Making Predictions: Tips for CELPIP Speaking Task Four

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Hi, I'm Aaron.

Welcome to the CELPIP Success Podcast. This is the podcast where motivated English.

Learners just like you learn how to speak English fearlessly and learn practical tips and strategies to conquer the CELPIP exam.

Richard Henry Dana was an American librarian and museum director, and he is famously quoted as saying, he who dares to teach must never cease to learn. I think that that's totally true. And this week I practiced that.

I put that quote into practice myself as I was doing a deep dive into speaking task four, which is all about describing an image.

And the reason why I did a deep dive on this is because I'm working with a student specifically on this speaking task, and I wanted to, well, polish my skills some. So I did a couple of deep dives into the Celpip YouTube channel specifically focused on this speaking task. And this is what I came away with.

After spending about an hour's time studying and listening and paying attention to the session, it changed some of my ideas around this speaking task, and I want to share with you a couple of the things that, well, changed the way I thought and the way I've been teaching how to do this speaking task.

And the first one, and probably the most surprising takeaway for me, was that it is okay to rely on going to and will when you're making or talking about what you think is going to happen next. I was under the impression that you needed to use a variety of verbs to help you talk about the future, but that is not the case.

You are totally fine if you want to rely on going to and will.

And as you are describing what you think is going to happen next in the picture that you're looking at, which is what speaking task four is all about.

Predictions, what I was suggesting and what I've been working with, it's still valid, it's still okay to use, and you probably should use modal verbs. Modal verbs. It's perfectly fine to use modal verbs to add variety to your predictions.

But you, you don't need to stress out about making sure that you're peppering the mandan and always using something different. That's what I'm getting at.

My takeaway, my first big takeaway was that it's okay to use going to and will on a frequent on a regular basis as you're giving your answers.

But feel free to sprinkle in some modal verbs like may or might or could, or all of those will help you describe what you think is going to happen next. The second thing that I Got out of my little deep dive was how important location is when you're talking about the picture.

In order to help the listener, in this case your test rater, to know who you're talking about, it's really helpful for you to specify where the person or thing is in the photo that you're looking at and add other details about it.

So, for example, if you're looking at a park scene and let's say there's a fountain in the middle of the picture and in the background there's some, like, a giant flower bed, and the person that you're wanting to talk to is near the flower bed, that's one way that you could let the test reader know where this person is. So you could say something like, there is a young man in. In a red T shirt standing next to the garden bed in the background of the picture.

And then you begin talking about what you think is going to happen next.

But the important thing is give the test rater a location, let them know where they are in the picture so that you can help them to quickly locate the person that you're talking about.

And then after you locate the person.

In the picture with your words, add another detail, like their clothing, a hairstyle, their age, like how old they look to you, their gender, things like that, Details like that that will help them to quickly fix their eyes or their attention on the person that you're describing. Another takeaway for me that was quite surprising is that short conclusions are totally fine as long as they don't sound right.

Rushed ending with something like what a fantastic day at the park is totally fine as long as it sounds natural and that it wasn't rushed in. So you don't have to worry about having an extended or a long conclusion in order for it to work on this speaking task.

And finally, the last thing that I took away from my little deep dive was that you should try to connect one element in the picture to another and show how what one person's actions or one thing's actions will impact another element in that same picture.

Like, for example, if two kids are in the picture and they're playing catch with each other, they're throwing a ball back and forth, and there's a couple maybe enjoying a picnic just a few feet away from the. From the kids as they're playing, can you imagine what would happen if one of the.

Like if the kid misses catching the ball and the ball, you know, lands somewhere close by or actually in where the couple is enjoying their picnic together?

What will happen to the couple, what will happen to some of the food that's on, you know, if they're sitting on the grass and maybe on a picnic blanket, what do you think could happen if that ball bounces into their lovely little picnic together? That's what I'm getting at. Sometimes, not always. But sometimes elements in the picture can interact with each other in a logical way.

And that's something that is totally okay for you to do inside the inside of your explanation of what you think is going to happen next.

