Do not take CELPIP if you are not a native speaker. I had a very unfortunate experience with CELPIP. In both of my attempts, I scored 10+ in LRW however for speaking I got only 6. My speaking did not go well in first attempt and I was expecting 8 but got 6, that's still fine. However I did much better in my second speaking attempt and was confident to get a 9, but unfortunately they gave me 6 again. This was completely shocking to me. I realized that CELPIP speaking is a lot easier for native speakers but very difficulty for people from countries other than US/Canada. I am preparing for IELTS now and hope to score better than CELPIP.
which one is easier CELPIP - General or IELTS ?
- Thread starter CEC_2013
- Start date
I took CELPIP a few months ago and it wasn't the end of the world. As long as you prepare yourself, it should be fine. I've never done IELTS though, so I cna't point out the pros and cons of each.
My score was:
Reading: 12
Writing: 8
Listening: 12
Speaking: 8
I thought my speaking was low cause I do have an accent, but perhaps it falls under what ajeet.ims just mentioned above.
In terms of cost, when I checked about 6 months ago, they were the same.
My score was:
Reading: 12
Writing: 8
Listening: 12
Speaking: 8
I thought my speaking was low cause I do have an accent, but perhaps it falls under what ajeet.ims just mentioned above.
In terms of cost, when I checked about 6 months ago, they were the same.
I have no experience of IELTS but did CELPIP after a few weeks prep- Non native english speaker. All 10+ scores except speaking(9)
For me the fact that it was computerized and the fact that scores come fast(er) swayed me towards CELPIP.
The speaking part is a bit tricky but a few weeks worth of practice is all it takes. Also attending the celpip speaking pro lessons provided by Paragon were very useful.
https://www.celpip.ca/celpip-speaking-pro/
For me the fact that it was computerized and the fact that scores come fast(er) swayed me towards CELPIP.
The speaking part is a bit tricky but a few weeks worth of practice is all it takes. Also attending the celpip speaking pro lessons provided by Paragon were very useful.
https://www.celpip.ca/celpip-speaking-pro/
Go for celpip if you are working all day with computer as it makes you comfortable with it. Also, in Celpip - you eliminate the chance of wrong spelling as everything is multiple choice in Reading and Listening. It saves time in Writing too as there is a word count and spell checker. You can copy paste your ideas unlike in IELTS. You just have to prepare for the speaking as it’s kinda exhausting because its the last part and sometimes you feel tired. Just practice on speaking so you know what situation to expect.
English is my first language and my CELPIP results:
Reading: 12
Writing: 9
Listening: 9
Speaking: 11
I took copious notes for listening, and I have written professionally, but I only got 9s in those two categories.
According to CRS, those two 9 scores shaved 6 points off of my score, from 437 to 431.
I think I am going to take it again, but I'll study this time. I went in cold, no studying.
Reading: 12
Writing: 9
Listening: 9
Speaking: 11
I took copious notes for listening, and I have written professionally, but I only got 9s in those two categories.
According to CRS, those two 9 scores shaved 6 points off of my score, from 437 to 431.
I think I am going to take it again, but I'll study this time. I went in cold, no studying.
Hi What other resources can I use to practice for writing especially aside front the 5 tests on the CELPIP website
Hi, aside from the website what other resources do you know of especially for writing?
I noticed they always under-rate the Writing part which happened to me too. If you are confident, you can try go for reevaluation and pay around $62. They will refund it if your Writing score gets improved
In continuation to my previous post, here are my IELTS scores..
CELPIP 1st Attempt - L10 R8 W8 S6 - Applied eevaluation in Speaking, no change
CELPIP 2nd Attempt - L8 R10 W8 S6 - Applied eevaluation in Speaking, no change
IELTS 1st Attempt - L7.5 R9 W7 S7.5
I have clearly said in my previous posts that I was confident to get at least 8 in CELPIP speaking but always got 6. That is why I say that CELPIP marking is ridiculous. Go for IELTS and you will get what you deserve.All the best!!
CELPIP 1st Attempt - L10 R8 W8 S6 - Applied eevaluation in Speaking, no change
CELPIP 2nd Attempt - L8 R10 W8 S6 - Applied eevaluation in Speaking, no change
IELTS 1st Attempt - L7.5 R9 W7 S7.5
I have clearly said in my previous posts that I was confident to get at least 8 in CELPIP speaking but always got 6. That is why I say that CELPIP marking is ridiculous. Go for IELTS and you will get what you deserve.All the best!!
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I took CELPIP in 2015/2016 and didn't like it (not because of my low score). Even while doing it, I didn't really like the structure.
As my CELPIP expired, I had to take another English test - so I opted for IELT. I must say that with the very few sample questions I attempted (especially on listening, I fell in love with IELTS and was blaming myself why I didn't go for IELTS - actually went for CELPIP because I read online that it seems easier.
