CELPIP Speaking templates for Tasks 1–8

Use a structure without memorizing a script

A fixed script can lead you away from the question or make a friendly conversation sound like a formal presentation. Raters assess relevance, completeness, tone and length under Task Fulfillment. Vocabulary also includes suitable use, while Listenability covers features such as rhythm and intonation. Natural wording needs to fit both the listener and the situation.

During preparation, replace the template’s empty slots with specific people, actions and reasons. Keep only starters that help your message. If a sentence could fit any prompt unchanged, ask whether it communicates anything useful. Practise the same structure with two different situations so you learn to choose details independently.

The preparation and total response times below are official timings; the divisions within a response are our suggested practice plans. Recording starts automatically when preparation ends. Each miniature example illustrates a few connected sentences, not a complete timed answer. All prompts are original and unofficial; text descriptions stand in for pictures here.

Task 1 template: Giving Advice

Use the 30-second preparation period to identify the person’s difficulty and two practical suggestions. Plan a reason for each before adding another idea.

1. 0–10 seconds: address the person and acknowledge the difficulty.
2. 10–40 seconds: explain your first suggestion, including how to start.
3. 40–75 seconds: develop a second suggestion and its likely benefit.
4. 75–90 seconds: recommend a first step and offer appropriate encouragement.

Useful starters: “Since you’re worried about…”, “I’d start by…”, “That would leave you…”, “Once you’ve tried that…”. Complete them with the listener’s circumstances. Advice about limited time needs a manageable action, rather than a list of extra obligations.

Mini-prompt: Your friend wants to cook after work but keeps buying takeaway meals.

Since you’re exhausted after your shift, I’d start by preparing one pot of soup on Sunday. Freeze it in separate portions so you can heat just what you need. Once that feels manageable, add a second simple meal to your routine.

Expand the benefits in your own recording. See Task 1 questions with answers.

Task 2 template: Personal Experience

In 30 seconds of preparation, choose one event with a clear change. Note what happened before your action and what happened afterwards.

1. 0–10 seconds: establish when, where and why you were there.
2. 10–25 seconds: explain the unexpected difficulty or important moment.
3. 25–45 seconds: describe your action and the immediate result.
4. 45–60 seconds: explain what you remember or learned.

Useful starters: “I remember the afternoon when…”, “At first, I assumed…”, “What helped was…”, “Afterwards, I realized…”. Keep background brief enough that the listener hears your part in the event. Use past tenses for the story and mark any shift to a present reflection.

Mini-prompt: Describe a time you helped someone find a lost object.

At a neighbourhood cleanup, a volunteer realized her keys were missing. I suggested retracing our route, and we found them beside the bags we had collected. Afterwards, I realized that slowing down had helped more than searching everywhere at once.

Build a complete attempt using Task 2 questions with answers.

Task 3 template: Describing a Scene

Spend 30 seconds preparing a route through the picture. Group nearby actions so the description does not jump repeatedly between opposite sides.

1. 0–10 seconds: identify the setting and main activity.
2. 10–30 seconds: describe the foreground, including people and actions.
3. 30–50 seconds: move to another area and explain spatial relationships.
4. 50–60 seconds: add a significant remaining detail.

Useful starters: “The scene centres on…”, “Closest to us…”, “Behind that group…”, “Along the far side…”. These phrases locate details; follow each with an actual observation. Avoid inventing relationships between people simply because they stand together.

Mini-prompt, text picture substitute: A school hall contains a book sale; a volunteer stacks books in front, while visitors browse tables behind.

The scene centres on a book sale in a school hall. Closest to us, a volunteer is stacking books beside an open box. Behind that person, visitors are browsing the tables.

Practise fuller descriptions with Task 3 questions with answers.

Task 4 template: Making Predictions

This task uses the same picture as Task 3. Use the 30-second preparation period to connect visible clues to likely next events.

1. 0–20 seconds: give a prediction and explain the clue behind it.
2. 20–40 seconds: develop another likely event elsewhere in the scene.
3. 40–55 seconds: explain a conditional outcome if the evidence supports one.
4. 55–60 seconds: complete the final thought.

