Back to Speaking Task 8

Practice Task 13 — A house covered in Christmas lights in summer

Task 8 · Describing an Unusual Situation — describe an unusual or hard-to-explain object or scene

Speaking Task 8Describing an Unusual SituationSPK-T8-13Beginner
30s prepare · 60s speak

You have 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to speak. Describe the unusual thing to someone who cannot see it, and explain what you think is going on.

Listen to the task prompt. Two fixed voices: a female examiner and a male situation narrator.

A neighbour has decorated their whole house for a holiday that is months away. Describe it.

A house covered in Christmas lights in summer.

CELPIP Speaking Task 8 scene: a suburban house in summer

Points to cover

  • • the lights, wreaths and giant inflatable snowman
  • • the green trees, flowers and summer clothes
  • • why they may have decorated so early

You get 30 seconds to prepare, then 60 seconds to speak. Everything here works offline — no AI needed.

  1. 1. Describe the unusual situation
  2. 2. Explain what is happening
  3. 3. Describe a possible cause
  4. 4. Explain the consequences
  5. 5. Suggest what should happen
  6. 6. Conclude

Sentence template

You won't believe what I've just seen. There's ___ right in front of me. It looks like ___, and ___. I'm not completely sure, but my guess is that ___. If that's true, it could mean ___. I think someone should ___. Anyway, I'll let you know if anything changes.