The task library

CELPIP Speaking topics

One page for the whole Speaking pool. The tasks are in exam order; inside each one the questions are listed as they are drawn, and every line goes to the question itself.

Each line opens the question it names. Timing and task rules live on the task pages and in the CELPIP test format; the Writing topics are listed the same way.

Task 1 — Giving Advice

30 s prep · 90 s response · all 24 in full

1. Your friend Maria wants to quit her stable job to open a small bakery
2. Your neighbour Dev has been offered a job in another city
3. Your cousin Alina spends most of her free time on her phone and says she feels tired all day
4. A co-worker, Tom, wants to ask your manager for a raise, but he is afraid of the answer
5. Your younger brother has saved two thousand dollars
6. Your friend Priya moved to this city three months ago and says she still has not made any friends
7. Your friend Nadia has been offered her manager’s job
8. Your uncle has been taking medication for his blood pressure for a year
9. Your friend Samir wants to sell his car and use the bus and his bicycle all year to save money
10. A co-worker, Grace, says yes to every extra task she is offered and now stays late almost every evening
11. Your niece finished one term of college and wants to leave and work full time at the store where she has a…
12. Your neighbour Ben lives alone, works twelve-hour shifts, and has decided to adopt a large young dog from…
13. Your sister has lived here for a year and still has no family doctor
14. Your neighbour Frank was referred to a specialist four months ago and has heard nothing since
15. Your aunt’s health card expired last month
16. Your friend Omar paid a garage before the work started
17. A co-worker, Lena, signed a two-year phone contract
18. Your friend Hana wants to book a cheap flight home in December with a four-hour connection in a third…
19. Your father wants to drive nine hours to the mountains for a long weekend in February, leaving after work…
20. Your neighbour Tara’s son is falling behind in maths
21. Your friend Ade’s daughter has been placed in a language support class at school
22. Your brother-in-law worked as an accountant before he came here
23. A co-worker, Nils, has been in the country two years, pays for everything in cash and has never wanted a…
24. Your sister-in-law is still driving on the licence she brought with her, and it stops being accepted next…

Task 2 — Talking about a Personal Experience

30 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. Talk about a time you helped someone you did not know well
2. Talk about a day when your plans changed at the last minute
3. Talk about something new you learned as an adult
4. Talk about a place you visited that was different from what you expected
5. Talk about a time you had to wait a long time for something important
6. Talk about a meal you cooked or shared with other people
7. Talk about a time you fixed or repaired something yourself
8. Talk about a time you disagreed with someone and later changed your mind
9. Talk about a holiday or celebration you spent away from the people you usually spend it with
10. Talk about a time you were given more responsibility than you expected
11. Talk about a journey that took much longer than it should have
12. Talk about a time you had to speak in front of a group of people
13. Talk about a time you or someone in your family needed medical help without warning
14. Talk about a time you found it hard to explain a problem to a doctor, a nurse or a pharmacist
15. Talk about a document you had to get from an office or a government service
16. Talk about a time an application or a form you sent in came back because something was missing or wrong
17. Talk about a time you had to change a trip after you had already paid for it
18. Talk about a time you were the one who planned a trip for other people
19. Talk about the first time you did an everyday thing in a new country — shopping, taking a bus, or paying a…
20. Talk about your first week in a new job or a new school
21. Talk about something in your building or on your street that had to be sorted out by the people living there
22. Talk about someone in your neighbourhood you got to know after months of only nodding to them
23. Talk about something you bought that turned out to be faulty or wrong
24. Talk about a time a shop, a repair service or a restaurant treated you better than you expected

Task 3 — Describing a Scene

30 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. A food drive at a community centre
2. Moving day outside an apartment building
3. A winter morning at a school bus stop
4. The checkout counter of a small hardware store
5. Story hour in a public library
6. A neighbourhood park on a summer afternoon
7. A farmers’ market on a Saturday morning
8. A walk-in clinic waiting room in the evening
9. A campsite beside a lake at dusk
10. A swimming lesson at a public pool
11. A science fair in a school gymnasium
12. A backyard on an autumn afternoon
13. A bus terminal departure hall in the morning
14. A pharmacy counter in the late afternoon
15. A grocery store checkout in the evening
16. An apartment lobby on a rainy afternoon
17. An open-plan office in the afternoon
18. An adult language class in a community centre on a winter evening
19. A neighbourhood coffee shop in the middle of the morning
20. A sidewalk and pipe repair on a residential street in the morning
21. A community garden of raised beds on a spring Saturday morning
22. A school class in the picture gallery of a museum
23. An outdoor skating rink in a park on a winter afternoon
24. A small hair salon on a Saturday

