How to Score 10 in CELPIP Speaking Tasks
CELPIP Speaking tasks could be challenging. Particularly for those who are shy to talk to people. Well, there is the good news. CELPIP is a 100% computer-based test. Meaning, you will be giving your response through a computer and not to a human interviewer. As a trainer, I have seen a lot of students who are introverts have aced the test with admirable scores. So can you!
The speaking module in CELPIP has 8 parts with specific tasks to be done within the stipulated time. Let’s look at the format of speaking module.
CELPIP Speaking Tasks
| Task No. | Task Name | Description | Preparation Time | Speaking Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unscored part | Practice Task | Practice speaking into the microphone. Check your headphone and microphones | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 1 | Giving Advice | Give advice or suggestion to a specific situation for the mentioned person. | 30 sec | 90 sec |
| 2 | Talking about personal experience | Tell an interesting story about a past experience based on the question. | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 3 | Describing a picture | Look at an illustration and describe what is happening. | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 4 | Making Predictions | Look at the same illustration and predict what you think might happen next | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 5a | Comparing and Persuading | Select an item by comparing two similar choices. | 60 sec | 0 |
| 5b | Comparing and Persuading | Persuade someone to agree with the choice you have made. | 60 sec | 60 sec |
| 6 | Dealing with a Difficult Situation | Explain a decision to a friend, family member, or colleague by convince them to agree with you. | 60 sec | 60 sec |
| 7 | Expressing Opinions | Explain why you agree or disagree with a statement with justified reasons. | 30 sec | 90 sec |
| 8 | Describing an Unusual Situation | Describe a picture of an unusual item or an unusual situation to someone who cannot see the picture. | 30 sec | 60 sec |
If you closely look at the structure of the module, you could find different timings for certain tasks. You must be very clear about the timing and should anticipate the preparation time and speaking time prior to and also when you move from one task to another on your test day.
How CELPIP Speaking tasks are assessed
CELPIP-General Speaking Examiners listen carefully when they assess your responses. These are some of the things that they think about as they listen to your work:
- COHERENCE/MEANING: Express a clear, focused, and well-organized message. Be as precise as possible.
- LEXICAL RANGE (VOCABULARY): Choose words that demonstrate the precise and accurate use of a rich range of vocabulary; put words and phrases together in a natural way.
- LISTENABILITY/COMPREHENSIBILITY: Use comprehensible language structure combined with rhythm, pronunciation, and intonation that help to make your speech clear, fluent, and easy to understand. Some pauses or hesitations are acceptable but not a prolonged pause or language-based hesitation.
- TASK FULFILLMENT: You must address all parts of the prompts sufficiently and effectively, and within the time limit. To ensure that you have attempted every part of the prompt, read the question completely and understand the requirement.
Approaching CELPIP Speaking Tasks
Task 1: Giving Advice:
Task 1 is the first longest task with 90 sec speaking time with 30 sec preparation time. In this task, you are required to give advice according to the situation. In this task, you would be asked to give your advice or suggestion as per the question. The situation would be a common daily life situation which normally anyone could have come across.
To score well in this task, you should
- Read the question properly and make sure what the task is/tasks are.
- Brainstorm your content with 2-3 ideas to support your advice.
- Give an explanation and an example for each idea.
- Speak as if you are talking to the person mentioned, directly. It is kind of a role-play.
- Introduce the situation with a proper opening pitch.
- Give convincing reasons for your advice.
- Conclude with words like “Congratulation”, “All the best”, Let me know your decision”, likewise.
- Just give advice or suggestions. Do not take decisions for them.
Task 2: Talking about your personal experience:
Sharing our personal experiences gives us pleasure, sometimes nostalgia. And telling your experiences in the form of a story is an art. This task tests your ability to storytelling. Here, you need to elaborate on a story on the topics provided by preparing your content in 30 sec and speaking to a length of 60 sec. You need to choose one among the options. To ace this section, you need to tell an interesting experience through a series of events. About the content, you can think of 3 to 4 events about the topic and weave a story around it.
