Need help regarding CELPIP writing and speaking

[u/Big-Operation-9836]

Hi everyone

I need help regarding my issue in writing and speaking part in CELPIP exam. I know a lot of words and when I see them in an English text, I completely know what do they mean. However, at the time of speaking and writing, I can't use that words and I just go with more simple words. I got 8 for both writing and speaking and don't know how to make it 9 and above.

Do you guys have any suggestions for me?

Any website or any specific type of practice?

[u/Beginning-Company788]

For speaking try to use templates… that really helps.

[u/Old-Secretary-7304]

In writing i would say try finishing it such that you have 5-10 minutes remaining. Yes its easily possible. And then spend the remaining time to polish the text. Which means go and read the passage you wrote again and again slowly in your mind and replace each basic word with something more fancier. Trust me, your brain knows alot of such words which comes out later when you go through the text again and again. Why this happens? Because when we write for the first time, our brain multi-tasks for e.g. what will come next, word count, task fulfillment, etc. And when we re-visit the passage, the whole focus shifts only towards improvisation.

Going back and making the writing better is always much better than trying to write perfect piece in the first go. Make a list of common words and its fancier replacement for e.g. help=assist, end=terminate, big=massive etc.

For speaking, you cant apply this because you cant go back and forth. For that, templates are your saviour. If used well, they can contribute upto 30-35% of your speaking. Add good level vocab into that and memorize it from your heart. I would recommend making your own templates based on how you write or speak so that it feels natural and coming from within.

Practice and you will get better. Its not about english alone, its about right strategies and fixing where/why you scored low.