CELPIP Speaking Task 8: Describing an Unusual Situation

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 Sample Answer: Pedal-Powered Washing Machine at a Campground

This prompt asks you to call your friend Desmond, describe a pedal-powered washing machine a family is using at a campsite, and ask if he would want one at his cabin with no electricity. The tricky part is explaining how the machine works, not just what it looks like.

Preparation

30 seconds

Speaking

60 seconds

Picture

An unusual object or situation

The question

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 practice picture: Pedal-Powered Washing Machine at a Campground

You are camping at a lake when you see a family washing their clothes in a very unusual way. Your friend, Desmond, is planning to spend the whole summer at his family’s cabin, which has no electricity. Call Desmond, describe the machine and how the family is using it in detail, and ask him whether he would like to have something like it at his cabin.

How to plan your answer

What they want

Call your friend Desmond, who'll spend the summer at a cabin without electricity, describe the unusual pedal-powered washing machine and how the family uses it, and ask whether he'd like one at his cabin.

Plan (60 sec)

Greet: "Hi Desmond, I just saw something perfect for your cabin!"
Shape: a blue bicycle fixed on a wooden platform; its front wheel turns inside a big clear plastic drum.
How it works: the drum is full of soapy water and colourful clothes; when you pedal, the wheel spins and washes them, and bubbles float out.
People: a dad pedals; a boy pours water in from a metal bucket; a grandmother hangs socks on a clothesline tied to a tree.
Setting: a tent beside a lake.
Ask: "Would you like something like this at your cabin?"

Useful vocabulary

pedal-powered, drum, soapy water, spin
bucket, clothesline, hang up, no electricity

Phrases

"It looks just like..., except..."
"When you pedal,..."
"Would you like..."

Avoid

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

Excellent answer (transcript): around CLB 11–12

Desmond, I've just found the perfect thing for your cabin. There's a family at the campsite washing their clothes with a bicycle. They've set a regular blue bike on a little wooden platform, and the front wheel sits inside a big see-through tank full of soapy water and colourful laundry. The dad is pedalling away, and as the wheel spins, it churns the clothes around like a washing machine, sending soap bubbles drifting up into the trees. While he rides, he and his son are tipping a metal bucket of water in through an opening on top, and the boy is laughing his head off. Off to the side, the grandmother is pegging wet socks onto a clothesline tied to a tree. No power, no generator, just pedal power. Do you think you'd want something like this for the summer?

140 words

Why it scores high

Content/Coherence: "I've just found the perfect thing for your cabin" connects the call to Desmond immediately, and every detail then supports that claim.
Vocabulary: Lively verbs like "churns the clothes around," "tipping a metal bucket" and "pegging wet socks" show precise, natural word choice.
Task Fulfillment: The punchy "No power, no generator, just pedal power" sums up the benefit right before the question, making the suggestion clear and compelling.

Good answer (transcript): around CLB 7–8

Hi Desmond, it's me. I'm camping at the lake, and I just saw a family doing their laundry in the coolest way. They have a bicycle on a wooden platform, but the front wheel is inside a big clear tank full of soapy water and colourful clothes. The dad is pedalling the bike, so the wheel spins and washes the clothes, and soap bubbles are floating up into the air. At the same time, he and his son are pouring a bucket of water into the top of the tank. The boy is laughing a lot. Behind them, a grandmother is hanging socks on a clothesline tied to a tree. It doesn't need any electricity. Would you like something like this for your cabin?

124 words

What works, and what's missing

Content/Coherence: The machine comes first, then how the dad uses it, then the family around it, which helps Desmond follow the scene step by step.
Vocabulary: Words like "wooden platform," "soapy water" and "clothesline" are accurate, and "the coolest way" sets a friendly tone.
Task Fulfillment: "It doesn't need any electricity" links to the cabin, but saying why that matters for a whole summer would make the question more persuasive.

Basic answer (transcript): around CLB 4–5

Hi Desmond, I am camping at the lake and I see very strange washing machine. It is a bicycle on a wood floor. The front wheel is inside a big plastic tank with water and soap. The man ride the bike and the wheel turn the clothes inside. There is many bubbles flying in the air. A boy help him pour water from a bucket. And a grandmother hang the socks on a rope from a tree. Your cabin don't have electricity, so you want one like this?

88 words

What holds it back

Vocabulary: "I see very strange washing machine" and "Your cabin don't have electricity" show missing articles and agreement errors at the start and end.
Content/Coherence: The mechanism is explained simply, "the wheel turn the clothes inside," but details follow without linking words, so the call sounds like a list.
Task Fulfillment: The main parts of the scene appear, yet "you want one like this?" is abrupt and never connects the machine to Desmond's summer plans.

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