CELPIP Speaking: eight tasks in 15 minutes, no examiner, and the four categories raters score
Speaking is the last and shortest component of CELPIP-General, and the one that differs most from what candidates expect: there is no examiner, the prompts are read on screen, and the answers are recorded and heard later by several raters. Paragon publishes the tasks, the rules, the categories and its own advice; this page gathers them with their sources and marks the column and paragraphs that are our reading rather than Paragon's words.
The component in six numbers
The eight tasks
Task names are Paragon's, from its test-format page. The right-hand column is ours: what each task's name says it wants. Paragon publishes no fuller description of the tasks on that page, and no per-task timing; each prompt has a preparation time and a speaking timer, which its tips refer to without printing the seconds.
| Task (Paragon) | What it asks of you (ours) |
|---|---|
| Task 1: Giving Advice | Someone has a situation; you tell them what to do and why. |
| Task 2: Talking about a Personal Experience | A narrative from your own life, in order, with detail. |
| Task 3: Describing a Scene | A picture on screen; you say what is there and what is happening. |
| Task 4: Making Predictions | The same kind of scene; you say what will happen next and why. |
| Task 5: Comparing and Persuading | Two options; you choose one and argue for it to someone. |
| Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation | A dilemma between two people or courses; you address one of them and explain. |
| Task 7: Expressing Opinions | A question with sides; you take one and support it. |
| Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation | An unfamiliar object or scene; you describe it to someone who cannot see it. |
Read as a set, in our reading, the eight names sort into three kinds: talking to a person (advice, persuading, the difficult situation), talking about yourself (experience, opinion), and talking about a picture (scene, prediction, the unusual situation). Tone is a scored factor, and the first kind is where it is tested: the same English addressed to a friend and to a landlord is not the same answer.
What the raters score: four categories, sixteen factors
Paragon's Speaking performance standards, reproduced as published. Each category is divided into five performance levels with descriptors, and a rater assigns a level by matching tangible evidence in the response to a descriptor.
Content/Coherence
- Number of ideas
- Quality of ideas
- Organization of ideas
- Examples and supporting details
Vocabulary
- Word choice
- Precision and accuracy
- Range of words and phrases
- Suitable use of words and phrases
Listenability
- Rhythm, pronunciation, and intonation
- Pauses, interjections, and self-correction
- Grammar and sentence structure
- Variety of sentence structure
Task Fulfillment
- Relevance
- Completeness
- Tone
- Length
Source: Paragon, CELPIP Results, Speaking Performance Standards. Checked 6 September 2026.
In our reading, Listenability is the category that makes Speaking different from Writing. It holds pronunciation, rhythm and intonation together with pauses, interjections and self-correction, and with grammar and sentence variety: how the speech lands on a listener, as a whole, not the accent on its own. Paragon's own line on accent, that it matters only if it prevents understanding, sits inside that category. And Task Fulfillment ends in length, which is why Paragon's advice is to speak as much as the time allows and to finish the last sentence before the timer does.
A Speaking performance is heard by three to five raters, assigned at random with the candidate anonymous, working independently; if their ratings disagree, a benchmark rater who has not heard them is assigned. The dimensional ratings become a component score, and the score a CELPIP level by rules from a standard-setting exercise. The full procedure is on the scoring page.
Paragon's own advice for Speaking
- Practise speaking English with friends, family and co-workers, and into a recording device, because the test has no human examiner.
- Follow the instructions and address the prompt. Read all the instructions before the first prompt; use the preparation time to understand the prompt and organise your thoughts.
- Give complete answers. Give the raters as much content as possible, elaborate with relevant details, stay on topic, and speak as much as you can in the time allotted.
- Draw on your own life. Something personal and meaningful is easier to talk about than something invented.
- Speak clearly at a natural pace. Before the test you can test the recording device and hear your own voice; use it to find your volume, tone and pace.
- Use your own words. Do not repeat the prompt exactly or the same words too often; use synonyms and paraphrase to show range.
- Do not worry about your accent unless it prevents you from being understood; concentrate on grammar, vocabulary and answering thoroughly.
- Manage your time. Use the preparation time to brainstorm and organise; use the speaking timer to say enough and finish your last sentence before time is up.
Source: Paragon, Tips & Resources, Study Tips from the Experts, Speaking; FAQs (headset and microphone provided). Checked 6 September 2026.
What follows, in our reading: because no one is listening in the room, the ordinary cues of conversation are gone, and a candidate who trails off, restarts or waits for a reaction loses on pauses and self-correction, on length, and on completeness at once. The habit to build is speaking to a timer rather than to a face: a plan made in the preparation time, an answer that runs to the end of the clock, and a last sentence that closes before it stops.
Practice on this site records each task and marks it on the same four categories under the same names, Content and Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment, so the weak category on a practice report is the one a rater would find.
Questions candidates ask
Is there an examiner in the room?
No. Paragon's tips page says the Speaking test is delivered through a computer and there is no human examiner. You read each prompt on screen, prepare, and speak into a microphone; Paragon advises practising into a recording device for that reason.
How long is the CELPIP Speaking test?
Fifteen minutes for eight tasks, per Paragon's test-format page, which lists the tasks by name. Paragon's tips page refers to a preparation time before each prompt and a speaking timer during the response, but the pages cited here do not print the seconds, so this page does not either.
What do raters listen for?
Four categories with four factors each, reproduced on this page as Paragon publishes them: Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment. Listenability is where rhythm, pronunciation, intonation, pauses, self-correction, grammar and sentence variety sit; Task Fulfillment ends in length.
Does my accent lower my score?
Paragon's advice is direct: unless your accent prevents you from being understood, do not focus on it. Concentrate instead on grammar, accurate and varied vocabulary, and answering the prompt thoroughly.
How many raters hear me?
Three to five, according to Paragon's rating procedure. They are assigned at random with the candidate anonymous, work independently, and if their ratings disagree a benchmark rater who has not seen them is assigned automatically.
Should I fill the whole time?
Paragon says to give the raters as much content as possible, elaborating with relevant details, not going off topic, and speaking as much as you can in the time allotted for each prompt; and to use the speaking timer to finish your last sentence before the time is up. Length is a scored factor under Task Fulfillment.
Can I repeat the words of the prompt?
Paragon advises against it: use your own words rather than repeating the prompt exactly, avoid repeating the same words too often, and use synonyms and paraphrase to show range. Range of words and phrases is a scored factor under Vocabulary.
Is Speaking the same in the CELPIP-General LS test?
Yes. Paragon's format page gives the LS test the same eight Speaking tasks in 15 minutes after the same Listening component; the LS result is accepted for citizenship only, where the requirement is CLB 4 in listening and speaking.
Sources
- Paragon, CELPIP Test Format — 15 minutes, the eight tasks, the on-screen prompts, the LS test.
- Paragon, Tips & Resources — Study Tips from the Experts, Speaking: no examiner, preparation time, the recording check, the speaking timer, accent.
- Paragon, CELPIP Results — Speaking performance standards, the rating procedure, re-evaluation.
- Paragon, CELPIP FAQs — headset and microphone.
Checked 6 September 2026. Per-task preparation and response times are not printed on the pages cited here, so they are not printed on this page. The “what it asks of you” column and the paragraphs marked as our reading are ours; everything else is Paragon's, and Paragon's pages can change.
In this series: Listening guide · Reading guide · Writing guide · how CELPIP is scored · registration, fee and test day · CELPIP for citizenship.