CELPIP® Speaking Task 6 sample: A Free Table Appears

Dealing with a Difficult Situation · Preparation: 60 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published 23 October 2026

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

Practice question

You are furnishing your apartment in Burlington and have agreed to buy a used dining table from Lucien for $250, including delivery. You paid a $50 non-refundable deposit, and Lucien has held the table for two days, turning away other buyers. Your friend Wyatt is moving tomorrow and offers you a similar table free if you collect it before he leaves. Renting a van would cost $80. Both tables suit your apartment, and your entire furniture budget is $300. Decide whether to tell Lucien you are cancelling the purchase or tell Wyatt you cannot accept the free table. Speak to that person and explain your decision.

Talk to Lucien and explain that you are cancelling the purchase and giving up your deposit.
Talk to Wyatt and explain why you cannot accept the free table.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

118 words

Lucien, I'm sorry, but I need to cancel buying your table. A friend has offered me a free one, and I've decided to take it. Um, I know this is inconvenient in the last minute, especially because you held yours for me. You can keep the $50 deposit, of course. Even with that money lost and the van rental, this choice costs me less. I've only got limited budget for furniture, so the difference matters. I understand you turned away other buyers, and I'm sorry about that. If you want, I could share your advertisement with people I know. I'll also confirm the cancellation by message today, so you can offer the table to someone else right away.

Why this answer is at level 7

This answer makes a clear decision, explains the budget pressure, and offers practical help to Lucien. Compared with the higher-level answers, its financial reasoning is less precise, its apologies repeat similar points, and some phrasing is awkward.

Even with that money lost and the van rental, this choice costs me less. — Content/Coherence: The financial reason is relevant and understandable, but the listener must calculate the saving. The higher-level cancellation answer makes the comparison explicit and connects the saving directly to the furniture budget.
I've only got limited budget for furniture, so the difference matters. — Vocabulary: The meaning is clear, but the missing article before “limited budget” makes the expression awkward, while “the difference” remains general. A higher-level answer would use more natural phrasing and identify the financial benefit precisely.
Um, I know this is inconvenient in the last minute, especially because you held yours for me. — Listenability: The acknowledgment helps the explanation sound considerate. On the page, however, the filler and awkward timing expression make the sentence less smooth than the more controlled phrasing in the higher-level answers.
If you want, I could share your advertisement with people I know. — Task Fulfillment: This offers relevant help after cancelling and recognizes that Lucien needs another buyer. A higher-level response would combine this practical offer with a fuller acknowledgment that Lucien honored the agreement and lost other opportunities.

Level 9 sample answer

148 words

Wyatt, thanks for offering me your table. It's generous of you, but I'm going to stick with the one I've already agreed to buy from Lucien. I've paid a $50 deposit, and he's held it for two days while turning other buyers away. Although your table would still be cheaper after the van rental and lost deposit, cancelling would leave him starting from scratch. There's also the collection deadline to consider. Yours has to be moved tomorrow, whereas delivery is included with his table. For me, that convenience helps justify the extra cost, even though buying his table uses most of my $300 furniture budget. I realize you'll now need to find someone else quickly, so I'd be happy to help share a photo and the collection details. I can't promise a buyer, but I can help get the word out. I really appreciate you thinking of me.

Why this answer is at level 9

This answer develops a balanced explanation through commitment, collection pressure, delivery, and budget. It is more connected and controlled than the lower-level answer; less explicit cost comparisons and the slightly mismatched reference to a buyer limit its precision.

Although your table would still be cheaper after the van rental and lost deposit, cancelling would leave him starting from scratch. — Content/Coherence: The concession recognizes the cheaper option before explaining why the speaker rejects it. This gives the decision more depth than a simple preference. A higher-level explanation could make the financial comparison as concrete as the consequences for Lucien.
For me, that convenience helps justify the extra cost — Vocabulary: “Convenience” and “justify” express the relationship between included delivery and paying more efficiently. This is more precise than simply saying the difference matters. Identifying the extra expense explicitly would strengthen the wording further.
Yours has to be moved tomorrow, whereas delivery is included with his table. — Listenability: The parallel comparison and “whereas” make the practical tradeoff easy to follow in the written script. A higher-level version could connect tomorrow's deadline more explicitly to the difficulty of arranging collection, giving this reason fuller support.
I can't promise a buyer, but I can help get the word out. — Task Fulfillment: The offer sets a realistic limit while helping Wyatt find someone quickly. However, “buyer” does not quite fit a table offered free. A higher-level response would refer precisely to finding someone who can collect it before Wyatt leaves.

Level 11 sample answer

168 words

Lucien, I need to cancel our table purchase, and I wanted to tell you right away so you can offer it to someone else. A friend has unexpectedly offered me a suitable table for free. Collecting it would cost $80, which, together with the $50 deposit you'll keep, brings my total expense to $130 instead of $250. With only $300 available for furniture, that $120 difference would really help. I know you've held the table for two days and turned away buyers because I said I'd take it. You've kept your side of our agreement, and I completely understand why the deposit stays with you. If it would help, I could share your listing with people I know, using whichever contact details you're comfortable passing along. I'll also send you a message confirming that I'm cancelling, so you can show anyone interested that the table is available again. I'm sorry to put you back at square one after you've been so accommodating. I appreciate the trouble you've taken.

Why this answer is at level 11

This answer combines transparent financial reasoning with specific acknowledgment of Lucien's inconvenience and realistic offers of help. Its precise language, purposeful organization, and considerate tone make the cancellation persuasive without minimizing the broken agreement.

Collecting it would cost $80, which, together with the $50 deposit you'll keep, brings my total expense to $130 instead of $250. — Content/Coherence: The calculation includes both the van rental and forfeited deposit, making the alternatives directly comparable. The following explanation connects the saving to the furniture budget, giving the decision a clear and complete financial basis.
I'm sorry to put you back at square one after you've been so accommodating. — Vocabulary: The idiom describes Lucien's need to restart selling, while “accommodating” recognizes his effort. Both expressions fit this situation and communicate regret more specifically than repeated general apologies.
Lucien, I need to cancel our table purchase, and I wanted to tell you right away so you can offer it to someone else. — Listenability: The opening immediately identifies the decision and explains the purpose of prompt contact. Its clear progression gives the listener a useful frame before the financial details and acknowledgment of inconvenience.
If it would help, I could share your listing with people I know, using whichever contact details you're comfortable passing along. — Task Fulfillment: The proposed help directly addresses Lucien's need to replace the lost sale. Respecting his choice of contact details makes the offer thoughtful and practical, while the conditional wording avoids promising an outcome the speaker cannot control.

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.

Make a clear decision, explain it tactfully to the person addressed and develop the reasons. Acknowledge the other person’s needs and offer a practical way forward.

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.

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