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How CELPIP Listening Part 3 works, why most answers are reasons and not numbers, and how to take notes in three lines: why, what and next.
In Part 3 you hear a man and a woman. One of them wants information, and the other one has it: a customer and a salesperson, a new employee and an experienced one, a parent and a shop worker. The conversation plays once, for about two and a half minutes, and then six questions come.
Part 3 is full of facts. Times, prices, dates and rules come quickly, one after another. Many people try to write all of them down. This lesson shows why that is not the best plan, and what to write instead.
| Speakers | one man and one woman. One has information that the other wants |
| The audio | one clip, about 2 to 2.5 minutes |
| Questions | about 6, after the audio |
| Time | about 6 minutes for the whole part |
| Each question | you hear the question, and read 4 answer choices |
| Time for each question | 30 seconds |
Source: CELPIP Listening Pro study pack, 2026. The same rules as Parts 1 and 2 apply: the clip plays one time only, the questions come one by one, in order, and a wrong answer does not lose points.
One person knows something, and the other person wants to find it out. For example, a customer buying a new car from a salesperson, an experienced employee showing a new coworker how to do a task, or a parent renting party decorations for a child's birthday.
The tone is polite, somewhere between informal and a little formal. It can be a little more formal than Part 2, but it is still a normal conversation, not a speech.
This pattern is ours, not CELPIP's. We read the questions in 24 of the 90 Part 3 practice sets on CELTESTPIP.
| The question asks | Example | In our 24 sets |
|---|---|---|
| why something happens | Why did the man come? Why does she choose this option? Why does he mention the price? | in every set, usually 2 or 3 of the 6 questions |
| what someone will do next | What will the woman most likely do next? | 22 of 24 |
| a plain fact: when, how much, which | When does the class start? | 1 or 2 in most sets |
So a Part 3 conversation may have ten numbers in it, and only one or two questions need a number. In the free practice set used in the video, the speakers say 13 numbers, and none of the 6 correct answers is a number.
CELPIP's study pack points the same way. One of the things it tells you to listen for in Parts 1 to 3 is whether a speaker wants information, and why.
This method is ours, not CELPIP's. Before the audio starts, write three short labels down the side of your paper:
| Line | What goes on it |
|---|---|
| WHY | why the person came, what they need, and every because |
| WHAT | what the other person tells them, but only the choices and the rules: you must, you need, there's no fee, only on Saturdays |
| NEXT | what the person says they will do, in the order they will do it |
Write the three labels before the audio starts. Then write short points with abbreviations, never full sentences.
When you hear a number, ask yourself: is this a rule, or a choice someone makes? Classes cost $90 is a rule. I'll take the Saturday class is a choice. Write those. A number that is only a detail, such as how many years a teacher has worked there, can go. Do not stop on it. Keep listening.
Three more things from the study pack help in Part 3:
🎥 CELPIP Listening Part 3: the three lines on a real practice set (12:55)
The WHY, WHAT and NEXT lines filled in while a free practice conversation plays, then all 6 questions answered from the notes.
Jump to: 1:25 Part 2 and Part 3, the difference · 1:58 what the questions usually ask · 2:59 the 3 lines · 3:42 the free practice set · 7:03 questions 1 and 2 · 8:12 questions 3 and 4 · 9:09 questions 5 and 6 · 10:03 2 tricks · 11:03 recap
We wrote this short example for the page. A real Part 3 conversation is longer, about two and a half minutes.
Introductory statement: You will hear a conversation between a man and a woman at a community centre.
| Speaker | What they say |
|---|---|
| Woman | Hi. I'm looking for a swimming class for my daughter. She's eight, and she's a bit afraid of the water. |
| Man | You've come to the right place. I run the children's programs here. We have two beginner classes: one on Monday at 4:30, and one on Saturday at 9:00. |
| Woman | Monday won't work. I don't finish work until five. Saturday would be better. |
| Man | The Saturday class is small, only six children, and the teacher is very patient with nervous swimmers. It runs for ten weeks and costs $90. |
| Woman | That sounds good. Does she need any special equipment? |
| Man | Just a swimsuit and a towel. We give every child a swim cap on the first day. Oh, and she'll need a membership card for the centre. It's free for children under twelve. |
| Woman | Great. Can I sign her up now? |
| Man | Yes. I'll need you to fill out this form first. Then you can pay at the front desk. |
| Woman | Perfect. And can I stay and watch the class? |
| Man | Parents usually watch from the window upstairs. But for the first class, you can sit by the pool, so she feels safe. |
| Line | Notes |
|---|---|
| WHY | daughter, 8, afraid of water · works until 5, so Saturday |
| WHAT | Sat 9:00 · small, 6 kids, patient teacher · 10 weeks, $90 · bring swimsuit + towel (cap given) · card free under 12 · parents watch upstairs, BUT 1st class: by the pool |
| NEXT | form, then pay at the front desk |
The conversation has eight numbers in it. The notes keep only the ones that belong to a rule or a choice.
| Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Why does the woman choose the Saturday class? | it is cheaper · it fits her work hours · it has a better teacher · her daughter asked for it | it fits her work hours |
| 2. Why does the man say the Saturday class is small? | to explain the price · to show it suits a nervous child · to say it is almost full · to compare the two teachers | to show it suits a nervous child |
| 3. What must the daughter bring? | a swim cap · a swimsuit and a towel · a membership fee · a photo | a swimsuit and a towel |
| 4. What will the woman most likely do next? | pay at the front desk · fill out a form · buy a swim cap · watch a class | fill out a form |
| 5. Where can the woman sit during the first class? | by the window upstairs · by the pool · at the front desk · in the waiting room | by the pool |
Two of the five answers are why questions, one is next, and none of the answers is a number. The answers to questions 1 and 2 are said in other words: I don't finish work until five becomes it fits her work hours.
These two are ours. They are the tricks we see most often in Part 3 practice sets, including the free one in the video.
| Trick | What it looks like | In the example |
|---|---|---|
| Said, but not the answer | you really heard these words, but they answer a different question, or they are not true for this person | question 3: a swim cap was said, but the centre gives it, so she does not bring it. Question 4: pay at the front desk was said, but it comes after the form. |
| The very end | the last sentences change or add a rule, and many people have stopped writing by then | question 5: the window upstairs is the usual rule. The last sentence makes an exception for the first class. |
To beat the first trick, find the line in your notes that answers this exact question. To beat the second, keep writing until the audio stops. Because the questions follow the order of the audio, the last question often comes from the last few sentences.
1. Rule or choice? (5 minutes). Play a Part 3 conversation and write only the numbers you hear. After it ends, mark each one rule, choice or detail. Then check which numbers the questions really used.
2. Three lines only (5 minutes). Play a conversation and fill the WHY, WHAT and NEXT lines. Then read the questions and count how many your notes answer.
3. The full part. Do a complete Part 3 set once, with no pausing and no replay. For every wrong answer, ask: was it a reason I missed, or one of the two tricks?
Related:
Lesson 6: Part 2 Mastery for the HIM and HER columns
Lesson 8: Part 4 Mastery for the next part
Lesson 12: Answer Engineering for more wrong-answer patterns