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CELPIP VS IELTS COMPARISION

ordinaryear

Member
Apr 24, 2018
15
10
For those of you wondering whether to take CELPIP or IELTS, I would strongly suggest taking the IELTS. Unless you're a native speaker, it is very hard for you to get good scores in Speaking and probably writing as well. On the other hand, if you're really good at speaking and writing modules, CELPIP reading and listening are straightforward and easier than IELTS (Atleast in my experience). Moreover, CELPIP test dates are easily available, whereas for IELTS, you may have to book 3-4 months in advance to find a spot.

Preparation:
I didn't prepare for listening or reading at all and for speaking and listening I used the "Test Expert by Christian Lee", these can be purchased on amazon. I highly recommend his books for anyone preparing CELPIP.

Here are my scores:
CELPIP 1st Attempt:
L-11, R-9, W-8 (!), S - 7 (!)

CELPIP 2nd attempt:
L-12, R-12, W-8(!), S - 8 (!)

Criteria:
You will need 9+ in all modules in CELPIP and if you're taking IELTS, you will need 8+ in Listening and 7+ in S, R, W.

For IELTS, I didn't prepare much at all, probably around half a day on how to tackle writing task 2 and took some tips from a friend about the format. (Thanks buddy)

L-8.5, R-7, W-7.5, S - 8.5 ----Overall : 8.0

I could have done better in reading, however, I took a 5 minute rest room break and didn't have enough time to tackle the 2 page reading paragraph well.

Anyway, good luck everybody, happy to talk to you and share my learnings or answer any questions you may have.
 
Last edited:

lfeng

Newbie
Apr 23, 2018
7
0
I took the celpip test last saturday, still waiting for the score, but I think you are right, the celpip speaking part is just way too ridiculous, and the score can be very tricky. So if I need to resit another test for my ee profile, I would definitely go with Itels, no brainer, no hassle!
 

Metalhead_666

Star Member
Apr 12, 2016
145
61
For those of you wondering whether to take CELPIP or IELTS, I would strongly suggest taking the IELTS. Unless you're a native speaker, it is very hard for you to get good scores in Speaking and probably writing as well. On the other hand, if you're really good at Speaking and Writing, CELPIP reading and listening is a little straightforward and easier than IELTS (Atleast in my experience). Moreover, CELPIP test dates are easily available, whereas for IELTS you may have to book 3-4 months in advance to find a spot.

Preparation:
I didn't prepare for listening or reading at all and for speaking and listening I used the Test Expert by Christian Lee, these can be purchased on amazon. I highly recommend his books for anyone preparing CELPIP.

Here are my scores:
CELPIP 1st Attempt:
L-11, R-9, W-8 (!), S - 7 (!)

CELPIP 2nd attempt:
L-12, R-12, W-8(!), S - 8 (!)

Criteria:
You will need 9+ in all modules if taking CELPIP and if you're taking IELTS, you will need 8+ in Listening and 7+ in S, R, W.

For IELTS, I didn't prepare at all, probably around half a day on how to tackle Writing task 2 and took some tips from a friend about the format. (Thanks buddy)

L-8.5, R-7, W-7.5, S - 8.5

I could have done better in reading, however, I took a 5 minute rest room break and didn't have enough time to tackle the 2 page reading paragraph well.

Anyway, good luck everybody, happy to talk to you and share my learnings or answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for your insights!

I completely agree with your thoughts.

I attempted CELPIP last year with little preparation and found the speaking section ridiculously difficult. I wasn't surprised with my scores.

CELPIP : L : 9, R : 8, W : 8, S : 7

I recently tried the IELTS (British Council) and following are my scores:

L : 7, R : 8, W : 7.5, S : 8.5 - Overall 8.0

I need to score CLB 9 i.e. at least 8.0 in listening to make sure that I have 450 + points.

I have given endless practice tests on Youtube to improve my listening. Any suggestions on how I can score well in listening since I am planning to re-take the IELTS?

Thank you!
 

ordinaryear

Member
Apr 24, 2018
15
10
Thank you for your insights!

I completely agree with your thoughts.

I attempted CELPIP last year with little preparation and found the speaking section ridiculously difficult. I wasn't surprised with my scores.

CELPIP : L : 9, R : 8, W : 8, S : 7

I recently tried the IELTS (British Council) and following are my scores:

L : 7, R : 8, W : 7.5, S : 8.5 - Overall 8.0

I need to score CLB 9 i.e. at least 8.0 in listening to make sure that I have 450 + points.

I have given endless practice tests on Youtube to improve my listening. Any suggestions on how I can score well in listening since I am planning to re-take the IELTS?

Thank you!
Great scores on RWS, yes, you need 8+ in listening unfortunately, you're very close though.

I would suggest checking out IELTS liz and in general, watch news channels or listen to podcasts to understand what is going on and also get Cambridge official tests and practice them.
http://ieltsliz.com/ielts-listening/

During exam, stay calm and be confident. You are already at 7 will need 4-5 more questions to get 8 or above, one approach I would suggest is, use the extra time in between sections to read next questions and anticipate what the answers will be. Good luck and keep us posted with your new scores.

http://ieltsliz.com/ielts-band-scores/
 

Metalhead_666

Star Member
Apr 12, 2016
145
61
Great scores on RWS, yes, you need 8+ in listening unfortunately, you're very close though.

