Speaking Task 2 · Talking about a Personal Experience
CELPIP Speaking Task 2 Template: STAR Story
30s prep · 60s to speak
Situation, Task, Action, Result: a complete story with a beginning, middle and end in 60 seconds.
Free PDF: all 8 speaking templates- Situation
- Task
- Action
- Result
The template
Each part has a job, a budget and starters. Fill every blank with a detail from your prompt: raters score how well you answer the task in front of you, not memorised sentences.
- 1
Situation
10sWho, when, where, in one or two sentences.
Starters
- I'd like to talk about the time I . This was ago, when .
- A few years ago, I was in .
Phrases that score
- back in
- at the time
- a couple of years ago
Earns: Task Fulfillment, Content/Coherence
- 2
Task
10sThe problem or goal that started the story.
Starters
- The problem was that .
- I had to , but .
Phrases that score
- the challenge was
- out of nowhere
- to make things worse
Earns: Content/Coherence
- 3
Action
30sWhat you did, step by step, in the past tense. This is the longest part.
Starters
- So first, I . Then . After that, .
- I decided to , so I .
Phrases that score
- I immediately
- after that
- eventually
- it took us
Earns: Vocabulary, Listenability
- 4
Result
10sHow it ended and how you felt. Then stop.
Starters
- In the end, , and I felt .
- Looking back, taught me .
Phrases that score
- in the end
- I was so relieved
- it taught me
Earns: Task Fulfillment, Content/Coherence
See it in action
The template applied to a real task, part by part.
The task
Talk about a time when you helped a friend with something important.
CLB 9+ answer, spoken (108 words)
1. Situation
I'd like to talk about the time I helped my friend Mark move. This was last spring, when he got a new job downtown.
2. Task
The problem was that his moving company cancelled the night before, and he had to be out by noon.
3. Action
So first, I borrowed my brother's van. Then we packed everything into boxes from six in the morning. The hardest part was his sofa. It didn't fit in the elevator, so we carried it down five flights of stairs, step by step.
4. Result
In the end, we finished at eleven forty-five. We were exhausted, but Mark was so grateful, and I felt really proud of us.
Make it stick
Two quick rounds. Get the order right, then match each starter to its part.
Drag the parts of the STAR template into the right order.
- Task
- Action
- Result
- Situation
Practise the timing
Answer out loud while the bar shows which part you should be on. It's the fastest way to stop running out of time.
Pick any prompt and answer it out loud. You get 30s to prepare, then 60s to speak.
The part you should be on shows here while you speak.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Spending 40 seconds on the setup and never reaching the end of the story.
- Switching between past and present tense. The story happened, so keep it in the past.
- Choosing a story that's too complicated to tell in a minute. Simple is safe.
Try this template on a real question, free
Sign up free and answer a real Speaking Task 2 question on the real clock. Your first AI scores are free, with feedback on each CELPIP rating dimension.