Shadowing Practice: 11 WEIRD Australian Culture Shocks - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Do you clean your butt with paper or do you clean it with water?
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That was shocking for me.
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I was just like, how?
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There's one on every street corner like a milk bar.
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All the New South Welshman and Queenslanders are going to get triggered as hell.
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The taste is going to be something very different from anything you're used to.
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G'day, you guys.
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Pete here.
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Welcome to this episode of Aussie English.
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Today, we're going to be reacting to a video titled 11 weird things
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I had never seen before coming to Australia from the channel
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Living Simply Australia.
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Before we get into it, don't forget you can listen to these episodes on the Aussie English podcast.
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You can access this for free via any good podcast app.
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The link for this episode and the podcast will be in the description.
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The first thing is separate toilets and no bidet.
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In Australia, many houses are usually designed with the toilets separate from the main bathroom.
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So, basically, you have a little room just for the toilet and then a bathroom where you wash your hands, you have the mirror, the shower.
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And that's a good one.
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We've got both at our house.
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So, we would have an en suite in our main bedroom and that has everything in there.
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So, you've got the sink, the toilet and a shower.
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Then we've got our secondary bathroom and you've got a separate toilet room
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and the bathroom with a bath and a shower and the sink in it.
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But we have both.
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I guess to some degree, it makes sense like that you could go and do number ones
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and twos while someone else is washing their hands if they're a guest or having a bath or something.
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Although, what do you do if someone's having a bath
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and you do ones and twos and you want to wash your hands afterwards
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if you're a guest at the place you just have to wait i guess
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or maybe go in with your eyes closed in the ensuite well
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you just got to get used to doing it in front of your partner this is something super surprising
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because in my country argentina separate toilets don't exist so
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when i first came here especially i was living in a share house
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and yeah i found it very interesting
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but at the same time again very practical
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you don't have to wait for your turn to use the toilet you just can go
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and then another person can have a shower in the separate bathroom
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i think she mentioned bidets at the start here too she may have said bidets
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or something but yeah it's a french word we would say bidet i remember
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that that scene from crocodile dundee where he goes to america
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and he's stuck in the hotel room he's like some nitwits
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put two dunnies in here one dunny one bidet bidet his
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partner at the time just like it's for um after you you um you know you figure it out
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and as she's walking out of the hotel he yells out the window.
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Yeah, so they're very uncommon in Australia.
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We had one once when we were renting a room in Canberra.
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We were living there and we were living in the old Pakistan embassy.
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So, there were like 10 bedrooms.
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This old lady was renting out the entire building to different people living in these different...
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It was really interesting.
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I have to tell this story at some point because there were some eclectic units at this place.
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Anyway, we were living in the main suite
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and it had its own bathroom and everything with a massive bidet and I remember being like, why?
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But it's an Islamic thing apparently.
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So, yeah, anyway, never used it, never used it, it freaked me out.
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In my country, Argentina, bidets are basically an essential part of the bathroom but yeah, in Australia, they don't exist.
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I was so surprised that I told my friends about it and they were like, oh, that's disgusting, how come they don't have bidets?
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Then I told my Aussie friends about the bidets and they find disgusting the fact that we have bidets as well.
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This is such an interesting one to talk about, right?
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Because I think there are these two main cultural differences between loads of different countries.
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Do you clean your butt with paper or do you clean it with water?
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When I went to Indonesia back in the day, when I was doing my PhD, I did some research in Sulawesi in the jungles.
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And I remember we were going to a lot of these bathrooms there in Indonesia
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and they would have just this huge plastic garbage bucket thing with like water in it
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and a scoop next to the toilet.
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I was always like, why is there, Are people doing their washing up there?
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Is that where you wash your hands?
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Like, what is it for?
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And I remember the Indonesians that we're working with is just laughing and being like, you wash your bum with it, mate.
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Like, what are you?
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And I remember being like, but how?
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With the trowel?
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Like, what, you just pour the water over your butt?
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And he's like, no, you get in there.
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And I'm like, why would you do that?
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Like, at least the paper for us, it's like it acts as a barrier.
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I think Australians would find bidets a bit weird
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because we're not used to culturally getting wet when we go to the toilet,
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unless you're a man and you've got particularly bad aim in a powerful stream, then you might be.
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It would be weird to like clean your butt with a fountain of water,
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get all wet and have it going everywhere over your backside and then having to use paper to dry your butt anyway.
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Or do you not dry your butt and you just pull your pants up?
