CELPIP Speaking · Task 6 of 8
CELPIP Speaking Task 6 Practice Questions: Dealing with a Difficult Situation
Practice CELPIP Speaking Task 6 with 50 original difficult-situation prompts.
50 sets
Original practice sets
Set 1
Free to try
60s prep
Per set
60s speak
Per set
50 CELPIP Speaking Task 6 practice questions
Showing 50 of 50
- 1
Your manager, Aisha, has asked you to cover a Saturday shift in…
Work Shifts & Hours - 2
Your parent, Noah, wants to stay in your Toronto apartment for two…
House Guests & Visits - 3
Your close friend, Leila, wants you to join an expensive…
Money & Travel - 4
Your neighbour, Lucas, wants a mature tree removed from a shared…
Property & Building Rules - 5
Your coworker, Maya, needs you to exchange work shifts in Toronto
Work Shifts & Hours - 6
Your teenage child, Liam, wants a cat in your rented Toronto home
Property & Building Rules - 7
Your friend, Priya, has invited you to a concert in Toronto
Sports & Leisure - 8
Your volunteer coordinator, Mateo, needs you at a weekday library…
Work Shifts & Hours - 9
Your regional director, Amara, has offered you a promotion…
Career & Projects - 10
Your cousin, Samir, wants to stay in your Toronto home for three…
House Guests & Visits - 11
Your friend, Mei, wants to borrow the family car for a trip from…
Family Plans & Requests - 12
Your festival organizer, Daniel, plans outdoor music until midnight…
Neighbours & Noise - 13
Your client, Grace, demands a report by tomorrow for a meeting in…
Career & Projects - 14
Your parent, Julien, wants a large holiday gathering at home in…
Family Plans & Requests - 15
Your travel companion, Chloe, wants the group to book a hotel in…
Money & Travel - 16
Your condominium director, Omar, plans to ban balcony gardens in…
Property & Building Rules - 17
Your manager, Fatima, wants you to lead a presentation in Toronto
Career & Projects - 18
Your grandparent, Yusuf, asks for a full-day visit every week in…
House Guests & Visits - 19
Your roommate, Hana, wants to host a weekly game night in Toronto
Neighbours & Noise - 20
Your sports coach, Ben, wants a younger player at adult practice in…
Sports & Leisure - 21
Your manager, Sofia, has asked you to cover a Saturday shift in…
Work Shifts & Hours - 22
Your parent, Ethan, wants to stay in your Vancouver apartment for…
House Guests & Visits - 23
Your close friend, Nadia, wants you to join an expensive…
Money & Travel - 24
Your neighbour, Arjun, wants a mature tree removed from a shared…
Property & Building Rules - 25
Your coworker, Aisha, needs you to exchange work shifts in Vancouver
Work Shifts & Hours - 26
Your teenage child, Noah, wants a cat in your rented Vancouver home
Property & Building Rules - 27
Your friend, Leila, has invited you to a concert in Vancouver
Sports & Leisure - 28
Your volunteer coordinator, Lucas, needs you at a weekday library…
Work Shifts & Hours - 29
Your regional director, Maya, has offered you a promotion requiring…
Career & Projects - 30
Your cousin, Liam, wants to stay in your Vancouver home for three…
House Guests & Visits - 31
Your friend, Priya, wants to borrow the family car for a trip from…
Family Plans & Requests - 32
Your festival organizer, Mateo, plans outdoor music until midnight…
Neighbours & Noise - 33
Your client, Amara, demands a report by tomorrow for a meeting in…
Career & Projects - 34
Your parent, Samir, wants a large holiday gathering at home in…
Family Plans & Requests - 35
Your travel companion, Mei, wants the group to book a hotel in…
Money & Travel - 36
Your condominium director, Daniel, plans to ban balcony gardens in…
Property & Building Rules - 37
Your manager, Grace, wants you to lead a presentation in Vancouver,…
Career & Projects - 38
Your grandparent, Julien, asks for a full-day visit every week in…
House Guests & Visits - 39
Your roommate, Chloe, wants to host a weekly game night in…
Neighbours & Noise - 40
Your sports coach, Omar, wants a younger player at adult practice…
Sports & Leisure - 41
Your manager, Fatima, has asked you to cover a Saturday shift in…
Work Shifts & Hours - 42
Your parent, Yusuf, wants to stay in your Calgary apartment for two…
House Guests & Visits - 43
Your close friend, Hana, wants you to join an expensive celebration…
Money & Travel - 44
Your neighbour, Ben, wants a mature tree removed from a shared yard…
Property & Building Rules - 45
Your coworker, Sofia, needs you to exchange work shifts in Calgary,…
Work Shifts & Hours - 46
Your teenage child, Ethan, wants a cat in your rented Calgary home,…
Property & Building Rules - 47
Your friend, Nadia, has invited you to a concert in Calgary, but…
Sports & Leisure - 48
Your volunteer coordinator, Arjun, needs you at a weekday library…
Work Shifts & Hours - 49
Your regional director, Aisha, has offered you a promotion…
Career & Projects - 50
Your cousin, Noah, wants to stay in your Calgary home for three…
House Guests & Visits
The task
What is CELPIP Speaking Task 6: Dealing with a Difficult Situation?
