Future AP World Language and Culture Revisions
We periodically update AP courses and exams to reflect new developments in their disciplines and more clearly communicate required content and skills.
Thanks to valuable feedback from the AP teacher community, we’re revising the AP world language and culture courses and exams to focus cultural tasks on authentic sources, and we’re transitioning to a digital exam to modernize and improve students’ test-taking experience. Additionally, all AP world language and culture courses will be anchored in the same skills and will have very similar exam designs.
The courses and exams that will undergo revisions include French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Spanish Language and Culture, Chinese Language and Culture, and Japanese Language and Culture.
The revisions will launch during the 2026-27 school year (May 2027 exam). These revisions won’t affect the 2025-26 school year.
What’s Changing
Course Revisions
- Align course frameworks for 6 AP world language and culture courses to streamline skills and learning objectives.
- Introduce a course project where students use source materials in the target language to prepare for authentic speaking tasks on exam day.
Course Project
- The course project topic and source materials will be released annually in January of the exam administration year.
- Students will use source materials in the target language to prepare for authentic speaking tasks on exam day.
- On exam day, students will present their project and verbally answer questions about it.
- A project manual is included in the appendix of the CEDs to help teachers understand the required project components and facilitate students’ preparation for and completion of the course project.
Exam Revisions
- Move the exam to the Bluebook digital testing application and discontinue the paper exam.
Note: Wired headsets with microphones will be required. CD players, handheld digital recorders, and the Digital Audio Capture (DAC) app will no longer be used. - Reorganize, streamline, and standardize exam items to ensure a smooth digital exam-taking experience and maintain the core tasks and objectives.
- Replace current speaking free-response questions (FRQs) with authentic speaking tasks aligned to college-level courses that students will prepare for in advance and complete on exam day.
- Streamline FRQ scoring guidelines.
What to Expect
We’ll update this page with more information and resources on the following schedule:
- Spring 2026
- Revised course and exam descriptions (CEDs) that include project manuals
- Summer 2026
- New practice exam for each course, including a sample course project
- Professional learning opportunities to prepare teachers, including AP Summer Institutes and the AP Annual Conference
- Fall 2026–Spring 2027
- AP Classroom resources updated throughout the school year
- Online workshops and teacher support sessions to help teachers plan and teach their course
- Course project topic and source material released in January 2027
FAQ
Do these changes affect world language and culture courses or exams in the 2025-26 school year?
No. The revised courses will launch during the 2026-27 school year (May 2027 exam).
Which AP world language and culture courses are changing in 2026-27?
The courses and exams that will undergo revisions include Chinese Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, German Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Japanese Language and Culture, and Spanish Language and Culture.
What changes will I need to make in my class to accommodate the world language and culture course project?
Teachers need to allocate class time for students to explore source materials and prepare for their exam-day presentation tasks. The project manual in the CED appendix provides a suggested plan to guide teachers through the process.
Is the course project a required part of the AP Exam for world language and culture courses?
Yes. The course project prepares students for the speaking tasks they will complete on exam day.
Do students submit the world language and culture course project before exam day?
On exam day, students present their project by answering the speaking free-response questions. Before the exam, students only need to submit their Personalized Project Reference (PPR), which is an outline for their presentation. The PPR must be submitted by April 30 each year. Instructions for completing and submitting the PPR will be shared when the course project is released.
How should fall-semester-only or exam only students complete the world language and culture course project if they aren’t enrolled in a course in the spring?
Fall-semester-only and exam only students will still have access to AP Classroom and AP Digital Portfolio, which they should use to practice and complete all required components of the course project in preparation for the exam. These tools provide the materials, guidance, and practice opportunities students need, even if they are not enrolled in a spring course. All students, including those with strong language proficiency, are encouraged to take the full AP course when possible, as ongoing instruction and practice help students build the skills needed for success on the exam.
How do I score students’ world language and culture course projects?
Teachers aren't responsible for scoring students’ projects. Students will deliver their project presentation and answer questions simultaneously on exam day via audio capture in Bluebook. AP readers will assess and score students' exam-day responses.
What is the AI policy for the world language and culture course project?
Generative AI tools must be used ethically, responsibly, and intentionally to support student learning, not to bypass it. Accordingly, the AP world language and culture course project must be the student’s own work. While students are permitted to use generative AI tools consistent with this policy, their use is optional and not mandatory.
Students can use generative AI tools as aids for exploration of potential topics of inquiry and to search for target language sources or places where sources may be found. Students should engage with AI tools in the target language and read sources in the target language. Students are responsible for developing their own presentation in a way that demonstrates their language abilities and cultural understanding.
Will the exams for world language and culture courses be fully digital?
Yes. Starting in May 2027, the exams will be administered digitally in the Bluebook testing application. Paper exams will be discontinued.
What equipment will my students need on exam day?
Students can use Mac or Windows devices, iPads, or school-managed Chromebooks. They will also need wired headsets with microphones to hear audio prompts and stimuli, and for the recording portion of the exam.
How will the recording process work for students on exam day?
Students will hear audio prompts and record their responses directly in Bluebook, the same application they will use for the multiple-choice and free-response sections of the exam. CD players, handheld digital recorders, and the Digital Audio Capture (DAC) app will no longer be used.
Will there be new practice exams and AP Classroom resources for the revised world language and culture courses?
Yes. One new practice exam, including a sample course project, will be available in summer 2026. We’ll update other AP Classroom resources throughout the 2026-27 school year.
What professional learning opportunities will be available to help teachers prepare for the revised world language and culture courses?
Teachers preparing to teach the revised course can attend an AP Summer Institute in summer 2026. As of March 2 2026, teachers can request an AP participant grant to cover the cost of APSI tuition. Teachers can also attend online workshops and teacher support sessions throughout the 2026-27 school year for ongoing support.
Will the textbooks teachers currently use for AP world language and culture courses work with the revised course?
Yes. Textbooks published in the last 10 years will adequately address the revised course material.
We will provide publishers with updated information about the course and exam for any textbook updates they would like to make.
Will teachers need to resubmit the AP Course Audit world language and culture courses?
Yes. All new and returning AP world language and culture teachers must complete the 2026-27 AP Course Audit, which opens on March 1, 2026. To maintain access to AP Classroom for the 2026-27 school year, returning teachers must resubmit by January 31, 2027. We’ll update AP Classroom resources throughout the 2026-27 school year.
Will colleges and universities still have the same credit policies?
We expect these revisions will preserve current credit and placement policies and create opportunities to broaden them.