Episode Summary: In this episode, I dive into a heartbreaking Reddit post from a CELPIP test-taker who has attempted the exam 10 times and remains stuck at a score of 8 — just one point shy of the CLB 9 they need for Express Entry. With a work permit expiring in a month, the stakes couldn't be higher. I break down what might be going wrong and share practical strategies to help break through that plateau.

Key Topics & Timestamps:

• The Reddit post: 10 CELPIP attempts and still stuck at 8 — 1:00
• Empathy for the frustration of being one point away — 2:10
• Strategy 1: Focus your practice — review past attempts and target weak tasks — 3:09
• Strategy 2: Stop relying only on official CELPIP materials — use the English around you every day — 5:19
• Why templates aren't the answer — embrace natural speaking — 7:34
• The long-term play: merge daily life with CELPIP practice — 9:07
• Overcoming the fear of engaging in conversations (even as an introvert) — 10:00
• The importance of getting expert feedback — 11:33
• Free resource: 5-part mini audio course on top CELPIP speaking mistakes — 12:10

The Takeaways:

1. Pay attention to your past attempts — don't just reach for another exam! Identify which speaking or writing tasks consistently trip you up and focus 100% of your practice there.
2. Use the English around you — Stop treating CELPIP prep as separate from daily life. Conversations, emails, news, and meetings are all practice opportunities.
3. Ditch the templates — Natural speaking is the goal; templates are holding you back because they are artificial - not your words, and test raters can pick them out.
4. Get feedback — If you have time on your side, work with a trainer to pinpoint exactly what needs improvement.

Links & Resources:

• Join the 30 Day CELPIP Speaking Skills Bootcamp. In just 30 days we'll cover every single CELPIP speaking task, and you'll get dedicated one-on-one support and feedback from me all the way through.
• Grab your free Mini-Audio course: Top 5 CELPIP Speaking Mistakes and How To Avoid Them.

Foreign.

Hello and welcome to the CELPIP Success Podcast, the most introvert friendly podcast on the planet dedicated to helping you confidently prepare for and conquer the CELPIP exam.

If you're tired of feeling nervous, stressed and stuck and getting ready for your exam, then my friend this this is the podcast for you.

Who am I?

My name is Aaron and I've been an English teacher for over 17 years and I'm a certified Celpip trainer and I can't wait to help you get ready for your CELPIP exam today.

I'm going to be talking about a post that I read over on Reddit this week that is, well, heartbreaking and I'm just going to read it to you.

I really need some advice regarding Celpip speaking and writing.

I've taken the CELPIP exam 10 times now and almost every time I get an 8 in both speaking and writing.

For most of my previous attempts, I use templates.

In my latest exam, I decided to completely avoid templates and tried to sound as natural as possible.

I also practice mainly with CELPIP official materials.

Unfortunately, I still received eight in writing and this time only seven in speaking.

Honestly, I'm feeling really down and frustrated.

My work permit will expire in about a month and I'm currently working in a trade occupation.

Getting a CLB9 in all modules would make a huge difference for my express entry score and could help me get an invitation for those who were stuck at 7 or an 8 and finally managed to get a 9 plus in their speaking of writing, what exactly did you change?

Was it vocabulary?

Your structure?

Your grammar?

Speaking naturally?

Idea development?

Timing?

Or was it something else?

I would really appreciate any genuine advice, strategies or resources that help you improve.

At this point.

I really want to understand what I'm missing.

Oh man.

You know, situations like this person's makes me feel so sad.

Like I said at the beginning of this episode, I feel their frustration and their discouragement.

And if this is somehow you that I'm describing, then I want you to know, my friend, that I'm with you and trying to take the Celpip 10 times in a row and still not achieve your desired score but just one sticking point away is just heartbreaking and discouraging and depressing.

The challenge you're facing is being made even more difficult because of your limited window of time to practice.

I don't need to tell you that, but not having a lot of time to work with doesn't help you at all.

But is there anything that you can be doing between now and your next exam date that that might help.

My first idea for you, if this is your situation, you're just like one point away.

You only have about a month of practice left and you've taken the exam like lots and lots of times, then my first idea is that you focus your practice.

I think that there are some clues in his or her post that may offer some ideas or some help for us to work with.

Number one, you've taken the exam 10 times in a row.

Now, I know your time is short, but don't panic and keep trying to stuff more exams in.

Instead, stop.

Take a look back the way you've come so far.

Number one, what did you notice about each of those 10 attempts?

Were there sections of the exam that were harder for you?

If so, why?

What kind of questions were they?

And do you remember any of those questions?

Did you come away knowing specifically that you totally messed up on one speaking or writing task more than any other?

For example, pause and take a look back.

Number two.

If, for example, you know you're struggling with speaking task three and four, or writing task one more than any other thing on the exam, then my first suggestion for you would be to block out all other speaking or writing tasks and focus 100% of your practice time on these points.

