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Speaking · S1

CELPIP Speaking Task 1: advice for a new job

Turn general advice into actions a nervous friend can use.

By MockMaple · Updated

Try the prompt

Your friend starts a new job next week and worries about remembering everyone’s instructions. Give practical advice directly to your friend.

  • The friend is new and feels overwhelmed.
  • Advice should help with instructions, not assume the friend lacks ability.

Plan your approach

  1. Acknowledge the worry.
  2. Give a small action and show exactly how to use it.
  3. Explain when to ask immediately and finish with realistic reassurance.

Complete sample response

Synthetic reading of the complete sample response. This short teaching example is not a full timed test performance.

I would start with a small notebook rather than trying to remember everything at once. After someone explains a task, write down the main steps and repeat them back briefly. You could say, “So I send the draft to you before contacting the customer—is that right?” That gives you a chance to catch a misunderstanding early. Also, keep a short list of questions that can wait until your supervisor has a free moment. Of course, ask immediately if a mistake could affect someone’s safety. Being new means you are learning the routines; it does not mean you have to know them already.

Why these choices work

A response or interpretation to improve

You should be organized. Organization is important at work. Just listen carefully and remember things. Do not worry about it because it will all be fine. Ask questions if you want. That is my advice.

You should be organized. → write down the main steps and repeat them back briefly.

Concrete actions make the advice usable on the first day. Try this: Turn one broad instruction into a small action your listener can try.

it will all be fine → Being new means you are learning the routines

Reassurance acknowledges the situation without promising an outcome the speaker cannot guarantee. Try this: Add reassurance tied to the listener’s actual situation.

Vocabulary in context

clarify

Make a meaning or instruction easier to understand.

Ask your supervisor to clarify the final step.

Choose the right alternative: Confirm checks whether an understanding is correct; clarify asks for greater clarity.

Usage note: Clarify the instructions, not clarify about the instructions.

Explore vocabulary, synonyms and idioms

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to see the evidence and an explanation for every option. These checks are not a proficiency score.

1. Which revision best follows the lesson’s approach?
All answers and explanations

Which revision best follows the lesson’s approach?

Answer: Add a relevant detail that helps the listener or reader act.

Evidence: write down the main steps and repeat them back briefly.

  • Add a relevant detail that helps the listener or reader act.: A relevant detail develops the message and serves the audience.
  • Replace every ordinary word with an unfamiliar synonym.: Unfamiliar wording can obscure meaning; precision matters more than rarity.
  • Promise that the suggested solution will work for everyone.: The information does not support a universal guarantee.

Try a new situation

A friend is volunteering at a food bank for the first time and worries about forgetting the packing instructions. Give advice without assuming you know the food bank’s rules.

Use your own notes or voice recorder, then check your work:

  • Could your friend act on the advice tomorrow without further explanation?
  • Identify one specific detail that supports your main message.
  • Revise one vague expression without changing your meaning.
Apply this in free practice

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