First attempt! 😭😭😭
Just received my score for May 15! I'm so happy and honestly couldn't believe it, so I wanted to share my experience with y'all!
Prep time: 1 month
Materials: CELPIP Youtube videos, 2 free mock tests, 2 PrepAmigo practice tests, some Careeraxis tests for L&R
How I practiced vs. test experience:
📚L&R: I did some practice tests to get familiar with the format. No heavy strategy here.
📝Listening: I’d say it was medium difficulty for me. The first few parts were pretty easy, but the rest got a bit challenging.
📝Reading: The last part was SUPER hard. I didn't even understand what it was talking about lol
📚Writing: I completed about 5 practice tests and used chatgpt to grade and identify my common mistakes. For example, I often struggled with plural/singular forms and article usage (the/an/a), so I focused on fixing these during practice and stayed more alert for them during the actual test.
I also used many diverse grammar structures, paraphrased when possible, and kept a list of "fancy" words (e.g. beneficial, optimal, advocate for, etc.)
📝Writing: This was the section I felt the most confident about since I’ve been studying in the US and Canada for the past 5 years. I also had plenty of time to recheck my grammar and overall flow.
📚Speaking: This was my weakest section because my speaking delivery is not strong even in my native language.
I used chatgpt to practice (recorded and transcribed my answers; I even told it about my speaking fluency, e.g. fragmented rhythm, fillers, long pauses, etc.), and I usually received scores around 8-9 (But tbh I felt like my actual test performance was worse than my usual practice attempts, so I think I could get better scores).
What I did for practicing:
- adapted online speaking structures to sound more natural for me
- focused heavily on delivery (fillers, pauses, grammar control)
📝Speaking: I honestly thought I would only get a 7-8... I made a lot of self-corrections, grammar mistakes, and used some fillers. I also followed advice from people on reddit: don't skip the instructions and use it to write down the structures.
