CELPIP Speaking Mock Test 9
Task 3 gives you one picture, thirty seconds to look at it and sixty seconds to describe it to someone who cannot see it. Here it is inside a free full speaking test, with the same picture returning in Task 4.
CELPIP Speaking Task 3 is Describing a Scene. You see one picture, you get thirty seconds of preparation with no recording, and then sixty seconds in which you describe it to a listener who cannot see it. It is the third of the eight tasks and it feeds directly into the fourth, which shows you the same picture and asks what happens next.
What Task 3 is really scoring
Not how much you notice. How well you organise what you noticed. A candidate who lists nine things in sixty seconds scores below one who takes four and places them: on the left, behind her, in the foreground, at the far end. Vague is wrong here in a way it is not wrong anywhere else in the section, because the listener genuinely cannot see it.
The other half of the score is grammatical. Task 3 is a present continuous task from beginning to end, and it is one of the few places in the exam where a single tense carries a whole answer.
The Task 3 picture on this test
Speaking Test 9 shows you a school pickup zone at the end of the day: a crossing guard, a yellow school bus, parents waiting and children on the sidewalk. It is a good scene to practise on because it has clear zones, a road, a sidewalk, a bus, and a small number of people doing distinct things, so the organising decision is obvious and you can concentrate on making it.
How to answer Task 3
- Open with the setting in one sentence, so your listener has somewhere to put everything else.
- Move in one direction and say so. Left to right, near to far, or outward from the centre.
- Choose four things, not nine. Sixty seconds is about 140 spoken words.
- Keep the present continuous going. A crossing guard is holding, a boy is running, a bus is waiting.
- Finish on the most interesting person, because Task 4 will ask you what they do next and you will already have set them up.
The 8 questions on Test 9
Your uncle has been asked to look after his two young grandchildren three days a week while their parents are at work. He is not sure he can manage it, and has asked you what you think. Give him your advice.
Tests: advice with a reason attached, and an honest answer to a question about capacity rather than duty.
Talk about a time when you fixed or repaired something yourself instead of paying someone to do it. Tell your listener what was wrong, how you went about it, and what you learned.
Tests: a three-beat story in sixty seconds. The prompt names all three beats, so leaving one out is a Task Fulfillment loss.
Describe some things that are happening in the picture as well as you can. The person you are speaking to cannot see it. The picture is a school pickup zone at the end of the day, with a crossing guard, a yellow school bus, waiting parents and children on the sidewalk.
Tests: spatial organisation and the present continuous. Four placed details beat nine unplaced ones.
In this picture, what do you think will most probably happen next? It is the same school pickup picture.
Tests: hedged future forms. The crossing guard and the bus give you two predictions that do not overlap.
Choose between replacing the front windows and insulating the attic. Your brother is suggesting you build a back deck instead. Persuade him that what you chose is more suitable by comparing the two.
Tests: persuasion with numbers. Both of your options are repairs and his is a luxury, which is the argument to make.
You are the volunteer treasurer of a small soccer club. A parent, Yusuf, says he handed four hundred dollars in cash to a volunteer at registration so his two children could play. There is no record of it, and the volunteer who took cash that day has moved away.
Tests: handling a claim you can neither verify nor dismiss, in a register that does not accuse anyone.
Do you think that every high school student should have to do volunteer work in the community before they are allowed to graduate? Explain your reasons.
Tests: ninety seconds with a side taken in the first sentence and one concession before the end.
At a charity donation depot a box has arrived with no label. Inside is a folding frame of four hinged wooden arms with canvas sleeves, leather straps and a worn metal plate. Call your neighbour Camille and ask whether the depot should keep it or send it on.
Tests: describing a hinged, moving object, then asking the question you were told to ask. The question is scored.
CELPIP Speaking format: where Task 3 sits
| 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 Task 3 is scored
On the same four criteria as every other task: Content and Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment. Task 3 loads heavily on the first two, because organisation is content here and precision is vocabulary. Your report gives feedback per criterion and an estimated CLB level.
Free, all eight tasks recorded on the exam clock, with expert feedback.
FAQs
What is CELPIP Speaking Task 3?
Task 3 is Describing a Scene. You are shown one picture, given thirty seconds of preparation with nothing recorded, and then sixty seconds to describe the picture to a listener who cannot see it.
What is the Task 3 picture on speaking test 9?
A school pickup zone at the end of the day, with a crossing guard, a yellow school bus, parents waiting and children on the sidewalk.
How many things should I describe in Task 3?
About four, placed clearly, rather than as many as you can list. Sixty seconds is roughly 140 spoken words, and a described detail that the listener cannot locate is worth less than one they can.
Does Task 4 use the same picture as Task 3?
Yes. Task 4 shows you the same image and asks what will most probably happen next, so anything you used up describing is not available again. Finishing Task 3 on the most interesting person sets up Task 4 for you.
Which tense should I use in Task 3?
The present continuous, almost throughout. A crossing guard is holding up a sign, a boy is running toward the bus. Task 3 is one of the few places in the exam where a single tense carries a whole answer.