One possibility is that the guests who have just arrived will finish checking in and take their luggage to their rooms. The hotel employee may push the luggage cart toward the elevators and help a guest carry their suitcases upstairs. Meanwhile, some visitors may ask the receptionist for information about local attractions or restaurants. The people sitting in the lobby might continue waiting for their friends, checking their phones, or relaxing before going out. The woman pulling her suitcase may head toward the elevator, while other guests may arrive through the main entrance. As the day continues, the lobby could become even busier with people checking in and checking out.
Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions
Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions belongs to the Speaking component of CELPIP. The task gives you 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak. Responses are rated on 4 areas: Content / Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability, Task Fulfillment.
- Preparation
- 30 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Prompts here
- 23 published
Anchor, forecast, hedge
Our method for this task — study advice, not an official rule.
- 1
Recall the scene briefly, then leave it
A sentence to remind the listener what is happening, and no more. This task is about what comes next, and a long re-description leaves little time for it.
- 2
Tie each prediction to something visible
"The boy by the fountain will probably get soaked — he is leaning right over the edge." The clue is what turns a guess into a reasoned prediction.
- 3
Vary how certain you sound
Mix will, going to, might, probably and I expect. Stronger answers show a range of future forms and a sense of which outcomes are likely and which are only possible.
No prediction without the clue behind it.
A forecast the listener could check against the picture sounds reasoned; one without a clue sounds random.
Predicting what happens next means talking about the future with different degrees of certainty. This list gives you probability frames from almost sure to doubtful, time phrases for the near future, and the everyday verbs people use when a situation develops.
Rank your predictions by how sure you are, and let your language show it: start with the most likely outcome using chances are, then add a less certain one with it's quite possible that. Link each prediction to a clue you can see, and try to cover what happens soon and a little later.
Tips for this prompt
- Prediction, not description. Every sentence should be about what has not happened yet.
- Stay in the future: will, is going to, might, is likely to.
- Tie each prediction to something visible — the porter has a loaded trolley, so he will take it to the lifts.
- Mark how sure you are; some of these are near-certain and others are guesses.
Where answers slip
- 1Re-describing the picture for most of the time.
- 2Saying the same prediction twice in different words.
- 3Using will for everything, as if every outcome were certain.
What Speaking is rated on
- Content / Coherence
- How relevant, developed and well organised your ideas are.
- Vocabulary
- How varied and precise your words are while you speak in real time.
- Listenability
- How easily a listener can follow you: sentence control, flow, pace, and how often you pause or fill silence.
- Task Fulfillment
- Whether you answered what the prompt actually asked, and all of it.
Sample answer
One strong response to this prompt, written for our own question bank to show a way through it. It is not a Paragon answer and not an official benchmark; a real response is judged on the four areas listed above.
Try one yourself, under the clock
Reading a good answer is not the same as producing one. Write or record your own answer and get an estimated CLB level on each rating area, with the lines that decided it.
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Create your free account →Common questions
- What happens in Speaking Task 4?
- Paragon's test-format page lists it as Making Predictions, the fourth of 8 Speaking tasks. In {brand} practice prompts, for example, you might look at a scene such as a picnic with storm clouds gathering and say what you think will happen next. The frames in this list help you say how certain each prediction is.
- Is it enough to use will for every prediction?
- Will is correct, but using only one form limits your range. Paragon advises showing vocabulary range through synonyms and paraphrase, and Vocabulary is one of the four areas it lists for Speaking. Frames such as is about to, is unlikely to and I'd imagine let you express different levels of certainty.
- How should I use my preparation time for predictions?
- Paragon's Speaking advice refers to the preparation time you get before each response. Spot two or three clues in the scene and decide which prediction is most likely for each. The CLB tags on these entries are our estimates only, so use them to pick frames that match your current level.
22 more Making Predictions prompts in the bank0 free
- ·The Market — What Happens Next
- ·The Falls — What Happens Next
- ·The Campus — What Happens Next
- ·The Clinic — What Happens Next
- ·The Circus — What Happens Next
- ·The Zoo — What Happens Next
- ·The Coffee Shop — What Happens Next
- ·What Happens Next in the Downtown Parade
- ·What Happens Next in the Thanksgiving Backyard
- ·What Happens Next on the Christmas Street
- ·Closing the Sale
- ·After the Meeting
- ·Finishing the Workout
- ·The Snow Keeps Falling
- ·The Afternoon in the Park
- ·After the Light Changes
- ·The Rest of the Day at Sea
- ·After the Energy Lesson
- ·Finishing the Park Cleanup
- ·What Happens Next in the Library
- ·The Rest of the Family's Evening
- ·What Happens Next at the Station