Also, you can include any type of emotions according to the topic – humour, sentiments, horror, sadness, anger likewise. To make it realistic, use the five senses to add life to your story. Remember, you are going to speak about your personal experiences. This would include some real events, or you can create your own story. As far as this is relevant and interesting and up to the topic, you can create content for your story.
Task 3 and task 4 are interrelated. Both have the same prompt whereas the tasks are different.
Task 3: Describing a picture:
The third task is quite an interesting task you would be responding to where you will be shown a picture that you are required to describe to someone who cannot see this image. To score well, you need to elaborate on the image in various aspects such as location, people, their appearances, facial expressions, activities they do, things you see in the image, and placement of each object or person in the image.
When it comes to content, you can pick and choose 6 or 7 ideas from the picture to describe. Choose the ideas which you feel confident to explain in detail. Try to answer as much possible 5 W’s and 1 H questions about the picture as you can.
Moving on to the vocabulary, you need to use accurate words to describe, proper prepositions, verbs, and descriptive adjectives judiciously and precisely to explain.
Task 4: Making Predictions.
In this task, you need to predict some events that might happen next in the picture shown in task 3. Here, all you need is some imagination and creativity to crack this task. Firstly, you need to identify the ideas that you are about to predict. Since you have a 30 sec prep time, you can use the same ideas you used to explain in Task 3, to predict and share within 60 sec in Task 4.
Never predict unrealistic events. Ultimately, your predictions should be logical and within the context, which could be positive or negative.
Task 5: Comparing and Persuading.
Comparing and persuading is more often a daily routine for most of us. We will compare almost everything we see, hear, think, and mostly when buying. One similar situation is Task 5. It has two parts. 1. Comparing and 2. Persuading.
In part 1, you are provided with 2 options. Here, you need not to speak anything. Instead, you will be given 60 sec to choose one of the options and study it thoroughly. You need to click on the item you select. Otherwise, the computer will choose any one of the items on behalf of you.
In part 2, along with the option you have selected, you will see a third option given. This would be the item chosen by your family member or friend, whom you must convince and persuade to buy or choose your option.
To score well, you need to think about a situation that favours your decision. Moreover, you need to use the details in bullet points given in the options to justify your decision. Never read out the bullet points as shown on the screen. Use 2-3 strong reasons/points for your choice. Close the talk with an appropriate convincing closure statement. You will be given 60 sec to prepare and 60 sec to speak.
Task 6: Dealing with a difficult situation
One of the most common situations that anyone would encounter almost every day particularly married people (on a lighter note). Here is the deal. You will be given a certain situation, where you must choose any one among the two persons given. You need to convince that one person to accept your decision.
To deal with this situation, you need to come up with 2 to 3 logical, strong, and valid reasons to support your decision. Here you will be given 30 sec to prepare your content and 60 sec to speak.
Task 7: Expressing Opinions
Here, you will be given any social topic or issue and you must give your opinion on it. You must justify your views with at least 3 or 4 reasons that support your opinion. Start with a proper introduction, introduce your views one by one with proper relevance to the topic as well as among the ideas and summarise it as a conclusion. Here, you will have 30 sec to prepare your content and 90 sec to speak. This is the second longest speaking task.
Task 8: Describe an unusual situation.
Most often we would come across some unusual situation, or we might see some unusual places, things, or people. This task will give you one of the unusual situations. You need to talk to the person mentioned in the question as if you were talking over the phone. You need to pretend to talk to that person directly.
To score well, you need to describe the image or situation given to you in a well-organized way, using the best and most accurate lexical resources. The listener should understand the things you describe. You will be given 30 sec to prepare and 60 sec to speak.
Once you hit the submit button, your speaking task will come to an end.
Overall, to score well in the speaking task, you need to concentrate and ensure that your content satisfies the parameters on which your responses are rated.
- Content / Coherence.
- Lexical Range
- Listenability/Comprehensibility
- Task Fulfilment.
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