Last checked October 19, 2026

CELPIP Speaking: task formats and practice

CELPIP-General Speaking has eight tasks and takes about 15 minutes. Prepare for each task’s purpose, timing, and listener, then practise giving a complete response within the available speaking time.

By Certloom Learning, publisher of CLB Mock. Unofficial guide, checked against the sources listed at the end.

CELPIP Speaking tasks, preparation and response times

The eight tasks ask you to advise, tell a story, describe, predict, persuade, explain a difficult decision, express an opinion, and describe something unusual. Task 5 includes a silent selection stage as well as preparation. Task 6 allows 60 seconds of preparation; most other tasks allow 30 seconds.

Task	Name and guide	Preparation	Response	Stimulus
1	Giving Advice	30 seconds	90 seconds	Text
2	Talking about a Personal Experience	30 seconds	60 seconds	Text
3	Describing a Scene	30 seconds	60 seconds	Illustrated scene
4	Making Predictions	30 seconds	60 seconds	Same image as Task 3
5	Comparing and Persuading	60 seconds selection, then 60 seconds preparation	60 seconds	Images and information cards; two screens
6	Dealing with a Difficult Situation	60 seconds	60 seconds	Text with two choices
7	Expressing Opinions	30 seconds	90 seconds	Text
8	Describing an Unusual Situation	30 seconds	60 seconds	Unusual object or situation image

Open a task guide for its original prompt, response structure, sample, and review checklist. Our image-task exercises use text substitutes and identify that limitation on each page.

How CELPIP Speaking is rated

Speaking uses four rating dimensions. Review them together: clear delivery cannot replace a relevant answer, and good ideas still need language the listener can follow.

Content/Coherence: how you select, organize, and develop ideas with supporting details. In a story, that might mean a clear sequence; in an opinion, it means reasons that support the position.
Vocabulary: your word choice, range, suitability, and precision. Choose language that fits the situation and use it naturally.
Listenability: rhythm, pronunciation, intonation, pauses, interjections, self-correction, grammar, and sentence structure. Grammar belongs within this speaking dimension.
Task Fulfillment: relevance, completeness, tone, and length. Follow the requested purpose and address the intended listener.

For a useful self-check, identify evidence for each dimension in your recording. A specific observation such as “the listener is unclear until halfway through” gives you something to change. A vague judgment such as “my speaking is weak” does not suggest a practical next step.

CELPIP Speaking recording, timers and practice task

When preparation ends, the screen advances automatically, a prompt says “Start speaking now”, and recording begins automatically. Be ready with your opening; do not wait for another action before you start speaking.

A blue progress bar shows the speaking time remaining. A grey bar behind the microphone icon moves with your voice level. If it stays too low, your response may be inaudible. Speak at a normal volume rather than trying to sound forceful by shouting. Responses are recorded and rated later.

There is one unscored practice task. Use that opportunity to become comfortable speaking into the microphone and watching the interface. During the scored tasks, keep your attention on communicating the response rather than watching the bar constantly.

In rehearsal, practise beginning promptly when preparation finishes and closing a thought before the response time ends. The timers in our exercises support timing practice; they do not reproduce every feature of the test interface.

A four-step strategy for any speaking response

Identify the purpose and listener. Decide whether you are advising, describing, predicting, or arguing. Note who you are speaking to and what that person needs from the response.
Choose a small set of useful points. Use preparation for keywords, order, and supporting details. For image tasks, connect points to what is visible. For a personal story, choose a clear event and outcome.
Speak in connected units. State an idea, explain it, and add a relevant detail before moving on. Use natural transitions that show time, position, comparison, or cause.
Finish the task. End with the result, recommendation, decision, or final observation that the prompt needs. Avoid opening an unrelated point as the time runs out.

Adapt this plan to the task. A scene description needs a spatial route; a difficult conversation needs a clear decision. Keep the planning habit consistent while changing the response shape to fit the purpose.

How to use the original speaking prompts and samples

Choose a guide, read its prompt, and use the preparation and response times shown. Make your first attempt before reading the sample. That gives you a useful record of the choices you made independently.

The samples are original practice material set in everyday Canadian situations. The estimated band is our estimate, around CLB 9–10, and cannot establish a spoken result without delivery. Use the commentary to notice how reasons, details, grammar, and tone support the response. Then try a fresh version in your own words.

Tasks 3 and 4 share a garden scene, matching the relationship between those tasks on the real test. Tasks 3, 4, 5, and 8 use text descriptions here in place of images. Task 5 also displays the full scenario together, so rehearse the selection and preparation stages separately. For practice with visual materials, consult the CELPIP free practice tests.

Common mistakes across CELPIP Speaking tasks

Missing the purpose: describing an option when you need to persuade, or describing the present when you need to predict.
Writing a speech during preparation: full sentences can leave you without a complete plan. Try keywords that remind you of ideas.
Giving unsupported points: add a reason, example, consequence, or visible clue so the listener can follow your thinking.
Using the same tone everywhere: advice to a friend and an explanation to a customer call for different language choices.
Repairing every small slip: repeated restarts can make the response harder to follow. Correct an error when it changes the meaning, then continue.
Rushing the ending: leave enough room to complete your thought instead of adding a final undeveloped point.

Choose one recurring problem for your next practice session. Record another attempt and compare the specific part you changed, rather than judging progress only by a number.

Interpreting sample bands and AI speaking feedback

CLB Mock, the app CELPIP Practice Test: AI Score by Certloom Learning, gives an estimated CELPIP level (≈CLB) range from a transcript and timing metrics. Listenability, including pronunciation, is only estimated from fluency metrics. A transcript does not capture everything a listener hears.

Use estimated feedback to identify questions for review: did you answer the prompt, support your points, and keep a suitable tone? Listen to your recording separately for unclear words, pauses, and sentence boundaries. Reading a polished transcript is not enough to judge spoken delivery.

This site is unofficial, and its practice estimates are not test results. The CELPIP score chart explains the level scale, while the AI scoring guide explains how to interpret estimated feedback. For a broader routine across skills, use the preparation guide and practise the task types you find hardest to complete clearly.

Frequently asked questions

How many tasks are in CELPIP-General Speaking?

There are eight speaking tasks, and the section takes about 15 minutes. There is also one unscored practice task.

Which speaking tasks have a 90-second response?

Tasks 1 and 7 have 90-second responses. The other six tasks have 60-second responses.

Does speaking recording start automatically?

Yes. When preparation ends, the screen advances, the prompt tells you to start speaking, and recording starts automatically.

Which tasks use images?

Tasks 3 and 4 use the same illustrated scene. Task 5 uses images and information cards, and Task 8 uses an image of an unusual object or situation.

Can these sample answers establish my level?

No. Their bands are our estimates for practice, and your spoken delivery would affect the result. Use the samples to study structure and language, then review your own recordings.

App screen: the top fix in the learner’s own words, a Re-record button and a CLB 10 model answer to the same question — In the app, each speaking answer gets a top fix in your own words, a re-record button and a model answer to the same question.

Sources

Checked October 19, 2026. Rules and fees change: check the official page before you act. celpip.ca pages were read from public archive snapshots because the site blocks automated access.