I took the CELPIP test a week ago and I would never recommend it to anyone. Although reading, listening and writing (despite harsh marking) are fairly easy, the speaking part is ridiculous. Here’s why:
- Unlike IELTS, this is not an actual conversation: you are talking to a computer and you need to spend the entire 30 to 60 seconds talking. Otherwise, you’ll be marked down.
- There are always a lot of other exam takers and you are all sitting side by side talking to your own computers, so make sure you have a great ability to focus on what you are doing.
- If you talk too loud, an exam invigilator will approach you and tell you to talk softer, thus wasting your time to prepare to the next question.
- Preparation time is usually 30 seconds.
- You get marked down for a foreign accent.
- If you think CELPIP is much cheaper than IELTS, make sure you are comparing the gross quotes as CELPIP has their quotes without GST. As of right now, IELTS in Alberta costs you $309 while CELPIP is $294 gross.
- If you have any concerns regarding your results, you need to pay an extra $120 for re-evaluation of your score. And it doesn’t mean that they will improve your score.
Summing up, out of the three English language exams I took in my life (IELTS, Cambrige CAE and CELPIP), this is by far the worst and the least professional.