CELPIP Listening Test: Format, the 6 Parts, Score Chart and Tips for Each Part

CELPIP Listening has 38 scored questions in six parts and takes 46–55 minutes. Every recording plays once, and the questions only come after you've heard it: spoken, with 30 seconds each, in Parts 1 to 3, and written on one screen in Parts 4 to 6. Your correct answers out of 38 become a CELPIP level, wrong answers cost nothing, and level 9 takes roughly 33–35 correct. You can practise all six parts free on PrepEx, with every answer explained.

Take a free CELPIP practice test See the six Listening parts

We checked the part structure, question formats, timings, score chart and 2024 averages on this page against CELPIP's Listening study guide, its CELPIP-General, test results and test-day pages, its test-taker guidebook and its 2024 test data report on 12 November 2026. CELPIP can change the format, so check its site again before you book.

CELPIP Listening format

You listen through headphones and answer on screen. Listening is in both CELPIP-General and CELPIP-General LS, the Listening and Speaking test for citizenship.

Two things shape the whole section. You never see a question before its recording plays, so you follow everything, take notes and answer from what you heard. And in Parts 1 to 3 the clock runs per question: you hear the question, read four answer choices and choose, all inside 30 seconds.

The section can also contain unscored questions used to develop future tests. CELPIP's guidebook says they look like scored content and can turn up anywhere, so answer every question as if it counts.

Every recording plays once on test day. Practise each part the same way, with every answer explained. Practise all six parts free

Parts 1 to 3: spoken questions

In the first three parts you hear each question, and only the four answer choices are written on screen.

Part 1: Listening to Problem Solving (8 questions)

Two people talk through a practical problem, such as a cancelled booking or a clash in a work schedule. The conversation stops twice, and you answer questions on each section before the next one plays: what the problem is, what each person suggests, what they decide and why.

• Expect the plan to change. A first suggestion often gets turned down, and the idea they dropped makes a tempting wrong answer.
• Write who suggested each idea. "What does the man suggest?" is easy to miss if your notes only say what was suggested.
• Draw a line across your page at each break, so you can find the right section's notes quickly.

Practise: Listening Part 1 practice · Learn: Problem Solving lesson

Part 2: Listening to a Daily Life Conversation (5 questions)

A shorter, more casual conversation: friends making plans, neighbours sorting out a favour, a customer talking to staff. Questions can ask about the relationship, the purpose of the conversation and how someone feels, as well as details.

• In the first few lines, work out who the two people are to each other and why they're talking.
• Listen to how things are said. "I suppose that could work" is not a yes.
• Note what each person agrees to do by the end.

Practise: Listening Part 2 practice · Learn: Daily Life Conversation lesson

Part 3: Listening for Information (6 questions)

Usually one person needs information and the other explains it: how a program works, what a new job involves, the steps to register for something. Expect dates, times, places, requirements and steps.

• Write numbers and steps in the order you hear them, numbered 1, 2, 3.
• Listen for corrections. "It's on Tuesdays, oh, actually that changed to Thursdays" puts both days in your head, and only one is right.
• Expect paraphrase: a speaker who says "a utility bill or a lease" may match an option about "proof of your address".

Practise: Listening Part 3 practice · Learn: Information lesson

Parts 4 to 6: written questions

From Part 4 on, the questions are written and appear together on one screen after the recording ends. You can read them all before choosing, but the recording won't play again, so your notes carry everything.

Part 4: Listening to a News Item (5 questions)

One speaker reads a short local news report, such as a change to bus routes or a new community facility. Each question is a sentence with a blank to complete.

• Note the basics: what happened, where, who it affects, why, and what happens next.
• Read the whole sentence before choosing. Several options may fit grammatically; only one matches what the report said.

Practise: Listening Part 4 practice · Learn: News Item lesson

Part 5: Listening to a Discussion (8 questions)

In the real test this part is a video: three people discuss an issue, such as a team plan or a committee decision, and they don't all agree. The eight written questions ask who thinks what, why they disagree, what someone means and what the group decides.

• In the first seconds, connect each name or role to a face and a voice.
• Split your page into three columns, one per speaker, and note each person's position and reason in a few words.
• Mark when someone changes their mind or accepts part of another person's idea, and note what the group settles on. Questions can ask whose proposal is adopted.

Practise: Listening Part 5 practice · Learn: Discussion lesson

Part 6: Listening to Viewpoints (6 questions)

The longest recording, about 3 minutes, comes last, when you're most tired. One speaker sets out an issue and different views on it, and the six sentence completions ask about those views and the reasons behind them.

• Separate the speaker's own opinion from the opinions they report. "Some residents argue…" and "critics say…" introduce other people's views.
• For each view, note the reason and any example given for it.
• Watch the turning words: "however", "that said", "on the other hand".

Practise: Listening Part 6 practice · Learn: Viewpoints lesson

Try all six Listening parts, each recording played once, with an explanation for every answer. Take a free CELPIP practice test

How to take notes in CELPIP Listening

The test centre gives you a pen and notepaper, which you hand back at the end, and you can raise your hand for more paper. Notes are the only replay you get, so practise them as a skill.

