Beginning with the 2026–27 school year and the May 2027 AP Exams, College Board is introducing major changes to six AP World Language and Culture courses:

• AP Chinese Language and Culture
• AP French Language and Culture
• AP German Language and Culture
• AP Italian Language and Culture
• AP Japanese Language and Culture
• AP Spanish Language and Culture

Starting in 2027, these six exams will include a required Course Project and Personalized Project Reference (PPR), and the exams will move to a fully digital format in Bluebook.[1]

For students, the new process can be understood in three steps:

The same Course Project and PPR requirements apply whether a student is enrolled in an AP course or registering as an exam-only student.[1][3]

Why is College Board changing the AP World Language exams?

College Board says the revisions are intended to create greater consistency across the six AP World Language and Culture courses and to make cultural and speaking tasks more closely reflect the work students do in college-level language courses.

The new design asks students to work with materials presented in the language they are testing in, conduct research, and use that research in their speaking tasks.[1]

What is the Course Project?

The Course Project is a research-based project students complete before the AP Exam. It prepares them for two speaking tasks:

• Project Presentation
• Project Q&A

College Board will set one common annual project theme across all six languages, while students complete the work using sources and cultural context related to the language they are testing in.[1]

For 2026–27, the theme is:

Unit 3: Art and Creativity

The project will use music as a lens for exploring cultural products, practices, and perspectives in the relevant language communities.[1]

The official Course Project Packet will be released through the AP Digital Portfolio in January 2027. It will include the official project prompt and source materials for that year.[1][2]

What is the PPR?

The Personalized Project Reference (PPR) is the outline students create from their Course Project research for use during the Project Presentation.[1]

For the 2027 exams, the submission deadline is:

April 30, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET.[2]

Students do not submit the full Course Project before the exam, and they do not submit a prerecorded presentation. The PPR is the item submitted in advance. On exam day, the test center provides a printed copy of the submitted PPR for reference during the Project Presentation.[2]

What will the 2027 exam look like?

All six AP World Language and Culture exams will begin with:

Section I: Free-Response

Free-response includes both speaking and writing tasks.

The first two tasks are directly connected to the Course Project:

Project Presentation

• 3 minutes to prepare
• 3 minutes to present
• 20% of the total exam score

Project Q&A

• 4 prerecorded questions
• The questions are not provided in advance
• 40 seconds to answer each question orally
• 15% of the total exam score

Together, the two project-based speaking tasks account for 35% of the total exam score.[4]–[9]

The remaining written free-response tasks fall into two groups:

After the Free-Response section, students move to:

Section II: Multiple Choice

• Listening
• Reading

Students should still check the latest College Board exam page for their specific language for the most current timing and format details.[4]–[9]

Example: AP Chinese

The 2027 AP Chinese exam can be simplified as:

Free-Response

1. Project Presentation — speaking
2. Project Q&A — speaking
3. Story Narration — writing
4. Email Response — writing

Multiple Choice

5. Listening
6. Reading

The new Course Project adds a major project-based speaking component, but listening, reading, and written tasks remain part of the exam.[4]

2027 Timeline

FAQ

1. Do exam-only students also need to complete the Course Project and submit a PPR?

Yes. The Course Project and PPR requirements apply to all students taking these six AP World Language and Culture exams, whether they are enrolled in the AP course or registering as exam-only students.[1][3]

Students also need to be enrolled in the correct AP section and have access to AP Classroom, the AP Digital Portfolio, and the Course Project Packet when it is released. Students enrolled in an AP course will usually have a teacher guiding the process; exam-only students should make sure they can access the required systems and materials themselves.[3]

2. Do students submit the full Course Project? How is the PPR different from the presentation?

No. Students do not upload the full Course Project. The item submitted before the exam is the PPR, which serves as the outline for the Project Presentation.

Students prepare the presentation in advance, but only the PPR is submitted by April 30. The actual spoken presentation is recorded on exam day.[1][2]

3. Is the Project Q&A spoken? What does “Free-Response” mean?

Yes. The Project Q&A is spoken.

Students hear 4 prerecorded questions that they have not seen in advance and have 40 seconds to record each oral response.[4]–[9]

In the revised AP World Language exams, “Free-Response” includes both:

• Speaking: Project Presentation and Project Q&A
• Writing: Story Narration, Email Response, or Argumentative Essay

4. The Course Project Packet will not be released until January 2027. What can students do now?

Students cannot complete the official 2027 Course Project yet because the official project prompt and source materials have not been released.

However, College Board has already announced the Art and Creativity theme, with music as the focus, and has published updated practice resources and Bluebook test previews.[1]

Before the official packet is released, students can:

• Learn the new exam structure
• Review College Board sample project and practice materials
• Get familiar with Bluebook
• Practice organizing information from source materials
• Practice giving a focused 3-minute presentation
• Practice responding orally to questions within a limited time

The formal Course Project research should begin once the 2027 Course Project Packet is released in January.

5. Are the Course Project and exam format exactly the same across all six languages?

The annual Course Project theme and the basic Project Presentation / Project Q&A format are consistent across the six languages, but the source materials and other written free-response tasks differ by language.

AP Chinese and AP Japanese use Story Narration + Email Response, while AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish Language and Culture use an Argumentative Essay.[4]–[9]

Students should always check the latest College Board exam page for their specific AP language.

Final Reminder

For exam-only students in particular, completing AP Exam registration is only one part of the process. Make sure to watch for the January 2027 Course Project Packet release and the April 30 PPR deadline.