CELPIP Speaking Templates for All 8 Tasks
The eight task types never change, so a template per task is worth having. What is not worth having is a memorised script: Listenability is a scored criterion and it hears recitation. Here are eight shapes, and a free test to fill them.
CELPIP Speaking has eight tasks and their order is fixed forever. Only the subjects change. That is exactly the condition under which a template helps: you cannot prepare the content, so prepare the shape.
One warning before the templates. Listenability is one of the four scored criteria and it covers rhythm, pausing, self-correction and intonation. A candidate reading a memorised paragraph sounds like a candidate reading a memorised paragraph, and it costs marks. Use these as an opening move and a running order, then speak.
The scaffold underneath all eight tasks: open, build, close
Every one of the eight answers is the same three moves at different lengths. The scaffolds below are written with slots in square brackets, and the slots are the point: you fill them from the prompt you are actually given, in your own words, at the moment you speak. Learn the moves, not the sentences. If you find yourself saying a scaffold back word for word, you have turned it into a script and Listenability will hear it.
- The opening move, one sentence, about five seconds. Say what this answer is going to be before you say any of it, so the rater never has to work out where you are. Adapt one of: "I would tell [name] to [advice], mainly because [reason]." / "The time I remember best is when [event], about [when]." / "This looks like [place], and the first thing I notice is [detail]." / "I would go with [option], and I will give you two reasons why."
- The build, the long middle, 40 to 70 seconds. Two developed points, never four thin ones. A developed point is three beats: the point, then a consequence, then who it affects or an example. Adapt: "First, [point]. That matters because [consequence], especially for [who]." then "The other thing is [point], and [example]." Signposting the second point out loud is what keeps Coherence from sagging in the middle.
- The turn, one sentence, and only where the task has a second side. Tasks 1, 5, 6 and 7 all improve with an honest concession before the close. Adapt: "I can see why someone would prefer [other option], since [real point], but [your answer to it]." A concession you actually answer is the move that most reliably separates a strong answer from an average one.
- The close, one sentence, about five seconds. Land it; do not trail off when the timer runs down. Adapt: "So overall I would [restate your position]." / "That is what I would suggest, and I hope [outcome]." / "Anyway, that is why [choice] suits us better." On tasks 6 and 8 the close is not optional, because the task itself demands a question: "Would [option A] or [option B] work better for you?" and "Do you think it is worth [price]?"
Two things the scaffold does not do. It does not fill your preparation time, which is better spent choosing the two points you will build than rehearsing the opener you already know. And it does not survive being said at the wrong length: the opening and closing moves are one sentence each on a sixty-second task, and stretching them to fill time is the commonest way a prepared candidate scores below an unprepared one.
A template for each of the eight tasks
- Task 1, Giving Advice (30s prep, 90s speak). Name the decision, give two pieces of advice with a reason each, add one thing to watch out for, close by encouraging them. Ninety seconds is long: two developed points beat five thin ones.
- Task 2, Personal Experience (30s, 60s). When and where, what happened, what you did, why you still remember it. One story only. Sixty seconds does not hold three.
- Task 3, Describing a Scene (30s, 60s). Say where you are looking first, then move through the picture in one direction, then land on the most interesting person. Your listener cannot see it, so orientation before detail.
- Task 4, Making Predictions (30s, 60s). Take two or three people from the scene and say what each will do next, with a hedge and a reason. Probably, I imagine, it looks as though.
- Task 5, Comparing and Persuading (60s to choose, 60s prep, 60s speak). State your pick, give two ways it beats the alternative, concede one point, close with the benefit to the listener. You do not speak during the choosing screen.
- Task 6, Difficult Situation (60s, 60s). Choose your listener out loud, state the problem plainly, apologise or explain once, then offer two options and ask which they prefer.
- Task 7, Expressing Opinions (30s, 90s). Side in the first sentence, two reasons with an example each, one concession, restate. Fence-sitting scores as thin content, not as balance.
- Task 8, Unusual Situation (30s, 60s). Size, then shape, then materials, then parts, then a comparison to something ordinary, then the question you were told to ask. The closing question is scored.
The 8 CELPIP speaking questions on Test 7
Test 7 is rated Easy and every question below is original to it.
Your neighbour is thinking of learning to drive at the age of 45, and she feels embarrassed about starting so late. She has asked you what she should consider before she books her first lessons. Give her your advice.
