CELPIP® Speaking Task 4 sample: Apartment Courtyard on Moving Day

Making Predictions · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

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

Practice question

Explain what these friends will probably do next as the move continues. Base your predictions on the problems visible in the picture. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.

From an upper landing, look across an apartment courtyard in Nanaimo on a dry October afternoon. Six friends are helping Carmen move into her apartment; seven people are visible. Centre foreground: Andrei, a strained man in his thirties in black, grips one end of a sofa. Right foreground: Carmen, a determined woman in her thirties in red, carries its other end toward the open lobby doorway; the sofa currently exceeds the opening's width. Right middle ground: a purple-clad woman of about forty looks concerned as she holds the door with her foot, reaching toward a potted plant partly blocking it. Left foreground: a worried man in his twenties in orange holds a book-filled cardboard box by its sides; its bottom seam is peeling open. Left middle ground: an alert woman around sixty in blue reaches under the box. Centre middle ground: an apprehensive thirteen-year-old boy in green steadies a cart with a tall cushion stack leaning right. In the background, a frustrated man around fifty in grey crouches beside a van, tying cord around an uncurling rolled rug. Keep every surface unlettered and unbranded, and omit identifiable landmarks.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

124 words

I think Carmen and Andrei will stop before the doorway because the sofa is too wide in its current position. They'll probably turn it to get through. The woman in purple will move the plant first, so there's more room. Um, the older woman in blue will probably support the box from underneath. The bottom seam is opening, so the books could fall if nobody help. The man in orange will need hold it from the bottom too. The boy with the cart will probably stop and straighten the cushions because they're leaning right. One could fall off, but he might catch it. In the background, the man will probably roll the loose rug end back in and finish tying the cord around it.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 answer makes relevant predictions about every visible problem and usually explains their causes clearly. Compared with the stronger answers, it relies more on a sequence of separate observations, basic wording, and some grammatical errors.

The boy with the cart will probably stop and straighten the cushions because they're leaning right. — Content/Coherence: The prediction follows logically from the leaning cushions. However, it remains a separate observation; the stronger answers connect these individual adjustments to the group's overall pause and progress.
They'll probably turn it to get through. — Vocabulary: The meaning is clear, but 'turn it' describes the sofa adjustment broadly. The stronger answers use more precise language about rotating the sofa and changing its approach angle.
The man in orange will need hold it from the bottom too. — Listenability: The missing 'to' after 'need' interrupts an otherwise understandable sentence. Together with 'if nobody help' elsewhere, this makes the language less smooth than the consistently controlled wording in the stronger answers.
In the background, the man will probably roll the loose rug end back in and finish tying the cord around it. — Task Fulfillment: This predicts a practical next action directly from the uncurling rug and unfinished tying. The stronger answers retain this coverage while giving the separate predictions a clearer shared outcome.

Level 9 sample answer

156 words

The sofa will probably be the first job that needs coordination. Because it's wider than the doorway in its current position, Carmen and Andrei will likely pause and rotate it before moving forward. The woman in purple should clear the potted plant from the entrance while keeping the door open. On the left, the older woman's outstretched hands suggest she'll support the weakening box before the bottom gives way. The young man will probably change his grip, since holding the sides isn't supporting the books underneath. Meanwhile, the boy may stop the cart and rearrange the cushions into a lower stack. They're leaning right, so continuing to move could send some onto the courtyard. At the van, the man in grey will probably tuck the uncurling end back into the rolled rug and tighten the cord. I expect the move to slow briefly while everyone gets their loads under control, then continue through the cleared entrance.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 answer combines complete coverage with precise vocabulary, clear transitions, and an overall account of how the move will continue. Compared with level 11, its reasoning is slightly more compartmentalized, and one prediction shifts into advice.

The sofa will probably be the first job that needs coordination. — Content/Coherence: This establishes a priority and gives the response an organizing idea. The level 11 answer develops coordination further by explicitly sequencing plant removal before the sofa's changed approach.
before the bottom gives way. — Vocabulary: This natural expression clearly conveys the box's likely failure. The level 11 answer adds mechanical precision by naming the peeling seam and describing its possible complete separation.
Meanwhile, the boy may stop the cart and rearrange the cushions into a lower stack. — Listenability: The transition makes the change of focus easy to follow, and the sentence presents a manageable action sequence. The level 11 answer maintains that clarity while integrating more conditional and causal relationships.
The woman in purple should clear the potted plant from the entrance while keeping the door open. — Task Fulfillment: The action fits both the obstructing plant and her role at the door. However, 'should' briefly sounds like advice; the level 11 answer frames her action explicitly as a likely prediction.

Level 11 sample answer

171 words

Progress will probably pause while the group deals with several awkward loads. At the doorway, simply pushing forward won't solve the width problem, so Carmen and Andrei will most likely rotate the sofa and approach at a different angle. Before they do, the woman in purple is likely to shift the potted plant out of the opening, giving them more room to manoeuvre. On the left, the older woman appears ready to support the box from underneath. If she reaches it before the peeling seam separates completely, the books should remain inside while the young man adjusts his grip. The boy's cart will also need attention: because the cushion stack already leans right, he'll probably stop and redistribute it rather than continue with an unstable load. Beside the van, the man will likely reroll the loose end of the rug before securing the cord. Once these immediate problems have been resolved, the friends should be able to resume the move, with the cleared doorway becoming the next shared point of coordination.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 answer builds a connected explanation of how the friends will manage their awkward loads and resume moving. Precise wording, controlled conditional reasoning, and clear sequencing make its predictions especially convincing and easy to follow.

Before they do, the woman in purple is likely to shift the potted plant out of the opening — Content/Coherence: This connects her action directly to the sofa carriers' next move. The response explains how the friends' actions depend on each other, extending the coordination introduced in the level 9 answer.
he'll probably stop and redistribute it rather than continue with an unstable load. — Vocabulary: The words 'redistribute' and 'unstable load' precisely describe both the remedy and the cushion stack's problem. This expresses more than the level 7 answer's general instruction to straighten the cushions.
If she reaches it before the peeling seam separates completely, the books should remain inside while the young man adjusts his grip. — Listenability: The conditional sentence clearly orders the rescue, its likely result, and the grip adjustment. Despite containing several linked ideas, its controlled grammar keeps the sequence understandable.
Once these immediate problems have been resolved, the friends should be able to resume the move — Task Fulfillment: The closing prediction answers how the move will continue after the visible problems are addressed. It gives the detailed predictions a shared practical outcome while appropriately preserving uncertainty.

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.

Connect each prediction to visible evidence. Explain plausible next events and use language of likelihood instead of presenting guesses as facts.

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