CELPIP Listening Tips for All Six Parts

How the Listening section works

The section takes about 47–55 minutes. It opens with a short unscored practice task, then moves through six scored parts that get gradually harder. Almost every question is multiple choice with four options, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer.

Habits that help in every part

• Answer every question. A blank and a wrong answer both score zero, so always pick something.
• Take notes on the scrap paper, but keep them short: names, numbers, decisions and opinions. Writing full sentences makes you miss the next line.
• Listen for the final answer, not the first one. Speakers change plans, correct themselves and reject ideas. The word after "actually", "but" or "on second thought" is often the one the question asks about.
• Be suspicious of options that repeat exact words from the audio. Wrong options are often built from words you heard, put together in a way the speaker never meant.
• Do not dwell on a missed question. Make your best guess and move on, because the next recording will not wait for you.
• Listen for tone as well as words. A speaker who says "Well, I suppose that could work" is not enthusiastic, even though the words sound positive.

Parts 1 and 2: conversations

Part 1 is a conversation about a problem, such as a booking mix-up or a repair, split into three sections with two or three questions after each. You do not see the questions until each section ends. Questions ask what the problem is, what each person suggests and what they finally decide.

The classic trap is a suggestion that one speaker makes and the other rejects. If you only noted "call the landlord", you may pick that option even though the pair decided to email instead. A two-column layout, one column per speaker, keeps this clear. The solution usually arrives in the third section, so stay focused to the end.

Part 2 is a single conversation of about one to two minutes with five questions after it. Expect questions on details, the relationship between the speakers, how someone feels and what will happen next. Times, dates and amounts often change during the conversation: note the latest one, and cross out the old one.

Parts 3 and 4: information and news

Part 3 is an explanation or interview of about two to three minutes, such as someone describing how a program works or what a job involves. The questions usually follow the order of the talk, so number your notes: first, then, after that. Watch for corrections, as in "Most people think you need a referral, but actually you can book directly."

Part 4 is a local news report of about one and a half to two minutes. News reports put the main point first, so write it down before the details begin. Then track each person quoted and their role (a councillor, a resident, an organiser) and every number: dates, costs, how many people. Mixing up numbers is the most common way to lose marks here.

In both parts, be careful with options that are true in general but were not said in the recording. The question is always about what you heard, not what is sensible.

Parts 5 and 6: discussion and viewpoints

Part 5 is the only video in the test: three people discuss a decision for about two to three minutes, and eight questions follow. The questions ask what each person thinks and what the group decides, so the main risk is giving an opinion to the wrong speaker. Write each name or a short label as soon as you hear it, then add their position and reason beside it.

Part 6 is a talk of about three minutes that presents a main argument and an opposing view, usually with more advanced vocabulary. It is often the hardest part. Separate the speaker's own view from the views they report, and note the reason behind each side. A common trap is an argument the speaker mentions only to reject it.

• CELPIP Listening Part 5: The Video Discussion
• CELPIP Listening Part 6: Listening to Viewpoints

How to review a practice test

Practice only improves your level if you study your mistakes. After each practice part, go through every wrong answer before you check the transcript:

1. Write down which option you chose and why it seemed right.
2. Listen to the recording again, once, and try to find the moment that answers the question.
3. Only then read the transcript and mark the exact sentence.
4. Name the reason you missed it: a changed plan, the wrong speaker, a number, a word you did not know, or lost focus.
5. Keep a tally. After a few tests you will see one or two reasons that cost you most of your marks, and those are what to practise.

Where to go next

Good notes are the skill that ties all six parts together, so that is the best next step. If you want to know which parts are costing you points, the free CELPass diagnostic includes Listening and predicts your CLB level, and the question bank lets you practise one part at a time.

• How to take notes in CELPIP Listening
• CELPIP Listening format, part by part
• CELPIP Listening: How to Go From CLB 8 to CLB 9
• Take the free diagnostic
• Practise by part in the question bank

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• Why Is CELPIP Listening So Hard? And What to Do When You Miss an Answer
• How to Take Notes in CELPIP Listening
• CELPIP Listening Part 5: The Video Discussion
• CELPIP Listening Part 6: Listening to Viewpoints