A scenario in which two people's wishes conflict and you are in the middle: a friend wants to visit on the weekend you promised to your sister; your manager needs you on a day you agreed to help a neighbour. You choose one of the two people and speak to them directly to resolve it.
How a practice set runs
- Read the situation and the two choices of person to speak to.
- Use the 60-second preparation countdown to pick the easier conversation and plan three moves: explain, empathize, propose.
- Record during the 60-second speaking window, speaking to the person as if they were there.
- Submit for transcription and evaluation; the transcript and feedback appear below.
What you answer
A spoken answer of up to 60 seconds in direct address: explain the problem tactfully, show you understand the other person's side, and offer a specific alternative. Feedback covers tone, politeness strategies, organization and task response, with an estimated level.
Example
Sample prompt: Your manager has asked you to cover a Saturday shift, but you promised to help your cousin move that day. Choose one: speak to your manager, or speak to your cousin.
Skills and pitfalls
What CELPIP Speaking Task 6 tests
Task 6 checks whether you can handle a delicate conversation: explain a problem, show you understand the other person's side, and propose a way forward without causing offence.
It is spoken as if to the person, so it also tests direct address, polite requests and softening language.
How practicing these sets helps
Fifty situations across friends, family, neighbours and colleagues give you repeated practice at the same three moves: explain, empathize, propose. The transcript makes it obvious when you drifted into narration, and the evaluation flags tone problems you may not hear yourself.
What you will see
- A scenario where two people's wishes clash, such as a friend who wants to visit on the weekend you promised to your sister.
- A choice between the two people, and the instruction to speak to the one you choose.
- A 60-second preparation countdown, a 60-second recording window, then a transcript and evaluation.
Skills you need
- Explaining a problem tactfully
- Acknowledging the other person's feelings
- Suggesting a compromise or alternative
- Using polite, indirect requests
Common mistakes
- Describing the situation to the examiner instead of speaking to the person
- Apologizing for the whole minute without proposing anything
- Being blunt in a way that would upset the person
- Choosing the person with the harder conversation
Strategy
How to improve in CELPIP Speaking Task 6
Improve Speaking Task 6 by practising the 5 habits below on timed sets and reviewing every explanation afterwards.
Choose the easier conversation
Pick the person you can speak to most naturally. You are scored on the quality of the conversation, not on which person you chose.
Speak to them by name
Open as if they are in front of you: Hi Maria, I need to talk to you about Saturday. Direct address keeps the whole answer in the right mode.
Explain, empathize, propose
Say what the problem is, show you understand how they feel, then offer a specific alternative. Three moves, about 20 seconds each.
Soften the difficult part
Phrases like I was hoping, would it be possible, and I completely understand keep the tone kind while you deliver bad news.
End with a question or an offer
Would that work for you? or How about I make it up to you next week? gives the conversation a natural close.
FAQ
What do candidates ask about CELPIP Speaking Task 6?
Short answers to what candidates ask about Dealing with a Difficult Situation and about practicing it here.
What is CELPIP Speaking Task 6?
Task 6, Dealing with a Difficult Situation, describes a conflict involving two people. You choose one of them and speak to that person directly to resolve it.
Which person should I choose?
Whichever conversation you can handle more naturally. Both choices are valid; the scoring is about how well you explain, empathize and propose a solution.
How long is Task 6?
In these practice sets you have 60 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak.
Should I speak to the person or about them?
To them. Use their name and address them directly, as if they were in the room. Narrating the situation in the third person misses the task.
How is my recording evaluated?
After you record, an AI evaluation reviews the answer for content, vocabulary, fluency and how well it handles the task, and gives an estimated level with a transcript. It is a practice estimate, not an official CELPIP score.
Are the Task 6 practice questions free?
The first question is free, including recording, the evaluation and the transcript. The remaining questions are part of the Pro plan.
Are these official CELPIP speaking questions?
No. Every prompt is original practice material written to match the task format. This site is independent and not affiliated with CELPIP or Paragon Testing Enterprises.
Keep going
Related CELPIP practice
Move to the next Speaking task, or switch skills. Every page below lists its own 50 practice sets.
Other Speaking tasks
- Speaking Task 1: Giving AdviceSomeone you know has a problem; give them practical advice in 90 seconds.
- Speaking Task 2: Personal ExperienceTell a short story from your life with a beginning, a middle and a point.
- Speaking Task 3: Describing a SceneDescribe a picture so clearly that a listener who cannot see it can picture it.
- Speaking Task 4: Making PredictionsLook at a scene and predict what the people in it will do next, with reasons.
- Speaking Task 5: Comparing and PersuadingChoose between options, then persuade someone who prefers a different one.
- Speaking Task 7: Expressing OpinionsGive and defend your opinion on a public issue in a 90-second answer.
- Speaking Task 8: Unusual SituationDescribe a strange object or scene to someone who cannot see it, using everyday words.
Ready to practice CELPIP Speaking Task 6?
Set 1 is free. Every answer comes with an explanation.