Make the important details easy to hear
These twelve drills use short paired recordings. Some contrast a number, ending or negative; others show related sentences with clear thought groups. They are language practice, not a CELPIP Listen and Repeat task. Neither recording has an assigned score.
Listen to each pair, identify what changes and say a new sentence using the same feature. Capital letters in the practice script mark important words; slashes suggest useful boundaries. They are planning aids, not instructions to shout or pause mechanically.
A ten-minute practice routine
- Notice: Listen to one pair without reading. State the difference you heard.
- Repeat: Read the script and repeat the sentence comfortably. Keep the words inside a meaningful phrase together.
- Transfer: Close the script and make your own sentence. Change the situation, not only one noun.
- Record: If useful, use your own recorder. Replay for the target feature and try one repair.
- Speak: Apply the feature in a fresh timed response. The aim is clearer spontaneous speech.
This page only plays audio. It does not use your microphone, save a response or assess your voice.
Twelve paired audio drills
Drill 1 / Make the number recoverable.
Fifteen and fifty
Listen A
The workshop has fifteen places.
Listen B
The workshop has fifty places.
The workshop has FIFTEEN places. / The workshop has FIFTY places.
Notice: Listen for the different stressed syllable and the final sound in fifteen. The numbers change the size of the group.
Your turn: Say a booking number, then ask your listener to write it down.
Use it in a task: Use a clear number when comparing two course options.
Drill 2 / Keep a negative audible.
Can and cannot
Listen A
I can collect the parcel on Friday.
Listen B
I cannot collect the parcel on Friday.
I CAN collect the parcel on FRIDAY. / I CANNOT collect the parcel on FRIDAY.
Notice: The second sentence reverses the message. The full form cannot is one useful choice when the distinction matters.
Your turn: Make two sentences about your availability; change only the positive or negative.
Use it in a task: Check negatives when explaining a difficult situation.
Drill 3 / Keep a time marker and verb ending consistent.
Past and present
Listen A
I work at the community center.
Listen B
I worked at the community center last summer.
I WORK at the community center. / I WORKED at the community center LAST SUMMER.
Notice: The final consonant and the time phrase establish the past in the second recording.
Your turn: Describe something you do now and something you did last year.
Use it in a task: Use clear time relationships in a personal experience.
Drill 4 / Preserve plural endings.
One form or several
Listen A
Please bring the completed form.
Listen B
Please bring the completed forms.
Please bring the completed FORM. / Please bring the completed FORMS.
Notice: The final s changes how many documents the listener should expect.
Your turn: Give an instruction involving one item, then several items.
Use it in a task: Keep quantities clear when giving advice or explaining a plan.
Drill 5 / Pause between ideas.
Keep a phrase together
Listen A
The new community center opens on Monday. It will offer evening classes.
Listen B
The new community center opens on Monday, and its first evening class starts on Tuesday.
The new community center / opens on MONDAY. / It will offer EVENING CLASSES.
Notice: Listen for boundaries between complete ideas. Avoid breaking the phrase community center or separating on from its day.
Your turn: Say your own two-sentence announcement, marking thought groups before recording.
Use it in a task: Use grouped ideas when describing a scene or making a prediction.
Drill 6 / Emphasize the information that changes.
Make a contrast clear
Listen A
The west entrance is open on Thursday.
Listen B
The east entrance stays closed until Friday.
The WEST entrance is OPEN on THURSDAY. / The EAST entrance stays CLOSED until FRIDAY.
Notice: Both the location and the time matter. A listener needs more than the word entrance.
Your turn: Describe two arrangements that differ in place and time.
Use it in a task: Use clear contrasts when comparing options.
Drill 7 / Connect a condition with its result.
Finish the conditional idea
Listen A
If the weather stays dry, we can hold the picnic outside.
Listen B
If it starts raining, we can use the covered terrace.
If the weather stays DRY, / we can hold the picnic OUTSIDE.
Notice: The short pause follows the condition. Each recording still finishes with a useful plan.
Your turn: Offer a main plan and a backup using two complete if sentences.
