2022

AP Chinese Language
®

and Culture
Sample Student Responses
and Scoring Commentary

Inside:

Interpersonal Speaking—Conversation
R Scoring Guidelines
R Student Samples
R Scoring Commentary

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Guidelines

Question 3: Conversation 6 points

General Scoring Note

When applying the scoring guidelines, the response does not need to meet every single criterion in a column. You should award the score according to
the preponderance of evidence.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Guidelines
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very weak Weak Adequate Good Very good Excellent
Demonstrates lack of Suggests lack of Suggests competence in Demonstrates Suggests excellence in Demonstrates excellence
competence in competence in interpersonal speaking competence in interpersonal speaking in interpersonal speaking
interpersonal speaking interpersonal speaking interpersonal speaking
• Addresses prompt • Directly addresses • Directly addresses • Directly addresses • Directly addresses • Directly addresses
minimally or marginally prompt and provides prompt and provides a prompt and provides prompt and provides a prompt and provides a
TASK COMPLETION

an appropriate but basic but appropriate an appropriate thorough and very thorough and
incomplete answer answer response appropriate response; appropriate response;
may include includes elaboration
elaboration and detail and detail
• Very disjointed • Fragmented sentences • Disconnected sentences • Sentences may be • Connected sentences • Smoothly connected
sentences or isolated loosely connected sentences
words
• Very labored pace and • Labored pace and • Inconsistent pace and • Generally consistent • Smooth pace and • Natural pace and
intonation, with intonation, with intonation, with pace and intonation, intonation, with intonation, with
constant hesitation and frequent hesitation and hesitation and with intermittent occasional hesitation minimal hesitation or
repetition repetition repetition that hesitation and and repetition repetition
interfere with repetition
comprehension
• Frequent errors in • Frequent errors in • Errors in pronunciation • May have several • Occasional errors in • Accurate pronunciation
DELIVERY

pronunciation pronunciation (including tones) errors in pronunciation pronunciation (including tones), with
(including tones) (including tones) sometimes necessitate (including tones), which (including tones) minimal errors
necessitate intense necessitate constant special listener effort do not necessitate
listener effort listener effort special listener effort
• Constant use of register • Frequent use of • Use of register • May include several • Consistent use of • Consistent use of
inappropriate to register inappropriate appropriate to lapses in otherwise register appropriate to register appropriate to
situation to situation situation is inconsistent consistent use of situation except for situation
or includes many errors register appropriate to occasional lapses
situation
• Insufficient, • Minimal appropriate • Limited appropriate • Mostly appropriate • Appropriate vocabulary • Rich and appropriate
inappropriate vocabulary, with vocabulary and idioms, vocabulary and idioms, and idioms, with vocabulary and idioms,
LANGUAGE USE

vocabulary, with frequent errors that with frequent errors with errors that do not sporadic errors with minimal errors
frequent errors that obscure meaning; that sometimes generally obscure
significantly obscure repeated interference obscure meaning; meaning
meaning; constant from another language intermittent
interference from interference from
another language another language

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Guidelines
• Little or no control of • Limited grammatical • Mostly simple • Mostly appropriate • Variety of grammatical • Wide range of
grammatical structures, structures, with grammatical structures, grammatical structures, structures, with grammatical structures,
with frequent errors frequent errors that with frequent errors with errors that do not sporadic errors with minimal errors
that significantly obscure meaning that sometimes generally obscure
obscure meaning obscure meaning meaning

Score of 0: UNACCEPTABLE—Contains nothing that earns credit

• Mere restatement of the prompt
• Clearly does not respond to the prompt
• “I don’t know,” “I don’t understand,” “Please repeat,” or equivalent in Chinese
• Not in Mandarin Chinese

NR (No Response): BLANK (no response although recording equipment is functioning) or mere sighs

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 1

Note: Students’ responses are quoted verbatim and may contain grammatical errors. In the
transcripts of students’ speech quoted in the commentaries, a three-dot ellipsis indicates that the
sample has been excerpted. Two dots indicate that the student paused while speaking.

Overview

This task evaluated interpersonal speaking skills by having students respond to a series of questions
in a simulated conversation. The course content related to this task is Unit 3: Influences of Beauty and
Art. Students were invited to participate in a conversation by responding to a series of six questions
one by one. After hearing each question, students had 20 seconds to respond. Responding in an
unrehearsed, spontaneous fashion required critical thinking skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, and
evaluating information, as well as a clear understanding of the cultural context of the conversation.

