CELPIP® Speaking Task 1 sample: Taking Over the Parent Council

Giving Advice · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 90 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.

Practice question

Your friend Jonah has volunteered on the parent council at his children's elementary school in Surrey for two years. The current chair, Meera, is moving away, and she has asked Jonah to take over. Without a new chair, the spring fun fair, which raises about $8,000 for library books and field trips, may be cancelled. However, Jonah is starting a new job next month with a long commute. Speak to Jonah and give him your advice.

Model answers

These are transcripts of a model response, provided for comparison with your own recording.

Level 7 sample answer

189 words

Hey Jonah, I heard Meera asked you to be the chair. That's a big compliment, but I understand it's a hard decision with your new job.

I think you should be careful and not say yes right away. A new job is stressful, especially the first few months, and you will have a long commute too. If you are too busy, you can't do a good job as chair and you will be stressed.

But the fun fair is important for the kids, so maybe you can find a middle way. For example, you could ask another parent to be co-chair with you. Then you share the work and it's not too much for one person.

Also, you can ask Meera what the chair actually does every month. Maybe it is less work than you think, or maybe more. You need to know before you decide.

And then talk to the other parents in the council. Maybe somebody else want to be chair, and you can help them with the fun fair because you have experience.

So, um, don't feel guilty. Your family and your new job comes first.

Why this answer is at level 7

This answer gives Jonah clear, relevant advice and recognizes the conflict between helping the school and starting his new job. Compared with the higher-level answers, its reasons are less developed, its vocabulary is simpler, and some grammar interrupts the flow.

Maybe it is less work than you think, or maybe more. — Content/Coherence: This explains why Jonah should investigate the workload, but adds little detail. The higher-level answers identify what to ask Meera, including which responsibilities take the most time and which can be delegated.
Then you share the work and it's not too much for one person. — Vocabulary: The meaning is clear, but words such as "work" and "too much" describe the arrangement broadly. The higher-level answers use more precise language about splitting responsibilities, handing off tasks, and setting limits.
Your family and your new job comes first. — Listenability: The closing priority is easy to understand, but the plural subject needs "come first." The higher-level answers maintain more consistent grammatical control, making their advice easier to follow without small distractions.
For example, you could ask another parent to be co-chair with you. — Task Fulfillment: This offers a practical compromise that could protect Jonah's time while keeping the fair possible. The higher-level answers develop the suggestion by explaining how responsibilities could be divided and what conditions Jonah should establish before accepting.

Level 9 sample answer

239 words

Jonah, it says a lot that Meera thought of you first. Two years on the council and everyone already sees you as the obvious choice. Still, I think you need to go into this with your eyes open.

My biggest concern is timing. The first few months of a new job are when you're learning the ropes and trying to make a good impression, and with that commute, your evenings are going to shrink. The chair usually runs the monthly meetings and handles emails with the principal, so it's not something you can just squeeze in.

That said, I don't think you have to go all or nothing. What if you suggested a co-chair arrangement? You could share the role with another parent, maybe someone who's been active this year, and split it so you focus on the fun fair since you already know how it works.

Before you commit, I'd also sit down with Meera and ask for a realistic picture of the workload. Ask her which tasks took the most time and which ones could be handed off to other volunteers.

And finally, be honest with the council about your limits from the start. If you say up front that you can't attend every weekday event, people will plan around it instead of being disappointed later.

Eight thousand dollars for library books and field trips is worth saving, but not at the cost of burning yourself out.

Why this answer is at level 9

This answer develops practical advice with clear reasons, natural expressions, and specific attention to Jonah's workload and the fair's fundraising purpose. Compared with the level 11 answer, it leaves the division of responsibilities less complete and presents its conditions for accepting less decisively.

