CELPIP

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About CELPIP

The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) is an English language proficiency test accepted by various governments, professional organizations, universities, colleges, and employers as a proof of English language proficiency.

The test provides a valid and reliable measurement of English abilities in a variety of everyday situations. Some of the situations include communicating with co-workers or superiors at workplace, interacting with friends, understanding newscasts, interpreting and responding to written materials etc.

There are two versions of the CELPIP Test namely the CELPIP-General Test and the CELPIP-General LS Test.

  • CELPIP-General Test

    The CELPIP-General Test assesses functional listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. The test is accepted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as proof of English language proficiency for permanent residency in Canada. Other organizations that accept the CELPIP-General Test include the Real Estate Council of British Columbia (RECBC) and Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).

  • CELPIP-General LS Test

    The CELPIP-General LS Test assesses functional listening and speaking proficiency of the individual. The test is accepted by IRCC as proof of English language proficiency for Canadian citizenship.

Test Format

The CELPIP Test is fully computer delivered, providing test takers the opportunity to complete all test components in one sitting with no additional appointments, interviews, or test sittings required. CELPIP test takers use a computer mouse and keyboard to complete Reading and Writing components of the test, and a computer microphone and headset to complete the Listening and Speaking components. Computerized tests help test takers have a quick and reliable testing experience.

The total test time for the CELPIP-General LS Test is about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

The CELPIP-General Test has four components namely Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. On the other hand CELPIP-General LS Test has only two components of Listening and Speaking.

The total time for the CELPIP-General Test is about 3 hours.

  • Listening

    In Part 1 you will be tested on your listening skills. The time given to this section is 47-55 minutes. To assess Listening, following are the questions types:

    Question Types
    • Listening to Problem Solving

      There will be a conversation about some problems of daily life, for example, finding a location, visiting a hospital, filling up some forms, paying fee etc. The conversation is divided into three (03) sections.The conversation involves easy everyday language. Each part is followed by 2-3 questions. All questions are MCQs. The questions demand factual details about numbers, location, address, mode, duration etc.

    • Listening to a Daily Life Conversation

      This is a conversation about any daily life issues, not necessarily a problem. The conversation deals with issues of college life, office, home, business etc.There are five (05) questions after the conversation.All questions are MCQs.The questions demand factual details of people, attitude of the participants, conclusion of the talk etc.

    • Listening for Information

      This is a conversation wherein some specific information about any topic is shared. The conversation can be about a process, theory, assignment, guidelines etc.The conversation is followed by six (06) questions. All questions are MCQs. The questions demand details of processes, facts in information etc.

    • Listening to a News Item

      This is a monologue.The theme of the news item can be about any current discovery, invention, medicine, politics, sports, tradition, decisions, policy etc.The recording is followed by five (05) questions with one blank each. Each blank has a drop-down menu with four options. The correct option is to be clicked.

    • Listening to a Discussion

      This is a video-based exercise. The video may have a discussion on any regular topic of college life, daily life, sports, politics etc.The video shows a discussion among two or more persons.The questions may refer to the dress/gender/age of one of the persons in the discussion.The language is easy to understand, and is easily relatable.The video is followed by eight (08) questions which have blanks with drop-down four options. The aspirant is expected to click on the correct option only. The advantage is there is no scope of errors of spellings or punctuation (lower or capital case).The questions demand correct answers on factual details shared by the participants in the discussion.

    • Listening to Viewpoints

      This question will include a lecture/monologue expressing viewpoints on any invention, issues, problem, concern, policy, politics, geography, tradition. Generally, the contents will be on regular issues, and not very technical themes.The language will be easy to understand.The questions demand focus on facts, details of matter etc.The lecture will be followed by six (06) questions with blanks to be filled in with four options given in the drop-down menu.

  • Reading

    Part 2 tests your reading skills. The time given to this section is 55-60 minutes.To assess Reading, following are the questions types:

    Question Types
    • Reading Correspondence

      This task has a letter, most possibly, in the form of an email.The contents of the letter can be both formal as well as informal. For example, a mail from a colleague, a friend, a senior, a professional, a corporate, a business dealer.The length of the letter is not very long.The language is easily comprehensible.The contents are generally about an event, an incident, an anecdote, an explanation etc.The letter is followed with five (05) statements.All statements have a blank with a drop-down menu with four options.The aspirant is expected to click on the correct option.

      Response to the Correspondence :This task is in response to the letter in Task 1.This is shorter in length. Generally, the response is explanatory in nature.The response has six (06) statements with blanks with drop-down menu with four options each. The test-taker is expected to click on the correct option.

    • Reading to Apply a Diagram

      This task will have some kind of diagram in the form of a table, a set of images, flow chart, tree, illustration with contents etc. The contents in the diagram are mentioned in a letter, which can be an email. The aspirant is expected to fill in the blanks with details from the diagram. The letter is followed by eight (08) statements with blanks with drop-down menu having four options. The candidate is expected to click on the correct option. The contents of the letter are of every day issues - replacing curtains, buying a camera, shifting to another house, shifting school, planning an excursion. The language is easily comprehensible. The statements are more about the comparisons among the variety of information given in the diagram.

    • Reading for Information

      This task is almost like one of the question-types of IELTS. There will be a few paragraphs in the text. The candidate is expected to match the given statement/title with the specific paragraph. There are statements which do not refer to any paragraph also. The passage may have around 06 paragraphs. The text will be followed by nine (09) statements with drop-down menu for each statement. The aspirant is expected to click on the correct option.