Ask yourself, what is it about these tasks that give you a hard time?

See if you can find specific targets that you need to focus your limited practice practice time on and pretty much ignore everything else.

Okay.

Number two, and I quote, I also practice mainly with Celpip official materials.

Now, I can only assume that that means watching their YouTube channel's webinars and practicing with their mock tests.

And both of these are great ideas.

By the way, I think that the Celpip YouTube channel is an amazing resource that I don't think gets used enough, but your statement of mainly practicing with CELPIP materials raised a red flag for me, and I've talked about this in previous episodes.

I know, but I'm going to talk about it again and again until you believe me.

I think you might be falling victim to the thought that the Celpip is something outside of you, that to get better at it you need to depend on outside resources, like Celpip resources or Celpip videos and maybe classes.

And all of these, like I said before, are great tools, absolutely great.

But I bet you're neglecting the most powerful CELPIP skill builder you can get your hands on, and that it doesn't cost you a single cent, and that is engaging in The English happening all around you every single day.

If you are currently living here in Canada, you've got to stop thinking of the exam as being out there and instead start seeing your very regular, very normal day to day life as the best practice spaces you can find.

Every day there are conversations waiting for you to join and waiting for you to start.

Every day there are countless opportunities to listen intently to news reports or presentations or meetings and conversations.

Every day there are opportunities to read newspapers or magazines and emails for example.

And every day you have opportunities to practice writing.

I think just yesterday alone at my workplace, I had to write a good probably a dozen or so emails.

The point to all this, there are opportunities to practice all around you pretty much all the time.

But so often they go unnoticed because of how normal they look.

Or worse, they go avoided because you don't feel confident enough to jump into them.

So that's my second suggestion for you.

Engage daily in the English that's happening all around you all the time.

And finally, continue to stay away from those templates.

They're not helping you, my friend.

And the one time you didn't use them and they didn't work, or so you thought doesn't mean that the templates are your answer.

It just means that you need far more practice going without them.

That's your target here, to get good at speaking in a natural way.

You know, the way that everybody does when they are used to using their English on a regular basis.

Hint hint.

So those would be my best ideas for you.

Now, if you have more time than just a month, and I desperately hope that you do, then these ideas will help you big time.

In fact, the more time you have to devote to daily use of your English with people who only speak English will work wonders for you and your celpip scores.

And that is a promise, my friend.

But it does take serious time and serious commitment.

Like once or twice a week, I'm afraid, isn't enough.

Going hard at it for a month is also sadly, not really enough.

Though it might help bump our friend today's score up a bit, which is what they need.

And honestly, sincerely, I hope that it does.

But this is a long term strategy play here, not an instant fix.

So if you have more time to get ready, do yourself a big massive favor and follow these ideas.

1.

Change your mindset.

Stop disconnecting your day to day life from celpit practice.

They are one and the same.

Merge them together, your practice, your day to day life.

Put them together my friend.

Engage in the opportunities that are happening all around you.

Use the English happening all around you.

You are literally surrounded by powerful practice opportunities on a daily basis and sometimes you might just need to create them.

But here's the thing.

Avoiding those opportunities because you are afraid or because you're nervous.

Well, I totally understand because I'm an introvert and it's not easy for me either to reach out and engage in conversations happening around me.

Even though English is my first language.

I mean, I get that hesitation, I get that resistance that you feel, probably even more because English is not your first language.

I have the same issue when I'm practicing my Spanish, by the way, which is my second language.

In order for me to build my Spanish skills, I need to use them and I need to overcome that resistance that I also feel.

I mean, I know what it is to feel the resistance, the shame or the fear of embarrassment of making a mistake.

I know what that feels like.

But honestly, if you really want to see your skills improve, and I'm pretty sure you do, if you've listened this far to this episode, then you need to engage in those opportunities, friend.

It seriously is beyond a doubt the most powerful practice you can give yourself.

And avoiding those opportunities that happen all around you is a recipe for your worst nightmare.

It's going to hold you back.

So don't avoid them, lean into them, use them.

They will do wonders for your English skills and your your Celpip skills.

And finally, get feedback.

With less than a month to work with, getting support from a trainer or taking classes likely would just be a waste of time and money.

But if you've got months and if you've got years on your side, getting expert help is powerful.

Getting feedback on where you need to focus to improve and encouragement on what you're doing well at is vital to helping you focus the right things to help you achieve the score you need.

Speaking of which, if you are ready to work with someone to build your skills on this helpip, then click on the link in today's show notes.

I would love to work with you.

And if you're not quite ready for that step yet, then how about I offer you a totally free 5 part mini audio course that will help you avoid the top five Celpip speaking mistakes that I've seen test takers making or test preppers making over the last few years.

Following these ideas alone can help you begin improving your speaking scores.

There's a link for that in my show notes today as well.

And my friend, that is the end of this episode.

Thank you so much for listening.

I hope that you'll come back again next time.

Have a great week.

Bye.

Bye.