Like you can make a little story of it, how one part affects the other or plays into the other, as long as, of course, you're making predictions as you work your way through.

You don't have to do this for.

All sections of the picture, but it adds a nice touch, like a story to it, that one thing is affecting the other or one person and their future actions might impact the future actions of somebody else who's in the scene.

I got a lot out of that little deep dive that I went on, and like I said before, some of the things that I picked out of it were quite surprising for me, not in the sense that I thought that I knew everything, because I definitely don't. But what surprised me the most was having to expand my thinking about how.

How it's okay to use going to and will with maybe different combinations of what you think will happen next. Like not always relying on the same word combinations with will and with going to, but to be, but that it's okay to use it more than once.

In fact, all the way through your answer, if that's what you want to do, that it won't be counted against you.

For me, that was my biggest takeaway, I think, because like I said before, I was under the impression of, you know, you need to vary the verbs that you use, like don't overuse will and going to. I'm not sure where I came up with that or where I found that, but I was pleasantly surprised by that takeaway. In particular.

A few days ago I came across a post on LinkedIn which had some great information around using French as your strategy for permanent residency here in Canada. And I'm going to be linking to that post in my show notes today.

This approach has been getting a lot of attention online and I am willing to bet that even some of you members of my podcast audience are pursuing it or strongly considering it as an option for you. And I just wanted to pass on a few things to keep in mind as you are thinking through this strategy or if you are already beginning it.

The first thing is that it is not a crowded approach right now, but it's likely going to be. As Rattendeep, the author of that LinkedIn post, rightly points out, right now there's not a lot of people competing in this space.

So that's what I think is making.

It a really attractive way to go.

For your priority status is that. I mean, there's not that many people compared to the number of people competing in the English space. So that part makes it attractive.

And if you are wanting to go in that route, you should act now in order for you to increase your chances.

But the main reason why I'm talking about this idea today is because of how I often see this French approach being talked about or being promoted or being thought through as a violence pathway to pr. Not that that's what Rat and Deep's post is doing.

And Rat and Deep, if I'm saying your name incorrectly, I'm so sorry, but I don't see that happening in Rattendeep's post.

He does a pretty good job of talking about the details of what might be involved in this process or what you should be looking for if you want to embrace this process to help you achieve your goals.

But just in general, I've just seen and heard a lot of buzz around using French as your way forward, like it's somehow a magically easy way to achieve your immigration goals. And what I don't see or read is anyone offering a reality check that French is not an easy win if you're starting from zero.

If you're already fluent in French or very near fluent, this very well might be the golden ticket that you're looking for that will help you to boost your your scores, to help you to get into the right PR program that you're looking for, but only if you're already pretty much fluent in the language. So if you're starting from scratch, you need to prepare yourself in order to achieve a level of CLB5.

You can expect roughly a year of focused practice ahead of you if you're starting from zero. And what I mean by focused practice is about three plus hours of study and active use per day.

That's a lot of practice and that's for quite a long time. And by the way, I'm going to be linking to where I am pulling these numbers from. I'm not just pulling it out of my hat.

There are lots of studies around, just like there are for learning English about how long it takes to go from zero. To acquiring certain levels of proficiency. And to get your CLB level five, you're looking at about a year of practice.

With focused practice, meaning about three plus hours of study a day to achieve a CLB level of 7, you're looking for an additional 12 to 18 months, also with dedicated 3 plus hours of study and practice a day. So you need to keep those details in mind. This is not an easy fix. This is not like an instant, you.

Know, I'm going to take this road.

And magically in a couple of months I'm going to have the score that I need.

And if you're, you know, buying that, that mindset that I, that I see so often floating around online, you're, you're setting yourself up for a lot of frustration, my friend. Before you make your decision to use French as your pathway, you need to ask yourself this really, really important question.

Do I have enough time to achieve the level that I need before my current status runs out? And you also need to ask yourself, do I have a strong enough level of French to begin with? And if you don't, this is your reality check.

