CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Sample Answer: Work Meeting Rescheduling

By David

You have an important work meeting scheduled, but something unexpected has come up, and you need to reschedule.

Preparation

60 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Choice

Speak to person A or person B

The question

You have an important work meeting scheduled, but something unexpected has come up, and you need to reschedule.

Choose ONE: EITHER Talk to your colleague and explain why you need to reschedule the meeting and suggest an alternative time. OR Talk to your manager and explain why you need to reschedule the meeting and ask if they can help coordinate a new time.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Due to an unforeseen conflict, I won’t be able to attend our scheduled work meeting. I’ll reach out to my colleague and explain the situation, offering a few alternative times for the meeting. I’ll ensure to check their availability and coordinate accordingly. If necessary, I may involve the manager to help finalize the new timing. I’m confident we can find a suitable solution.

63 words

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

I have to reschedule the meeting because of an unexpected issue. I’ll talk to my colleague and explain the situation. I’ll suggest a few alternative times and ask if any of them work for them. I’ll make sure we can still meet soon.

43 words

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

I need to reschedule my meeting. I’ll talk to my colleague and tell them something came up. I’ll suggest another time that works for both of us. I hope they understand.

31 words

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