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CELPIP Listening Part 3: Listening for Information

Follow the steps and check the exceptions

Learn what to do first, when to do something different, and who makes the final decision.

Guide 3 of 6 in the Listening path · Reviewed

Know the task

Part 3 uses an information-focused conversation with six questions. You hear the questions individually and choose from written options.

See the official CELPIP test format

A useful approach

  1. 1

    Write the actions in order

    Start with the coordinator’s first instruction: check the plant name and collection year. For a packet with both details, write “check → record → shelve.” This keeps the order clear.

  2. 2

    Note when the steps change

    Look for words such as “if,” “unless,” and “only.” Here, if either detail is missing, the packet goes in the blue tray. Keep “missing name or year” beside “blue tray” in your notes.

  3. 3

    Write who does each job

    The volunteer checks the label and sets aside packets with missing details. The coordinator contacts the donor and decides whether those packets can be used. Add the person’s role beside each action.

  4. 4

    Check the rule before choosing

    Read the answer choice and compare it with the instructions. Does it keep the same order and the same rule for missing details? A packet missing a year must go in the tray, even if its plant name is present.

See it in an example

A new volunteer asks a seed-library coordinator how returned packets should be handled.

Conversation transcript · Select a passage to see its explanation.

First, check the label

Before putting a returned packet on a shelf, check for both the plant name and the collection year.

Check your understanding

A packet names the plant but does not give a collection year. What should the volunteer do next?

A common mistake

Remembering an action but forgetting when to use it.

Less useful: Check label → book → shelf. Blue tray also mentioned.

More specific: Both details present → book then shelf. Either missing → blue tray; coordinator decides.

The clearer note gives two different sets of steps. It shows when to use the blue tray. Without that rule, you might record and shelve a packet whose label is incomplete.

Useful language in context

set aside

Put something in a separate place to deal with later.

Set aside the damaged books so the librarian can inspect them.

either detail

One or the other of two pieces of information.

If either detail is wrong, ask the customer to correct the form.

under the name

Stored, listed, or booked using a particular name.

The reservation is under the name Patel.

Try it yourself

  1. On paper, make three rows: a packet with both details, a packet missing its year, and a packet with neither detail.
  2. Read the coordinator’s instructions. Beside each row, write what the volunteer should do next.
  3. Check that both packets with missing information go in the blue tray. Add who contacts the donor and decides whether those packets can be used.
Practise this part free