CELPIP speaking examples with sample answers

A CELPIP speaking example at three levels

This Task 7 prompt, Expressing Opinions, asks for an opinion: you get 30 seconds to prepare, then 90 seconds to speak. Use the tabs to see the same ideas answered at levels 7, 9 and 11, plus notes under every answer.

All three answers make the same two points: pets lower stress, and owners would not have to rush home. What changes is how far each point goes. The level 7 answer gives every reason a sentence or two. Level 9 adds a specific friend, a specific risk and a specific plan. Level 11 takes a more careful position, “a privilege with conditions”, then backs it up with a three-month trial.

How to use these sample answers

Each answer is a written transcript of what a speaker would say in the time allowed. Work through them in this order.

1. 1

   Read the level 9 answer aloud

   Time yourself to feel how many words fit in 60 or 90 seconds. Notice that every reason comes with an example.

2. 2

   Compare it with level 7

   Mark every place where level 9 adds a detail, a more exact word or a link between ideas. Those marks are what to work on next.

3. 3

   Record your own answer

   Answer the same prompt on a timer, in your own words, without looking. Then compare the recording with the notes for the level you want.

4. 4

   Borrow the structure, not the sentences

   Raters notice memorized speech, and a learned answer will not fit a new prompt. Take the structure and a few useful phrases instead. The CELPIP speaking templates give that structure for every task, timed step by step.

CELPIP speaking questions with sample answers for all 8 tasks

There is one original prompt per task, from Task 1, Giving Advice, to Task 8, Describing an Unusual Situation. The topics are everyday ones: a job decision, a change of plans, a farmers’ market, choosing an apartment, a problem at work, pets at the office and a very odd bicycle. Every prompt has its three answers, each followed by notes.

Tasks 3, 4 and 8 are built around a picture. This page shows no images, so those prompts include a short description of the scene. Tasks 3 and 4 share one picture: first you describe it, then you say what will happen next.

To practise away from the screen, the free practice test PDF includes a prompt for every speaking task, with its preparation and speaking time.

What separates a level 7, 9 and 11 answer

The levels rarely differ in their ideas. They differ in how far each idea goes, how exact the words are and how smoothly the answer moves. These lines come from the answers on this page.

The level 9 line adds a situation (a busy office), an action (a two-minute break) and a result (people refocus). That is what a developed idea looks like.

In a picture task, exact verbs and nouns do the work. “Weighing apples on a scale” lets a listener see the action; “selling apples” does not.

The level 11 line turns one friend’s story into a point about fairness at work. The idiom “on the dot” sounds natural, not added for show.

• Level 7

  Clear but brief

  Simple, mostly correct language. Each point gets only a sentence or two. Small slips do not block the meaning.

• Level 9

  Developed and precise

  Every point has a specific example. Words are exact for the situation, links are smooth and the answer uses most of the time.

• Level 11

  Nuanced and natural

  A careful position, varied idiomatic language and very few errors, in an answer that fills the time without padding.

These are the targets the answers were written to, shown as examples, not official level descriptions. For immigration, CELPIP 9 counts as Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 9; the CLB 9 page shows what that level needs in every skill.

What CELPIP raters score in speaking

Raters score every speaking answer on the same four things, in all 8 tasks. Each task tests them in its own way, so an answer can be strong in one task and weak in another.

• Content/Coherence

  How many relevant ideas you give, how far you develop them and how clearly they connect. One reason with a specific example usually does more than three reasons with none.

• Vocabulary

  Words that fit the situation, used precisely, with some range. “Reserved a shelter” tells a listener more than “got a place”.

• Listenability

  How easy you are to follow: pronunciation, rhythm, pauses and grammar. You do not need to sound like a native speaker; you need to be easy to understand.

• Task Fulfillment

  Doing what the task asks, for the person it names, in a fitting tone, for the whole speaking time. Describing the picture again in Task 4, instead of predicting, misses the task.

The notes under every sample answer use these four names, so you can see what an answer does well and where it falls short.

Task-by-task tips, whatever the topic

CELPIP speaking topics change from prompt to prompt, but each task always asks for the same kind of answer, so practise the task rather than the topic. The CELPIP test format guide shows where speaking sits in the whole test.

• Prep 30 s · speak 90 s

  1. Giving Advice

  Sum up the problem in one sentence, then give two or three pieces of advice, each with a reason. Talk to the person as a friend would.

• Prep 30 s · speak 60 s

  2. Talking about a Personal Experience

  Choose one specific event, not a habit. Tell it in order: when, what happened, what you did and what you learned.

• Prep 30 s · speak 60 s

  3. Describing a Scene

  Give a one-line overview first, then move through the picture in a fixed order, such as front, left, right and back, so a listener can follow.

• Prep 30 s · speak 60 s

  4. Making Predictions

  Stay in the future. Base each prediction on a clue in the picture, then link them: first, next, by the end.

• Choose 60 s · prep 60 s · speak 60 s

  5. Comparing and Persuading

  Use the choosing time to pick the option you can say more about. Compare the two options point by point, then ask for agreement.

• Prep 60 s · speak 60 s

  6. Dealing with a Difficult Situation

  Choose the person while you prepare, then talk to them directly. Show you understand their side, explain the problem and offer a solution.

• Prep 30 s · speak 90 s

  7. Expressing Opinions

  Give your opinion in the first sentence, support it with two reasons and examples, then deal briefly with the other side.

• Prep 30 s · speak 60 s

  8. Describing an Unusual Situation

  The listener cannot see it. Give the overall shape and size first, compare it with things they know, then explain the unusual parts.

Record your own answer and compare

Once you have read the answers for a task, record your own response to the same prompt, in your own words. To test yourself cold, pick a task whose answers you have not read yet. Use its preparation time, then keep talking until the time runs out. The recording stays in your browser; nothing is uploaded from this page.

Play it back, then hold it up against the three transcripts: which level is closest in detail, word choice and pace? Be strict with yourself: compare one thing at a time, such as how specific your example is. AI speaking feedback is coming soon; with a free account you can already practise every task with its real timers and replay your saved recordings.

For a timing check and a self-check list, use the speaking checker.

How to practise CELPIP speaking with a timer

1. 1

   Prepare for exactly 30 or 60 seconds

   Use whatever time the task gives. Decide on a first sentence and two main points, then stop.

2. 2

   Start as soon as preparation ends

   On the test, recording starts by itself when preparation time is up. Practise starting at once, even if your plan is not perfect.

3. 3

   Finish just before the time runs out

   If you have ten seconds left and nothing to say, add an example from your own life or a consequence of the point.

4. 4

   Try every prompt twice

   Record a second try straight away, fixing one thing from the notes. Two tries at the same prompt show progress more clearly than two different prompts.

5. 5

   Then take a full speaking section

   When single tasks feel steady, do all 8 in a row, in about 15 minutes, in the free mock test.