Speaking is the last component of the CELPIP-General test. It has eight tasks and takes about 15 minutes. Each task gives you a short preparation time, then the screen moves on by itself, you hear “Start speaking now”, and recording begins. Your responses are recorded and rated later, and a progress bar shows how much speaking time is left.

Below is a sample prompt for each of the eight tasks, with a plan for a strong answer and a short excerpt of one. Set a timer, read the prompt, prepare for the real prep time, then speak for the full speaking time and record yourself. After that, try the questions at the bottom to check how well you know the format.

All prompts and sample answers here are original practice written in the official CELPIP format. They are not official CELPIP material.

The eight tasks and their timers

These times come from the official 2026 Speaking study pack.

How Speaking is rated

The official performance standards rate each response on four categories:

• Content/Coherence: how many ideas you give, how good and well organized they are, and your examples and supporting details.
• Vocabulary: word choice, using words and phrases suitably, range, and precision.
• Listenability: rhythm, pronunciation and intonation; pauses, fillers and self-correction; grammar; and a variety of sentence types.
• Task Fulfillment: relevance, completeness, tone and length.

In practice, that means answering the actual question, speaking to the person the task names, using most of your time, and backing each idea with a detail.

Task 1: Giving Advice

Prompt: Your cousin Amira has been offered a job in another city that pays more, but she would have to leave her friends and a team she likes. Advise her on how to decide.

Plan: Speak to Amira directly. Give three pieces of advice, each with a reason: compare the full cost of living, talk to people who already work there, and picture an ordinary week in the new city.

Excerpt: “Amira, first, congratulations. My first piece of advice is to look past the salary. Rent in a bigger city can eat up a raise very quickly, so make a simple budget for both cities before you decide…”

Task 2: Talking about a Personal Experience

Prompt: Talk about a time you had to learn something new very quickly. What happened, how did you feel, and what did you learn?

Plan: Set the scene in one sentence, tell the events in order, describe how you felt at the hardest moment, and finish with a lesson.

Excerpt: “Two years ago, the only other cashier at the café where I worked quit on a Friday, and I had to learn the new ordering system in one afternoon. Honestly, I was terrified when the Saturday rush started…”

Task 3: Describing a Scene

Prompt: Imagine a picture of a busy community swimming pool on a summer afternoon: a lifeguard in a tall chair, children in a shallow area, a man reading on a lounge chair, and a line at a snack counter. Describe the scene to someone who can’t see it.

Plan: Start with an overview of where and when. Then move through the picture in one direction, left to right or front to back. Describe people and what they are doing, using verbs like “is handing” and “are splashing”.

Excerpt: “This picture shows a busy outdoor pool on what looks like a hot summer afternoon. On the left, a lifeguard is sitting in a tall white chair, watching a group of kids who are splashing each other in the shallow end…”

Task 4: Making Predictions

Prompt: In the same picture, what do you think will most probably happen next?

Plan: Make two or three predictions, each tied to a clue you can point to in the picture. Use “will probably”, “is going to” and “I imagine”.

Excerpt: “Well, the man on the lounge chair is about to get wet. The boys near him are lining up to jump in, so I think he’s going to be splashed and will probably move his chair back…”

Task 5: Comparing and Persuading

Prompt: Your neighbourhood association has money for one project: a new outdoor skating rink or a community vegetable garden. First, choose the one you prefer (you don’t speak on this screen). Then another member suggests a third option, new benches along the main street. Persuade them that your choice is better.

Plan: Read the details of both options closely when you choose. On the second screen, compare your option with the third option, point by point, using the facts given.

Excerpt: “I see why benches appeal to you, but I think the rink is the better use of the money. Benches help people who are already walking downtown, while a rink gives families a free place to go all winter…”

Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

Prompt: You agreed to drive your friend Marco to the airport on Sunday morning. Now your sister asks you to help at her daughter’s birthday party at the same time, because her helper cancelled. Choose ONE: talk to Marco and explain why you can’t drive him, or talk to your sister and explain why you can’t help.

Plan: Speak to the person you chose. Explain the conflict honestly and politely, show you understand how they feel, and offer a fair alternative.

Excerpt: “Hi Marco, I’m calling about Sunday, and I feel really bad about this. My sister’s helper for the birthday party just cancelled, and she has twelve kids coming. Could I pay for your taxi instead, or drive you on Saturday night if you stay near the airport?”

Task 7: Expressing Opinions

Prompt: Do you think cities should make public transit free for everyone? Explain your reasons.

Plan: State your position in the first sentence. Give two or three reasons with examples, mention the strongest argument on the other side, then restate your opinion.

Excerpt: “I don’t think transit should be completely free, although I do think it should be cheaper. My first reason is that fares pay for service, and in my city people complain more about buses that are late or full than about the price…”

Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation

Prompt: You are at a furniture store and see an unusual desk that folds up into a cabinet on the wall. Your roommate Jun works from home and needs a desk. Call Jun, describe the desk in detail, and ask whether you should buy it.

Plan: Say what makes the object unusual first, then describe its shape, size, colour and how it works, so Jun can picture it. Connect the details to Jun’s needs, and end with the question the task asks.

Excerpt: “Hey Jun, I’m at the furniture store and I found the strangest desk. When it’s closed, it looks like a flat white cabinet on the wall, about the size of a mirror. But you pull the front down and it becomes a desk…”

A note on templates

Many people prepare a general structure for each task, and that helps. A memorized script is different. Scripted answers often miss what the prompt actually asks, such as the person you are speaking to, the option you chose or the question you must end with, and Task Fulfillment rewards relevance. Use a structure, then fill it with details from the prompt in front of you.

Free CELPIP Speaking practice questions

How to practise between tests

• Record every answer and listen back. Count your pauses and fillers, and check that you used most of the time.
• Write out one recording and edit it. Add a transition, a more precise word, a specific detail. You can’t edit on test day, but this builds the habits you’ll use there.
• Answer both sides. For Tasks 5, 6 and 7, record one response for each choice. The prompt you get may push you toward the side you find harder.
• Shrink your prep time. Start by giving yourself longer than 30 or 60 seconds to plan, then cut it down until you can plan within the real timer.

Next steps

The practice button below opens our timed Speaking tasks, which run the real prep and speaking timers and show a model answer after each one. For the rest of the test, see the Writing practice test, the Listening practice test and the CELPIP test guide. Speaking is rated, not counted, so the CELPIP score chart explains how its levels relate to CLB.