Shadowing Practice: 10 RULES You’ll Break in Australia Without Knowing - Learn English Speaking with Video

There's a reason Australians can spot tourists from over 100 metres away.

It's not the accent, it's not the clothes, it's the unwritten rules.

Like what you eat for dinner, or the particular way you like to say thank you, or even how you behave when someone says to you the word onya.

So these are the 10 secret rules that most tourists break without even realising it, and if you want to fit in and not get awkward stares like I did when I got here, then this is your cheat sheet.

G'day neighbour.

Shut up you pom.

Of course these aren't actual laws.

If you break them, you're not going to get sent to jail, but they're just things that are either frowned upon or a bit awkward.

So in this video, we're going to learn a few things.

We're going to laugh at a few things and let's get into number one, which is swearing for no reason.

It has been a stereotype for decades now that Aussies,

they will just throw out the most extreme profanity because that's what they do.

That's the culture.

You know, I've even mentioned in a previous video, don't be shocked when you hear swearing from Australians.

And lots of Aussies were gracious enough to reply to that video.

And they say, yes, some of us like to swear, but not all of us.

I know this sounds like common sense, but let's be honest, if you're not from Australia, you do grow up with a Hollywood version of Australia, like the movie Australia.

Welcome to Australia.

And you think, oh, that's how the country is in the 21st century.

And it's just not.

So read the room, it's contextual and it's strategic.

You don't just walk into a new group of people

and start throwing around the F-bomb and thinking everyone's gonna be like Oh, you're our mate now, come here, come here!

So whatever you do, read the room.

Don't think that because you watched that Hollywood movie about Australia where everyone's dropping the C-bomb that it's cool to do.

It might not be and it might really, really embarrass you.

Even if you're a tourist for a couple of weeks, coming away from it, having made a few Aussie mates, is awesome

and Australians are very open to communicating and becoming friends with you

but they're less likely to if you're trying too hard at being someone that you're not.

And while we're here give the video a like or I'll tell every Aussie I know that Foster's is your favourite beer.

I'm joking I won't really.

Or will I?

Number two is always thank bus drivers and service staff.

Of course this doesn't just go for buses.

In Australia just like where I grew up in the UK, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire you thank the bus driver it's very rude not to it's also good

that when you get on to the bus

if you're getting on from the front you tap your card say hello to the bus driver

if you get onto a very quiet bus

and you feel like there's lots of eyes on you especially

because you're in a new country

and I get it it's a bit scary you feel like you've got the spotlight on you

and all the local Aussies are looking at you

and thinking oh that's a tourist that's a tourist well just

like the spotlight effect talks about this isn't really happening it's generally in your head

and saying hello

and saying thank you to the bus driver for their service is a really good thing to do

and honestly if you want to fit in here Aussies will think you're a bit of a legend if you do that.

This isn't to say though that if you take the seat near the bus driver

that they want to chat to you while they're working.

No, you know, keep some boundaries there and the same goes for any of the passengers on the bus.

They might not want to chat to you as well and

when you tap your card to leave the bus definitely say thank you.

It's really important to do.

This isn't something that you just do on the bus here.

You'll definitely do it on any domestic flights that you take in Australia.

If you go to cities where there's ferries as public transport like Sydney

or my home which is Brisbane then definitely thank the ferry staff especially as you'll be passing them face to face.

It's just awkward if you don't.

So remember that and you'll have a good time here

and just a quick one apparently 98 of you who watch these videos regularly aren't even subscribed yet

so if you are enjoying this hit

that subscribe button really helps me to keep these videos coming

let's get back into it number three don't litter you might think this is common sense

but it's still really important to say this is frowned upon hard not only are there steep fines

if you get caught but Australians and Australia as a whole, they really care about their agriculture, their ecosystem, their wildlife.

And you should too, because you're stepping into somebody else's home at the end of the day, even if you're only here for a temporary amount of time.

You wouldn't walk into your mate's house with muddy shoes, trample mud all over it onto their lovely cream carpet, and then drop a cigarette end on the floor.

So don't do that in Australia.

I mean, you can wear muddy shoes in Australia, just don't do the cigarette bit.

But the reason why I said this at the start is that it's common sense is that there is no excuse.

