CELPIP Speaking Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 Sample Answer: Bicycle Pulling a Train of Toddler Seats

The speaker phones a relative who runs a home daycare to describe a bicycle pulling a line of toddler carts. The hard part is making an odd vehicle easy to picture and then asking whether her children would enjoy it.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

An unusual object or situation

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 practice picture: Bicycle Pulling a Train of Toddler Seats

You are walking in a park when you see a daycare worker taking a group of young children on a very unusual ride. Your sister-in-law, Amanda, runs a small daycare from her home and is always looking for new ways to take the children outside. Call Amanda, describe what you see in detail, and ask her whether she thinks the children at her daycare would enjoy it.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Call your sister-in-law Amanda, who runs a home daycare, describe the unusual bicycle pulling a train of toddler seats, and ask whether her daycare kids would enjoy it.

Plan (60 sec)

Greet: "Hi Amanda, I just saw the cutest thing in the park!"
Shape: a woman in a yellow helmet rides a blue bicycle; behind it, five little carts are linked like a train.
Details: each box-shaped cart is a different colour, blue, green, yellow, orange and red; the last one has a striped canopy and a teddy bear.
Kids: in each cart, a toddler in a helmet and safety harness waves and laughs.
Others: a second worker waves at the back; an older man on a bench waves back.
Ask: "Do you think your daycare kids would enjoy it?"

Useful vocabulary

tow, cart, linked together, canopy
safety harness, helmet, toddler, bike path

Phrases

"It looks just like..., except..."
"Behind the bike, there are..."
"Do you think the children would..."

Avoid

Forgetting to ask Amanda the question at the end.
Vague words like "thing"; give colours, shapes and positions.

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Amanda, you have to hear about this. I'm walking through the park, and a daycare worker just rode past me with what I can only describe as a toddler train. She's on a regular blue bicycle, but hooked to the back is a chain of five little carts, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, each one with its own wheels. In every cart there's a toddler in a bright helmet and a little harness, and they're all throwing their arms up like they're on a roller coaster. The red one at the back even has a striped canopy, and someone's teddy bear is along for the ride. Honestly, it looked like the best part of their day. Do you think your kids would love something like this?

127 words

Why it scores high

Vocabulary: "what I can only describe as a toddler train" and "throwing their arms up like they're on a roller coaster" sound lively and natural on the phone.
Content/Coherence: the description moves from the "regular blue bicycle" to the chain of carts to the toddlers and ends with "the red one at the back", a clear order.
Task Fulfillment: "it looked like the best part of their day" gives Amanda a reason to care before the question, so the call does exactly what the task asks.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Hi Amanda, it's me. I'm at the park right now, and I just saw the cutest thing. I thought of you right away. There's a daycare worker riding a blue bicycle, and behind her, she's pulling a little train of five plastic carts. Each one is a different colour, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. There's a toddler sitting in every cart, wearing a helmet and a seat belt, and they're all waving their arms and laughing. The last cart even has a striped roof and a teddy bear inside. The woman is wearing a yellow helmet and waving to an older man on a bench. Do you think the kids at your daycare would enjoy something like this?

119 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: "I thought of you right away" connects the call to Amanda, and the details flow from the bike to the carts to the toddlers.
Vocabulary: "a little train of five plastic carts", "a helmet and a seat belt" and "a striped roof" are accurate and easy to picture.
Task Fulfillment: the scene is well covered, but the line about "an older man on a bench" adds little, and the reason it would suit her daycare is left unsaid.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi Amanda, I am in the park now and I see something very funny. A woman ride a blue bicycle and she pull many small carts behind, like a train. There is five carts and every cart is different colour, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. In every cart there is a small kid with helmet. They all wave their hand and smile. The last cart have a small roof and teddy bear. Do you think your daycare kids will like it?

82 words

What holds it back

Content/Coherence: the description starts with the bicycle, then the carts and the kids, and "There is five carts" with the colours listed gives a clear picture.
Listenability: "A woman ride a blue bicycle and she pull many small carts" and "The last cart have a small roof" contain agreement errors in nearly every line.
Task Fulfillment: the closing question is asked, but nothing links the ride to Amanda's daycare or why it might suit her children.

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