IMPORTANT THINGS: CELPIP SPEAKING
Important Things to Know for CELPIP Speaking!
IMPORTANT THINGS: CELPIP SPEAKING: The Celpip speaking section comprises eight tasks, each with its unique prompts. So, many of them will be quite casual. For example, in test one, you will be asked to give advice. We will go through every task, but today we will provide a general overview of what examiners are looking for. This will help you gain a deep understanding of what you must do when answering those speaking questions.
PREPARATION
Let’s talk about the overall preparation, which remains pretty much the same. You have:
- Preparation time: 30 seconds
- Speaking time: 90 seconds
It is important to note that the above timings are non-negotiable. In the CELPIP test, everything is conducted online, so once the timer starts, you cannot pause it, go back, request additional time, or seek clarification on the question. In contrast, in the IELTS speaking test, you can sometimes ask for clarifications or repeat the question by saying, “I am sorry, could you clarify the question?” or “I am sorry, could you repeat the question?”. However, in CELPIP, there is no opportunity for such actions as it is fully online. Therefore, you need to become accustomed to managing your time effectively. The most important thing is to understand what you need to be capable of.
Let’s move into different categories in their grading rubric. In terms of a grading rubric, it is more or less the same you, you know when you are taking CELPIP or IELTS. Both are English Proficiency tests so they will kind of look for the same thing so the first is :
COHERENCE
The coherence in CELPIP is slightly different from that in IELTS, but it is still an important aspect. Coherence refers to how smoothly you deliver your answer. When responding to questions, you can either provide fragmented sentences with frequent pauses and stutters. In addition, you can speak as if you are conversing with a close friend or delivering a presentation to professors, for example. Your coherence will be measured based on your ability to maintain a smooth flow throughout your answer, sounding confident, and ensuring that each sentence connects seamlessly to the next, creating a cohesive structure. Further, it also evaluates whether everything in your response is connected and flows well from the beginning to the end. Coherence encompasses these aspects.
LEXICAL RANGE AND ACCURACY
In our videos, you will often hear this, which forms the basis of your vocabulary. Now, there exist two categories: range and accuracy. It is crucial to understand this part because all CELPIP applicants or participants are not sought for their ability to employ bombastic or grandiose vocabulary no, no, no. They are simply seeking participants who can actively demonstrate a wide variety of vocabulary and use them appropriately. Regardless of how profound your words may be if you utilize them appropriately in the context or expressions you are trying to convey, that constitutes lexical accuracy.
To avoid repetition and dependency on specific words or expressions. The lexical range entails ensuring that you always have a variety of different words at your disposal. These words allow you to effectively convey various feelings, arguments, and points. Therefore you do need an ample amount of vocabulary, but you don’t need an excessive abundance of it. Having a plethora of vocabulary may be fantastic, but what truly matters is having enough to prevent repetition and avoid using overly basic words.
Essentially, if you want to express an idea like “You are a good person.” Instead of relying on that single phrase, you can utilize the richness of the English language to make your point clearer and more concise. This means saying, “You are you kind?” “You are generous?” “You are polite?.” There are numerous words available in English that can help you articulate your point more effectively and succinctly. These are the types of variations you should strive for, rather than sticking to the generic phrase “you are a good person.”
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LISTENABILITY AND COMPREHENSIBILITY
Listenability refers to how easily you understand or follow an answer. Often, even if you have a well-structured answer or a good range of resources. The way you deliver or present it can make it difficult to follow. So, does this also factor into your grammar? Does your grammatical range and accuracy matter? If your grammar is spot on and you have a good range, reading your response will flow smoothly, like a captivating book that you don’t want to put down. It’s a pleasure to read, and everything sticks in your head. You can fully grasp the definition and essence of the sentences with the use of different vocabulary.
Factor of Intonation
The above category also includes factors of intonation. Intonation, of course, refers to how you sound. When asked a question that upsets you, you might need to sound a little bit upset. Conversely, if you’re asked about something that brings you happiness or your happy moments, you might need to sound elated. You can’t sound depressed, and one thing I never recommend. I encourage my students to avoid a monotonous tone.
How does a monotone sound?
For example, if you’re asked, “What do you prefer for lunch?” and you respond, “I eat anything, as long as it’s salty and has some sweetness in it. But if not, I’m okay with anything else,” with no expressions or interest in the question, it gives off a sense of disinterest. Even if the question doesn’t interest you. It is still necessary to show interest, be casual, and exhibit a slight passion. That’s what contributes to listenability and comprehensibility
Task Fulfilment
Task fulfilment essentially means answering the question without deviating. For instance, if you have been asked a question about health focus, make sure to provide advice specifically related to the topic at hand. Avoid straying into personal life or discussing unrelated matters not mentioned in the question.
Knowledge and Ability To Adapt The Unexpected
You might receive questions in the CELPIP exam that you are not familiar with. People may ask you for advice on English lessons, like when someone asks, “Hey, how do you know the best way to learn English?” and you find yourself in a situation where you are learning English too. You think, “I don’t even know the best way to learn. How can I give advice?”
In such cases, you have to pretend and know how people should learn. We also provide videos on various speaking, writing, reading, and listening learning methods. This allows exposure to different types of knowledge.
It’s important to understand that this knowledge doesn’t have to be complicated, advanced, or academic. It’s just informal knowledge. You should know what to do if someone is sick or how they can make time for another activity when they are busy. Different activities may require different approaches, so it’s crucial to be aware of that as well.
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You might also have a question about your career example ”I am only already starting but you can always find out read, and check different articles or if you need advancement in your career this is what you should do” and that is something you can use to answer your question if you get any of those kinds.
This is something you need for CELPIP speaking in addition to the ability to adapt to the unexpected so when you expose yourself to enough knowledge you can find a pattern in the way that knowledge works. Granted it is not going to be 100% but at the very least you can kind of practice your thought process, how do you come up with the creativity like train your mind to come up with ideas on unexpected questions that is something that you need to prepare before all the tests.
Don’t Rely on Your Instinct
Mind you cannot rely on your instinct and one of the biggest mistakes that we have seen students do is relying on honesty and their own experience. That is a huge error on your part because a lot of times it happens when you try to take personal experience for granted. If you have experience then that is fine but a lot of times what will happen is that what is in your mind does not convey well through your mouth.
Inside your mind that sounds very cohesive, it all connects but once you speak it’s over in 10 seconds. You run out of ideas very quickly or even worse you struggle to elaborate on what you are trying to say because you have never explained that story to someone else or you have never explained the story in English. Probably the latter but regardless it’s very risky to rely on your honesty.
Practice a Thought Process
It’s much better to practice a thought process where you train your creativity to come up with ideas on the spot so that you don’t have to rely on your memory. Remember your memory can blank out at any moment during the test especially if it’s a manual one because you have to focus on the screen. You are thinking about a lot of things, you might also have distractions as well. Therefore, you need the help of your creativity to stay active because your memory can break out anytime.
CONCLUSION
For CELPIP speaking this is all you need to know and then you can start practising with the individual props or individual questions. You should not jump immediately to the question before you understand what you need to do to answer those questions. Remember the rubrics, what the examiner is looking for, and that you need knowledge and the ability to adapt.
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