CELPIP Speaking: the 8 tasks, timing and how to practice
The tasks and their timing
| Task | Prepare | Speak |
|---|---|---|
| Practice task | 30 s | 60 s |
| 1. Giving Advice | 30 s | 90 s |
| 2. Talking about a Personal Experience | 30 s | 60 s |
| 3. Describing a Scene | 30 s | 60 s |
| 4. Making Predictions | 30 s | 60 s |
| 5. Comparing and Persuading | 60 s to choose, then 60 s | 60 s |
| 6. Dealing with a Difficult Situation | 60 s | 60 s |
| 7. Expressing Opinions | 30 s | 90 s |
| 8. Describing an Unusual Situation | 30 s | 60 s |
How to practice each type
- Advice and opinions (Tasks 1, 7). State your point in the first sentence, give two reasons with an example each, then close. The 90 seconds go fast with a plan.
- Personal experience (Task 2). Tell one story in order: when, where, what happened, how you felt, what you learned.
- Pictures (Tasks 3, 4, 8). Describe the foreground and the background, then the people and what they're doing. For predictions, use "is about to", "will probably", "might".
- Comparing and persuading (Task 5). Choose fast, then compare both options on two or three points and say why yours fits better.
- Difficult situation (Task 6). Pick who to talk to, keep a polite tone, explain the problem and suggest a solution.
A 2-week practice plan
The SpeakingCamps CELPIP Speaking course runs for two weeks: Day 1 is a full mock test as your baseline, Days 2 to 9 cover one task each (plan, model answer, phrases, timed practice and a reviewed take), and Day 10 is a second mock with new prompts. Your tutor listens to every take and sends rubric scores, strengths, what to work on first, and a CLB estimate. Open the CELPIP demo or see a sample feedback page.
CELPIP is a trademark of Paragon Testing Enterprises. SpeakingCamps isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Paragon; the practice uses original tasks.
Questions
How many tasks are in CELPIP Speaking?
Eight scored tasks plus one practice task at the start.
How is CELPIP Speaking scored?
Raters look at content and coherence, vocabulary, listenability and task fulfillment. Your result is a CELPIP level that lines up with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB).
Which CELPIP Speaking task is the hardest?
Many people find Task 5 hardest, because you have 60 seconds to choose an option and then another 60 seconds to prepare before you speak.
Slow down. Tune in. Speak up.
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