CELPIP, Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program is a test organized over the globe for evaluating the proficiency of an individual in English Language. Paragon Testing Enterprises, a subsidiary of the University of British Columbia manages CELPIP. The test has 2 versions – CELPIP General and CELPIP General LS. It is a fully computerized examination which is conducted in a single sitting. Currently CELPIP is valid only for Canadian immigration purpose.
CELPIP Results are available online within 8 business days. For availability of the result within 3 business days, test takers can opt for Express Rating as well.
As, different modules of English language i.e. Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking are involved in the test so coordinated support system is provided for each one of them. For example, a computer mouse and a keyboard is given to the test takers for Reading and Writing sections of CELPIP whereas a computer microphone and a headset is provided for Listening and Speaking components.
ORGANIZATIONS ACCEPTING CELPIP
In addition to ICCRC, Real Estate Council of British Columbia and IRCC, the organizations that accept the CELPIP Test results for English Language Proficiency are listed below:
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Organizational employment requirements
- Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA)
- NorQuest College ELP (English Language Proficiency)
- BC Health Care Assistant (HCA) Program
- Real Estate Council of British Columbia (RECBC)
- Alberta Institute of Massage
- Alberta Human Services – Child Care Staff Certification
- Association of Saskatchewan Realtors
- Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission
- TLC-Edmonton Training for Foreign Caregivers
- Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)
- CELPIP General Test – It comprises of all the 4 modules i.e. Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. The time duration for CELPIP General Test is 3 hours.
- CELPIP General LS Test – It consists of 2 modules i.e. Listening and Speaking. The time duration provided for CELPIP General LS Test is 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Listening
- The listening test is about 50 minutes long and has 6 parts.
- In each part there is a 1 to 3 minute long conversation. Conversation may also be a video.
- Each conversation is followed by 3 to 8 questions.
- Questions cannot be seen while the audio is played, so it is important to take notes.
- 30 seconds are given to answer each question.
- Question types are mainly MCQs and fill in the blanks.
- For MCQs the questions are also played in audio form with choices displayed on the screen.
- For fill in the blanks sentences are displayed on the screen. The answers for fill ups are supposed to be selected from choices given in drop down menus.
- For video based conversations it is important to see the video carefully along with listening because questions can be like – What did the person wearing denims think about hiring new people?
Reading
- The reading test is about 40 minutes long and has 4 parts.
- Text and questions are displayed simultaneously.
- 10 minutes are available to read the text and answer questions for each part. Depending on the length of the task number of questions per task can vary from 1 to 10.
- Instead of texts there can also be picture based tasks.
- Question types are mainly MCQs and fill ups just like the questions in the listening test.
Writing
- The writing test has 2 tasks.
- Task 1 is similar to task 1 of General IELTS. That is letter/email writing for the given scenario. But the word count must be 150 to 200 words. 27 minutes are given to complete task1. After completing task 1 the candidate can go to task2.
- If task 1 is not completed within 27 minutes, then after 27 minutes the screen will automatically switch to task 2. Writing Task 2 is also similar to IELTS task 2. That is 150 to 200 words long essay writing. The maximum time available for task 2 is 26 minutes.
Speaking
- Speaking test is about 25 minutes long.
- There are 8 tasks. 30 seconds preparation time is given for each. The preparation time starts as soon as the topic appears on the screen. After 30 seconds you are prompted to start speaking. Speaking time for each task is 1 minute. After the time is over the next task automatically appears on the screen.
- Speaking topics are similar to IELTS speaking topics.
GENERAL – IELTS General Training is also divided into four sections
- Time saved in any of the modules/questions is not carried forward to the next task.
- After the time allotted for each question is over the test will automatically move to the next task.
- Notes taking skill is important in the listening section because questions cannot be seen when the audio is played and questions are also based on videos, it is important to observe things like clothing, furniture, ambience etc. of the video conversation.
- Reading tasks can be completely picture based.
- The minimum word count for both the writing tasks is 150 to 200 words.
- Speaking is like doing 8 cue card topics one after the other, there are no follow up questions.