CELPIP Speaking Task 1: Giving Advice

CELPIP Speaking Task 1 Sample Answer: Growing Herbs and Vegetables on a Balcony

This prompt asks you to help a friend with no gardening experience grow herbs and vegetables on her balcony. The tricky part is answering both of her questions, which plants are easy and how to care for them, with simple tests she can actually use.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

90 seconds

Listener

Someone you know well

The question

Your friend Elena has a small, sunny balcony in her Toronto apartment, and she would like to grow some of her own herbs and vegetables this spring. However, she has never kept a plant alive for very long, and she doesn't know which plants are easy or how to look after them. Advise Elena on how she can start her balcony garden.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Advise your friend Elena, who has a sunny balcony but has never kept plants alive, on which plants are easy and how to look after them.

Plan (90 sec)

Open: "Elena, a sunny balcony is perfect; you're halfway there."
Easy plants: basil, mint (in its own pot), chives, cherry tomatoes, lettuce.
Buy seedlings from a garden centre instead of seeds.
Containers: pots with drainage holes and good potting soil.
Watering: check with your finger; water when the top is dry; more in hot weather.
Timing: plant after the last frost (late May in Toronto).
Close: "Start with four or five plants, and we can trade herbs."

Useful vocabulary

seedling, potting soil, drainage, container
harvest, frost, water regularly, fertilizer

Phrases

"The easiest plants for beginners are..."
"A simple way to check is..."
"Don't plant too early, because..."

Avoid

Too many plants at once; she'll get overwhelmed.
Only naming plants; she also asked how to care for them.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Elena, I think this is a great project, and honestly, with a sunny balcony, you've already got the hardest part sorted. Since you're new to this, start with plants that are really forgiving. Basil, chives and cherry tomatoes all love sun and grow quickly, which is very motivating. Mint is almost impossible to kill, but give it its own pot, or it'll take over everything. I'd skip seeds this first year and buy young plants from a garden centre. You'll see results much faster. Good pots matter, too. They need drainage holes, otherwise the roots sit in water and rot, which is one of the most common reasons plants die. As for watering, there's an easy test: push a finger into the soil, and if it's dry up to your first knuckle, give it a good drink. In a heat wave, that could be daily. Just don't plant before the end of May. Toronto can still get frost. Keep it to five or six pots, and you'll be picking tomatoes by August.

172 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: Reasons follow every tip, such as drainage holes, "otherwise the roots sit in water and rot," so Elena understands why each step matters.
Vocabulary: Phrases like "really forgiving," "take over everything" and "give it a good drink" sound fluent and friendly.
Task Fulfillment: The "first knuckle" watering test and the frost warning give Elena simple, local advice she can apply on her own balcony.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Hey Elena, a sunny balcony is perfect for a little garden, so you're already off to a good start. For easy plants, I'd go with basil, chives and cherry tomatoes. Mint is easy too, but keep it in its own pot because it spreads everywhere. Instead of seeds, buy small plants from a garden centre. They're much easier to keep alive. Make sure your pots have drainage holes, and use potting soil, not dirt from the park. For watering, just stick your finger in the soil. If the top feels dry, water it. On hot July days, that might be every morning. Also, wait until late May to put everything outside, because a cold night can kill young plants. Start with four or five pots, and you'll be making pesto by August.

132 words

What works, and what's missing

Task Fulfillment: Both questions are answered, from easy plants like "basil, chives and cherry tomatoes" to watering and planting dates.
Vocabulary: Helpful expressions such as "spreads everywhere" and "drainage holes" are accurate, and "making pesto by August" ends on a nice note.
Content/Coherence: Several tips get a reason, but drainage holes are given none; saying roots can rot would make that point clearer.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi Elena, balcony garden is very nice idea! For beginner, I think basil and mint is easy. Also cherry tomato, it grow fast and you can eat it. Lettuce is easy too. Don't buy seed, buy small plant from store, it's more easy. You need pot with hole at the bottom, because water need to go out. And buy good soil. For water, touch the soil with your finger. If it is dry, give water. In summer maybe every day. Don't put plants outside too early, Toronto is cold in April. Have fun with your garden!

96 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: Errors like "basil and mint is easy," "it grow fast" and "water need to go out" show frequent subject-verb agreement problems.
Content/Coherence: The tips are useful, but each gets one short line, so "Toronto is cold in April" is not linked to why plants could die.
Listenability: Sentences such as "For water, touch the soil" and "give water" are understandable but sound clipped and unnatural.

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