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CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Sample Answer: Canceling a Volunteer Shift

By David

You've committed to a volunteer shift at a local event, but an unexpected family emergency requires your attention, forcing you to cancel last-minute. The coordinator is counting on you. You need to notify them…

Preparation
60 seconds
Speaking
60 seconds
Choice
Speak to person A or person B

The question

You've committed to a volunteer shift at a local event, but an unexpected family emergency requires your attention, forcing you to cancel last-minute. The coordinator is counting on you. You need to notify them responsibly.

Choice:

Talk to the volunteer coordinator and explain the family emergency while offering to find a replacement or reschedule.

OR

Talk to the volunteer coordinator and explain why the shift was overcommitted to begin with, but apologize and commit to future reliability.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

I must apologize profusely for this last-minute notification, but I'm unable to fulfill my volunteer shift today owing to a sudden family emergency that demands my undivided attention and couldn't have been anticipated. I fully recognize the strain this places on the team's logistics and feel terrible about contributing to any shortfall, as supporting this initiative is meaningful to me. In an effort to assist, I'll proactively seek a substitute from my network and follow up with you shortly, or alternatively, I can commit to an extended slot next week to compensate. Your understanding during this challenging time is deeply appreciated, and I assure you of my renewed commitment to reliability in our ongoing efforts.

115 words

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Good day, I'm reaching out with regrets to let you know I won't be able to make my volunteer shift due to an unforeseen family emergency that arose this morning and requires my immediate presence. I understand the importance of the event and apologize for any gaps this creates. To help mitigate, I can reach out to a few contacts to see if someone can cover for me, or I'm available to double up on a future shift. Thank you for your compassion; I remain dedicated to the cause.

89 words

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi, I have to cancel my volunteer shift today. There's a family emergency I need to handle. I'm sorry for the short notice. Maybe I can help next time. Thanks

30 words

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

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