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But yeah, if I did a poo that was that bad and I needed to wash my bum, I think I would just have a shower.
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Who's with me, Aussies?
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Would you do that?
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The second thing that I found very weird is Vegemite.
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This is one of the weirdest things that I've come across.
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You can put on a piece of toast, preparers, sandwiches and everything.
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Jesus Christ, old mate there was going crazy with it.
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He was using a lot.
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The trick with this stuff is to just a little bit goes a long way.
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The taste is going to be something very different from anything you're used to and anything you're expecting to put on toast.
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Usually, things that go on toast are typically sweet.
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Things like honey, syrup or jam.
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You'll have savory stuff like peanut butter, I guess, but the salty and tangy,
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really weird flavor of Vegemite is going to catch a lot of people off guard.
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It's savory.
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Give it a whirl.
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It may not be a thing.
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Everyone here pretty much loves it because we grow up on it.
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As kids, you don't have to eat it.
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You can be Australian.
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You can live here.
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You can work here and you don't have to eat it.
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Don't panic if you don't like it.
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It's fine.
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Remember the first time that I tried Vegemite?
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It wasn't actually here in Australia, but it was one year before coming here.
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I was studying English with an Aussie teacher and I remember that he brought Vegemite for me to try.
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And at the beginning, when I looked at it, I hadn't tried it yet.
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When I looked at it, I thought it was yummy because it reminded me of chocolate, right?
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And then, of course, I gave it a try.
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He put it on a piece of toast.
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Basically, you have just to put a bit of butter.
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Way too much, man.
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That is so...
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That's such a little piece of toast for so much Vegemite.
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He was really, really, really wanting to give this girl a bad time.
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Basically, you have just to put a bit of butter, then a bit of Vegemite.
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And I tried it and it was the weirdest thing that I had ever tried in my life.
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Now, I like it.
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I don't eat it every day, but I do live with my Aussie partner.
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And Vegemite is an essential item in the house yeah see
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look look at the bread over here in the image
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and you will see there is a lot less on
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that bread and on the biscuits beside it
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so just don't go to town with it the first time you try it another thing
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that caught my attention when i first came to australia is the fact
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that you won't find alcohol in supermarkets i remember the first time
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that i went to a supermarket to get a bottle of wine
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and i spent at least 30 minutes going around just looking for the for the alcohol section right
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and i just couldn't find it and until i asked
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and of course i realized
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that there was a bottle shop outside currently this is a measure
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that they've taken to limit excessive alcohol drinking i'm sure
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it works well i'm sure it works well pretty much every supermarket
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now at least bws i think is a subsidiary
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or company that's owned by woolworths and
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so you pretty much always have a woolworths and then the bws
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or whatever the Coles version of it is beside the supermarket.
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So, you just have to go into one and then into the other.
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They're right there.
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I don't know how much it makes a difference.
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IGA's, the independent grocers of Australia, is that what it is?
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They'll typically have it in the same store, at least like you'll have the main store
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and then quite often they're just right there next to it and you can walk straight into it.
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Australia is known for having a strong drinking culture
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and that's why there are high taxes on alcohol
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and also it seems
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that that's the reason why they have separate bottle shops
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we're seeing my country in argentina as well as in many european countries
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when you go to the supermarket
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you'll always find the alcohol section right in there we don't have separate bottle shops
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so that's an interesting difference and something that now i've gotten used to it
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but yeah it's still a bit weird i think
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it's just our cultural thing where we have this kind of
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macho drinking culture from a young age where in it
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when you're in your teenage years you're sort of expected to with friends go out
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and get wasted and if you're not you know you're not very blokey
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or whatever it was really interesting when i went to france
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when i was a kid i was at school
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and i went to france on a field trip thing all the french kids didn't really give shit about drinking
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they would have wine with their parents
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and they had grown up being surrounded by people drinking responsibly
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and having a bit of wine with pretty much every meal
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when we got there you could buy alcohol at 16
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so all the kids on the trip they just went
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and unleashed i wasn't a drinker at the time
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but i remember they were getting soused on the booze
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that they could buy legally all the french people were like just take
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it easy man what's what's the deal again i think
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that it my attention when i first came to australia is the fact
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that australians place stuff that they don't want on the street outside their home
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and this practice is called hard rubbish collection
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and most of these items are usually pieces of furniture
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or appliances that people put outside their homes for other people to come
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and pick them up
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there's sort of two options right the photos the images she's showing seem to be more this is junk
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that is being
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so it's going to be collected by the garbos
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we get two of these a year i think where you can ask the council you have to ring up
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or email or whatever it is online and organize a hard rubbish pickup
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and they'll do this twice for you for free on an annual basis where they come around
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and they pick up all the stuff
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that they don't want you putting in recycling or in the bin or that are items that are too big.