Ask her which tasks took the most time and which ones could be handed off to other volunteers. — Content/Coherence: The handover advice becomes useful because it identifies what Jonah needs to learn. The level 11 answer connects delegation more explicitly to redesigning the chair's role before he accepts.
when you're learning the ropes and trying to make a good impression — Vocabulary: These natural expressions explain why starting the new job will demand attention and energy. The level 11 answer adds more precise organizational language, such as reshaping the role and delegating responsibilities, to express its proposed solution.
That said, I don't think you have to go all or nothing. — Listenability: This conversational transition clearly moves from the workload concern to a compromise. The level 11 answer establishes its conditional recommendation immediately, giving the listener an even clearer organizing idea for the advice that follows.
If you say up front that you can't attend every weekday event, people will plan around it instead of being disappointed later. — Task Fulfillment: This turns Jonah's limited availability into an actionable conversation with the council and explains why early disclosure helps. The level 11 answer makes the boundary-setting step more concrete by recommending written limits at the first meeting.

Level 11 sample answer

258 words

Jonah, I'll be straight with you: I think you'd make an excellent chair, but in your position, I'd only take it on if I could reshape the role first.

The timing worries me most. You'll be spending your first months at the new job trying to prove yourself, and with a commute like that, you won't be getting home until well after the kids have eaten. If you said yes to everything Meera currently does, something would inevitably slip, and it would likely be either your evenings with the family or the quality of the fair itself.

So rather than inheriting the job as it stands, propose splitting it. A co-chair could run the monthly meetings and deal with the school office, while you take charge of the fun fair, which you've helped organize twice and could probably plan in your sleep. That way the event that raises eight thousand dollars for library books and field trips isn't lost, and no single person is stretched too thin.

I'd also ask Meera for a frank handover before she leaves. Find out which tasks genuinely need the chair and which could be delegated to the dozen or so parents who reliably show up. Some of it probably landed on her simply because she never said no.

Finally, set your boundaries in writing at the first meeting. People are far more understanding about limits that are announced early than about ones they discover mid-year.

You don't owe anyone your burnout, Jonah, but with the right structure, you could make this work.

Why this answer is at level 11

This answer gives a decisive conditional recommendation and develops it into a coordinated plan involving shared duties, a handover, delegation, and written boundaries. Precise vocabulary and clear cause-and-effect reasoning make the advice persuasive, although some personal details are assumed beyond the prompt.

I'd only take it on if I could reshape the role first. — Task Fulfillment: This directly answers Jonah's dilemma with a clear condition for accepting. It recognizes both the school's need to preserve the fair and Jonah's need to protect his capacity during the new job.
A co-chair could run the monthly meetings and deal with the school office, while you take charge of the fun fair, — Content/Coherence: The proposed compromise includes an actual division of responsibilities. This develops the shared-role suggestion more fully than the other answers and connects the arrangement directly to keeping the fair running.
I'd also ask Meera for a frank handover before she leaves. — Vocabulary: "Frank handover" expresses the need for an honest transfer of practical knowledge concisely. It suits the leadership transition and prepares naturally for the following questions about essential duties and delegation.
If you said yes to everything Meera currently does, something would inevitably slip, — Listenability: The conditional sentence makes the consequence of accepting the existing workload easy to follow. The following alternatives, involving family time and the fair's quality, give the warning a clear and concrete structure.
you won't be getting home until well after the kids have eaten. — Content/Coherence: This makes the possible family impact vivid, but the prompt does not establish Jonah's arrival time. Presenting it as a possibility would preserve the persuasive reasoning while keeping the advice grounded in the information provided.

What moves an answer from 7 to 9 to 11

These are model answers written to show each level. The labels are practice estimates, not examiner scores.

Give advice that fits the person and their constraints. Develop suggestions with reasons, practical steps and a supportive tone rather than listing tips.

Content/Coherence: Level 7 models communicate the main ideas; level 9 models develop relevant details with clear connections; level 11 models sustain precise, well-integrated development.
Vocabulary: Compare adequate everyday wording with more varied, accurate choices at level 9 and flexible, precise expression at level 11.
Listenability: Higher-level delivery needs clear pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and controlled pauses. Transcripts suggest phrasing and organisation, but cannot demonstrate these audio features; a recording is needed.
Task Fulfillment: Compare how fully the response addresses the request, develops enough relevant detail and maintains an appropriate tone for the audience within the task limits.

Assess the criteria together. A longer answer or rarer words alone do not establish a higher level.

Answer this question and get your level