Get ready for your CELPIP Exam

As I have stated before, in Canada there are only two official English tests that government will recognize; CELPIP is one of those.

This is the third time I took the CELPIP exam. The first one I failed (I missed 2 points for the minimum), the second one got expired (I got enough points, but results only have 1 year of official validity), and now third time (with enough points, and hopefully, enough time before it expires again). I will write about my experience on doing the exam.

About the Payment and Registration

 Good news is that CELPIP now accepts PayPal as another payment method. This is new, in 2015, they were only accepting credit card (not even visa debit). This makes life easier as if you don't have a credit card, you just sign up for a free PayPal account and top it up using your debit card.

The website to register is https://www.celpiptest.ca/. Before signing up, you will need to be ready with an official identification such as your passport. The registration process is easy, just too many questions about yourself, why are you going to take the exam, and how often you use English. At the very end, you will be forwarded to select a payment method.

After paying, you will get your email some emails. There is one mail that is very important; that email has a unique PIN you will need to give. You must print that email and bring it.

The Examination Day

The exam day, you just only need the same piece of identification you said you will bring (when registering) and the printed email. Don't bring anything else, you will be asked to put your belongs in a bag.

You will recover your stuff when you finish your exam. I was only allowed to keep a check on me (and they reviewed twice if that was only money).

If you need to go to the washroom when taking the exam, you will feel like in jail! Someone will escort you and wait for you until you return to your place.

About the Exam

You must know this exam is 100% done on a computer. So, you must prepare yourself to be sat for at least 3 or 4 hours.

The exam will start with the listening part. It consists of several exercises about listening others conversation and answering questions about it. The questions are not written. 

The second section is the reading part. One exercise is a journal, in which more than one expert will show its comments about it. You will need to select the correct assertion from a list. You will also need to fill the blanks of a letter answering that article. There is another exercise in which you will need to read a long report and then select what part of that article means a specific idea.

The third part of the written one. You will need to write two long letters. One is formal, the other is more familiar. I remember one letter was about sending a complaint, other about giving your opinion.

Last part is the oral. There is one exercise where you need to describe a picture and later, you will need to tell what you think it will happen. These pictures involve people doing things, so you need to practice not only describing objects but actions as well. There is another where you need to persuade someone about a topic in which he doesn't agree. There is another exercise where you will need to argue about an unknown topic (yes, you read it well).

Ending the Exam

When you finish your exam, you will be escorted to the exit. Your belongings will be given to you if any.

Test Results

You will get your test results in about 8 to 10 natural days. You will get an email telling you can log into the system to review. A hard copy of the result will arrive later by postal mail, you will get two copies.

Good luck!