Are you really prepared to invest three plus hours a day for a year or more to achieve the score that you need? In the comment section of that post by Retin Deep and again, I'll be linking to that post in my show notes today.

There's an interesting comment by Dr. Veronica Sepper who who is a regulated Canadian immigration consultant and she points out that before you explore the French option, you should make sure that you've done everything that you can to maximize your English points. First, to give yourself the most opportunities possible in moving forward. This should be your first step, maximizing your English points.

Especially if you've already put in years of hard work to to improve your English skills, don't throw all that away for a perceived easier French pathway. Now, I'm not saying this because I am a celpip trainer with a vested secret interest in having you work with me.

On the contrary, I want you to succeed with your PR goals. If French is the best possible option for you, by all means, please go for it. I'm cheering you on.

I want you to achieve your immigration goals, but what I do want you to do is to make sure that you know that the French pathway isn't magically simpler compared to English.

If you don't already have a strong level in the language, the advantage is for sure if you are already fluent in French and you should totally then take advantage of it. But if you are not already fluent in French.

Like if you're having to start from zero because you got frustrated with how hard it was to obtain the, the CELPIP score that you needed or the IELTS score that you needed in English and you thought, well, maybe French is the better option.

If you're starting from zero, my friend, you are quite possibly just setting yourself up for more frustration as you realize as you embark on this journey that it's going to take me a lot of hard work and a lot of time for me to achieve the levels that I need to achieve in order for the French language to be my way forward for the PR process. So here are some things to help you to think through this a little bit.

How do you know if French will be the best option for you or a great approach to take? Number one, you need to make sure that you have the time to build fluency before your immigration process times out.

And you need to be thinking about years here, not weeks and months.

And if you're living in an English part of Canada with very little contact with French, you can, you know, multiply that level of difficulty up quite a bit more because you don't have easy access to people to practice with, which is something that you need to keep in mind. You get better with your. Just like in English, you get better with your English skills the more you are able to use them on a day to day basis.

If you're trying to use French, if you're trying to grow your French skills, of course you can study it, of course you can prepare for it, but it's going to be a little bit more trickier. You're going to have to be much more purposeful in finding ways to use your French on a day to day basis so that those fluency skills can improve.

It's the same principles as what you need to use to be building your English skills as you do to be using and growing your French skills, you need to find people who speak French that you can speak French with in order for those skills to get better.

The next thing that you should be keeping in mind as you are deciding if French will be a viable option for you is if you already have a demonstrable upper intermediate level of French.

And by demonstrable I mean that you've taken an official test and that has giving you results like an official result saying that you are at this level.

You need to have that in order for you to, I think, take a, not a secure step forward, but at least a stronger step forward because you'll know that you have already the level that you need or you're very close to it so that embarking on this journey will not end up being another source of frustration for you, given how much time it really does take for you to develop your skills. You need to already have your skills in place if this is going to be a great option for you, is what I'm trying to say.

Number three, you need to be prepared.

If you don't have the right level right now, that you need to be prepared to invest three plus hours of study a day for a year or more to get your skills to where they need to be. Are you ready? Are you prepared to invest that much time in getting your French skills up to level?

And finally, have you like what Veronica points out in those comments, have you maxed out your English points already? So the big takeaway, the French pathway is a great opportunity.

There's not a lot of people competing with you in this space, if you want to call it that at the moment. So if you've already got a strong level of French, this could really, this could really be a great way for you to obtain your immigration goals.

But if you don't already have a strong level of French, carefully, carefully, my friend, examine the costs and see if you have the time. And see if you have the time.

As far as in your current immigration deadline, do you have enough time to go after French and do you have enough time in your day to day life to be building those skills on an everyday basis? And how easy do you have access to other French speakers that you can practice with all those things?

If I were you, I would be considering very carefully. If I were thinking about this and for my own process, if I were in your shoes, I would need to be thinking about these things.

I hope that that helps you too. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Selpip Success podcast. I'll see you next time. Have a great week. Bye. Bye.