CELPIP Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 Sample Answer: Clay About to Fly off a Pottery Wheel at a Community Art Class

The speaker predicts what happens after a tall tower of clay starts to bend on a spinning pottery wheel. The challenge is giving a clear sequence of events, with reasons, and including the people nearby.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

Same as Task 3

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 4 practice picture: Clay About to Fly off a Pottery Wheel at a Community Art Class

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 pottery class, where a tall lump of wet clay is twisting and flying off a man's spinning wheel.

Plan (60 sec)

Set-up: the wheel is spinning too fast, and the clay pot is collapsing sideways.
Prediction 1: the clay will fly off and land on the older man beside him, or on the floor.
Prediction 2: wet clay will splatter across nearby wheels, aprons and faces.
Prediction 3: the man will take his foot off the pedal to stop the wheel, then apologize.
Prediction 4: everyone will burst out laughing, the woman will share her video, and the teacher will show him how to slow down.
Close: "He'll clean up and start again with a new piece of clay."

Useful vocabulary

fly off, collapse, splatter, land on
slow down, pedal, wipe off, start over

Phrases

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

Avoid

Re-describing the whole studio; focus on future events.
Predictions that ignore the clay, the man and the people nearby.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

I'd say this tower of clay has one more spin left in it. It's leaning so far over that the wheel's speed is going to fling it right off, and the most likely target is the poor older man behind him, who's already got his hands out. He'll probably catch a big, wet lump of clay right in the chest, and the woman in the green apron will get splattered as she jumps back. The man at the wheel will finally slam his foot off the pedal, but by then it'll be too late, and there'll be clay on the floor, on the stools and probably on his own face too. After a moment of stunned silence, the whole room will burst out laughing, and the woman filming will have the highlight of the evening. Then I imagine the instructor will hand out towels, help him start over with a smaller ball of clay, and remind him to slow the wheel down.

162 words

Why it scores high

Vocabulary: "one more spin left in it", "fling it right off" and "a moment of stunned silence" are lively, precise phrases.
Content/Coherence: the events follow naturally, from the clay hitting "the poor older man" to the laughter and the instructor's advice to "slow the wheel down".
Task Fulfillment: the speaker includes the woman in the green apron, the woman filming and the instructor, so the predictions cover the whole scene.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I think in a second, the clay is going to fly right off the wheel. The tower is bending a lot, and the wheel is still spinning, so it will probably flop over to the side and hit the older man with glasses, or land on the floor near the woman in the green apron. Wet clay will splash all over people's aprons, and maybe on the man's face too. Then the man will quickly take his foot off the pedal to stop the wheel. He'll be embarrassed, but everyone will laugh, and the woman with the phone will have a funny video. After that, the teacher will help him clean up, and show him how to start again with a smaller piece of clay.

125 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: the reason "the wheel is still spinning, so it will probably flop over to the side" links the prediction to the picture.
Vocabulary: "flop over", "splash all over people's aprons" and "take his foot off the pedal" are accurate and natural.
Task Fulfillment: the teacher's help with "a smaller piece of clay" is a good ending, but the predictions stay more general than the image allows.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

I think the clay will fly off the wheel very soon. It is too tall and it is bending. Maybe the clay will hit the old man with glasses, or it fall on the floor. The wet clay will go on the people's clothes and face. Then the man will stop the wheel. He will be embarrass. But I think everybody will laugh, and the woman with phone will have funny video. After, the teacher will help him clean and he will try again.

84 words

What holds it back

Task Fulfillment: the sequence is complete, from the clay flying to the teacher helping, but each step is short and lacks reasons.
Listenability: "it fall on the floor" and "He will be embarrass" contain errors, though the order of events is still clear.
Vocabulary: "fly", "go on the people's clothes" and "funny video" are simple; more precise words would make the scene easier to picture.

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