The questions for the Conversation this year were as follows:

1. 你好！我想了解在美国的学校里，一般有哪些艺术课？
2. 你觉得你们学校应该有艺术课吗？为什么？
3. 对于上艺术课这个问题，你爸爸妈妈有什么看法？
4. 很多中国人觉得学数学和科学比学艺术更有用。你觉得呢？
5. 中国的艺术多种多样，像书法、国画、京剧等等。你最喜欢哪一种？为什么？
6. 最后，请你给我介绍一个你知道的艺术家吧。

The topic was about the course theme of “art.” This task expected students to engage in a
conversation using vocabulary and knowledge relevant to the course to have an extemporaneous
exchange with another speaker.

Sample: A
Score: 5

Transcript of Student Response

在我的学校, 在美国, 有很多的艺术课，比如说有画画的课，还有 . . 有 . . 很多 . . 很多美术课你
可以 . . 练习

Commentary
This response suggests excellence in interpersonal speaking. It directly addresses the prompt and
provides a thorough and appropriate response including elaboration and detail (有很多的艺术课; 比如
说有 … 还有 …). It uses transitional and cohesive devices (比如说, 有 ... 还有) to make the response
smooth, logical, and easy to follow.

This response is delivered in a smooth pace, particularly at the beginning and end, though with
some hesitation and repetition in the middle portion (还有 . . 有. .; 很多 . . 很多). There are some
errors in tones (e.g., 在[zai1]; 我[wo1]; 美[mei1]). More accurate tones would make the response more
natural and smoother.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 1 (continued)

This response uses mostly appropriate vocabulary to address the prompt (艺术课; 比如说; 美术课; 可
以; 练习), but another class should have been listed for 艺术课 to replace 画画的课, as 美术课 and 画
画课 are synonyms. This response uses different grammatical structures (有 … 还有; 比如说) with
one-word order error (在我的学校, 在美国).

Sample: B
Score: 3

Transcript of Student Response

en 一般有 . . en 很多艺术课, . . 比如 en . . 水 . . 墨 . . 画 (long pause)

Commentary
This response suggests competence in interpersonal speaking. It directly addresses the prompt and
provides a basic and appropriate answer ( 一般有 . . en 很多艺术课, 比如 en . . 水 . . 墨 . . 画), which
demonstrates that the student understands the prompt. However, the response contains only one
sentence, which is not complete and does not address the prompt in a complete manner; more
elaboration would be needed to answer the question “哪些艺术课.”

This response is delivered at an inconsistent pace with hesitation throughout and with unnatural
pauses between individual syllables/characters within the word 水 . . 墨 . . 畫.

This response uses limited appropriate vocabulary to answer the question in the prompt “哪些艺术”;
more specific art classes should have been listed. Grammatically speaking, this response does not
have a subject in the sentence (一般有很多艺术课 ), which demonstrates a limited control of
grammatical structure.

Sample: C
Score: 1

Transcript of Student Response

您好，oh 我很喜欢我的艺术的 en, (long pause) 学(shui)校的 (long pause)

Commentary
This response demonstrates a lack of competence in interpersonal speaking. It only addresses the
prompt marginally by saying, 我很喜欢我的艺术的 … 学校的, which is a very disjointed sentence.

This response is delivered at a very labored pace with constant hesitation and two long pauses in the
middle and at the end. There are errors in pronunciation (such as 艺术[xue2]; 学校[shui jiao1]), which
necessitate intense listener effort.

This response fails to use appropriate vocabulary (such as 艺术课, 美术课, 舞蹈课) to address the
prompt or to describe art classes by using less formal but familiar words, such as 画画课, 照片课, to
convey the same meaning. The response demonstrates little or no control of grammatical structures
as there is not a complete sentence in the response.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 2

Sample: A
Score: 5

Transcript of Student Response

我觉得我们的学校应该有一些艺术课。因为 uh 这个课很好玩。Uh 也如果一个学生想做一个艺术的 uh
工作，就需要学 uh 艺术的东西。

Commentary
This response directly addresses the prompt and provides a thorough and appropriate response (应
该有一些艺术课 … 因为 uh 这个课很好玩). It also includes some elaboration (如果一个学生想做一个艺
术的 uh 工作，就需要学艺术的东西). Sentences are connected, and the pace of delivery is smooth
with occasional hesitation.

