CELPIP® Speaking Task 8 sample: The Six-Armed Loop Tree

Describing an Unusual Situation · 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 are at a recreation equipment room in London, Ontario. Jonah, an instructor you assist, is planning a seated activity for six participants. You see an unusual device offered as a free one-week loan, but the storage cupboard is only 50 cm wide. Call Jonah, describe it in detail in your own words, and ask whether he will inspect it with you before you accept the loan.

Model answers

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

Level 7 sample answer

127 words

Hi Jonah, I'm at recreation equipment room in London. There's something here for a free one-week loan that might suit the seated activity. It looks like a small tree with six silver arm. Each one curves down a little and ends in a red fabric loop. They connect with hinges to a green circle on top of a purple pole. There's a black collar halfway down. The orange base looks like a cross, with black rubber under its four ends. It's 80 centimetres tall and 90 wide, but the base is only 40 across. Um, maybe six people could each hold a loop. The cupboard is 50 centimetres wide, so we'd need to check the folding. Could you inspect it with me before I accept? Thanks, bye.

Why this answer is at level 7

This level 7 example gives Jonah a clear picture, includes the key measurements, and requests an inspection. Its simpler vocabulary, occasional grammar slips, and less precise connections between details distinguish it from the more controlled descriptions at higher levels.

It's 80 centimetres tall and 90 wide, but the base is only 40 across. — Content/Coherence: The measurements distinguish the device's overall width from its base, which matters for storage. A higher-level answer would explicitly identify the wider measurement as the extended width and connect it more directly to the cupboard limit.
They connect with hinges to a green circle on top of a purple pole. — Vocabulary: Colours and familiar shape words make the structure understandable. A higher-level answer would use a more precise term such as hub and identify the arms directly, making their connection to the central support clearer.
Hi Jonah, I'm at recreation equipment room in London. — Listenability: The greeting establishes a natural phone call, but the missing article before recreation equipment room makes the opening sound less polished. Higher-level phrasing would introduce the location more smoothly.
The cupboard is 50 centimetres wide, so we'd need to check the folding. — Task Fulfillment: This addresses the practical storage constraint, and the following request asks Jonah to inspect the device before acceptance. A higher-level answer would explain that the hinges only suggest folding and that the folded width remains unknown.

Level 9 sample answer

150 words

Hi Jonah, I'm at the recreation equipment room in London, looking at a strange device we could borrow free for a week. Imagine a small metal tree, 80 centimetres tall, with six silver arms spreading out from a green hub. The arms curve slightly downwards and finish in red fabric loops. Each arm has a hinge where it meets the hub. Underneath, there's a purple pole in two sections, joined by a black collar. It stands on an orange cross-shaped base, 40 centimetres across, with black rubber pads under the four ends. I wonder whether our six participants could hold a loop each while seated around it. The catch is storage: it's 90 centimetres wide when extended, and our cupboard is only 50. Those hinges suggest it folds, but I can't tell how compactly. Would you come and inspect it with me before I accept the one-week loan? Thanks, Jonah.

Why this answer is at level 9

This level 9 example combines precise component descriptions with a clear explanation of the storage problem. Compared with level 7, it is smoother and more explicit; the level 11 answer goes further by assessing seated reach and integrating the structural details more tightly.

The catch is storage: it's 90 centimetres wide when extended, and our cupboard is only 50. — Content/Coherence: The transition clearly identifies the main obstacle and puts the relevant widths together. Compared with level 7, the reasoning is easier to follow. A higher-level answer would state the consequence explicitly: the extended device cannot fit.
Underneath, there's a purple pole in two sections, joined by a black collar. — Vocabulary: Sections and joined describe construction more precisely than simply listing colours and shapes. A higher-level description would also locate the collar halfway up the pole, giving Jonah a more exact mental picture.
Imagine a small metal tree, 80 centimetres tall, with six silver arms spreading out from a green hub. — Listenability: Imagine gives Jonah an immediate visual reference, while the sentence moves naturally from overall shape to height and arms. A higher-level answer would carry this connected phrasing further by integrating the hinges and arm direction into the structural description.
I wonder whether our six participants could hold a loop each while seated around it. — Task Fulfillment: This connects the device to Jonah's planned activity and treats its suitability as a possibility. A higher-level answer would identify seated reach as something to assess during the inspection, making the proposed check more purposeful.

Level 11 sample answer

169 words

Hi Jonah, there's an unusual exercise device at the recreation equipment room in London that might suit your six-person seated activity. Picture a miniature metal tree: a purple central pole supports a green circular hub, from which six hinged silver arms curve outwards and slightly downwards. Each arm ends in a red fabric loop. The pole has two sections joined halfway up by a black collar, and it stands on an orange cross-shaped base with black rubber pads beneath all four ends. Overall, it's 80 centimetres tall and 90 centimetres wide when extended, although the base itself measures only 40 centimetres across. I could imagine each participant holding a loop, but we'd need to assess the reach from a seated position. We also need somewhere to store it. Our cupboard is 50 centimetres wide, so the extended device wouldn't fit. Although the hinges suggest the arms fold, their closed position isn't clear. Would you inspect it with me before I accept the free one-week loan? Thanks, Jonah. Talk soon.

Why this answer is at level 11

This level 11 example creates a precise, connected picture while explaining what Jonah needs to inspect. It combines detailed spatial language, clear measurement comparisons, and careful uncertainty about folding with a practical check on suitability for seated participants.

a purple central pole supports a green circular hub, from which six hinged silver arms curve outwards and slightly downwards. — Content/Coherence: The description follows the device's physical connections from pole to hub to arms. It combines colour, shape, attachment, and direction in a coherent structure, helping Jonah reconstruct the object mentally.
The pole has two sections joined halfway up by a black collar — Vocabulary: Joined halfway up precisely describes both the collar's role and its position. This develops the level 9 description by locating the connection, while keeping the language accessible for a phone conversation.
Overall, it's 80 centimetres tall and 90 centimetres wide when extended — Listenability: Overall signals a shift from individual components to total dimensions. Repeating centimetres and specifying when extended makes the measurements easy to interpret from the wording, especially before the separate base measurement.
Would you inspect it with me before I accept the free one-week loan? — Task Fulfillment: The request clearly names the shared inspection, places it before acceptance, and includes the loan terms. Earlier discussion gives that inspection concrete purposes: checking seated reach and determining whether the folded device fits the cupboard.

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.

Help the listener picture the unusual object through its shape, material, size and arrangement. Use comparisons and spatial language, then complete the requested interaction.

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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