CELPIP Tips: Speaking Task 2 – Talking about a Personal Experience
Task 2 of the Speaking Test requires candidates to talk about a personal experience. Learn more about the structure of the question and useful tips on how to create a detailed and comprehensive response.
Last week, we looked at an overview of the Speaking Test with a focus on Task 1. While Task 1 is hypothetical in nature, meaning you have to create a response to an imaginary situation, Task 2 asks candidates to recall a past experience from their memory and speak about it for one minute.
We will look at two sample questions and answers for Task 2, but first, here is some information on how the questions are structured. The question can generally be divided into 3 parts.
The first part usually says: “Talk about…” This first sentence provides the topic of the prompt.
The second part usually provides some examples and says, “You could talk about…” These examples are meant to trigger memories which will help you visualize details from a past experience which you will then talk about. This part will help you narrow down your topic to a specific experience or incident that happened in the past which means you will primarily be speaking in past tense. Remember it says, “You could talk about…,” meaning that you may talk about a different experience, but these are just some options.
Finally, the third part tells you exactly which aspects you should talk about. Be aware of the command verbs that are used, such as describe and explain as well as interrogative pronouns like what, when, and who.
Task 2 has a preparation time of 30 seconds and a recording time of 60 seconds. Once again, time management is crucial, and because Task 2 asks candidates to speak about a personal experience, you may have a lot of say, so remember to stick to the topic, be specific and give details, and most importantly answer all of the points asked in the questions.
Task 2: Talking about a Personal Experience
Preparation: 30 seconds
Recording 60 seconds
Talk about a special place you went to as a child. You could talk about an amusement park, a festival, a beach, or a park. Describe the place, say who you went there with, and mention why it was so memorable.
“When I was 8 or 9 years old, I went to the Children’s Festival in Vancouver with my mom and older sister. Actually, my mom used to take us to the Children’s Festival every Spring. The festival was held outdoors at Vanier Park which is near Granville Island in Vancouver.
I remember watching cultural performances from around the world, including a drumming group from South Korea. That performance really stands out in my mind because the performers let all the kids take turns hitting their drums after the show. I think that was the first time in my life that I ever played the drums, and because their drums were so big, it made a really loud and powerful sound.
We also ate snow cones which are made from shaved ice and fruit-flavoured syrup and ate corn on the cob. The festival was always held in May which is when the weather starts warming up and it was always a Spring highlight for me during my childhood.
I’m not sure if this festival is still held in Vancouver, but I hope it is because it was really fun and interactive.”
Talk about a stressful experience you’ve had. You could talk about a job interview, an injury, or a conflict with someone. Describe what happened, what you did, and explain why it was so stressful.
“I remember a job interview that I had that was really stressful. I was looking for a summer job when I was a college student and was contacted for an interview at a clothing store at Metrotown which is a big shopping mall in Burnaby.
I was nervous but also really excited because I had been applying for jobs for a few weeks and hadn’t heard back from anyone.
Anyway, on the day of the interview I was waiting for the bus, but it was late. When the bus finally came, it was full, and I couldn’t get on. I was starting to panic and was worried that I would be late for the interview. After some time, I decided to call a taxi, but the estimated arrival time was more than 20 minutes.
Even though I was afraid of making a bad first impression, l called the interviewer to let them know that I might be late. Luckily, the interviewer was understanding, and she also said that some of their staff members had called and said that there were transit delays.
In the end, I didn’t get the job, but it did teach me the importance of leaving extra early for job interviews.”
