CELPIP® Speaking Task 3 sample: Community garden on harvest day

Level 7 sample answer

139 words

Colette, this is a community garden on a sunny summer day. It has wooden beds with vegetables and sunflowers. On the left, an old man in a green shirt is pushing a wheelbarrow full of zucchini, and it's tipping on a board, so he's struggling. Behind him, a teenage girl in yellow is pulling carrots and smiling. In the centre, a woman with red apron is putting vegetables into crates. Next to her, um, a little boy in a blue cap is playing with a hose. In the back, a man and a woman are arguing about where to plant garlic. She's holding the bulbs. On the right, a young man is on a ladder fixing the shed roof, and he look nervous. A dog is smelling some muffins on a blanket, but the owner is on her phone.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 teaching answer gives Colette a clear tour of the garden and covers the main activities. Its straightforward vocabulary, list-like progression and occasional grammar errors keep it below the more precise, connected descriptions at higher levels.

• Behind him, a teenage girl in yellow is pulling carrots and smiling. — Content/Coherence: The spatial link helps Colette locate the girl behind the wheelbarrow. However, the answer largely lists people separately; a higher-level response would connect simultaneous actions and vary how each detail is introduced.
• an old man in a green shirt is pushing a wheelbarrow full of zucchini — Vocabulary: The familiar words communicate the person, clothing and activity clearly. A higher-level answer would choose more precise descriptions of his appearance, the heavy load and his physical effort.
• On the right, a young man is on a ladder fixing the shed roof, and he look nervous. — Listenability: The location and activity are easy to follow, but the agreement error in 'he look nervous' weakens grammatical control. A higher-level answer would express his nervousness smoothly and connect it to the ladder's instability.
• A dog is smelling some muffins on a blanket, but the owner is on her phone. — Task Fulfillment: This captures the amusing contrast between the interested dog and its distracted owner. A higher-level description would help Colette picture the foreground more precisely by identifying the brown dog, the plate and the owner's black hoodie.

Level 9 sample answer

165 words

Colette, it's a community garden in Saskatoon on a hot, breezy late-summer afternoon, and the raised beds are overflowing with tomatoes, squash and sunflowers.

On the left, a grey-haired man in a green shirt is pushing a wheelbarrow piled with zucchini, but it's tipping sideways on a loose board and he looks strained. Behind him, a teenage girl in yellow is pulling carrots with a big smile.

In the middle, a woman in a red apron is happily sorting vegetables into crates, while a little boy in a blue cap grabs a hose spraying toward them. He's laughing his head off.

Further back, a middle-aged couple can't agree where to plant garlic. She's holding the bulbs, and they're pointing opposite ways. On the right, a young man in an orange vest is on a wobbly stepladder fixing the shed roof, looking nervous. Front right, a brown dog is sniffing a plate of muffins while its owner, a woman in a black hoodie, checks her phone.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 teaching answer combines broad scene coverage with precise details, clear spatial organization and mostly smooth sentence construction. Compared with level 11, its verbs and transitions are less consistently expressive, and its opening could connect the activities more explicitly through the shared harvest purpose.

• a woman in a red apron is happily sorting vegetables into crates, while a little boy in a blue cap grabs a hose — Content/Coherence: Linking the woman and boy with 'while' makes the central activity feel simultaneous and connected. A higher-level response would sustain this integration across the scene, linking movements, unstable objects and people's reactions more consistently.
• He's laughing his head off. — Vocabulary: The idiom adds conversational energy and clearly conveys the boy's amusement. A higher-level answer would sustain that expressiveness through precise action verbs across the garden, rather than concentrating it in an isolated colourful phrase.
• a young man in an orange vest is on a wobbly stepladder fixing the shed roof, looking nervous. — Listenability: This packages clothing, position, activity and emotion into a controlled sentence. A higher-level version would make the relationship between the wobbling ladder and his unease more explicit, giving the listener a clearer connection between the details.
• it's a community garden in Saskatoon on a hot, breezy late-summer afternoon — Task Fulfillment: The location, heat and breeze give Colette an immediate setting. A higher-level opening would also identify the volunteer harvest activity, helping her understand the shared purpose behind the different actions.

Level 11 sample answer

178 words

Picture a Saskatoon community garden on a hot, breezy late-August afternoon, Colette, with volunteers harvesting and the raised beds bursting with tomatoes, squash and sunflowers.

In the left foreground, a grey-haired man in a green shirt is wrestling a wheelbarrow heaped with zucchini; it's tilting off a loose board, and he's visibly straining. Behind him, a teenage girl in yellow grins as she pulls carrots.

Dead centre, a woman in a red apron is cheerfully sorting produce into crates, oblivious to the boy in a blue cap beside her, who's gleefully grabbed a hose spraying straight at the crates.

Further back, a middle-aged couple are pointing in opposite directions over where the garlic should go, and she's clutching the bulbs as if she has the final say. On the right, a young man in an orange vest is perched on a stepladder mending the shed roof, uneasy as it wobbles in the soft soil. Front right, a brown dog is nosing at a plate of muffins, while its owner, in a black hoodie, is glued to her phone.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 teaching answer builds a vivid, connected scene through precise verbs, varied sentences and clear spatial guidance. It combines the shared harvest activity with individual movements and reactions, although some character interpretations go beyond directly observable details.

• In the left foreground, a grey-haired man in a green shirt is wrestling a wheelbarrow heaped with zucchini; — Content/Coherence: The precise foreground marker establishes where Colette should imagine looking. The sentence then develops from the man and his load into the wheelbarrow's instability and his effort, creating a connected incident within the wider tour.
• a young man in an orange vest is perched on a stepladder mending the shed roof — Vocabulary: The verbs 'perched' and 'mending' convey precarious positioning and repair work economically. Together with the following wobble and soft soil, they make the scene more vivid than a basic statement that someone is on a ladder.
• Behind him, a teenage girl in yellow grins as she pulls carrots. — Listenability: This short sentence offers a clear pause between denser descriptions. Linking the girl's expression and action with 'as' keeps the phrasing fluid and gives the answer useful variety in sentence length and structure.
• oblivious to the boy in a blue cap beside her — Task Fulfillment: The phrase connects neighbouring figures and adds a lively sense of distraction. However, the woman's lack of awareness is an interpretation; describing her sorting while the boy sprays toward the crates would stay closer to observable action.