Pronunciation is good and use of vocabulary is appropriate with sporadic errors (for example: 这个课
should be 这样的课 or 这些课; 也如果一个学生想做艺术的 uh 工作 should be 另外，如果一个学生想做
艺术的 uh 工作). This response could be strengthened by including more elaboration and better use
of grammatical structures (for example: 如果学生毕业以后想做艺术工作，就需要学习艺术的东西， 也
需要上一些像画画这样的艺术课程).

Sample: B
Score: 4

Transcript of Student Response

我觉得我们的校[xiao3]学校应该有艺术课。我觉得能画画，能做艺术，能 . . 音乐也也是，但是觉得是很
重要的 . . 课，um 我们能能 uh 有。

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate answer (学校应该有艺术
课... 我觉得是很重要的). Sentences are loosely connected (e.g., 也是) and speaking pace is generally
consistent with intermittent hesitation.

The sample includes mostly appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures with errors that do
not generally obscure meaning (such as 能做艺术，能 . . 音乐也也是). The response could have
received a higher score had it included more details (for example, 能学画画、艺术和音乐这些课，我觉
得都对学生有好处，也都是很重要的，我很高兴我们能上). The response demonstrates competence in
interpersonal speaking.

Sample: C
Score: 2

Transcript of Student Response

[long pause] Uh 我觉我觉得 . . 每每 . . 个 . . 同学需要 . . 画 . . 课，因为

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 2 (continued)

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate but incomplete answer
(每 . . 个 . . 同学需要 . . 画 . . 课，因为). The student seems to understand the prompt, but the
response is incomplete: 因为 is used but there is no further content. The speaking pace is labored
with frequent hesitation.

The sample contains minimal appropriate vocabulary with errors that obscure meaning. This
response would earn a higher score had it completed the sentence addressing the second part of the
prompt (for example, 因为画画很有意思). As it is, the sample suggests a lack of competence in
interpersonal speaking.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 3

Sample: A
Score: 6

Transcript of Student Response

我爸爸妈妈跟我同意，他们也觉得学校应该有艺术课，他们觉得艺术课对 uh 童年，对孩子的童年很重
要，因为他们需要学怎么画画。

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a complete answer (他们也觉得学校应该有
艺术课) with elaboration and details (他们觉得艺术课 … 对孩子的童年很重要, 因为他们需要学怎么画
画). The sentences are smoothly connected with connectors like 也 and 因为.

The response is delivered with a natural pace and intonation. The pronunciation is accurate. It has
rich vocabulary (同意、应该、童年、孩子、需要、画画) used with no errors and a good range of
grammatical structures with minimal errors (跟我同意). The response demonstrates excellent in
interpersonal speaking.

Sample: B
Score: 4

Transcript of Student Response

uh 对 uh 这些艺术课的问题，我的爸爸妈妈的看法 uh 是他们觉得 . . uh 是非常 . . 对 uh 对学习非常重要
做艺术

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate but not thorough answer
(对学习非常重要做艺术). The response is delivered with generally consistent pace and intonation,
with intermittent hesitation and repetition (他们觉得 uh 是 … 非常 … 对 uh 对学习).

Use of vocabulary and grammatical structures is mostly appropriate with errors that do not generally
obscure meaning (对学习非常重要做艺术). The response demonstrates competence in
interpretational speaking.

Sample: C
Score: 2

Transcript of Student Response

我爸爸妈妈 . . uh . . 说看 fa2, uh . . 他们 . . 想[xiang2] . . hen1 yong2 yun4 dong2 . . 还有 uh ...