I would suggest checking out IELTS liz and in general, watch news channels or listen to podcasts to understand what is going on and also get Cambridge official tests and practice them.
http://ieltsliz.com/ielts-listening/

During exam, stay calm and be confident. You are already at 7 will need 4-5 more questions to get 8 or above, one approach I would suggest is, use the extra time in between sections to read next questions and anticipate what the answers will be. Good luck and keep us posted with your new scores.

http://ieltsliz.com/ielts-band-scores/
Thank you!

Much appreciated! Will go through the links and practice more! Cheers!
 

rclmont

Star Member
Apr 18, 2018
55
61
Hey everyone.

I just got my test results from Celpip today. The marks were: 12, 12, 9, 8 (L, R, W, S). I decided to order a re-evaluation on both W & S.

I am very frustrated with these results, to be honest, as I am sure that my speaking was actually worth more than that. I heard a few people saying that Celpip usually gives you lower scores in speaking if you are not a native speaker - even if you are fluent. Maybe it is just a hoax, maybe not. But I have decided to not spend money on another CELPIP exam. $140 in preparation materials, $115 in re-evaluation costs plus the price of exam is just too much. Since I am hopeless that they will raise my grade, I just applied for IELTS a few minutes ago and will take it next week.
 

ordinaryear

Member
Apr 24, 2018
15
10
Hey everyone.

I just got my test results from Celpip today. The marks were: 12, 12, 9, 8 (L, R, W, S). I decided to order a re-evaluation on both W & S.

I am very frustrated with these results, to be honest, as I am sure that my speaking was actually worth more than that. I heard a few people saying that Celpip usually gives you lower scores in speaking if you are not a native speaker - even if you are fluent. Maybe it is just a hoax, maybe not. But I have decided to not spend money on another CELPIP exam. $140 in preparation materials, $115 in re-evaluation costs plus the price of exam is just too much. Since I am hopeless that they will raise my grade, I just applied for IELTS a few minutes ago and will take it next week.
Why do you need more than 9 in Writing? I would definitely recommend putting reevaluation, I have done 4 component re-evaluations for 2 tests I took, 3 out of 4 worked in my favor.

I think it is true in regards to what you said for speaking. My scores are somewhat of a proof, my speaking score in CELPIP is 7 out of 12 and 8 out of 12, whereas in IELTS it is 8.5 out of 9. Anyway, good luck with speaking reevaluation, I really hope they give you 9 or more. Let us know how it went
 
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rclmont

Star Member
Apr 18, 2018
55
61
Why do you need more than 9 in Writing? I would definitely recommend putting reevaluation, I have done 4 component re-evaluations for 2 tests I took, 3 out of 4 worked in my favor.

I think it is true in regards to what you said for speaking. My scores are somewhat of a proof, my speaking score in CELPIP is 7 out of 12 and 8 out of 12, whereas in IELTS it is 8.5 out of 9. Anyway, good luck with speaking reevaluation, I really hope they give you 9 or more. Let us know how it went
Hey buddy!

I asked for a re-evaluation on writing as well as speaking because I really believe that I deserved better than the 9 given. But, honestly, if they give me just the 9 in speaking is already perfect. A rise in writing is not needed, as a 9 is enough for EE.

I am taking IELTS this weekend, by the way.

Whenever I have the CELPIP re-evaluation results, will let you know.

Thanks for the support!
 

no-name

Newbie
Apr 4, 2018
9
2
Hey buddy!

I asked for a re-evaluation on writing as well as speaking because I really believe that I deserved better than the 9 given. But, honestly, if they give me just the 9 in speaking is already perfect. A rise in writing is not needed, as a 9 is enough for EE.

I am taking IELTS this weekend, by the way.

Whenever I have the CELPIP re-evaluation results, will let you know.

Thanks for the support!
Hey rclmont,

Have you got your re-evaluation from CELPIP? Please let me know so I can decide between CELPIP and IELTS.

Thank you!
 

rclmont

Star Member
Apr 18, 2018
55
61
Hey rclmont,

Have you got your re-evaluation from CELPIP? Please let me know so I can decide between CELPIP and IELTS.

Thank you!
Hey buddy!

Unfortunately they did not change any of my grades. I applied for IELTS then.. I would recommend for you to take it raher than Celpip.
 
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no-name

Newbie
Apr 4, 2018
9
2
Thanks for reporting your results, rclmont.

It is sad that you didn't reach CLB 9. Using the conversion tool at canadavisa.com, it seems that you've got a CLB 11 on Speaking, significantly higher than CELPIP. Do you think CELPIP is biased or it might be the fact that you are speaking to a machine?

Handwriting, on the other hand, is the biggest drawback of IELTS, in my opinion.

Which test will you take next?
 
Last edited:

rclmont

Star Member
Apr 18, 2018
55
61
Thanks for reporting your results, rclmont.

It is sad that you didn't reach CLB 9. Using the conversion tool at canadavisa.com, it seems that you've got a CLB 11 on Speaking, significantly higher than CELPIP. Do you think CELPIP is biased or it might be the fact that you are speaking to a machine?

Handwriting, on the other hand, is the biggest drawback of IELTS, in my opinion.

Which test will you take next?
Hmm. It’s hard to say whether Celpip is biased or not, but a lot of people think this way.

I think that I could have done better in the speaking part of it, but maybe didn’t because of the computer style of conversation, which is kinda weird. Other thing that really bothered me was that I had to watch my volume of speaking in order to not distract my neighbours attention.

I am going to give Celpip another try and if it doesn’t work, a little more writing practice for Ielts before taking it again.
 
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