CELPIP Speaking/S2

CELPIP Speaking Task 2: Personal Experience

In Task 2 you tell a story about a past experience. You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak, so decide on your story quickly and tell it in order, in past tenses, with details.

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The official format of Speaking Task 2: Personal Experience

Preparation
30 seconds
Speaking
60 seconds
What you do
Tell a story about a past experience, in past tenses, with descriptive details. If you cannot think of a real one, you may make one up.
Scored on
Content/Coherence, Vocabulary, Listenability and Task Fulfillment

CELPIP's official strategies for Task 2

From CELPIP's Speaking Pro: Target 9+ Study Pack (2026).

  1. Quickly decide what story you will tell.
  2. If you can't think of a real experience from your life, make one up.
  3. Use past tenses.
  4. Include descriptive details.
  5. Try to get your listener to feel how you felt.

A 4-step structure for Task 2

Set the scene, tell the turning point, give one real detail, and say what it meant. Sequence words like "We started by", "From there", "Once" and "And then" keep the story in order.

1Set the sceneThis happened ___.
2The turnWhat made it memorable was ___.
3One real detailI still remember ___.
4What it meantLooking back, ___.

CELPIP Speaking Task 2 sample answer (60 seconds)

THE QUESTION

Talk about a time you taught someone a new skill. Maybe you can talk about cooking, a sport, or using a phone or computer. What did you teach, who did you teach, and how did you teach it?

A SAMPLE ANSWER
Set the scene

This happened last summer, when my mom came from overseas to stay with us in Calgary for a whole month. Before she flew home, I taught her how to make video calls on her new phone, because she wanted to see her grandson every single week.

The turn

What made it memorable was that she was sure she would never get it. We started by writing every step on a small card, in big letters, in her own words. From there, we practiced every evening after dinner, with me calling her from the next room, again and again, until she stopped looking at the cards.

One real detail

I still remember the night it finally clicked. Once she found the green button on her own, she laughed out loud and called my sister back home without asking me. And then she called her best friend, and her neighbor, and anyone else who would pick up.

What it meant

Looking back, I was the nervous one, because I did not want her to feel slow or embarrassed. Now she calls us every Sunday morning, and my son always runs to answer it first. Teaching her was the best thing I did all summer.

Past tenses throughout, events in order, one vivid detail, and how the speaker felt. This answer was spoken within the 60-second limit.

A free CELPIP Speaking Task 2: Personal Experience practice question

Helping Someone in Community

Talk about a time when you helped someone in your community. Maybe you can talk about helping a neighbor, volunteering at a local event, assisting someone at work or school, or helping during bad weather. What did you do and how did it make you feel?

Show the sample answer (CLB 9-10)

I'd love to tell you about an incredibly rewarding experience I had last February during one of Toronto's worst blizzards. My elderly neighbor, Mrs. Chen, had been snowed in for three days, and I could see she was struggling to even get to her mailbox. Without hesitation, I grabbed my shovel and spent the entire afternoon meticulously clearing not just her driveway, but also creating a safe pathway to her front door. What struck me most was her genuine gratitude - she was nearly in tears and insisted on sharing homemade dumplings with me. That simple act of kindness sparked a beautiful friendship, and now we regularly check on each other. It reinforced my belief that small gestures can profoundly impact someone's life and strengthen the fabric of our community.

Try this question free →

More CELPIP Speaking Task 2 practice questions

Set a timer, use the preparation time to plan, and answer each one out loud.

  1. Talk about a time when you had to make a difficult decision. What was the decision, and how did you make it?
  2. Talk about a time when something did not go as planned. What happened, and what did you do?
  3. Talk about a time when someone helped you when you really needed it.
  4. Talk about a time when you tried something new for the first time. How did you feel?
  5. Talk about a time when you received surprising news. What happened next?
  6. Talk about a celebration you remember well. What made it special?

Common mistakes on Task 2: Personal Experience

  • Spending the preparation time looking for a perfect story. Choose quickly, and remember CELPIP allows you to make one up.
  • Slipping into the present tense. Keep the story in past tenses.
  • Listing events with no details, so the listener cannot picture what happened.
  • Ending without saying how you felt or what the experience meant to you.

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Task 2: Personal Experience FAQ

How long do I have for CELPIP Speaking Task 2?+

30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.

Can I make up a story for CELPIP Speaking Task 2?+

Yes. CELPIP's study pack says that if you can't think of a real experience from your life, you can make one up.

Which tense should I use in Task 2?+

Past tenses, because you are telling a story about something that already happened.

How much detail should I include?+

Enough for the listener to picture the moment: who was there, where it happened, one specific detail, and how you felt.

What CELPIP Speaking score do I need for Express Entry?+

Express Entry's Federal Skilled Worker program needs at least CLB 7 in speaking and in each other skill, and the most first-language points start at CLB 10. Canadian citizenship needs CLB 4 in speaking and listening.

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