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We do mattresses I think separately and then you'll have the hard rubbish
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which as she shows in the image here it's like you know bits of wood, a chair, all that sort of stuff.
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You will have this happen where it is just junk like people just pile up rubbish
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and then you'll have it happen where it is actually like relatively good quality items that people don't want.
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And they will probably more carefully place these items out for people to pick them up.
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Another thing that I found very surprising when I first came to Australia is the fact that there are very,
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very hefty fines for putting your feet on public transport seats.
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And these fines actually go up to $288 Australian dollars.
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It's insane.
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I had never seen that they actually fine you for that.
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Oh, yes, they definitely will.
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I've seen this in Melbourne when I was going to uni, getting the trams and the trains and everything.
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It was a common occurrence that you would see usually a young boy, you know, or bloke, probably in his late teens,
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putting his feet up on the chair in front of him.
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Quite often, we have chairs facing one another, and so, you can easily do that.
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If the ticket inspectors come past and see it, they are quite often pretty irritated about it.
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One, because it's making the seats dirty, and two, because it can take.. up the seat
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and you're preventing someone from sitting down on
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that seat housewarming parties now i remember the first time
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that i was invited to a gathering here in australia and
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that was actually a housewarming party and i remember when i got
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that invitation i was a bit confused
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because i was like what is a housewarming party
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i had to google it right again for me this was weird and
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if you don't know what a housewarming party is it is
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basically a tradition where you invite your friends to come see your new home basically
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when you move to a new house you have a gathering with rings finger food etc
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and you show your friends your new place i feel
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that it's an excuse to just have a gathering
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and drink with your mates it's kind of a 50 50 of the years
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that i've lived in a house that i've either been renting
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or now own it's probably been about a 50 50 of whether
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or not i've done a house warming i think this is more of a
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when you're young and you're renting a place
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and you you suddenly rent out a new house with friends
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and you've you're very social at
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that age anyway then it's probably pretty much any excuse for a get together
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so i was doing them back then
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but then once i had a young family and was married
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and everything i i haven't really bothered doing a housewarming i might be like you know guys come over
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that we've just moved into a new place
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but i wouldn't make it a huge event with loads of people okay let's talk about the healthcare system
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and doctors in australia it really surprised me
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when i first came here to be honest i was a bit confused in my country in argentina
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when you're feeling sick you usually go to the specialist directly
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you go to the gastroenterologist right
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that's the case in my country whereas here in australia your first point of contact is your gp
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that's it you would usually go to a gp with any sort of issue
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and then you get referred to a specialist
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and i think it probably just helps control the number of people
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that are going to these specialists so
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that they don't get clogged up with too many appointments
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and everything healthcare in australia if you're an australian be either a permanent resident
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or a citizen
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and you get free healthcare through a medicare system you can also get private health insurance
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if you want and there's sort of interesting stuff
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that happens without tax regarding whether
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or not you have private health insurance typically health care in
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australia is high quality though with the amount of recent migration
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and pressure on the system with lack of funding for these
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systems to kind of catch up with the number of new migrants arriving in australia there's a lot of strain
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and stress in the system now another thing that really surprised me
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when i first came to australia was australian football or 40
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or ossey rolls or yeah it has
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so many names you can tell she lives in victoria all the new south welshman
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and queenslanders are going to get triggered as hell by the fact
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that she called australian rules football afl uh footy instead of rugby
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i remember the first time i i was here i got my apartment i turned the tv on
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and there was a footy match going on for me
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it was a big surprise to be honest at the time
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i hadn't even heard about footy yeah it was a mix of rugby and soccer
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but i wasn't really sure what was going on most of my australian colleagues as well they're super fans of Collingwood, Richmond, Essendon.
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What I really liked is the family environment.
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It's very family -oriented.
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Rivals can sit next to each other.
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That's one of the things that is really interesting.
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Australian football culture doesn't tend to be very violent, at least from what I've experienced.
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You don't have these kind of like rival factions
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that have to be seated at the opposite ends of the football ground or there'll be a riot with,
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you know, violent bashings and all that sort of stuff.