Task 4 — Making Predictions

30 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. A food drive at a community centre
2. Moving day outside an apartment building
3. A winter morning at a school bus stop
4. The checkout counter of a small hardware store
5. Story hour in a public library
6. A neighbourhood park on a summer afternoon
7. A farmers’ market on a Saturday morning
8. A walk-in clinic waiting room in the evening
9. A campsite beside a lake at dusk
10. A swimming lesson at a public pool
11. A science fair in a school gymnasium
12. A backyard on an autumn afternoon
13. A bus terminal departure hall in the morning
14. A pharmacy counter in the late afternoon
15. A grocery store checkout in the evening
16. An apartment lobby on a rainy afternoon
17. An open-plan office in the afternoon
18. An adult language class in a community centre on a winter evening
19. A neighbourhood coffee shop in the middle of the morning
20. A sidewalk and pipe repair on a residential street in the morning
21. A community garden of raised beds on a spring Saturday morning
22. A school class in the picture gallery of a museum
23. An outdoor skating rink in a park on a winter afternoon
24. A small hair salon on a Saturday

Task 5 — Comparing and Persuading

60 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. You and your partner are choosing a place to live
2. Your father is helping you buy a used car
3. Your family has one free weekend this spring
4. You and your friend want to take an evening course together
5. Your community group must pick one fundraising event
6. Your team can move to one of two work schedules
7. You and your partner must book one summer program for your son
8. You and your brother must get to a family wedding in another province
9. You and your roommate are choosing one home internet package
10. The basement of your house needs new flooring
11. You and your cousin are organising a gift for your parents’ anniversary
12. Your street can have one of two safety changes this year
13. Your mother has waited a year for a family doctor and can now take one of the two places below
14. Your father is leaving hospital after a hip operation and needs six weeks of recovery
15. The settlement centre can place you in only one of the two programs below this autumn
16. You have to decide how to spend the next six months while you look for work in your own field
17. You and your partner must arrange care for your two-year-old before you go back to work
18. Your daughter starts grade two in September and you must register her at one of the two schools below
19. Your flight home has been cancelled and the airline has offered the two ways below
20. You and your wife have one week of holiday left to use before December
21. You have two job offers and must answer both by Friday
22. Your department is closing and your employer has offered you the two ways below of staying with the company
23. You and your roommate are moving to a new apartment and must tell the landlord which starting date you want
24. Your parents are moving into a smaller apartment and cannot take all their furniture

Task 6 — Dealing with a Difficult Situation

60 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. You promised to look after your sister’s children on Saturday
2. You told your roommate the apartment would be quiet this weekend so she can study for an exam
3. You drive a co-worker to work every morning
4. You booked the community hall for your friend’s birthday, which you promised to host
5. You told your team you would finish an important report by Friday
6. A dog next door barks most of the night
7. You promised to drive your friend to the airport at five in the morning on Thursday
8. You agreed to lend your car to your brother for the whole weekend
9. You signed up to coach your daughter’s soccer team on Saturday mornings for the season
10. You told your landlord you would be home on Tuesday morning for a plumber who has already cancelled once
11. You promised a classmate you would study with her every evening before the exam
12. You agreed to sublet your room to a co-worker from the first of June and he has already given notice on his…
13. A specialist appointment you waited five months for is on Wednesday afternoon
14. You promised to take your neighbour to her eye surgery on Friday morning; she cannot go alone and cannot…
15. Your immigration appointment has been set for Monday morning and was already moved once at your request
16. You agreed to interpret at a settlement centre workshop this Saturday and your name is on the printed…
17. The only parent-teacher interview left for your son is on Thursday at four
18. You have paid for a flight to visit your mother next week and she has told the whole family you are coming
19. The employment centre has booked you a job interview on Wednesday at eleven
20. You told your landlord you would hand back the keys and walk through the empty apartment with him on Friday…
21. You signed up to drive the community meal delivery route every Sunday until the spring, and the coordinator…
22. Your mother’s hospital appointment is on Tuesday afternoon and she has asked you to come and interpret for…
23. You agreed to speak for the tenants at the building meeting on Thursday evening and the others are counting…
24. You swapped shifts with a co-worker so that she could go to her son’s graduation on Saturday