1. Set up the page before the audio starts. Two columns for the two-person parts, three for Part 5, and for Parts 4 and 6 a simple list of each view with its reason.
2. Write keywords, not sentences: names, numbers, days, places, decisions and changes.
3. Use the same few symbols every time. An arrow for "changed to", an X for a rejected idea, + and − for for and against. Decide on them in practice, not on test day.
4. Let a missed point go. Leave a gap and pick up the next point. Trying to rebuild what you missed costs you the next answer too.

Here is a short PrepEx example in the style of Part 1. It's original and much shorter than a real recording.

Maya: The movers just called. They can't come on Saturday. They've offered Friday afternoon or Monday morning.

Sam: Monday won't work. We have to hand the keys back on Sunday.

Maya: Then it's Friday. I'll ask my manager if I can leave at noon, and could you book the elevator at the new building?

Sam: I'll call them now.

Notes that would cover it: movers: Sat X → Fri pm / Mon am · Mon X (keys back Sun) · → FRI pm · M: ask mgr, leave noon · S: book elevator, new bldg

A spoken question asks: "Why can't they move on Monday?" The options: the movers are fully booked; they must return their keys on Sunday; Sam has to work; the elevator is reserved. The notes give you the keys in a second. The elevator is the trap: it was in the conversation, just not as a reason.

More drills: the free listening notes lesson, CELPIP listening note-taking drills and the evidence and distractors lesson. If you want something to print, there is a CELPIP Listening practice test PDF with audio.

How CELPIP Listening is scored

The computer counts your correct answers out of 38 and converts the total to a CELPIP level. Nothing is taken off for a wrong answer, so never leave one blank. CELPIP's chart is approximate, and its ranges overlap because test forms differ slightly in difficulty.

Listening asks for more correct answers than Reading at almost every level. Level 7 is about 27–31 in Listening against 24–28 in Reading, and level 9 is about 33–35 against 31–33. So 33 out of 38 in Listening sits on the line between levels 8 and 9, and 30 could be 7 or 8. To see every level a practice score could match, use the CELPIP Listening score calculator or the full CELPIP score chart.

Listening is the highest-scoring CELPIP skill

In CELPIP's 2024 data report, the average CELPIP-General Listening level was 8.22, ahead of Writing (7.91), Speaking (7.76) and Reading (7.21). About half of Listening results (52.0%) were level 9 or higher, and 33.8% were 10 or higher, against about one in five in each of the other skills. Levels 9 and 10 were the two most common Listening results, at about 18% each.

That doesn't make Listening easy. Among test takers whose first language is English, the Listening average was 8.84, a little below their Writing (8.88) and well below their Speaking (9.33). Fluent listeners still lose marks to one-time audio, 30-second windows and options built from words they really heard.

Still, it's the skill where a 10 is most often reached, and Express Entry scores each skill separately: for a single applicant, CLB 10 is worth 34 Comprehensive Ranking System points per skill, against 31 at CLB 9.

How to get 9 or 10 in CELPIP Listening

Level 9 takes roughly 33–35 correct and the 10–12 range starts at about 35. Because the line moves between test forms, aim for 34 or more in practice if you need a 9 (four mistakes or fewer) and 36 or more if you need a 10 (two mistakes or fewer).

1. Take a timed baseline. Do all six parts in one go, hearing each recording once, and write down your score for each part, not just the total.
2. Keep an error log. For every mistake, note the part, what you chose, what the speaker actually said and why the wrong option sounded right. The same causes come back: a changed plan, the wrong speaker, a missed number.
3. Work on your weakest part first. If Part 5 costs you three answers and Part 2 costs none, more Part 2 practice won't move your level.
4. Listen once, then check. No pausing and no replays until you've answered. Replay afterwards with the explanation to find the line you missed.
5. Build stamina with full recordings. Part 6 is about 3 minutes of one voice at the end of the section, and short clips don't prepare you for it.

PrepEx Listening practice is marked against an answer key with an explanation for each question. A free account gets two graded CELPIP practice sessions a day, and a full-length CELPIP-General practice test unlocks free after three graded sessions in at least two sections. Drill single parts on the CELPIP Listening practice page or in the free Listening lessons, and try CELPIP's own free practice tests too. Related guides: CELPIP Reading test, CELPIP test format, how to prepare for CELPIP and CELPIP for citizenship.

See how you do on all six Listening parts before test day. Start the free practice test

Sources we checked

• CELPIP Listening Pro Study Pack 2026 — the six parts, spoken questions with 30 seconds each in Parts 1–3, written questions in Parts 4–6, the Part 5 video discussion and approximate recording lengths
• CELPIP: CELPIP-General — Listening takes 46–55 minutes, questions per part, unscored items in Listening and Reading
• CELPIP: Canadian Residency — Listening has 38 questions
• CELPIP: Canadian Citizenship — CELPIP-General LS tests Listening and Speaking only
• CELPIP Guidebook for Test Takers (July 2026) — unscored content looks like scored content and can appear anywhere
• CELPIP: Test Day Information — pen and notepaper provided and handed back
• CELPIP: Test Results — approximate Listening and Reading raw-score charts, levels, CLB and CEFR
• CELPIP 2024 Data Report — no deduction for wrong answers, 2024 averages and level shares
• IRCC: Comprehensive Ranking System criteria — CRS points per skill at CLB 9 and CLB 10