01
Learn to distinguish speakers immediately
When the audio starts, focus on identifying each speaker's voice. Note their initial position on the topic, as this is your baseline for tracking their views throughout.
CELPIP
Strategies
Part 5: Listening to a Discussion
Two or three speakers agree and disagree. You match each opinion to a speaker.
2 min · 8 questions · 3 min total
What this part tests
- A conversation between 2-3 speakers discussing a topic where they may agree, disagree, or offer different perspectives. You must attribute opinions to the correct speaker.
- A single audio followed by 8 dropdown-style questions displayed on screen.
Key strategies
02
Track who says what
Keep a mental tally of each speaker's position. Speakers may also change their mind during the discussion.
Questions sound like“According to Speaker A…”“Which speaker believes…”
03
Listen for agreement and disagreement markers
These phrases are critical for questions about consensus or divergence.
Listen for“I agree with you on that”“That's a good point, but…”“I see it differently”
04
Pay attention to qualifications and concessions
A speaker might say "You're right about X, but I still think Y." Questions may test whether you understood that they partially agree.
Pro tip. In discussions with 3 speakers, questions often test the relationship between the most extreme and moderate viewpoints. Identify who is most strongly for/against and who is in the middle.
Common mistakes
Attributing one speaker's opinion to another
Assuming speakers who start by disagreeing never find common ground
Missing subtle shifts where a speaker concedes a point
What it looks like
Note: In the real exam, the audio plays once with no replay and no pause. The questions are also audio-only and will not appear as text on screen. The discussion is presented as a video rather than a static image.
left
Emily
center
David
right
Alex
Instructions:
You will watch a discussion among three people, one woman and two men. They are discussing the potential adoption of new project management software for their team.
Listen to the conversation.
00:0001:49
How to apply the strategies
- Strategy #1 (Distinguish speakers): Identifying Emily's voice early helps you attribute this statement correctly.
- Strategy #2 (Track who says what): The question asks about Emily's main argument, so you need to identify which statements belong to her.
- Emily specifically says ProjexFlow "could really streamline our workflows." The word "streamline" maps to "make work processes more efficient."
- The other options may be discussed by other speakers or not mentioned at all.