensive sample tests. They even have audio downloads with the listening portion of the exam. And you can find sample AP exams at the College Board site.

 

Thanks Sebastian.

 

Joan

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When I went to college, years ago, I tested out of the first two years of German. Is that the same as 13 credits? Basically, it meant not taking any grammar courses- just lit, culture, etc.

 

Dd did not have a conversation with a partner for the B1 test. She had to prepare an oral report to present. I think it was supposed to be 5 minutes including questions.

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Re: College Cofidential comments.

 

Nothing less than 780??? If that's her criteria any test would be hard. But it is a multiple choice test, so of course picky grammar questions are to be expected.

 

Actually, I was unaware that any school gave any credit at all for SAT Subject tests. I thought they were to demonstrate high school proficiency in a subject and none of the schools ds looked at hinted that they gave any credits, or even placement consideration, for SAT Subject tests.

 

Only Georgia Tech wanted any SAT Subject tests and they only wanted them from homeschoolers.

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Was that in Germany or the US?

 

 

 

Do you mean that depending on who you were paired with, your grade could be affected (when you say "mess with")?

 

 

 

Thanks Sebastian.

 

Joan

 

This was in Germany. Most of the exam takers were taking German at Berlin area Volkshochschulen.

 

The way I recall the speaking portion of the exam was that we went in in pairs. I can't remember if I knew ahead of time who my partner would be. We spent quite some time in the lobby waiting for our turn and I can't recall if I'd already been paired up or if I first knew who my partner would be when they called our names.

 

We sat at a table across from each other with 2 instructors at the next table. There was a section where we were given a picture or a news clipping that we had to talk about on our own. There might have been a couple of these.

 

Then there was a dialogue section. We were given a scenario (ours was a biking trip) that we were supposed to talk through plans for. We each had certain pieces of information. For example, I didn't have a bike and the partner didn't know how to ride well. Part of the exam was grading how we discussed the problem and then worked through them.

 

What I found was that because my partner was a bit shy and not really confident, she wouldn't give elaborate answers. Some of her answers sort of left me stumped for a response (Like when she suggested that we bike in Zoologishes Garten and tent overnight there. Sort of the equivalent to suggesting camping on the Washington Mall.:lol:)

 

Anyway, it wasn't horrible and I think that the proctors took into account that some of my problems weren't under my control. I still got a very good score (not that you'd know it now, I've lost so much speaking fluency).

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Sebastian - thanks for that test scenario...it gives a good idea of what the oral part will be like..

 

ITGWNorth - she does seem to have high standards for her score, but maybe she's applying to some Ivy League school where she thinks anything lower will make her application look bad....

 

Joan

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Sebastian - thanks for that test scenario...it gives a good idea of what the oral part will be like..

 

ITGWNorth - she does seem to have high standards for her score, but maybe she's applying to some Ivy League school where she thinks anything lower will make her application look bad....

 

Joan

 

BTW, I should mention that there was a lot of nervousness and adrenaline with the speaking portion of the exam, even though we'd been living in Germany and using German socially and professionally for a couple of years at this point.

 

It wasn't that the speaking was difficult. But the prospect of sitting and having ones speech graded was intimidating. Plus everyone else was also rather nervous. And it was a little odd to not get feedback on how you were doing. In most classroom situations, the teacher is correcting as you go along. Here they were just marking down observations on their grading sheet. I can't recall if I even got feedback at the end or not.

 

If I were getting someone ready for the exam, this is something that I would try to practice a bit.

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