CELPIP® Speaking Task 3 sample: Babysitting in a Basement Playroom

Describing a Scene · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

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

Practice question

You're explaining this playroom picture to a friend over a voice call. Your friend cannot see it, so describe the room and the different activities clearly. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.

View from the stairs across a basement playroom in Sherbrooke on a rainy March afternoon; through a high window, show rain and melting snow at ground level outside. Two friends babysit five children. Centre middle ground: Felipe, a man around thirty in green, sits smiling on a low chair with an open picture book containing only illustrations. Centre foreground: an impatient seven-year-old girl in purple raises her hand toward him. Left foreground: an excited four-year-old boy in red pushes a toy truck directly toward a tall block tower. Left middle ground: a concentrated six-year-old girl in yellow adds a block to that tower. Right middle ground: Jordan, a man in his twenties wearing blue, anxiously balances a tilted snack tray containing apple slices and a cup sliding toward its edge. Right foreground: a grinning three-year-old boy in orange reaches toward an open tub of soapy bubbles tipping near a low table's edge. In the background, a concerned nine-year-old girl in pink stands beside a partly open cupboard overflowing with board-game boxes; one box tilts outward. Use unmarked toys and clothing, with no readable characters or branding.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

126 words

This is a basement playroom in Sherbrooke, where two friends are babysitting five children. There's rain and melting snow outside the high window. Felipe wears green and sits with an open picture book near the centre. A girl in purple raises her hand toward him and looks impatient. Um, on the left, a boy in red pushes a truck toward a tall block tower. A girl in yellow is adding a block. On the right, Jordan in blue carries a tilted tray with apple slices. A cup is sliding toward edge. A little boy in orange reaches toward a tipping tub of bubbles on a low table. At the back, a girl in pink looks worried beside a cupboard where one game box are leaning out.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 answer covers the room and everyone's main activity in a clear spatial order. Its simpler descriptions, loosely connected details, and grammatical slips make it less precise and smooth than the higher-level examples.

A girl in yellow is adding a block. — Content/Coherence: The activity is clear, but its connection to the tower and the approaching truck remains implicit. The higher-level answers place the girl behind the boy and connect these activities more clearly.
A little boy in orange reaches toward a tipping tub of bubbles on a low table. — Vocabulary: The clothing, action, and object are easy to identify. The higher-level answers use more precise details such as soapy bubbles, an open tub, and its position near the table's edge.
one game box are leaning out. — Listenability: The mismatch between the singular box and 'are' interrupts an otherwise understandable description. The higher-level answers use accurate agreement and smoother phrasing to describe the unstable box.
This is a basement playroom in Sherbrooke, where two friends are babysitting five children. — Task Fulfillment: This opening immediately establishes the setting and who is present, helping a friend who cannot see the picture. The higher-level answers build on that coverage with more expressions and clearer relationships between people and objects.

Level 9 sample answer

157 words

You're looking at a busy basement playroom in Sherbrooke on a rainy March afternoon. Melting snow is visible through the high window, while two friends supervise five children inside. Felipe, wearing green in the centre middle ground, sits smiling on a low chair with an open picture book. Directly in front of him, a girl in purple raises her hand impatiently. On the left, a younger boy in red enthusiastically pushes a toy truck toward a tall block tower. The girl in yellow behind him is concentrating on adding another block. Across the room, Jordan in blue has his hands full with a tilted snack tray: there are apple slices on it, and a cup is sliding toward the edge. A small boy in orange reaches toward a tipping tub of soapy bubbles on the low table. In the background, a concerned girl in pink stands beside an overflowing cupboard, where a board-game box is tilting outward.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 answer gives a detailed, well-organized description with natural vocabulary and clear connections between activities. Compared with level 11, some wording is more roundabout, and a few expressions and positions receive less precise attention.

The girl in yellow behind him is concentrating on adding another block. — Content/Coherence: Placing the girl behind the boy helps the listener connect the neighbouring activities, improving on level 7. Level 11 joins their actions with 'while,' making their simultaneous involvement around the tower even clearer.
Jordan in blue has his hands full with a tilted snack tray — Vocabulary: The idiom naturally conveys Jordan's difficulty managing the tray. Level 11 gives a more directly visual description through 'anxiously balances,' identifying both his emotional state and his physical action.
there are apple slices on it, and a cup is sliding toward the edge. — Listenability: The clauses clearly explain the tray's contents and the moving cup. Level 11 integrates these details into Jordan's balancing action more compactly, reducing the words needed to describe the same moment.
A small boy in orange reaches toward a tipping tub of soapy bubbles on the low table. — Task Fulfillment: This gives the unseen listener the child's clothing, action, and nearby object. Level 11 sharpens the picture by adding his grin and locating the tipping tub near the table's edge.

Level 11 sample answer

167 words

The scene is a Sherbrooke basement playroom, where two friends are babysitting five children on a rainy March afternoon. Melting snow can be seen through the high window. The room contains several competing activities, each demanding attention. In the centre middle ground, Felipe, dressed in green, sits smiling on a low chair with an illustrated picture book open. A seven-year-old girl in purple raises her hand toward him from the foreground, visibly impatient. To the left, an excited boy in red pushes a toy truck straight toward a tall block tower, while the girl in yellow behind him concentrates on adding another block. On the right, Jordan, wearing blue, anxiously balances a tilted tray of apple slices as a cup slides toward its edge. Below him, a grinning toddler in orange reaches toward an open tub of soapy bubbles that's tipping near the edge of a low table. At the back, a concerned girl in pink stands beside an overfilled cupboard, with one board-game box tilting outward.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 answer combines broad scene coverage with precise actions, expressions, and spatial relationships. Its connected sentences help the listener picture several simultaneous activities, while controlled vocabulary keeps the description vivid and clear.

The room contains several competing activities, each demanding attention. — Content/Coherence: This provides an organizing idea for the busy scene. The approaching truck, unstable tray, tipping bubbles, and protruding game box then support that overview, giving the details a stronger shared focus than in the other answers.
a grinning toddler in orange reaches toward an open tub of soapy bubbles — Vocabulary: The words 'grinning,' 'toddler,' and 'open' efficiently convey expression, age group, and the object's condition. This creates a more specific visual impression than the simpler descriptions of the same child.
anxiously balances a tilted tray of apple slices as a cup slides toward its edge. — Listenability: The sentence connects Jordan's action with the cup's movement in a clear sequence. The listener can follow the developing situation without a separate explanation of what the tray contains.
A seven-year-old girl in purple raises her hand toward him from the foreground, visibly impatient. — Task Fulfillment: This combines identity, clothing, gesture, position, and expression in a focused description. It helps the friend locate the girl relative to Felipe and understand her behaviour within the wider playroom scene.

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.

Orient the listener to the scene, then group visible details by location or activity. Use precise descriptions and spatial connections rather than an unconnected inventory.

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