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CELPIP · Listening · L6

CELPIP Listening Part 6: Listening for Viewpoints

CELPIP Listening Part 6, Listening for Viewpoints, is the last Listening part. One speaker presents an issue, such as a proposed city policy, and describes different people's views on it, often adding their own. The recording plays once and is the longest in the section. You then answer 6 multiple-choice questions with four options each.

Questions
6
Audio
One report or commentary, played once; the longest recording in the section
Answer type
Multiple choice, four options
Typical content
A public issue with arguments for and against
Scoring
Counts toward your CELPIP Listening level (1 to 12)

How it works

  1. 1An instruction screen tells you that you will hear a report about an issue.
  2. 2The report plays once; one speaker covers several viewpoints.
  3. 3The 6 questions appear after the audio ends.
  4. 4When you finish, the Listening test is complete.

Sample question

Original sample · not from an official test

Excerpt Commentator: Should schools ban phones during the school day? Parents in favour say students focus better and bullying drops. Teachers' groups are more cautious: many want phones allowed for research in class. Students, unsurprisingly, point to safety, saying they need to reach family in an emergency. My own view is that a full ban goes too far. Collecting phones at the start of each lesson, and returning them at breaks, answers the parents' concern without ignoring the students'. Question: What does the commentator recommend?

  1. AA complete ban on phones at school
  2. BLetting students keep phones in all lessons
  3. CCollecting phones during lessons only
  4. DAllowing phones only for research projects
Show answer

Answer: Collecting phones during lessons only

After reporting three groups' views, the commentator gives their own: "a full ban goes too far" and phones should be collected during lessons and returned at breaks. The other options restate positions of other groups or twist them.

Tips that work

  • Sort each view by who holds it: supporters, critics, experts, the speaker. Questions often ask which group believes what.
  • Listen for the moment the speaker gives their own opinion ("my view", "personally", "I'd argue"). There is often a question on it.
  • Separate facts from opinions. A statistic the speaker quotes is not necessarily something they agree with.
  • Stay focused through the whole recording. The conclusion near the end often matters most.

Common mistakes

  • Attributing a group's opinion to the speaker.
  • Losing concentration in the middle of a long recording and missing a shift from one viewpoint to the next.

Questions candidates ask

How long is the Part 6 recording?

It is the longest recording in the Listening test, so concentration matters as much as language. Check the official CELPIP site for current timing details, and practise staying fully focused until the very end.

Does the speaker always give their own opinion?

Often, but not always. Some reports stay balanced and simply present the sides. Listen for signals such as "personally" or "in my view" and do not assume an opinion that was never stated.

What skills does Part 6 test most?

Following an argument: identifying the issue, who holds each view, the reasons they give, and how the speaker weighs them. Vocabulary for agreeing, conceding and contrasting is especially useful here.

Other CELPIP Listening tasks

CELPIP overviewCELPIP Listening: all partsCELPIP full mock testsCELPIP articles on the blog