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I mean, I'm sure that sort of stuff happens in isolated events, but compared compared to places like
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Britain, where you hear about the football hooligans and everything, it's such a weird kind of contrast.
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You're just like, why would you bash people over them going for a different team?
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That's so weird.
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I think you would like AFL if you want a lot of action happening during a game.
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There's lots more people on the field.
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The field is a lot bigger.
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The ball is moving back and forth a lot more and big distances at a time.
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There's many more points being scored.
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I think that's why a lot of people like it compared to a game like soccer or football.
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Traditionally, because there's a lot more scoring that's happening, right?
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It's common for goals or points to be scored up to, you know, past 100 points in a game.
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Another thing that surprised me about Australia is the fact
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that it's compulsory for school kids to always wear some protective hats outside.
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Of course, the reason for this is that Australia has some of the highest UV levels in the world.
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So, it's a measure, again, that for me was surprising because when I was in school, I didn't have to wear a hat.
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It wasn't compulsory.
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But at the same time, yeah, it makes complete sense.
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This is something that came in when I was at primary school in the 90s, it was no hat, no play.
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You had to wear a wide brimmed hat.
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So, we had that full wide brim around your head.
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You had to have sunscreen on as well.
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And a big reason it came through is because the kids that grew up in the 50s,
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60s, 70s got so much more exposure to sun when they were young.
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Loads of sunburns.
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I think my dad said many times that his mom's advice was always go
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and get sunburned and get a tan so that you won't get sunburned in the future.
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And it was like great
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so now my dad has constant little skin cancers popping up on his face
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that he has to put cream on or have removed surgically
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and everything because of that amount of uv exposure at a young age
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so we're very conscious of that in australia and it'll be weird
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if you go to places like bondi around sydney the number of skin cancer plastic surgeon specialist businesses
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that are just everywhere
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that was shocking for me
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i was just like how there's one on every street corner
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like a milk bar another thing in relation to the australian school dress code
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if you want is the fact
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that school kids have to carry very big bags i was expecting her to say a school uniform that's one
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that always seems to get people from places like europe france america
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they're quite often like what you've got like compulsory uniforms you can't just wear casual clothes
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and it's like no we pretty much every single school will have in fact
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i think private school every school has some kind of a uniform primary schools secondary schools
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it's only once you get to university
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that you get to wear whatever you want there might be the odd day here
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and there that you have a casual clothes kind of day at school
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but by and large it's yeah you have to wear a uniform
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so you see the little seven -year -old carrying a bag that it's almost bigger than them and i don't know
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it's weird in my opinion carrying a lot of weight at
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that age probably poses some kind of risk for the kid's posture.
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I would say it depends on how long they're carrying it, right?
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If they're walking to school with it on one shoulder
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and it takes an hour to get there
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and an hour to get home and they're doing that day after day after day, maybe.
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But if it's like they're carrying it from their car
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when they're being dropped off at school into the classroom
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and then chucking it on a bench or they're carrying it on both shoulders, it's probably fine.
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I reckon the reason we would use it, especially down here somewhere like Melbourne, is because the weather changes so much.
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You always need all different types of clothing.
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You need a jumper just in case it gets cold.
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You need pants you've got books in there, you've got your lunchbox, pretty much everything is just tossed into this one bag.
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So, it's probably just the fact
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that we keep it all in one place as opposed to carrying a lunchbox
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and a drink bottle separately from our bag and having less clothing maybe.
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Growing up, in my case, all kids have their wheelie bags.
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We basically use that.
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I feel like if you were to show up at school with a wheelie bag, people would be like, did you just get off the plane?
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Like, were you traveling overseas?
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Where are you guys going? you're going on holiday
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that would probably definitely be a way of being targeted for bullying okay another thing
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that i think it's weird surprising is the unique wildlife here in australia of course before coming here
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you always hear about the kangaroos and the koalas
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and these are very unique animals indeed i don't think
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there are animals like these marsupials anywhere else in the world
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but yeah you got marsupials over there in south america not as many
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but they're hiding there and there's some in north america you've got that weird possum that is just like gross, right?
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I don't know how you guys got that ugly possum and we got the really cute stuff.
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But yeah, in Australia, anywhere that you go that's like near bushland, if there's a lot of natural reserves and that sort of stuff,
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you're going to see things like there's kangaroos in the middle of the road, koalas crossing the road.
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There's loads of birds everywhere.
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Reptiles are all over the shop.
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You're going to get spiders in your house.
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It happens more in the hotter and the more humid parts, the further north you go.