If you get told off for littering, you cannot reply with, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that was a thing here.

I don't know of many countries where it's okay to freely litter.

So ignorance is not an excuse for breaking the law.

Do not litter.

And depending how brave you are, my best mate back in the UK, if he sees someone litter, he will go and pick up their litter, run over to them and go, oh, sorry, mate.

I think you've dropped this and act completely innocent to witnessing them litter

and usually they get a bit embarrassed and they go oh thank you

and they take it back and they do end up throwing it in the bin.

Don't feel like you need to do that, you're not employed by the council too.

So respect Australia and it will respect you.

You put positive energy out there, you will get it back tenfold.

Rule number four, don't skip the sunnies.

What I have learned from a previous commenter on a video is that when they went to their optometrist, they said to them make sure that you wear sunglasses

because otherwise it can cause cataracts which isn't really something

that you want

and the thing about Australia is it's in a part of

the world where the UV is very very high it's not

the same as in the UK where our UV on some days only gets as high as one

or two no in Australia it can get up to 13

or more what I would highly recommend you do in the

most convenient way possible in your environment to track the UV

while you're in Australia for example if you have a smart watch, I've got an Apple watch,

I have a tiny little complication dial in the corner that has the live UV.

Basically anything above three is you need to be more sun safe.

Ideally you don't go outside but I know we've all got lives to live

so if you do go outside you need your sunglasses, you need your sunscreen and ideally wear long sleeve clothing to protect you even more.

It's really important that when you get a pair of sunglasses make sure they are UV protected.

They're not just a fashion statement, they will secure the longevity of your eye health for many years to come.

Rule number five, don't touch random plants.

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Now I think it's common sense to not go around touching the animals

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but also a lot of areas in Australia are protected.

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So if you go around picking plants up, Aussies aren't going to be very happy with you.

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I always learn when I was at school doing you know camping trips

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and things like

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that the teachers would always tell us the only thing you should be taking from a place you visit is pictures.

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Also many plants in Australia that are horrible.

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Horrible in the sense of that they could hospitalise you.

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Visually gorgeous, visually stunning but there's plants like the Gympie Gympie plant

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and you can find this plant all the way from northern Queensland right down to New South Wales.

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And basically it's a plant, it kind of looks a little bit like a UK stinging nettle, but with much larger leaves.

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And it has these tiny silica needles that when you touch them, it injects venom into your skin.

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And it is so, so painful.

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I say that as if I've experienced it.

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I've never touched that.

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As soon as I found out about this, I'm like, I'm never touching that in my entire life.

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Of course, there's many plants out there, like anywhere, that, you know, are completely harmless.

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But I just wanted to use the Gympie Gympie plant as a specific example of how dangerous the plants can be here.

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So when in doubt, hands off the flora.

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If you want a nice bunch of flowers, go to your local florist and then, you know, put a bit of money into the community.

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Now, I have to be honest, there were plenty of times here where I thought maybe I'd never fit in.

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felt like maybe I'm a bit too British, a bit too like awkward and stiff sometimes.

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It's also that sort of feeling of seeing, you know, like Aussie blokes talk to each other in their like really cool Queenslander accents

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and the conversation just seems to flow a bit more naturally and, you know, I'm not the most masculine man as a lot of you know,

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if I'm being totally honest.

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So there were moments like that.

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But then I sit down with an Aussie mate.

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I sit down with, you know, Aussie relatives or even like my mechanic who just did my service the other day.

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And they are so warm.

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They are so welcoming.

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And they're teaching me so much about not trying to force surface level small talk for the sake of,

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you know, looking polite, but actually connecting with someone on a down to earth level.

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being actually interested in someone and to me it just gets rid of all

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that social judgment that I have felt so heavily growing up in the UK and you feel loved and appreciated here.

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I get this in every video these days what's wrong with me?

