The speaking part is one of the most difficult parts in most of the language assessment tests. However, the CELPIP Speaking test becomes tougher as the test taker only gets 15-20 minutes for 8 tasks.
| Number of Questions | Component Sections |
|---|---|
| 1 | Practice Task |
| 1 | Giving Advice |
| 1 | Talking about a Personal Experience |
| 1 | Describing a Scene |
| 1 | Making Predictions |
| 1 | Comparing and Persuading |
| 1 | Dealing with a Difficult Situation |
| 1 | Expressing Opinions |
| 1 | Describing an Unusual Situation |
The test taker has to give advice on some general topic. It can be anything related to your daily life, your college, friendship, etc. As you have to give advice, modals like “should” and “can” should be used frequently in this task.
The test taker has to tell about any personal experience. It can be happy, sad, distressing, awkward, surprising etc. For this task, you should have a good vocabulary and should be able to connect to sentences.
In this task, the test taker will be shown a picture full of activity and objects. It can be of a classroom, multiplex, a beach, a garden etc. It can be something weird as well. The test taker has to explain the picture. Also, the image would be such that an outcome is expected. It is better if the test taker speaks about it as well. 60 seconds are given to the test taker for preparation and the next 60 seconds are given to respond to the image.
This task is similar to “Describing a Scene”. The test taker has to make predictions of a given image. Initially, time is given for preparation and then the person has to speak. The person has to talk about the possible outcomes of the activities shown in the picture.
In this task, a few pictures would be shown with some details. The person has to select one within 60 seconds. If the person does not select any, the computer automatically selects one option. After that, one more image appears on the next screen and the person has to compare both the selected image and the image displayed.
In this task, the test taker will get a situation with two options. These situations are generally taken from everyday life experiences. One option has to be chosen and then the person has to speak on it. In this task also, if the test taker does not choose any option, the computer will choose one automatically. The test taker is advised to select a particular option and prepare the speech accordingly.
The test taker has to express his/her views on a debatable topic. In this task, the test taker is expected to speak in favor of or against the topic. It is better to give different examples related to the topic that supports your speech.
A picture with some strange incident is shown to the test taker and he/she is expected to explain the situation. It is better to use words of probability in this task. Words like “may”, “might” etc. should be used frequently. For better speech, one should predict the immediate future and the past of the image.
The questions are related to real-life situations. Therefore, do not think of it as a test but respond to the situations as you would do in real life. For example, in the advice-giving task, you might be asked to give advice to your son regarding his further studies. Don’t try to use fancy words and just carry on with your normal flow.
Always read the questions carefully. It helps you decide the tone of your speech. Sometimes, people fail as they use informal speech to answer a question that should have been answered in a formal manner.
Always keep in mind that CELPIP is different from other English language assessment tests. Do not be overconfident if you have scored well in the speaking part of other tests. Always familiarize yourself with the question types and the format of the test. Practicing with different mock tests before your exam can be very helpful.
Avoid using the wrong tenses. The use of tenses differs in each task of CELPIP Speaking. For example, when you describe your experience, you should use the past tense. But when you make predictions, you should use the future tense.
For each task of CELPIP Speaking, you need a different approach.