Long story short,
I enjoyed every bit of my IELTS:
listening 7.5
speaking 7.5
writing 7.5
reading 5.5
More info:
I spent more time preparing for celpip, and if i remember i bought materials.
I didn't have time to prepare for ielts as im currently working - just listened to youtube videos, mostly on speaking and attempted like 10 questions on listening.
also, i got 5.5 in reading because i didn't finish it. i think i only answered 28 out of 40, the rest 12 questions were on those paragraphs question in which you need to read through each paragraph to identify the question (but I must confess the questions are simple and would have been able to get at least 75% of the total 12. Panic set in as I realized time wasn't by my side, so was just not collected again. And of course, I didn't manage my time well - as I knew I spent more time on the simpler question. kind of trying to concentrate on easier questions. Also, reading was the part I least prepared for. I only attempted one past question a day before.
I am not a native speaker.
If you panic speaking to someone, I would say you could consider CELPIP. I prefer talking to someone- and did enjoy my speaking with the examiner who seemed to be super engaged with me - and I tried to show lots of enthusiasm. As opposed to what I read online that examiners carry straight face, i was glad I was lucky to be examined by this examiner.
During my speaking test, at some point I knew I started showing hesitation and repeating few words for clarity - but I don't care.
I feel one advantage of speaking is, if you are the talking talking type and know how to fabricate stories, then shoot for ielts. Looks like examiner sometimes give some prompts based on your questions.
I didnt have time to practice letter writing. I feel there is little control over this as I don;t think my writing can significantly improve within three weeks of registering and sitting the exam.
same goes for reading, but I think reading could be improved by knowing the strategies used in asking and answering questions.
My few cents:
if you have spent lots of years in Canada, you could have a stab at celpip (btw, I feel celpip makes some assumptions that you understand canadian culture, so in my opinion, if you are colonized by the british, like me (lol), go foe ielts.
I just arrived Canada in 2013.
If you can practice ielts everyday for 4-8 weeks, I think you should get 7.5 minimum in all bands (of course that depends on your english level, etc).
I am a spouse of a main applicant, so the pressure to get high score was less.
my spouse attempted ielts twice, first time result (without preparation) was low, second time was last year or so and she got 8 in two bands, 7.5 in one and 6.5 in speaking - said she was panicking, so that affected her speaking score.
one thing i also observed is, if you used the minimum score for both ielts and celipip to simulate your express entry score, you would likely get additional 2 or so with ielts 6.0 minimum.
ielts has lots of materials you can use for preparation. and i can say what you will experience in the exam is 85% similar.
i strongly feel if english is your country's official language (and you not living in Canada/havent lived for up to 6 years or so to understand some stuff about the culture), go for ielts.
after the exam, i was so much in love with it that i felt like registering again, but 300 dollars isnt a joke :-(.
disclaimer - above story was based on my opinions....
perhaps i wasn't lucky to get a celpip exam that was easy - who knows? based on the listening aspect for both exams, it was difficult for me to answer questions on the aspect involving more than two speakers....
also my poor performance in celpip may be because that was first experience writing an English test,
that said, I would go for ielts anytime.
sorry for my disjointed writing and typos.
btw:
celpip score is 8,7,7,6 (I think)- cant remember the bands
As my CELPIP expired, I had to take another English test - so I opted for IELT. I must say that with the very few sample questions I attempted (especially on listening, I fell in love with IELTS and was blaming myself why I didn't go for IELTS - actually went for CELPIP because I read online that it seems easier.
Long story short,
I enjoyed every bit of my IELTS:
listening 7.5
speaking 7.5
writing 7.5
reading 5.5
More info:
I spent more time preparing for celpip, and if i remember i bought materials.
I didn't have time to prepare for ielts as im currently working - just listened to youtube videos, mostly on speaking and attempted like 10 questions on listening.
also, i got 5.5 in reading because i didn't finish it. i think i only answered 28 out of 40, the rest 12 questions were on those paragraphs question in which you need to read through each paragraph to identify the question (but I must confess the questions are simple and would have been able to get at least 75% of the total 12. Panic set in as I realized time wasn't by my side, so was just not collected again. And of course, I didn't manage my time well - as I knew I spent more time on the simpler question. kind of trying to concentrate on easier questions. Also, reading was the part I least prepared for. I only attempted one past question a day before.
I am not a native speaker.
If you panic speaking to someone, I would say you could consider CELPIP. I prefer talking to someone- and did enjoy my speaking with the examiner who seemed to be super engaged with me - and I tried to show lots of enthusiasm. As opposed to what I read online that examiners carry straight face, i was glad I was lucky to be examined by this examiner.
During my speaking test, at some point I knew I started showing hesitation and repeating few words for clarity - but I don't care.
I feel one advantage of speaking is, if you are the talking talking type and know how to fabricate stories, then shoot for ielts. Looks like examiner sometimes give some prompts based on your questions.
I didnt have time to practice letter writing. I feel there is little control over this as I don;t think my writing can significantly improve within three weeks of registering and sitting the exam.
same goes for reading, but I think reading could be improved by knowing the strategies used in asking and answering questions.