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It is something that we just sort of get used to.
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And you've got to be careful.
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One of the things you have to know about is
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that like if you're driving at nighttime in regional rural kind of areas,
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always have your lights on high beams when there are no other cars around
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because kangaroos can just come out of nowhere and totally clean up the car.
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You've got to be careful and that's why you'll see so many people with bumper bars on the front of their cars.
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Another thing that really surprised me about Australia
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and perhaps it shouldn't have considering how important the beach lifestyle is for this country is
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that they have a beach safety education program called nippers
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this is basically a program where kids as young as five years old learn about beach safety
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and rescue techniques yeah little nippers we had this growing up pretty much every surf lifesaver club around the country
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if they have enough kids nearby
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i imagine we'll have this kind of a program where they're
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teaching kids how to swim how to be able to save people in the surf probably cpr all of
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that sort of stuff
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and there's a sort of progression where they can end up working for the surf life -saving club
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or volunteering as surf life savers to rescue people on the beach
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and you'll see the flags on these beaches so yeah
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if you're in australia pretty much always be very careful in near water
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because there are so many foreigners that drown every single year swim between the flags
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and yeah focus on beaches
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that have surf life -saving clubs with surf life savers there yeah it's something
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that i would have loved to be able to have
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when growing up i find it amazing
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and of course again this reflects the importance of knowing how to swim here in Australia, that's super important.
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I'm surprised she didn't mention that where that would have been, I imagine, a cultural difference between Argentina and Australia
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and probably a lot of other countries where our focus on learning to swim is so, so, so emphasized.
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Like, my wife's
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Brazilian, she came over here and I remember we enrolled our babies when they were probably six months old,
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maybe, maybe a year old in swimming lessons.
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And she was just like, what, why would you do that?
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And I'm like, everyone learns to swim here.
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And she was like, no one in Brazil where I'm from learns to swim.
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But here for kids, it's like everyone does it.
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It's very rare that you'll meet an Australian born and raised kid that has never learned to swim.
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So, that's the episode.
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You guys will have to let me know.
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What do you find weird about Australia and Australian culture?
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Besides that, go and check out this episode on the podcast.
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And also, YouTube reckons you're going to enjoy this video.
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And I'll see you there. To me.
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Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1240 sentences
Episode 10: How to have small talk in Australian English
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
62 sentences
I will talk on camera every day until GET FLUENT in English. DAY 1 🇺🇸🧠📚
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “11 WEIRD Australian Culture Shocks”. This video has 391 sentences and 4625 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:56. The speaker talks fast, about 232 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| toilet verb | /ˈtɔɪ.lət/ | To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| wash verb | /wɑʃ/ | To clean with water. |
| butt noun | /bʌt/ | Body; self. |
| surf verb | /sɝf/ | To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing. |
| toast noun | /toʊst/ | Bread that has been toasted (cooked lightly by browning). |
| uniform noun | /ˈjunɪˌfɔɹm/ | A distinctive outfit that serves to identify members of a group, company, prison inmates, etc. |
| specialist noun | /ˈspɛʃəlɪst/ | Someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| rubbish noun | /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/ | Refuse, waste, garbage, junk, trash. |
| supermarket noun | /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/ | A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing. |
| bath noun | /bɑːθ/ | A tub or pool which is used for bathing: bathtub. |
| butter noun | /ˈbʌtɚ/ | A soft, fatty foodstuff made by churning the cream of milk (generally cow's milk). |
| gather verb | /ˈɡæðɚ/ | To collect normally separate things. |
| compulsory adjective | /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/ | Required; obligatory; mandatory. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| come over verb | To affect in a sudden, unprecedented or surprising manner; to overwhelm a person's ordinarily contrary impulse. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| clean up verb | To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy. | |
| come across verb | To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition. | |
| come around verb | /kʌ.məˈɹaʊnd/ | To change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first. |
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I was just like, how?
- We've got both at our house.
- Is that where you wash your hands?
- And I'm like, why would you do that?
- Where are you guys going?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've come · they've taken · i've gotten |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are usually designed · is known · being surrounded |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was living · were renting · were living |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may have · might be · may not be |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 122 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: wash /wɑʃ/, specialist /ˈspɛʃəlɪst/, rubbish /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/, shock /ʃɔk/, exposure /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/
- Long words — get the stress right: supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, compulsory /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/, invitation /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, subsidiary /sʌbˈsɪ.di.əɹ.i/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like toilet, swim, wash.
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.