    • Reading for Viewpoints

      This task will have a detailed article about any contemporary issue of science, technology, policy, medicine, procedure, resolution etc. This may contain some technical vocabulary. This will demand very serious reading by the candidate. The passage is not very long, hence can be read more than two times for comprehension. The passage is followed by five (05) statements with blanks having drop-down menu with four options each. The candidate is expected to click on the correct option. The candidate´s knowledge about facts is tested. The article is generally referred to as taken from some website.
      Comment on the Viewpoints: This part will include a comment on the viewpoint stated in the previous part.This will have either the confirmation or the opposition of the viewpoint.The exercise will contain five (05) statements with blanks with drop-down menu having four options each.The aspirant is expected to click on the correct option.The language of the comment and the statements is easily comprehensible.The task will demand the factual understanding of the viewpoint and the comment.

  • Writing

    In Part 3 you will be tested on your writing skills. The time given to this section is 53-60 minutes. To assess Writing, following are the questions types:

    Question Types
    • Writing an Email

      The candidate is expected to draft an email on a given context.The maximum word limit is 150-200 words.The topics of the email are everyday issues.These can be letters of complaints, appreciation, problems, solutions, suggestions etc about any life-situation. The maximum time is 26 or 27 minutes.

    • Responding to Survey Questions

      This task will demand writing on a survey.The task will have two options to write on. The student can choose one option.The maximum time is 26 or 27 minutes.The task will involve every day issues where opinions and reason of choice are sought.The task will have maximum word limit of 150-200 words.

  • Speaking

    In Part 4 you will be tested on your ability of speaking. The time given to this section is 15-20 minutes. To assess Speaking, following are the questions types:

    Question Types
    • Giving Advice

      The candidate is expected to give advice on any context, generally everyday issues. The aspirant should be initiated to add words of daily use. Use of the modals “should“ and “can“ need to be used frequently.

    • Talking about a Personal Experience

      The aspirant is expected to speak on any personal experience that can be pleasant, sad, fearful, awful, full of surprise, and so on. It is essential that the candidate has enough vocabulary of adjectives and adverbs. The candidate can be initiated with a few phrases on any experience first.

    • Describing a Scene

      The aspirant will encounter an image which is full of action. The candidate is expected to speak on the action. The image can be of any location - classroom, beach, market, mall, multiplex, sports tournament, festival, accident, wedding, hospital, fair, rally, restaurant, carnival. The image will be such that some outcome/after-effects is/are expected. The candidate gets 60 seconds for preparation and 60 seconds for speaking. The candidate should decide about the action immediately.

    • Making Predictions

      The candidate is required to make predictions on the any given image. The candidate gets time for preparation, and then speaking begins. The candidate should be cautious not to speak too long on the scene happening. The candidate will have to imagine the consequences/any action that may follow the scene.

    • Comparing and Persuading

      The aspirant is expected to speak on one of the options given in form of images. The candidate has to choose an option (out of the two) within 60 seconds else the option is selected by the computer. On the next screen, one more image appears along with the one chosen by the candidate/computer. The candidate is expected to speak on the image using words of comparison. The language used should be of persuasion.

    • Dealing with a Difficult Situation

      The test seeker will get a situation with two options.The candidate will have to choose one option and speak on it. If the candidate does not choose, the computer will choose one.The candidate is advised to select the option, and move ahead to have better preparation.The situations generally are taken from everyday contexts.

    • Expressing Opinions

      This task requires the seeker “ s opinions on any debatable topic. This task is more of an oral essay. The aspirant is expected to speak in favor and against the topic.The task involves the use of both past and present tense forms.The task requires having introductory sentence as well as a concluding sentence.

    • Describing an Unusual Situation

      The aspirant is expected to describe an image that shows some strange incident. The test seeker is expected to speak in any tense “ present or past- as contained in the statement.The applicant should use words of probability.The candidate is expected to narrate the scene to someone else.The candidate should observe all physical features of the image.The applicant should imagine the immediate past of the image for better content.


    • *Unscored Items: The Listening and Reading Tests contain an un-scored item used for test development. These un-scored items can be found anywhere within each test and will have the same format as the scored items. You will not be able to tell scored items from unscored items, so apply your best effort to the entire test.

Scores

Each component of the CELPIP-General Test and the CELPIP-General LS Test is given a CELPIP level. Below is a chart of each CELPIP level and its corresponding description. Since the CELPIP test scores have been calibrated against the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels, we have included the CLB level equivalencies for your information.


CELPIP LEVEL CELPIP DESCRIPTOR CLB LEVEL
12 Advanced proficiency in workplace and community contexts 12
11 Advanced proficiency in workplace and community contexts 11
10 Highly effective proficiency in workplace and community contexts 10
9 Effective proficiency in workplace and community contexts 9
8 Good proficiency in workplace and community contexts 8
7 Adequate proficiency in workplace and community contexts 7
6 Developing proficiency in workplace and community contexts 6
5 Acquiring proficiency in workplace and community contexts 5
4 Adequate proficiency for daily life activities 4
3 Some proficiency in limited contexts 3
M Minimal proficiency or insufficient information to assess 0, 1, 2
NA Not Administered: test taker did not receive this test component /

The computer automatically scores the Listening and Reading Tests. Responses to the writing and speaking tests are scored by trained and experienced CELPIP evaluators.