CELPIP Speaking Task 1: Giving Advice

CELPIP Speaking Task 1 Sample Answer: Brewing Good Coffee in Your Own Kitchen

This prompt asks you to help a friend who wants to stop buying expensive café lattes and brew coffee at home. The tricky part is recommending specific, affordable equipment and coffee, so your advice actually supports his goal of saving money.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

90 seconds

Listener

Someone you know well

The question

Your friend Darnell spends about $8 every day on lattes from a café near his office in Calgary. He would like to save money by making coffee at home, but he has never done it and has no idea what equipment or coffee to buy. Advise Darnell on how he can start making good coffee at home.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Advise your friend Darnell, who spends $8 a day on café lattes, on how to start making coffee at home: what equipment and what coffee to buy.

Plan (90 sec)

Open: "Darnell, that's almost $200 a month; you'll save a lot."
Equipment: start cheap with a French press or pour-over (about $30); add a milk frother for lattes.
Coffee: buy whole beans from a local roaster, check the roast date, try a medium roast.
Grinder: a simple burr grinder makes a big difference.
Method: right ratio (about one scoop per cup), water just off the boil, four minutes.
Habit: prepare the night before; use a travel mug.
Close: invite him over for a tasting.

Useful vocabulary

French press, pour-over, grinder, whole beans
roast, ratio, frother, brew

Phrases

"You don't need anything fancy to start..."
"The thing that makes the biggest difference is..."
"Once you're comfortable, you could..."

Avoid

Telling him to buy a $1,000 espresso machine first.
Forgetting his goal: saving money.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Darnell, honestly, I'm glad you're doing this. Eight dollars a day adds up to almost two hundred a month, so even a little equipment will pay for itself in a couple of weeks. My advice is to keep it simple at first. Skip the expensive espresso machines and get a French press. It's about thirty dollars, it's hard to mess up, and it makes a really rich cup. Since you're a latte guy, add a handheld milk frother, and you'll get pretty close to what the café makes. The thing that really makes the difference, though, is the coffee itself. Buy whole beans from a local roaster, there are a few good ones in Inglewood, and check the roast date on the bag. Then grind them right before you brew. One last tip: set everything out the night before, so on busy mornings you're not tempted to just grab a latte on the way. Come over this weekend and I'll show you how I make mine.

166 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: The answer moves from equipment to "the coffee itself" to a morning habit, and "will pay for itself" ties it all to saving money.
Vocabulary: Casual, precise phrases like "hard to mess up," "a latte guy" and "pay for itself" sound natural and confident.
Task Fulfillment: Practical extras, like checking "the roast date" and setting everything out "the night before," give Darnell advice he can use tomorrow morning.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Hi Darnell, I think making coffee at home is a great idea. If you spend eight dollars a day, that's over two hundred dollars a month! To start, you don't need a fancy machine. A pour-over cone or a French press only costs about thirty dollars, and they're really easy to use. Since you like lattes, you can also get a cheap milk frother. Next, buy whole beans from a local roaster instead of pre-ground coffee from the supermarket. Look for a medium roast, and check the date on the bag. It's also worth buying a small grinder, because freshly ground coffee tastes so much better. Finally, try a few different beans until you find one you love. I'm sure you'll stop going to the café soon.

127 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: Opening with the cost, "over two hundred dollars a month," links every later tip back to Darnell's goal of saving money.
Vocabulary: Specific terms like "pour-over cone," "local roaster" and "medium roast" show good topic vocabulary used correctly.
Task Fulfillment: All the needed items are named, but there is no tip on how to brew, such as timing or how much coffee to use.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hey Darnell, eight dollar every day is a lot of money! You can save if you make coffee at home. First, you don't need expensive machine. You can buy French press, it is cheap, maybe thirty dollars. And for latte, buy small milk frother. Then, buy good coffee beans. I think beans is better than coffee powder because it more fresh. You can grind at home. Also, there is many videos online, you can learn how much coffee and water to use. I think you will like it, and you save money too. Try it!

95 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: Errors like "eight dollar every day," "beans is better" and "it more fresh" drop endings and verbs, which makes the advice sound choppy.
Task Fulfillment: Equipment and beans are covered, but "there is many videos online" hands off the brewing method instead of explaining it.
Listenability: Short sentences joined by "First," "Then" and "Also" keep the meaning clear but give the answer a flat, list-like rhythm.

The CLBs are estimates of the level each sample was written at, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB