How much prep time is there in CELPIP speaking?

The prep and speaking times

Task 1, giving advice, gives you 30 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to speak.

Task 2, personal experience, gives you 30 seconds and 60 seconds. Task 3, describing a scene, uses the same split.

Task 4, making predictions, gives you 30 seconds and 60 seconds. The comparing task gives you 120 seconds and 60 seconds.

Task 6, dealing with a difficult situation, gives you 60 seconds and 60 seconds. Task 7, expressing opinions, gives you 30 seconds and 90 seconds. Task 8, describing an unusual situation, gives you 30 seconds and 60 seconds.

How to use 30 seconds

Write three or four words instead of sentences. For an advice task, write "harbour, time, energy" and nothing else.

Decide your first sentence before the speaking time starts. "I think you should take the apartment near the harbour" is enough to get you moving.

Leave the last few seconds alone. A breath and a clear first line are worth more than a fourth note you will not use.

How to use 60 or 120 seconds

The difficult-situation task gives you a full minute. Use it to name the person you would speak to and the first thing you would say.

The comparing task gives you two minutes. Choose one option in the first ten seconds, then write two reasons. Spend the rest of the time choosing an example for each reason.

Do not write a script. A memorised paragraph sounds like a memorised paragraph, and it often misses the prompt. The speaking tasks guide gives a shape for each task.

Practise with the speaking timer, which has each task's prep and speaking time built in. Record one answer, listen once, then try the same task again with a new detail. When you have a practice result, the CLB calculator shows which skill to work on next.

Questions about prep time