CELPIP Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 Sample Answer: Chalk Bag About to Fall on a Man Tying His Shoe at a Climbing Gym

This prompt asks what will probably happen next in the climbing gym, where a chalk bag is dropping toward a man tying his shoe. The tricky part is going beyond the obvious hit to predict realistic reactions from everyone nearby.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

Same as Task 3

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 practice picture: Chalk Bag About to Fall on a Man Tying His Shoe at a Climbing Gym

In this picture, what do you think will most probably happen next?

How to plan your answer

What they want

Predict what will most probably happen next in the climbing gym, where a red chalk bag is falling from a climber's harness toward a man tying his shoe on the mat below.

Plan (60 sec)

Set-up: the bag has come loose, and white chalk is already pouring out of it.
Prediction 1: it will land on the man's head or back; it's light, so he won't be hurt.
Prediction 2: he'll be covered in white chalk, and he'll cough and look up in surprise.
Prediction 3: the climber will stop, say "Sorry!", and climb down to get her bag.
Prediction 4: the two kids on the mat will burst out laughing, and a staff member will bring a broom.
Close: "Next time, she'll tie her bag on tightly."

Useful vocabulary

come loose, land on, cover in, cloud of chalk
look up, cough, climb down, sweep up

Phrases

"I think the first thing that will happen is..."
"As a result,..."
"After that,..."

Avoid

Re-describing the whole gym; focus on future events.
Predictions that ignore the chalk bag, the climber and the man.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Judging by where that chalk bag is falling, the man tying his shoe is about to get a very unpleasant surprise. He's completely focused on his laces, so he won't look up in time. Most likely, the bag will bounce right off the top of his head, and whatever chalk is left in it will burst out in a big white cloud, all over his hair, his face and his bright yellow T-shirt. He'll probably jump, start coughing and blinking, and look around trying to figure out what on earth just happened. Up on the wall, the woman will realize what she's done, call down an apology, and probably have to climb down, since she can't keep going without her chalk anyway. The kids nearby will likely find it hilarious, since he'll look a bit like a ghost. The good news is that a chalk bag is light, so he won't be hurt, just very dusty. Someone from the front desk will probably come over to help clean up the mats.

171 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: "Judging by where that chalk bag is falling" grounds the prediction in the picture, and each later step follows logically from it.
Vocabulary: Phrases like "bounce right off the top of his head," "burst out in a big white cloud" and "what on earth just happened" are natural and vivid.
Task Fulfillment: Practical reasoning, "she can't keep going without her chalk anyway" and "a chalk bag is light, so he won't be hurt," makes every prediction convincing.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I think in a second, the red chalk bag is going to land right on the man who's tying his shoe. He's looking down at his feet, so he won't see it coming. The bag will probably hit his head or shoulder, and all the white chalk will spill out over his hair and his yellow T-shirt. He'll be really surprised, and he might start coughing from the chalk dust. The woman on the wall will look down and feel embarrassed. She'll probably shout sorry and climb down to check on him. The kids sitting on the mats nearby will probably laugh, because he'll be covered in white powder. In the end, I think he'll laugh too, and someone from the front desk will come over with a broom to clean up the mess.

134 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: Reasons back up the predictions, as in "He's looking down at his feet, so he won't see it coming," giving the answer a logical thread.
Vocabulary: Future forms vary well, "is going to land," "will probably hit," "might start coughing," signalling different degrees of certainty.
Task Fulfillment: The broom ending is sensible, but injury is never considered; judging how serious the hit would be would add the reasoning of a top answer.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

I think the chalk bag will fall on the man head. He is tying his shoe, so he don't look up. The bag hit him and all the white chalk go on his hair and his yellow shirt. He will be very surprise and he will cough. The woman on the wall will look down and say sorry. Maybe she come down to help him. The kids near him will laugh because he look like a ghost. Then he will clean his face and laugh too.

86 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "the man head," "he don't look up" and "The bag hit him" show possessive, agreement and tense errors that blur when things happen.
Content/Coherence: The predictions move in a sensible order, hit, cough, apology, laughter, but each is a separate short sentence with almost no linking words.
Task Fulfillment: The ghost image is a fun touch, yet the answer never says whether he could be hurt or why the climber would need to come down.

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