CELPIP Speaking Task 3: Describing a Scene

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 Sample Answer: Snowy Day in a Theatre Lobby

The speaker describes a crowded movie theatre lobby on a snowy day for a listener who cannot see it. The hard part is organizing several moving people and the background details so the listener can follow.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

A detailed illustration

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 3 practice picture: Snowy Day in a Theatre Lobby

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 busy movie theatre lobby on a snowy day, where a boy is running toward a woman carrying a giant bucket of popcorn, to someone who cannot see it.

Plan (60 sec)

Big picture: a lobby with a red star-patterned carpet; outside the glass doors, it's snowing and the parked cars are covered.
Centre: a boy in a green jacket and blue toque runs toward a woman in a red coat holding a huge popcorn bucket and a drink.
Left: a girl in pink runs, spilling popcorn; there's a claw machine full of toys; a man in a cowboy hat comes in with the snow.
Right: staff in red caps work at the concession stand; a worried man raises his hand.
Background: a big red dragon statue, and a child sweeps with a broom.

Useful vocabulary

lobby, concession stand, popcorn machine, claw machine
bucket of popcorn, toque, snowstorm, glass doors

Phrases

"In the centre of the picture,..."
"On the left-hand side,..."
"At the back of the lobby,..."

Avoid

Saying what the boy will do; that is Part 4.
Listing people without saying what they're doing.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

This is the lobby of a movie theatre on a snowy winter day. Through the tall windows, you can see a parking lot full of cars buried under snow, and the front door is wide open, letting in a man in a cowboy hat and a sheepskin jacket, along with a gust of snow. Right in the centre, a woman in a long red coat is carrying an enormous striped bucket of popcorn and a drink, and she's just looked up with a startled expression. That's because a boy in a green jacket and a blue pom-pom toque is sprinting straight at her, scattering popcorn behind him. To the left, a girl in a pink coat is running past a claw machine, laughing, with popcorn spilling out of her hand. On the right, a man in a dark parka has his hand up like he's trying to warn them. In the background, there's a giant red dragon display and staff in red caps behind the concession counter.

167 words

Why it scores high

Vocabulary: "buried under snow", "a gust of snow", "a blue pom-pom toque" and "a startled expression" are exact and very visual.
Content/Coherence: "That's because" connects the woman's surprise to the boy running at her, showing the listener how two parts of the picture are linked.
Task Fulfillment: smaller details like the "claw machine" and "staff in red caps behind the concession counter" are included, so the description is complete.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

This picture shows the lobby of a movie theatre on a snowy day. Through the big windows, you can see a parking lot full of cars covered in snow. Near the door, a man in a cowboy hat is walking in, and some snow is blowing onto the carpet. In the middle, a woman in a long red coat is carrying a huge bucket of popcorn and a drink. A boy in a green jacket is running right toward her, and he's dropping popcorn. On the left, a girl in a pink jacket is running and laughing. On the right, a man in a dark coat looks worried and is raising his hand. In the back, there's a big red dragon statue and a concession counter.

126 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: the speaker sets the scene through "the big windows" before moving from the door to the centre, left, right and back.
Vocabulary: details like "a long red coat", "a huge bucket of popcorn" and "a big red dragon statue and a concession counter" help the listener see each part.
Task Fulfillment: the main action is clear, but the claw machine and staff are left out, and "looks worried" stays general about the man on the right.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

This picture is the lobby of a movie theatre in winter. Outside is snowing and the cars have snow on top. A man in cowboy hat is coming in the door. In the middle a woman in red coat carry big popcorn and a drink. A boy in green jacket is running to her. On the left, a girl in pink jacket is running and her popcorn is falling. On the right a man is holding his hand up. In the back there is a big red dragon.

88 words

What holds it back

Content/Coherence: the speaker moves from the door to the middle, left, right and back, but each person gets only one short line.
Vocabulary: "a big red dragon" and "a man is holding his hand up" name things without telling us what they are, such as a display or a warning.
Listenability: "Outside is snowing" and "a woman in red coat carry big popcorn" miss subjects, articles and verb endings, though the meaning stays clear.

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