Hello Reader,

You know what? Opportunities to practice for the CELPIP are all around you every day.

But most people miss them because the opportunities are disguised in the plain clothes of regular life.

Here's an example:

Yesterday I had to pick up some milk for an event at work, so I quickly made my way to the nearby convenience store. I found the milk, and noticed the price at around $6. (Ouch.) I grabbed it and made my way to the checkout counter.

Beep.

The cashier scanned the barcode of the milk carton and I noticed $11.56 on the screen.

Hmm, maybe it hadn’t refreshed from the last transaction, I thought. But then I noticed the cashier was looking at me, waiting for me to pay.

The store was busy, and a line was starting to form behind me.

“I’m sorry, How much is it?” I asked, lifting the milk carton up.

She looked at the screen. The same one I was looking at, and said: “$11.56”

I knew food prices have been going up, but not by that much!

I lifted the carton up a little bit higher, and made eye contact with the cashier.

Pause.

How Overpriced milk = Effective, Powerful CELPIP practice

Does this situation sound like any of the CELPIP speaking tasks to you? While not a direct fit, it comes pretty close to Speaking Task 6 - dealing with a difficult situation.

Your objectives for this task:

• Speak directly to the person.
• Be polite and kind, but make your point.
• Speak respectfully.
• Clearly explain the problem.

So…how would you respond?

In my case, I noticed she had a ‘in training’ sticker under her name badge. I made eye contact and calmly asked if she would mind please checking the price again, because it didn’t seem right.

Thankfully, she immediately noticed the size of the milk carton. It wasn’t one of the large ones, and $11 was way to much. She called her manager, and the problem was resolved in a matter of seconds.

But that brief interaction was a great opportunity to practice speaking clearly, and politely, while explaining what was wrong.

Zero brainstorming time.

And I had lots of pressure - there was a line forming behind me who did not want to be kept waiting!

You could have avoided the opportunity by:

1. Just paying (Ouch!) because you felt embarrassed to speak in front of so many people.

2. Saying “No thanks” and returning the carton to the shelf.

Or…you could lean into the opportunity as the perfect chance to build your English and CELPIP skills!

These kinds of practice moments happen all the time around you, and you too have that choice: to avoid the opportunity, or lean in and go after it!

Have you used one of those opportunities to practice before? How did it go? Hit reply and let me know! I would love to hear from you!

****

Have you ever wondered how you could get more practice in for your CELPIP exam, but just can't seem to squeeze another minute of free time out of your day?

I hear this all the time: I just don't have time to practice more.

I work 2 sometimes 3 jobs just to make ends meet.

I come home and all I want to do is be with my loved ones, prep my lunch for tomorrow, and go to sleep.

Study for the CELPIP?! Maybe tomorrow.

Sound familiar?

Like I said, you're not alone if this is your struggle.

That's why I think you'd love the CELPIP Success school. It's built for busy, hard working people just like you.

• My clients tend to be introverts (Like me!). I've built the courses and practice sessions with YOU in mind. Zero big groups. No live calls. It's just you and me working together.
• Better still? Pretty much without fail, within their first month of working with me, clients frequently say they feel more confident with their speaking skills because of our regular practice together.
• They love that there are no classes to worry about getting to each week. Better still? Most of the course content is audio based...podcast style, which means you can listen to it ANYWHERE you want.
• And my clients really love being able to practice as many times as they want directly with me - asking questions about their CELPIP prep, or working with me on a challenging CELPIP speaking task. (Like dealing with a difficult situation, for example!)

You can join today. Just click right here to get started. Or reply if you have a question. I'm happy to help!

Have a great weekend!

Aaron