CELPIP Speaking Task 2: Talking about a Personal Experience

CELPIP Speaking Task 2 Sample Answer: Being Treated Unfairly

The prompt asks for one story of unfair treatment, plus how the speaker reacted and how it ended. The tricky part is covering all three questions in order while keeping the past-tense story clear.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Tense

Mostly past tense

The question

Talk about a time when you felt that you or someone you know was treated unfairly. Maybe you can talk about something that happened at school, at work, or in a store or restaurant. What happened, how did you react, and what was the result?

How to plan your answer

What they want

Talk about a time you or someone you know was treated unfairly, e.g. at school, at work, or in a store or restaurant.
Answer three things: what happened, how you reacted, and what the result was.

Plan (60 sec)

Set the scene: "A few years ago, at my old job, I was treated unfairly."
What happened: e.g. a co-worker took credit for your project in front of the manager.
Your feelings: angry, hurt, but you stayed calm.
How you reacted: you showed the manager your emails and drafts, politely.
Result: the manager apologized and gave you credit, or the problem was fixed.
Close: "I learned to stand up for myself calmly."

Useful vocabulary

unfair, treat someone badly, take credit, complain
stand up for, stay calm, speak up, apologize

Phrases

"I couldn't believe it when..."
"Instead of getting angry, I..."
"In the end,..."

Avoid

Skipping the result; it is one of the three questions.
Mixing tenses; tell the story in the past tense.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

A few years ago, I watched my father get treated unfairly at a car dealership. He'd gone in to buy a used car, and because his English has a strong accent, the salesperson kept talking to me instead of him, even though he was the one paying. Then, when we sat down to look at the paperwork, there were almost two thousand dollars in extra fees that nobody had mentioned. My dad just went quiet, but I couldn't let it go. I politely asked the salesperson to explain every single fee, line by line, and when he couldn't, I asked to speak with the manager. In the end, the manager removed most of the fees and apologized. My dad still bought the car, but what I remember most is how important it is to speak up, especially for someone who might not feel comfortable doing it.

146 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: the dealership story builds tension with two wrongs, the salesperson "kept talking to me instead of him" and "almost two thousand dollars in extra fees".
Vocabulary: precise phrasing like "explain every single fee, line by line" and "I couldn't let it go" shows control of natural, idiomatic English.
Task Fulfillment: the result covers the fees, the apology and the purchase, then ends with a reflection on speaking up "for someone who might not feel comfortable doing it".

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I remember a time at my old job when I felt I was treated unfairly. I worked at a grocery store, and my manager made the schedule every week. For about two months, I always got the late shifts on Friday and Saturday, while some other workers never had to work weekends. At first, I didn't say anything, because I was new and I didn't want any problems. But finally, I asked my manager for a meeting and I showed her my schedules from the last two months. After that, she started rotating the weekend shifts, so everyone had to work some of them. I was happy that I spoke up.

111 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: the grocery store story moves cleanly from "always got the late shifts on Friday and Saturday" to the meeting and the new rotating schedule.
Task Fulfillment: the reaction is persuasive because the speaker "showed her my schedules from the last two months", answering how they reacted with a concrete action.
Vocabulary: "rotating the weekend shifts" is precise, but the ending "I was happy that I spoke up" is plain; a sharper reflection on the lesson would raise it.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

One time my friend was treated unfair in a restaurant. We go to restaurant downtown and we wait for table. Then other people come after us, but the waiter give them table first. My friend ask why, and the waiter was very rude to her. I was angry, so I ask to talk with manager. I explain everything to him. The manager say sorry to us and he give us free dessert. But we don't go to this restaurant again.

80 words

What holds it back

Listenability: tense slips such as "We go to restaurant", "the waiter give them table first" and "we don't go to this restaurant again" make it hard to tell what already happened.
Content/Coherence: the order is clear, from waiting to the manager to "free dessert", but the unfair moment is told in one line with no detail about how it felt.
Vocabulary: words stay at "very rude", "angry" and "say sorry"; "treated unfair" also uses an adjective where the adverb is needed.

These are original CELPass examples written at each level. The CLBs are our estimates, not official CELPIP scores. How we estimate CLB