What it tests: advice specific enough to act on, plus tone. The embarrassment is in the prompt, so an answer that ignores it has missed part of the task.
Talk about a time when you were late for something that mattered. It could be an appointment, an interview, a flight, or a family event. Tell your listener what happened, what you did about it, and how it turned out.
What it tests: past narrative under pressure, with a beginning, a response and an outcome inside sixty seconds.
Describe what is happening in the picture to someone who cannot see it. On this test it is a busy public library branch on a Saturday morning, with a help desk, a story time corner, a self-checkout machine and study tables.
What it tests: spatial organisation and the present continuous. Four distinct areas is more than sixty seconds holds, so choose.
In this picture, what do you think will most probably happen next? It is the same library picture you have just described.
What it tests: future forms and hedging. Story time and the self-checkout queue give you two different kinds of prediction.
Choose between a Basic Fibre Package and a Cable and TV Bundle for your home. Your sister is suggesting a mobile hotspot plan instead. Persuade her that what you chose is more suitable for the two of you by comparing the two options.
What it tests: this is three screens, not one. You do not speak while choosing, the option you reject disappears, and you then argue your pick against the hotspot only.
You share a car with your roommate Iris and promised her she could have it all day on Saturday. Your parents flight now lands on Saturday afternoon, and there is no bus or train from that airport, so the car is the only way to collect them.
What it tests: tone, and it is scored. You broke a promise for a reason that is real, and the answer has to do both things at once.
Do you think that people should be required by law to sort their household waste? Explain your reasons.
What it tests: ninety seconds of argument. Take a side in the first sentence; a balanced answer reads as thin, not as fair.
You are at a garden centre and find an unusual object: a wooden and green metal frame with five stepped trays, a copper funnel, a clear tube and a hand pump. Photographs are not allowed. Call your brother Felix, describe it, and ask whether it is worth the price.
What it tests: circumlocution. The thing has no name, so you build it from common words, and you must end by asking Felix. That closing request is scored.
CELPIP Speaking format: the eight tasks and their timings
| Task | Preparation | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Giving AdviceAdvise one named person on a decision | 30 sec | 90 sec |
| 2. Talking about a Personal ExperienceTell one story from your own life | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 3. Describing a SceneDescribe a picture to someone who cannot see it | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 4. Making PredictionsSay what happens next in the same picture | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| 5. Comparing and PersuadingChoose in a silent 60 sec, then argue for it | 60 sec | 60 sec |
| 6. Dealing with a Difficult SituationPick a listener, then resolve it | 60 sec | 60 sec |
| 7. Expressing OpinionsTake a side on a general question | 30 sec | 90 sec |
| 8. Describing an Unusual SituationDescribe an unnamed object, then ask | 30 sec | 60 sec |
| Total | 8 tasks | About 15 min |
How your answers are scored
All eight answers are recorded and scored on the four official criteria: Content and Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment. Your level is a product of all eight together, so one strong answer will not carry a weak set. You get feedback on each criterion and an estimated CLB level from 1 to 12.
Free, recorded on the exam clock, with expert feedback and a CLB estimate.
FAQs
Do CELPIP speaking templates work?
A structural template works. A memorised script does not. The eight task types and their order never change, so preparing an opening move and a running order for each is genuinely useful, but Listenability is a scored criterion and a recited answer is audible in the rhythm and the pausing.
What is the template for CELPIP Task 5?
State your pick, give two ways it beats the alternative, concede one point to the other side, then close with the benefit to the listener. Remember that Task 5 runs three screens: sixty seconds to choose in silence, sixty to prepare, sixty to speak, and the option you rejected disappears.
How long is each CELPIP speaking task?
Tasks 1 and 7 give you 90 seconds of speaking; tasks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 give you 60. Preparation is 30 seconds except for tasks 5 and 6, which get 60, and task 5 has an extra silent minute first to make its choice.
What is on speaking test 7?
Eight original tasks rated Easy: advice for a neighbour learning to drive at 45, a time you were late, a busy Saturday library to describe and then predict, a choice between a fibre package and a cable bundle against a mobile hotspot, a car promised to a roommate on the day your parents land, an opinion on sorting household waste by law, and an unnamed object with five stepped trays and a hand pump at a garden centre.
Can I write a script during the preparation time?
You can, but you should not. Thirty seconds is not enough to write sixty seconds of speech, and reading anything you did manage to write costs marks under Listenability. Use the preparation to fix your first sentence and your running order.