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt about the parents’ viewpoint (我爸爸妈妈 . . uh . . 说看
fa2, uh . . 他们 . . 想[xiang2] ). The response attempts to address the content of the viewpoint;
however, frequent errors in pronunciation and tones (hen1 yong2 yun4 dong2) obscure the meaning,
rendering the series of syllables incomprehensible.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 3 (continued)

The response is, therefore, incomplete. The response is delivered with a labored pace and intonation.
Vocabulary and grammatical structures are limited with errors that obscure meaning. The response
suggests a lack of competence in interpretational speaking.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 4

Sample: A
Score: 6

Transcript of Student Response

虽然我觉得艺术 [yi3shu4] 很有意思，我还是觉得, um, 他们说的没错，uh, 对找工作 [zhao1 gong1zuo4]
来说，uh，数学是比较有用，科学[shi4]也是比较有用, 可是创意也很重要。

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides a very thorough and appropriate answer
(虽然我觉得艺术很有意思, 我还是觉得, uh, 他们说的没错). It includes elaboration and details by
explaining why she supports the opinion (对找工作来说, uh, 数学是比较有用). The sentences are
smoothly connected with natural pace and intonation(科学也是比较有用, 可是创意也很重要).

The response also has accurate pronunciation with minimal errors (艺术 [yi3shu4]; 找工作 [zhao1
gong1zuo4]) that do not obscure meaning. Furthermore, it has rich and appropriate vocabulary (e.g.,
比较; 创意) and a wide range of grammatical structures (e.g., 虽然; 还是; 对 ... 来说; 他们说的; 可是 ...
也很重要). This response demonstrates excellence in interpersonal speaking.

Sample: B
Score: 4

Transcript of Student Response

我[wo1]觉得艺术课，数学和 . . 和 . . 数学都很重要，因为，如果你想做一个工作[gong3zuo4]，你
需要知道都个东西。

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate answer. The pace is
generally consistent with intermittent hesitation and repetition (数学和 . . 和 . . 数学都很重要).
Although there are errors in tones, they do not necessitate special listener effort, (e.g., 我[wo1], 工作
[gong3zuo4]).

The vocabulary and grammatical structures are mostly appropriate with errors that do not generally
obscure meaning (e.g., 如果你想做一个工作，你需要知道都个东西). The response could have earned
a higher score if it had included less hesitation and more appropriate vocabulary and grammatical
structures. The response demonstrates competence in interpersonal speaking.

Sample: C
Score: 1

Transcript of Student Response

uh 数学 . . uh . . 和科学 . . 我[wo2]觉得[jue3de]不 ... 用用 . .一起 . . 医学，因为数学和科
学跟

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 4 (continued)

Commentary
The response addresses the prompt only minimally (uh 数学 . . uh . . 和科学) and contains disjointed
sentences and insufficient vocabulary (... 不 ... 用用 . . 一起 . . 医学，因为数学和科学跟). The
pronunciation errors in the response significantly obscure meaning(艺术[医学 yi1xue2]).

The pace of delivery is very labored with constant hesitation (我[wo2]觉得[jue3de] ... 用用 . .一起 . . 医
学). The response could have earned a higher score had the key words (art and usefulness) been
pronounced accurately and if it could have made a clear comparison. This response demonstrates a
lack of competence in interpersonal speaking because the listeners are not certain of the point being
made.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 5

Sample: A
Score: 5

Transcript of Student Response

我[wo1]最[zui2]喜[xi]欢[huan4]书[shu2]法[fa4], 因为我觉得很漂亮. 还有你可以做很 . . 多 . . 不一样的东
[song2]西[xi4]书[shu2]法[fa4]; 在美国我觉得我没有很多 . . 艺术, 只有画[hua2]画的

Commentary
The response directly addresses the two parts of the prompt 我最喜欢书法, 因为我觉得很漂亮. It
includes some elaboration: 还有你可以做很多不一样的东西. 在美国我觉得我没有很多艺术, 只有画画的.
The sentences are connected with cohesive devices such as 因为， 还有，... 没有 ..., 只有, etc. The
pace and intonation are generally smooth with occasional hesitation (for example, 你可以做很 . . 多. .;
没有很多 . . 艺术).

Appropriate vocabulary is used throughout the response with sporadic errors in tones: 我[wo1]最
[zui2]喜[xi]歡[huan4]書[shu2]法; 東[song2]西[xi4]. The response could earn a higher score if it
demonstrates better tones. This response suggests excellence in interpersonal speaking.