Task 7 — Expressing Opinions

30 s prep · 90 s response · all 24 in full

1. Some people say that every high school student should do volunteer work before they graduate
2. Some people believe employers should let staff work from home whenever the job allows it
3. Some people think a city should spend more on buses and trains than on new roads
4. Some people say children under thirteen should not have their own smartphones
5. Some people think a company should pay for the training its workers need
6. Some people say apartment buildings should not allow pets
7. Some people say public libraries should stop buying printed books and spend the money on digital services…
8. Some people believe every school should teach students how to manage money before they graduate
9. Some people think grocery stores should be required to give away food they cannot sell instead of throwing…
10. Some people say workers should retrain every few years to keep their skills current
11. Some people say professional athletes and entertainers are paid far more than their work is worth
12. Some people think every new apartment building should be required to include a number of low-cost units
13. Some people say a company should have to tell customers when they are dealing with a computer program…
14. Some people think schools should teach students to use artificial intelligence tools in their work
15. Some people say cities should not use cameras that recognise people’s faces in public places
16. Some people think free online services are a fair exchange for the personal information they collect
17. Some people say patients should be allowed to pay a private clinic for a faster appointment
18. Some people think a health system should spend more on keeping people well — check-ups, exercise programs…
19. Some people say the bodies that license professions should make it easier to recognise qualifications…
20. Some people think a country should choose new residents mainly by the skills its economy is short of
21. Some people say popular tourist places should limit how many visitors they let in each day
22. Some people think visitors should pay a small tax that goes to the towns they stay in
23. Some people say companies should be required to sell spare parts and repair instructions for everything…
24. Some people think a subscription should stop on its own unless the customer renews it

Task 8 — Describing an Unusual Situation

30 s prep · 60 s response · all 24 in full

1. A piece of furniture that is part bookshelf and part armchair, with a curved wooden frame and a small…
2. A metal kitchen device with a hand crank, two hinged plates and a clamp for the edge of a table
3. A tall outdoor sculpture made of stacked metal rings that turn in the wind, standing on a concrete base in…
4. A long-handled garden tool with a wheel at one end and three curved blades that spin when it is pushed
5. A boxy machine the size of a fridge with a round door, three dials and a coin slot, standing beside…
6. A vehicle that is part bicycle and part small cart
7. A wooden object that folds out from a chair into a short stepladder, with a hinged seat, three flat treads…
8. A metal stand bolted to a sidewalk with two curved arms that hold a bicycle up in the air, a pump on a long…
9. A tall lobby cabinet made of rows of small doors of several different sizes, with one wider door at the…
10. A hand-cranked kitchen machine with a domed metal lid, a heavy glass bowl underneath it and a wooden paddle…
11. An old exercise machine with a padded seat, a hand crank mounted in front of the seat, a wide leather strap…
12. A tall balcony container built from three stacked shallow trays in a frame, with a domed lid on top and a…
13. A ticket machine on a station platform with a clear hood folded down over its blank screen, a nozzle…
14. A tall public terminal with a blank tilted screen, a row of plain round buttons under it, small telephone…
15. A rail fixed up a garage wall with a tray running on it that holds a bicycle in the air, a counterweight…
16. A metal grate set into a snowy sidewalk with glowing coils and steam coming up through its slots, bare dry…
17. A cabinet the height of a counter with a funnel opening ringed by lenses on top, a blank screen on the…
18. A one-person booth on wheels made of padded panels with a curved hood over the top, a door standing open, a…
19. A chest-high steel street bin with a small hinged flap on the front, a solar panel set into its sloped lid,…
20. A waist-high metal cabinet with a row of hollow tubes standing up out of a slotted tray, a pair of boots…
21. A long stainless steel tub set into a waist-high cabinet with a ramp of rubber treads running up to it, a…
22. An upright steel pillar on a concrete island with a thick black hose ending in a wide flared nozzle, a…
23. A wall unit the size of a microwave with a round clear door standing half open, a fat tube running up the…
24. An upright hand trolley whose wheels are two triangular clusters of three small wheels each, with a…