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But yeah every mistake I have made here has never been met with hate

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or criticism it's been met with a bit of a smile a bit of banter

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but then a pat on the back saying mate you're becoming

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one of us you're becoming an Aussie it makes me a bit emotional honestly

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because that's really lovely anyway rule number six don't talk someone's ear off remember

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when we were talking about having lovely conversations with Aussies they love to connect with you

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and to make a new friend

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but there is a point where it's okay to sit in silence with your new Aussie mate

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and that's okay don't fill the space with small talk about

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the weather it's boring that's something british people do okay

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if you're in australia you can be an aussie

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and you don't need to fill that silence

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so read the room aussies sometimes value a bit of quiet

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over constant chatter honestly family occasions in the uk like our

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traditional boxing day event with my mum's side of the family

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if i you know had a bit of chat with everyone

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and then was quiet for most of the day i'd probably

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get quite a few family members coming up to me and go Sam are you okay?

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Because in the UK we sort of present to each other we're doing okay with constant chatter

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but in Australia I'll go to a family event and

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if I want to be quite quiet for most of the

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day everyone's fine with it they don't they don't bat an eyelid really

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and that's not because Aussies don't care no they do care

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but they just understand that not everybody wants to talk all the time

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and honestly it's a relaxing thing it's a relaxing thing not having that social pressure on you.

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Rule number seven, don't insult New Zealanders.

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I've had many an Aussie comment on videos, not that I haven't been, don't worry I haven't been insulting any New Zealanders.

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Australians have told me only Aussies can insult Kiwis and vice versa it's like sibling rivalry, it's like a sibling relationship.

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If someone outside of those communities does so then it just looks a bit tacky really.

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So this isn't to try

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and you know push you out of the group of you know welcome to Australia

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but you know if you haven't grown up in Australia

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if you're not culturally Australian you know it's best to hold off on the very pointed harsh banter towards Kiwis.

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So rule number eight don't tell Aussies their slang is wrong.

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Arvo, servo, devo, bottolo and Aussies I have to admit

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when my Australian wife Maddie was teaching me a few different Aussie slang words.

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I did find some of them a little bit funny

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and look if you're not Aussie or

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if you've never been here you might hear some Aussie slang

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and you might think it's a little bit silly but don't criticize them about it.

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It's part of the culture.

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Again it's that same thing.

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You don't come into someone else's house

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and then critique all of the art they have on their walls

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or critique what sort of couch they've got or what TV they've picked.

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So correcting them it doesn't land well just roll with it you'll have a much better time here

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and remember you're in their house

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so speak their language it's not hard rule number nine is don't eat out super late not

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because it's a crime but more so

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because you physically can't i'm speaking specifically with my experience here

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in brisbane a lot of kitchens close quite early we're talking like 9

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or 10 pm and you know to aussies that might sound quite late

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but if you have grown up in europe like i did Lots of kitchens are open quite a lot later.

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If you go to France, if you go to Spain, the kitchens are open very late.

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I mean, the Spanish famously, they don't start eating until like nine or 10.

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And I felt this very hard.

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I've been working far too late one night, you know, editing my videos.

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It's got to 10 p.m.

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And I've said to Maddie, oh, it's late, should we just go out to eat?

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And she'll go where?

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There's literally nowhere you can go right now apart from 7-Eleven.

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Don't learn the hard way.

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You don't wanna go a night hungry.

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You don't want your little tummy to be rumbling while you're in your bed it's not a good feeling.

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So Aussies they like to eat early, they like to have their kitchens closed early and plan ahead.

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Rule number 10 is don't rely on Google Maps in super rural areas.

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I'm talking if you are going into the outback not only do you need to be prepared driving the right vehicle, having backup petrol, plenty of water,

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sunscreen, food, safe places that you can visit

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but you can't rely on Google Maps you need to start getting good at reading maps a real map

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that you can hold in your hands you're probably thinking Sam

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what do you know you haven't even been into the Outback

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yet even though you've lived here for a year it's true I've been exploring the lovely cities

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and towns you know it's very cushy

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and I'm enjoying myself don't worry I definitely will be doing some Outback adventures

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when I'm back from my short stint in the UK this year

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but I've got lots of Australian relatives via my Aussie wife who have told me all these stories about the outback.

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I'm no expert

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so check with as many Aussie locals as possible what you need venturing into the outback

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but also make sure you can read a proper map.

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But if you want to find out 10 more secret rules

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that tourists keep breaking here in Australia then go watch this video here.

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I promise you it will help a lot.

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Thank you so much for watching to the end of this video and I will see you in the next one.

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Bye.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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