Sample: B
Score: 4

Transcript of Student Response

Uh . . 我最喜欢学中国的书法[fa2]. 我觉得书法中国的书法不但很漂[piao1]亮[liang2], 而且 uh . .可是 . .
那个 uh . . 中国艺术最 uh . . 写最难

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt with an appropriate answer to both parts of the prompt
(我最喜欢学中国的书法. 我觉得中国的书法 . . 很漂亮). The response is characterized by consistent
pace with occasional errors in tones: 书法[fa2]; 我觉得书法中国的书法; 漂[piao1]亮[liang2], which do
not necessitate listener effort.

The student attempts to use cohesive devices such as 不但 … 而且 … to connect the sentences but
succeeds only to some extent. The response demonstrates competence in interpersonal speaking. If
there were more accurate grammatic structures and more accurate tones, the response could have
earned a higher score.

Sample: C
Score: 1

Transcript of Student Response

我觉得最喜欢一种 . . 因为 . . 很多书法 . . 和 . . 很老师

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 5 (continued)

Commentary
The response addresses the prompt only minimally (我最喜欢 … 因为) and contains disjointed
sentences with inappropriate vocabulary (zhongdong? 和很老师) that significantly obscure meaning.
It is characterized by labored pace and frequent hesitation (因为 . . 很多书法 . . 和 . . 很老师). This
response could have earned a higher score had the key word (e.g., the name of the art form) been
provided and a complete sentence been used. This response demonstrates a lack of competence in
interpersonal speaking.

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 6

Sample: A
Score: 6

Transcript of Student Response

我知道的艺术家是齐白石[shi4]. 他是一个 ... uh 中国画...家. um . . 他小的时候 ... 他画虾子 画
得很[hen1] 特色. 觉得他的故事也很有趣.

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides effective elaboration and details (中国画 ...
家; 他画虾子画得很[hen1] 特色 ... 觉得他的故事也很有趣). The pace is natural with minimal hesitation.
Its pronunciation is accurate with minimal errors (齐白石[shi4], 画得很[hen1]特色).

The vocabulary of the response is rich and appropriate (我知道的; 画虾子; 很[hen1] 特色; 也很有). A
wide range of grammatical structures with minimal errors (我知道, 小时候; 画得; 我觉得) is evident.

Sample: B
Score: 4

Transcript of Student Response

Uh . . 我知道一个艺术家 . . 他叫 . . 他叫 . . Uh . . 我不知道他的名字, 因为他是 . . 他是画
了很好[hen3hao1]的漂亮, 还有这个漂亮, 这个画[hua1]是完成的, 还有会让你觉得很酷。

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate answer (我知道一个艺术家).
However, the sentences are loosely connected(他是画了很好[hen3hao1]的漂亮, 还有这个漂亮).
Its pace is consistent with intermittent hesitation and repetition ( 他叫 . . 他叫 . . Uh . . 我不知道他的
名字, 因为他是 . . 他是画了很好[hen3hao1]的漂亮). There are several errors in pronunciation (很好
[hen3hao1]; 这个画[hua1]) but do not necessitate the special listener effort.

Its use of vocabulary is with errors that do not generally obscure meaning (是完成的; 觉得很酷). The
grammatical structures of the response is mostly appropriate with errors that do not obscure
meaning (他是画了很好[hen3hao1]的漂亮, 还有这个漂亮). The response could have earned a higher
score if it had used more transitional elements, cohesive devises, and a variety of grammatical
structures.

Sample: C
Score: 2

Transcript of Student Response

对, 在 . . uh . . , 在[zai1] . . 我, 在[zai1]这个市的中心[xin4]有非常有意思[si4]的艺术家,
uh . . , 也觉得 uh . . 在这个城市的东边有好的

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AP® Chinese Language and Culture 2022 Scoring Commentary

Interpersonal Speaking: Conversation 6 (continued)

Commentary
The response directly addresses the prompt and provides an appropriate but incomplete answer
(在这个市的中心有非常有意思的艺术家). Its sentences are fragmented. The pace and intonation are
labored with frequent hesitation (在 . . uh . . , 在[zai1] . . 我, 在[zai1]这个市的中心[xin4]有非常有意思
[si4]的艺术家, uh . . , 也觉得 uh . .).

Frequent errors in pronunciation (在[zai1] , 中心[xin4]) necessitate constant listener effort. The
response uses a minimal appropriate vocabulary (有意思的艺术家; 在这个城市的东边有好的) and
limited grammatical structures.

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