Use it in a task: Make supported predictions instead of abandoning sentences halfway through.
Drill 8 / Repair one detail and continue.
A brief correction
Listen A
The appointment is on Tuesday. Sorry, Thursday afternoon.
Listen B
The appointment is on Thursday afternoon, just after lunch.
The appointment is on TUESDAY. / Sorry, THURSDAY afternoon.
Notice: The correction replaces the day without restarting the whole message. The second clip is the clean version.
Your turn: Record a short message; if you make a small error, correct that detail and continue.
Use it in a task: Keep a personal-experience response moving after a minor slip.
Drill 9 / Use a clear, complete request.
A polite request
Listen A
Could you move your bicycle away from the entrance, please?
Listen B
Would you mind leaving enough room for the delivery cart?
Could you move your bicycle / away from the ENTRANCE, please?
Notice: Listen for the request as a complete phrase. Politeness also comes from the words and the explanation you add.
Your turn: Ask a neighbor for a small change and give one practical reason.
Use it in a task: Keep a difficult-situation response respectful and specific.
Drill 10 / Give a reason room to land.
Support the recommendation
Listen A
I would choose the evening course because I could attend after work.
Listen B
The weekend course offers longer sessions, but I usually work on Saturdays.
I would choose the EVENING course / because I could attend AFTER WORK.
Notice: The pause separates the choice from its reason. The comparison adds a real constraint instead of repeating the choice.
Your turn: Recommend one option, give a reason and acknowledge one benefit of the alternative.
Use it in a task: Use this structure in Comparing and Persuading.
Drill 11 / Make the relationship audible.
Separate an example from a conclusion
Listen A
For example, the later bus would let evening staff travel home together.
Listen B
That is why I support keeping the route open after nine.
For EXAMPLE, / the later bus would let evening staff / travel HOME together.
Notice: The first sentence supplies support; the second returns to the position. A brief boundary helps the listener follow the shift.
Your turn: Give an opinion, one example and a closing sentence in your own words.
Use it in a task: Develop an opinion without rushing all three moves into one breath.
Drill 12 / Leave time for a usable ending.
End with a complete thought
Listen A
You could ask the organizer for a small first task.
Listen B
That would let you try the group without committing to every weekend.
That would let you TRY the group / without committing to EVERY WEEKEND.
Notice: The final sentence explains why the suggestion is manageable. It ends a thought rather than introducing another unfinished reason.
Your turn: Give a thirty-second answer and reserve its last few seconds for one complete closing idea.
Use it in a task: Use the Speaking timer with a fresh prompt after the drill.
A recording checklist
- Can a listener recover the important names, numbers, times and negatives?
- Are verb and plural endings audible where they change the message?
- Do pauses separate ideas instead of splitting fixed phrases?
- Does stress help identify a contrast or a new piece of information?
- Can I correct a small error briefly and continue?
- Does my last sentence finish before the response window ends?
Clarity also depends on relevant ideas and useful development. Sound practice cannot replace answering the prompt. Read the listenability lesson, compare the worked Speaking recordings, then choose an unfamiliar question from the 40-topic bank and use the task timer.
Common questions
Do I need a Canadian accent for CELPIP?
The useful goal is intelligible speech. Practice sound distinctions, stress, rhythm and pausing that help a listener follow you; imitating an accent is not the aim of these drills.
Are these Listen and Repeat test questions?
No. CELPIP does not have a scored Listen and Repeat task. Repetition here is a language-learning exercise that supports your original responses to the eight Speaking tasks.
Does this page record or grade my voice?
No. Play the examples and use your own recorder if you want to compare attempts. This page does not access your microphone, upload a response or assign a pronunciation score.
How long should I practice?
Try a ten-minute session: notice one contrast, repeat it, make your own sentence and use the same feature in a short spontaneous answer. Review one specific feature instead of repeating every recording.
Sources and review
Official guidance checked November 12, 2026. These are independent PrepEx preparation resources. The printable packs preserve our existing public exercises; the note-taking and pronunciation drills are original teaching material.