CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Hands Up During a Class Lesson

This picture shows a teacher standing among students at desks, with two students raising their hands in front of a whiteboard. The tricky part is placing the teacher at the centre and then grouping the students by side, so the listener understands the U-shaped layout.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Hands Up During a Class Lesson

Describe some things that are happening in the picture below as well as you can. The person with whom you are speaking cannot see the picture.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Describe a classroom: a teacher in a navy suit standing in the middle, students at wooden desks arranged around her, two students raising their hands, and a whiteboard behind.

Plan (60 sec)

Overview: "This is a classroom with about a dozen students and a teacher standing in the middle."
Centre: the teacher has short grey hair and wears a navy blazer, white shirt and navy pants; her hands are clasped in front of her.
Left: a young man in a blue sweater and the student behind him both have their hands up.
Foreground: a woman with long brown hair in a pink sweater sits with her back to us.
Right: a student with a ponytail leans over her desk; others in a navy hoodie, white T-shirt and teal shirt listen.
Details: stacks of notebooks and papers on the desks, a whiteboard with faint writing, light from a window on the left.

Useful vocabulary

raise a hand, lesson, whiteboard, desks
blazer, notebooks, attentive, arranged in a U-shape

Phrases

"Standing at the front,..."
"A couple of students are..."
"On the desks, there are..."

Avoid

Saying "students are studying"; say who raises a hand, who listens, who leans forward.
Skipping the teacher's clothes; she's the centre of the picture.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is a classroom in the middle of a lesson, and the desks are arranged in a kind of U-shape around the teacher. She's standing right in the centre, a woman with short grey hair in a navy blazer, a crisp white shirt and navy trousers, with her hands clasped in front of her as if she's waiting for an answer. On the left, a young man in a blue sweater has his hand up, and another student just behind him is reaching up high too. In the foreground, a woman with long brown hair and a pink sweater is sitting with her back to us, facing the teacher. Over on the right, a student with a ponytail is leaning forward over her desk, and the others, in a navy hoodie, a white T-shirt and a teal shirt, are listening closely. The desks are covered with stacks of colourful notebooks and loose papers, and behind everything is a big whiteboard with faint writing on it.

165 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: Describing the room as "arranged in a kind of U-shape around the teacher" gives the listener a mental map before the people.
Vocabulary: Details like "hands clasped in front of her as if she's waiting for an answer" and "reaching up high" make the actions vivid and precise.
Listenability: Signposts like "On the left," "In the foreground," "Over on the right" and "behind everything" create a smooth, logical tour.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows a classroom with a teacher and about a dozen students. The teacher is standing in the middle of the room. She has short grey hair and is wearing a navy blazer, a white shirt and navy pants. Behind her, there's a large whiteboard with some writing on it. On the left, two students are raising their hands, probably to answer a question. In the front, a young woman in a pink sweater is sitting with her back to us. On the right, a girl with a ponytail is leaning over her desk, and the other students are listening. There are stacks of notebooks and papers on most of the desks.

113 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The answer moves from the teacher to "On the left," "In the front" and "On the right," covering every part of the room in order.
Vocabulary: "probably to answer a question" gives a sensible reason for the raised hands, and "navy blazer" and "stacks of notebooks" are precise.
Task Fulfillment: "the other students are listening" is general; naming one or two of them by clothing would make the right side as clear as the left.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is a classroom. In the middle a teacher is standing. She have grey hair and blue jacket and white shirt. Behind her is a big white board. Many students is sitting at the desks. On the left two students raise the hand, maybe they want to ask question. In front there is a girl with pink sweater, she sit with her back. On the desks there is many books and paper. I think the class is interesting.

79 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "She have," "many students is," "raise the hand" and "ask question" show agreement and article errors, and "blue jacket" misses 'blazer.'
Content/Coherence: "she sit with her back" leaves the idea unfinished, and the students on the right are not described at all.
Listenability: Ending with "I think the class is interesting" adds an opinion instead of a detail, and most sentences are short and unlinked.

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