CELPIP Speaking questions: 48 practice topics for all 8 tasks

CELPIP Speaking is eight recorded tasks in about twenty minutes, and the topics rotate — you will not get the same prompts as the person next to you. What does repeat is the task type: giving advice, telling a story, describing a picture, and so on. The 48 questions below are grouped by task so you practise the shape of each answer, not a memorised script. Set the official timer, speak out loud, and move on; three honest attempts at one task teach more than reading twenty prompts.

The eight tasks and their timing

Task 1 — Giving Advice (30 s prep · 90 s speak)

Raters want two or three pieces of advice, each with a reason, spoken to the person — “you could…”, “I’d suggest…”. Ninety seconds is long: plan three points in prep, or you will run dry at forty seconds.

• Your cousin has been offered a job in a city where she knows nobody. Give her advice on settling in.
• A friend wants to buy his first car on a small budget. Advise him on what to look for and what to avoid.
• Your younger brother keeps arguing with his roommate about chores. Suggest how he could fix the situation.
• A colleague is nervous about giving her first presentation to clients. Give her some advice.
• Your neighbour is thinking of adopting a large dog while living in a small apartment. What would you advise?
• A friend has trouble sleeping because he checks his phone late at night. Give him advice.

Task 2 — Talking about a Personal Experience (30 s · 60 s)

A story with a beginning, a complication and an ending, in the past tense, with one or two feelings named. Pick the first memory that comes — searching for a better one costs you the prep time.

• Talk about a time you learned a skill from someone older than you.
• Describe a trip that did not go as planned.
• Talk about a meal that reminds you of home.
• Describe a time you had to make an important decision quickly.
• Talk about a teacher, coach or manager who changed the way you think.
• Describe the first job you ever had and what it taught you.

Task 3 — Describing a Scene (30 s · 60 s)

Describe as if to someone on the phone: where things are (left, right, in front, in the background), who is doing what, and the details — clothes, weather, objects. Move through the picture in one direction so you never repeat yourself.

• A crowded farmers’ market on a summer morning, with stalls, shoppers and a musician.
• A family unpacking boxes in a new apartment while a dog watches from the doorway.
• A busy airport check-in area with long queues and a departures board.
• A community swimming pool with a children’s lesson in progress and parents on the benches.
• A snowy residential street where people are digging out their cars.
• A school science fair in a gymnasium, with tables of projects and judges walking round.

Task 4 — Making Predictions (30 s · 60 s)

Same picture as Task 3. Use future forms and probability — “is going to”, “will probably”, “might” — and give a reason from the picture for each prediction. Two or three predictions with reasons fill sixty seconds.

• At the farmers’ market: what will the family with the stroller do next, and what will happen when the musician finishes?
• In the new apartment: what will the family do once the boxes are open, and what will the dog do?
• At the airport: what will happen to the passenger at the front of the queue, and to the child who is crying?
• At the pool: what will the instructor do next, and how will the nervous child react?
• On the snowy street: which car will be dug out first, and what will the neighbours do afterwards?
• At the science fair: what will the judges say to the student with the volcano, and who will win?

Task 5 — Comparing and Persuading (60 s prep · 60 s speak)

State your choice in the first sentence, then two reasons that compare the options directly (“the cabin is cheaper and quieter, while the beach…”), and finish by asking the listener to agree. Deciding out loud wastes half the time — use the sixty seconds of prep to decide.

• Your family is choosing between a beach holiday and a mountain cabin for the summer. Persuade them to choose your option.
• Your office is deciding between a Friday-afternoon party and a weekday team lunch. Argue for one.
• You and your partner are choosing between a used car and a new e-bike for commuting. Persuade them.
• Your book club must choose between a mystery novel and a memoir for next month. Convince the group.
• Your building is deciding between a rooftop garden and a secure bike room. Persuade the committee.
• Your friend is choosing between a laptop and a tablet for college. Persuade them to pick one.

Task 6 — Dealing with a Difficult Situation (60 s · 60 s)

You choose which person to speak to, then speak to them — not about them. The band comes from tone: acknowledge their side, explain your decision, offer something. Pick the person you can be most diplomatic with.

• You borrowed a friend’s car and got a parking ticket. Explain the situation to your friend, or ask the city to cancel the ticket.
• Your manager has scheduled an important meeting on the day of your child’s school concert. Ask your manager to move it, or explain to your child why you will miss the concert.
• Your roommate’s partner has been staying over every night. Talk to your roommate, or talk to the partner.
• You promised to help a neighbour move on Saturday, but you have been offered a paid shift. Tell the neighbour, or tell your employer you cannot work.
• A family member wants to borrow money you had saved for a trip. Explain your decision to them, or to your partner.
• Your team lead has given you credit for work a colleague did. Talk to your team lead, or to the colleague.

Task 7 — Expressing Opinions (30 s · 90 s)

Opinion in the first sentence, two supporting reasons with an example each, one sentence on the other side and why it does not change your view, then a closing line. Ninety seconds needs that fourth part — plan it.

• Should cities make public transit free for everyone? Give your opinion and reasons.
• Do you think children should have their own smartphones before the age of twelve?
• Is it better to rent or to buy a home in today’s economy?
• Should employers allow staff to work from home permanently if their job allows it?
• Do you think schools should teach cooking and personal finance as required subjects?
• Should governments ban single-use plastics completely?

Task 8 — Describing an Unusual Situation (30 s · 60 s)

The object is deliberately strange; the skill is describing shape, size, colour, material and parts so the listener can picture it, then guessing what it might be for. Comparisons — “about the size of a…”, “shaped like a…” — are the vocabulary raters reward.

• You are in a hardware store and see a tool with three handles and a small wheel. Describe it to a friend who might know what it is.
• You find a strange vegetable at the market — purple, spiky, the size of a football. Describe it to your mother over the phone.
• You see a bicycle with a small sail attached to the back. Describe it to your friend.
• A neighbour’s new mailbox is shaped like a miniature lighthouse and lights up at night. Describe it to a relative.
• You spot a vending machine at the station that sells umbrellas and fresh flowers. Describe it to a coworker.
• Your friend’s new chair looks like a giant open hand. Describe it to your sister.

How to practise with this list

1. Pick one task type per session, not all eight. Do three questions from it back to back.
2. Use the real timing: a phone timer for prep, then record on a second device or use the practice page, which runs both timers and records for you.
3. Listen back once for content — did you answer every part of the question, did you fill the time — and once for delivery: pace, fillers, unfinished sentences.
4. Write three keywords during prep, never sentences. Reading from notes flattens delivery, and Listenability is a quarter of the score.
5. Get one attempt per session scored so the notes tell you which criterion to work on next time.

What the questions have in common

Every prompt is an everyday Canadian situation — housing, work, family, community, money — and every one asks for a response to a person, not an essay. That is why memorised answers score badly: a rater can hear the moment a prepared paragraph stops fitting the question. Learn the shape of each task from the notes above, practise the shape on fresh questions, and the topic on test day stops mattering.