When it comes to preparing for CELPIP, the best advice we can offer to you is to take your time. Preparing for the test the day or even just the night before you take it will not allow you adequate time to prepare and feel comfortable taking your test. As we’ve outlined in our previous blog, creating a daily study routine is your best path to ensuring your success. In this blog, we will focus on tips for the reading portion of your study routine. 

Reading Tips:

Read in English. 

On a regular basis, try to read as much as possible in English. Whether it’s English magazines, online articles, or full novels, any English reading will help you improve your overall comfort and speed when reading.

Extract information.

Do not try to memorize information! The CELPIP Test is not a memory test. You will not need to use the information from one section later in another section of the test. Instead of trying to memorize, read the content carefully and try to extract information by identifying key ideas and important details. Also, practice inferring from context.

Use different reading strategies. 

You don’t have to read every single word in the article to successfully answer the questions on your test! Instead, practice using reading strategies, such as skimming and scanning as you practice. First, skim through a text to get the main idea. Then re-read and find some key words for which you can scan the text.

Don’t stress the vocabulary.

It’s all right if you can’t understand every word in a text, as you don’t need to understand everything to be able to get the main ideas. If you find a word that you don’t know, try to determine its meaning based on its context in the sentence or in the passage as a whole. If that doesn’t work, skip the problematic word and keep reading.

Preparation Resources:

• Practice tests: from our free online practice test, to our additional paid practice tests, these will give you a good idea of your current score level, and will allow you to focus on areas that you need to improve upon.
• Free webinars: for each test component, we have hours of free webinars, hosted by a CELPIP expert. These online courses are available as live webinars each month, and as recorded sessions on our YouTube channel. We recommend our Reading Pro webinar, available each month!
• Study materials in the online store: we have created a wide range of study materials to help you prepare for CELPIP, from additional practice tests, to Accelerate (you will receive a free version, Accelerate Starter, when you register for a CELPIP test!), our self-directed online study program that includes worksheets, practice tasks, and more.
• Preparation programs: for additional guided preparation, contact your local test centre to see what preparation programs are available in your area and online.

Conclusions

• Building your vocabulary and familiarizing yourself with a variety of English contexts, such as articles in newspapers and magazines, are great ways to improve your reading skills.
• The online study programs in our online store, such as CELPIP Accelerate, each provide study materials that you can use each day, from vocabulary building exercises to reading strategies to improve your test responses. These are a great option for adding to your daily study routine.