My few cents:
if you have spent lots of years in Canada, you could have a stab at celpip (btw, I feel celpip makes some assumptions that you understand canadian culture, so in my opinion, if you are colonized by the british, like me (lol), go foe ielts.
I just arrived Canada in 2013.
If you can practice ielts everyday for 4-8 weeks, I think you should get 7.5 minimum in all bands (of course that depends on your english level, etc).
I am a spouse of a main applicant, so the pressure to get high score was less.
my spouse attempted ielts twice, first time result (without preparation) was low, second time was last year or so and she got 8 in two bands, 7.5 in one and 6.5 in speaking - said she was panicking, so that affected her speaking score.
one thing i also observed is, if you used the minimum score for both ielts and celipip to simulate your express entry score, you would likely get additional 2 or so with ielts 6.0 minimum.
ielts has lots of materials you can use for preparation. and i can say what you will experience in the exam is 85% similar.
i strongly feel if english is your country's official language (and you not living in Canada/havent lived for up to 6 years or so to understand some stuff about the culture), go for ielts.
after the exam, i was so much in love with it that i felt like registering again, but 300 dollars isnt a joke :-(.
disclaimer - above story was based on my opinions....
perhaps i wasn't lucky to get a celpip exam that was easy - who knows? based on the listening aspect for both exams, it was difficult for me to answer questions on the aspect involving more than two speakers....
also my poor performance in celpip may be because that was first experience writing an English test,
that said, I would go for ielts anytime.
sorry for my disjointed writing and typos.
btw:
celpip score is 8,7,7,6 (I think)- cant remember the bands
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I have a similar score; listening 9, reading 9, speaking 8.5 but writing 7 only. I don't know what went wrong there, perhaps the fact that I picked up a pen to write with, after ages.
IELTS speaking test is usually not scheduled for the same day, so I am going for CELPIP to get it done with in a single day. I let my ITA expire, and then lost 5 points, thanks to my birthday this year. Now need to improve my points before the next draw
Hi folks,
For those of you who are still deciding between these two tests, I'd suggest taking CELPIP for several reasons.
First, CELPIP is one-day one-shot exam, meaning all four components (LRWS) are on the same day in one sitting.
Second, I've taken both tests and noticed that improving the writing score in IELTS is way more difficult than doing it in CELPIP. Perhaps, due to numerous factors such as illegible handwriting, spelling errors, punctuation errors etc. Additionally, while responding to the time-constrained writing tasks with a pencil/pen on a paper might leave us to figure and correct the errors, which is again both time-consuming and tricky to do it on paper. On the other hand, CELPIP detects spelling errors and even suggests a list of possible choices for an incorrectly spelled word. For example, when you write 'youre' in CELPIP it shows a spelling error and if you further right click, it suggests you two choices to chose from: you're and your. Further, you could even copy and paste the text and need not mention deleting or any other editing function is a lot easier on a computer than on a paper. I could score 6.5 in writing with my 2 attempts in IELTS but with CELPIP in 1 go, I got 10 in writing.
However, speaking part in CELPIP could be either good or bad depending on how much you're comfortable speaking to a computer screen or to an imaginary person. Personally, I'm more comfortable to speak to the expressionless computer and imagining it as a listener who could be my family member, a close friend, boss or any other person. Another major difference in the speaking part of CELPIP and IELTS is that in CELPIP you've to decide the right tone/formality of your speech for each task but it could be practiced easily.
Good luck!
For those of you who are still deciding between these two tests, I'd suggest taking CELPIP for several reasons.
First, CELPIP is one-day one-shot exam, meaning all four components (LRWS) are on the same day in one sitting.
Second, I've taken both tests and noticed that improving the writing score in IELTS is way more difficult than doing it in CELPIP. Perhaps, due to numerous factors such as illegible handwriting, spelling errors, punctuation errors etc. Additionally, while responding to the time-constrained writing tasks with a pencil/pen on a paper might leave us to figure and correct the errors, which is again both time-consuming and tricky to do it on paper. On the other hand, CELPIP detects spelling errors and even suggests a list of possible choices for an incorrectly spelled word. For example, when you write 'youre' in CELPIP it shows a spelling error and if you further right click, it suggests you two choices to chose from: you're and your. Further, you could even copy and paste the text and need not mention deleting or any other editing function is a lot easier on a computer than on a paper. I could score 6.5 in writing with my 2 attempts in IELTS but with CELPIP in 1 go, I got 10 in writing.
However, speaking part in CELPIP could be either good or bad depending on how much you're comfortable speaking to a computer screen or to an imaginary person. Personally, I'm more comfortable to speak to the expressionless computer and imagining it as a listener who could be my family member, a close friend, boss or any other person. Another major difference in the speaking part of CELPIP and IELTS is that in CELPIP you've to decide the right tone/formality of your speech for each task but it could be practiced easily.
Good luck!