CELPIP Speaking Scoring: The 16 Factors Raters Check (Video)

CELPIP Speaking is rated on four dimensions: Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment. CELPIP's Speaking Pro study pack breaks those four into 16 factors. In this 11 minute video, Matthew answers one Task 1 question twice and shows the three factors that make the second answer score higher: precision, supporting detail and variety of sentence structure.

This video is part of the free CELPIP Speaking course. Read the full lesson here: How CELPIP Speaking is scored.

What does this video cover?

• 0:00 Four things or sixteen?
• 0:27 The 16 factors CELPIP publishes
• 1:05 The Task 1 practice question
• 1:48 Answer 1: a normal answer
• 3:19 Answer 2: the same question again
• 4:55 The 16 factors, dimension by dimension
• 6:08 No weighting between the four is published
• 6:35 Why answer 1 scores lower
• 7:21 Does getting cut off lower your score?
• 7:50 Difference 1: precision and accuracy
• 9:02 Difference 2: examples and supporting details
• 9:26 Difference 3: variety of sentence structure
• 10:38 Practise CELPIP Speaking on CELTESTPIP

What are the 3 differences between a good answer and a higher one?

Precision. The higher answer names exact things: "$600", "10%", "HR", "Sarah", "her clients". The first answer says "the money" and "a problem".

Supporting detail. Both answers give three ideas. The higher answer develops each one with an example.

Sentence variety. The first answer joins ideas with "and", "so" and "but". The higher answer also uses "because", "if", "which", "whether", "once" and "whichever".

Practise the same question: register on CELTESTPIP and the first question of every CELPIP Speaking task is free, with instant feedback. Start with Speaking Task 1.

Transcript

Four things or sixteen?

If you search how CELPIP Speaking is scored, you will mostly find four items: Content, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment. Yes, these four are correct. But the real items are 16, according to the official instructions published by CELPIP itself, and I haven't seen many people teach these 16 items well. As you can see on the screen (take a screenshot of it), these are the 16 items your CELPIP Speaking is scored on, and in this video we walk through each of them.

First, among these 16 items, three can change your CELPIP Speaking level a lot. Today we compare two answers. Listen carefully, find the differences between the first and second answer, and then we learn those three items.

The Task 1 practice question

The question I'm going to answer is the first question in CELPIP Speaking Task 1 on CELTESTPIP.COM. It says your coworker has been offered a promotion, but he has to move to another city, and you advise him on what he should consider. For this task we have 30 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to answer. I'm not going to cover how to answer this task here; I have another video on CELPIP Speaking Task 1 for that. In this video we only listen to two different answers to this question. Here is the first answer.

Answer 1: a normal answer

"Okay, so my friend, I think this is a good opportunity for you, and you should think about a few things before you say yes. First, you should think about the money, because the new job pays more, but the other city can be expensive, so you should check that carefully. Second, you should think about your family, because it is hard for them to move to a new place, and I know your wife has a job here too, so that is a problem for you. And third, you should think about your career, because this promotion is good for your future and it can help you get a better position later in your company. So there are many things to consider, and it is a big decision for you. I think you should make a list of the good things and the bad things, and you should talk to your wife about it first. If the money is good and your family is happy, you should take it, but if your family is not happy, maybe you should stay here. It is really up to you in the end, so think about it carefully and take your time. Good luck with your decision, and let me know what you decide."

Answer 2: the same question again

Same question again, but the second answer is different, again in 90 seconds.

"Okay, so before you give them an answer, there are three things I would consider and think about carefully. The first one is the actual math, the financial side, because a raise is only good if it covers the expenses of the move. For example, if the rent in the new city is $600 higher than what you pay now, that 10% increase is gone before you start. So ask HR whether they pay for the move, and get the rent cost before you get excited about the salary. The second one is the part many people skip, which is asking what happens if it does not work out. Is there a way back to your current team, or is this a one way door? If your manager believes in this role, he will answer that honestly, and if they will not give you a straight answer, that tells you something. And the third one is Sarah, your wife, because she would be leaving her clients here, and a decision like this falls apart if you make it alone. So talk to her before you talk to anyone else. Once you have those three answers written down in front of you, your choice usually makes itself, and whichever way it goes..."

As you heard, the second one was cut off in the middle. Believe me, this cut off is not going to cost much.

The 16 factors, dimension by dimension

Before we find the three differences, let's review the 16 items as CELPIP publishes them.

The first dimension is Content and Coherence: our ideas and how they connect. Number of ideas, quality of ideas, organization of ideas, and examples and supporting details.

The second is Vocabulary, or word choice: suitable use of words, range of words, and precision and accuracy.

The third is Listenability: how easy we are to listen to. Rhythm, pronunciation and intonation; pauses and self corrections; grammar and sentence structure; and variety of sentence structure.

The fourth is Task Fulfillment: did you really answer the question they asked? Relevance, completeness, tone and length.

No weighting between the four is published

One thing is very important: CELPIP never says which of these 16 factors weighs more. So if you heard from someone that one item is more important than another, it's better not to trust that. Tell me in the comments which one is the hardest for you.

Why answer 1 scores lower

The first answer you heard will get a lower level than the second one. Why? The first one was complete, it had an appropriate tone, and it spoke for the full time. Tone and speaking for the full time are things many of my students spend a lot of time learning, and they learn only those two. But these are only two of the 16 items. If you only practise tone and speaking for the full 90 seconds, you are fulfilling two items, and in my experience your level does not go above 8.

Does getting cut off lower your score?

If you look at CELPIP's official documents, you will find many sample answers published by CELPIP that are cut off in the middle of a sentence, and CELPIP says they can get 12. So being cut off in the middle of a sentence is not a big deal. Cover all 16 items instead.

Difference 1: precision and accuracy

Answers that cannot get a top score often use words like "really good", "pretty expensive", "good thing", "a little bit", "some stuff". The answers that score at the top are more precise: "once you land there", "forward your resume", "afford accommodation". Precise means the phrase can only describe one thing. "Forward your resume" means one thing; it is not a general phrase. It focuses on a detail that can be counted. Compare our two answers: the first said "the money", "a problem", "many things". The second was precise: $600, 10%, HR, Sarah, her clients.

Difference 2: examples and supporting details

The first answer named only three ideas, three things to consider before moving to a new city. The second one mentioned them too, but went into more detail and gave supporting details and examples, so it scores higher.

Difference 3: variety of sentence structure

When we look at CELPIP's official sample answers, the ones that score around 8 mostly use simple sentence structures, and the ones that get top scores use a variety of complex structures. How can you do this? Practise enough. The words that build complex structures are listed in the same document; some of them are "although", "which", "if" and "whereas". The first answer connected sentences with simple words like "and", "so" and "but". The second used "because", "if", "which", "whether", "once" and "whichever". Both were 90 seconds, but the second had more complex structure.

So these are the three differences that can change your level a lot: precision, development and complex structure.

Practise CELPIP Speaking on CELTESTPIP

Now you know how your CELPIP Speaking is scored. Go to CELTESTPIP.COM: if you register, you can access one free question for each CELPIP Speaking task, record your answer and see instant feedback on how to improve it. If you upgrade, you get many more questions for Speaking, Writing, Listening and Reading. This video is part of our free CELPIP Speaking course, and we have free courses on Writing, Reading and Listening too. As I always say, never stop practicing.