Useful starters: “Judging by…”, “They’re likely to…”, “If that continues…”, “The next step may be…”. Vary certainty according to the evidence. A person carrying a box supports a near-term prediction about putting it down, not a detailed account of their future plans.

Mini-prompt: Use the book-sale scene from Task 3 above.

The volunteer will probably add the remaining books to the stack, since the box is still open beside them. Some visitors may choose books from the tables after browsing. If the volunteer finishes unpacking, they could help those visitors.

Find further practice in Task 4 questions with answers.

Task 5 template: Comparing and Persuading

Allow 60 seconds to choose, then a separate 60 seconds to prepare the comparison. Use the supplied pictures and information; avoid inventing advantages.

1. 0–10 seconds: address the listener and recommend your choice.
2. 10–30 seconds: compare one feature and explain its practical effect.
3. 30–50 seconds: compare another feature, acknowledging a trade-off.
4. 50–60 seconds: connect the choice to the shared need and invite agreement.

Useful starters: “For what we need…”, “Compared with your option…”, “The advantage for us is…”, “Could we agree on…”. Compare the same criterion across options, such as shelter or travel, so the listener can follow your reasoning.

Mini-prompt, text option substitute: Persuade a friend to choose a covered picnic shelter over an open field for a gathering.

For our gathering, I’d choose the covered shelter. The field gives us open space, but the roof would let us keep eating if it rains. Could we agree on the shelter so the meal is less dependent on the weather?

Try Task 5 questions with answers.

Task 6 template: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

Use 60 seconds of preparation to select one of the two options and identify the listener. Keep the decision consistent through your explanation.

1. 0–10 seconds: acknowledge the difficulty and state your decision.
2. 10–35 seconds: explain the reason and its practical consequences.
3. 35–50 seconds: offer a realistic alternative or limited help.
4. 50–60 seconds: confirm what you can do next.

Useful starters: “I know you were counting on…”, “I won’t be able to…”, “What I can offer is…”, “Would that help with…”. An alternative should preserve your decision. Avoid agreeing to the original request indirectly after saying you cannot do it.

Mini-prompt: Choose between lending your laptop to a cousin and keeping it for your evening course; explain your choice.

I know you were counting on borrowing my laptop, but I need it for tonight’s class. What I can offer is to lend it tomorrow morning once I’ve submitted my work. Would that still help you finish your application?

See Task 6 questions with answers.

Task 7 template: Expressing Opinions

During 30 seconds of preparation, choose your position and two distinct reasons. Give each reason a consequence or example.

1. 0–10 seconds: answer the opinion question directly.
2. 10–40 seconds: develop your first reason with a concrete example.
3. 40–70 seconds: explain a different reason and address a relevant concern.
4. 70–90 seconds: explain any condition and confirm your position.

Useful starters: “I’d support this because…”, “Consider someone who…”, “A separate concern is…”, “Provided that…”. Avoid broad claims about what everyone wants. A clearly hypothetical example can explain your reasoning without invented research.

Mini-prompt: Should a recreation centre offer beginner classes on weekends?

I’d support weekend beginner classes because weekday sessions can clash with work. Consider someone whose shift finishes after the evening class starts: a Saturday option could let them attend. Provided that some weekday sessions remain, the centre could offer a more useful choice of times.

Develop another position with Task 7 questions with answers.

Task 8 template: Describing an Unusual Situation

In 30 seconds of preparation, identify the listener, overall shape and unusual features in the picture. Plan familiar comparisons for unfamiliar objects.

1. 0–10 seconds: address the person and explain why you are contacting them.
2. 10–25 seconds: establish the object’s overall appearance.
3. 25–50 seconds: locate its distinctive parts using clear comparisons.
4. 50–60 seconds: finish the request or purpose in the prompt.

Useful starters: “I’ve come across…”, “Picture something shaped like…”, “Attached to the side is…”, “Would you like me to…”. Give the listener a frame of reference before describing small attachments. If a function is unclear, describe the visible feature without pretending to know its purpose.

Mini-prompt, text picture substitute: Tell a friend about a shop lamp shaped like a blue boot, with light coming from its open top.

I’ve come across a lamp you might like. Picture a blue boot with light shining from the opening where your foot would go. Would you like me to ask whether you can see it switched on?

Continue with Task 8 questions with answers.