CELPIP® Speaking Task 1 sample: When Dog Walking Becomes Expected

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 sister Deepa in Mississauga agreed to walk her next-door neighbour's dog after work every weekday for one month. The neighbour now wants the help to continue for six more months, but Deepa starts an evening course next month with classes twice a week. She values the neighbour's help watering her plants and feels uncomfortable refusing. Advise Deepa on responding to the request.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

193 words

Deepa, I think you should tell your neighbour about the course now. You agreed to help for one month, and six more months is a much bigger commitment. It's reasonable to change the plan when your schedule changes.

First, explain that you have classes twice a week and can't walk the dog on those evenings. Don't say you might manage it if you already know it will be difficult. Your neighbour needs a clear answer so they can arrange other help.

Also, decide how much walking you actually want to continue. Maybe you could offer a couple of days, but only if that leaves enough time for studying. The course need time outside the classroom too.

Then suggest that your neighbour ask another neighbour or a dog walker about the remaining days. Um, you could help them think of options, but you don't have to organize everything yourself.

Finally, thank them for watering your plants. Tell them you appreciate it and would like to keep helping in smaller ways. You can discuss a different favour in the future instead of feeling you must agree with every request. Being honest should protect your relationship.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 answer gives clear, relevant advice about the course, the longer commitment, and gratitude for plant watering. Its straightforward organization supports understanding, but simpler wording, a grammar slip, and less precise guidance about setting limits hold it below the other examples.

First, explain that you have classes twice a week and can't walk the dog on those evenings. — Content/Coherence: This clearly connects the course to unavailable evenings. However, it discusses those evenings before establishing Deepa's overall limit, which could leave the remaining weekdays open to expectation. The higher-level answers first recommend deciding what she can comfortably sustain.
six more months is a much bigger commitment. — Vocabulary: The wording communicates the increased burden clearly but uses a broad comparison. The higher-level answers express the problem more precisely through availability, temporary favours, and the risk of an unlimited obligation.
The course need time outside the classroom too. — Listenability: The reminder about study time is useful, but the subject–verb agreement error briefly interrupts the otherwise clear phrasing. The higher-level answers integrate this point into smoother explanations of homework and coursework demands.
Tell them you appreciate it and would like to keep helping in smaller ways. — Task Fulfillment: This addresses Deepa's gratitude and desire to preserve the relationship. However, smaller ways remains vague and could invite further expectations. The higher-level answers more explicitly frame future help as occasional and dependent on her schedule.

Level 9 sample answer

231 words

Deepa, I'd separate being grateful from being available. Your neighbour's help with the plants matters, but it doesn't automatically mean you can commit to walking the dog every weekday for another six months.

Tell them soon that your evening course starts next month and includes two class nights each week. Explain that you were happy to help for the original month, but your new schedule won't support the same arrangement. Giving a definite answer now is kinder than accepting and then cancelling walks when classes begin.

Before that conversation, decide what you can comfortably offer. That might be a limited number of walks each week, or it might be finishing the original month and stopping there. Remember to leave room for homework rather than filling every evening without a class. Otherwise, you'll be stretched too thin before the course has properly started.

You could also suggest that they arrange a combination of help from other neighbours and a paid dog walker, depending on their budget. Offer ideas, but let the dog's owner take responsibility for making those arrangements.

Finally, acknowledge the plant watering directly. You could say that you really appreciate it and would be glad to discuss another occasional favour that fits your schedule. That keeps the friendship warm without turning a past kindness into an unlimited obligation. A clear limit now should prevent resentment from building on either side.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 answer combines a clear central principle with practical choices, responsibility for replacement care, and a thoughtful response to Deepa's guilt. Its language and organization are more controlled than the level 7 example, while the level 11 answer adds usable wording and finer guidance for maintaining the boundary.

Before that conversation, decide what you can comfortably offer. — Content/Coherence: This puts private decision-making before the conversation, giving the advice a logical sequence. It improves on the level 7 answer's earlier focus on class nights. The level 11 answer sharpens the decision further by testing any commitment against a busy study week.
Otherwise, you'll be stretched too thin before the course has properly started. — Vocabulary: The natural expression stretched too thin efficiently conveys the strain of combining walks, classes, and homework. The level 11 answer adds similarly precise language about the conversation itself, including the risk of bargaining against her own limit.
That might be a limited number of walks each week, or it might be finishing the original month and stopping there. — Listenability: The repeated structure makes the alternatives easy to follow and gives stopping equal legitimacy with continuing. The level 11 answer adds a short statement Deepa could actually say, making the proposed response easier to put into spoken form.
Offer ideas, but let the dog's owner take responsibility for making those arrangements. — Task Fulfillment: This offers a practical route to continued dog care while keeping responsibility with the neighbour. The level 11 answer develops the implication further: helping find a replacement could itself become another ongoing commitment for Deepa.

Level 11 sample answer

249 words

Deepa, I'd give your neighbour a warm, definite answer rather than a reluctant yes that becomes harder to sustain. A month of weekday walks was a temporary favour; extending it by six months deserves a fresh discussion.

Work out your limit before you speak to them. With two evening classes each week, you'll need time for both attendance and coursework, so don't assume that every remaining weekday is available for dog walking. If you'd enjoy continuing occasionally, choose a commitment you could maintain even during a busy study week. If you can't offer regular walks, it's better to say so clearly.

Then explain the change without overexplaining or bargaining against yourself. You could say, 'I've enjoyed helping this month, but once my course starts, I can't continue the weekday arrangement.' If you're offering fewer walks, specify which ones only after checking your timetable. Clear details let your neighbour plan dependable care for the dog.

I'd also give them notice now and suggest that they explore another neighbour's availability or the cost of a dog walker. You can help brainstorm, but finding a replacement shouldn't become a second unpaid commitment for you.

As for the plants, acknowledge that kindness explicitly and offer to discuss a more occasional exchange of favours. Appreciation doesn't require matching every favour hour for hour, and neither person benefits if help is given out of guilt. Setting a considerate limit gives the relationship a better chance of staying friendly throughout your course and after it ends.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 answer combines nuanced reasoning, precise language, and a usable response to the neighbour. It anticipates pressure points such as busy study weeks, overexplaining, and taking on replacement arrangements, while addressing gratitude in a way that supports a lasting, friendly boundary.

If you'd enjoy continuing occasionally, choose a commitment you could maintain even during a busy study week. — Content/Coherence: This turns the general idea of setting limits into a practical sustainability check. It develops the homework concern in the other answers by asking Deepa to plan around demanding weeks, making the advice more robust.
Then explain the change without overexplaining or bargaining against yourself. — Vocabulary: The compact phrasing identifies a subtle conversational risk: Deepa might weaken her own limit because she feels guilty. This gives precise language to a difficulty that the other answers address less directly.
I've enjoyed helping this month, but once my course starts, I can't continue the weekday arrangement. — Listenability: This short, natural statement moves smoothly from warmth to a clear limit. Its straightforward clauses make the proposed response easy to follow aloud, and the direct wording gives Deepa something immediately usable.
Appreciation doesn't require matching every favour hour for hour, and neither person benefits if help is given out of guilt. — Task Fulfillment: This directly addresses why Deepa feels uncomfortable refusing. It explains how gratitude can coexist with a limit, connecting the practical scheduling advice to the emotional obstacle and the longer-term health of the neighbourly relationship.

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