CELPIP-General study guide
CELPIP-General · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
CELPIP-General - the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program - is a general English proficiency test that measures Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. It was developed at the University of British Columbia and is aligned with the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) and the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). It is approved by IRCC for English requirements for temporary and permanent residency in Canada and for Canadian citizenship, and it is accepted by Australia's Department of Home Affairs for visa applications, so it suits anyone who needs documented English proficiency for immigration, study or professional purposes. The test is self-paced and completed during one sitting in three hours or less. The CELPIP-General study guide has 4 sections and about 1,387 words.
01Listening: Staying Oriented While the Audio Keeps Moving
CELPIP Listening runs through six parts in a single sitting: a problem-solving dialogue, a daily-life conversation, an information talk, a news item, a longer discussion among several speakers, and a short video. Each recording plays once.
353 words, about 2 min02Reading: Locating Evidence Instead of Remembering Content
CELPIP Reading has four parts: a piece of correspondence (often an email with a reply), a task that requires you to apply information from a diagram such as a schedule or fee table, a set of numbered paragraphs matched to statements, and two passages presenting different viewpoints on one issue. The section rewards locating specific evidence quickly, not reading everything at the same depth.
353 words, about 2 min03Writing: Purpose, Register, and Coverage in Two Short Tasks
CELPIP Writing gives you two tasks in 53 minutes. In the email task you write 150–200 words responding to a situation with two or three prompts to cover.
334 words, about 2 min04Speaking: Eight Short Turns, One Clear Structure
CELPIP Speaking is eight recorded tasks completed in about 15 minutes. The first four tasks allow roughly 30 seconds of preparation and 60 seconds of speech; the last four allow about 60 seconds of preparation and 90 seconds of speech.
347 words, about 2 min