Shadowing Practice: How To Start a Conversation in Australia & Practise Speaking English! - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

147 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Hey there, I'm Emma from mmmEnglish.

If you're new here, you may not know that I'm from Australia.

So I thought it would be really fun to share a

few tips with you about how to start a conversation in Australia with Australians.

Now I'm going to share a little more about Australian culture

like what is this

and I'm going to help you with some English conversation tips in some different settings like in a pub where

Australians love to go, in a taxi or an Uber,

at the supermarket and also some advice to help you strike up a conversation when you're travelling.

Remember to hit that subscribe button down there, turn on notifications so I can let you know when my new videos go live.

Are you ready?

Let's play!

Even though I mentioned this video is about starting a conversation in Australia,

you'll see that most of these conversation tips can work in any English -speaking country.

If you're talking to a Brit, an American, Canadian, South African,

New Zealander, all of these tips will help you to strike up a conversation with native English speakers.

To be honest, these tips are really not about having long in -depth conversations.

There are suggestions to help you start conversations

and the more you practise starting conversations and having these little interactions with other people, the easier it will become.

So it's okay to start small.

As long as you're friendly then a brief interaction is all you need to start building experience

and confidence to talk with people more in English.

Before we get into it, I really want to emphasise the importance of the greeting.

You know, always trying to be polite, friendly and positive, it's going to get your conversation off to a good start and most

Australians are pretty relaxed and laid back and that's really reflected in the way that we greet each other.

Contrary to popular belief, not every Australian says g'day every time they greet someone, right?

G'day, g'day mate.

It's commonly used by men and probably more often by older men and it's really a short version of good day.

So we're saying hello and have a good one, have a good day at the same time so it's like a double greeting.

Now I want to give you a little demo so that you can practice.

This is a really difficult expression to get right.

You know most times anyone who's not Australian will mess this up.

That's it.

G'day.

It's just a really quick flap of the tongue on the top of your mouth.

G'day.

You can also say, hey, how you going?

How you going?

Which basically just means how are you?

How you going?

Try it.

How you going?

If you've ever visited Australia or you live here then you'll know that

Australians usually spend a lot of time at the pub.

Now the pub is a great place for you to strike up a conversation with an Australian.

People are usually really friendly and relaxed, they're in a good mood, they're joking around and you'll run into all different types of people.

So you'll learn a lot about Australian culture, about language, slang, mannerisms, all of these things.

It's like a melting pot of Australian culture at the pub.

It's also where people are often watching sports so if there's a sports game on,

a really great way to strike up a conversation is to say what's the score or who's playing?

I want you to try it with me okay?

What's the score?

Who's playing?

Nice.

Now the most popular sport in Australia is unique to Australia the AFL

or the Australian Football League and it's like the Australian version of the English Premier League

or the NFL or the NBA, right?

We also have soccer and rugby and cricket and sports like that but AFL is the most popular sport by far.

Anyone who comes to Australia is completely perplexed by our game, right?

We have this weird shaped ball.

There are four sticks at each end of the football field

and everyone on the field is running around in really short shorts.

It's going to take me like ten whole minutes, maybe more to try and explain the game

so I've actually linked to another YouTube video if you're interested to see it and to find out more, it's down in the description below.

So if you want an easy way to start a conversation with someone in a pub

or anywhere really especially if there's a match on then knowing a little bit about the game is going to help you.

Most taxi drivers love to have a chat so it's the perfect opportunity to practise your conversation skills in small talk.

Australia is a multicultural place.

There are lots of different people who drive Ubers and taxis right?

Many of them are people who've moved to Australia from elsewhere and so they're probably

similar to you or have a similar experience to you in some way.

Why is this important?

Because there's so much to share and to talk about.

You know you have the opportunity to exchange experiences here so it's an easy way to get started with a conversation.

Now I usually jump in an Uber rather than a taxi

so when I do that my go -to questions are have you been an uber driver for long?

Try it.

Have you been an uber driver for long?

Do you enjoy doing it?

Try it.

Do you enjoy doing it?

You must meet some really interesting people.

Now they might say they're doing it for some extra cash on the side

while they're studying and then what can you ask them?

You can ask them what they're studying, right?

So it gives you all of these amazing opportunities to just practice building confidence with these conversation skills.

A really easy way to get started.

If they have an accent, I might ask have you been living in Australia for long?

Try it.

Have you been living in Australia for long?

Do you like living here?

What's been the hardest part about moving to a new country?

Nice one!

A super place to strike up a conversation is at the supermarket it.

So just imagine that you need some help looking for a product, maybe for real, maybe you're just pretending so

that you have the chance to talk to someone

but in this case you can go and find a shop assistant and ask them to help you find that item, right?

Simple.

Hi there, can you help me to find the Vegemite

100

or whatever product you're looking for

101

and as you're walking with them to find the product then you might say something like

102

it's so hard trying to find your way around a new supermarket, right?

103

But that might prompt them to say oh are you new to the area?

104

But then you can continue the conversation by saying yeah I'm actually from India.

105

I've been here for a few months now.

106

Or you can just continue talking about the product that you're looking for or you might say, I'm from Italy and interestingly,

107

I really love Vegemite from the moment I first tried it.

108

I know lots of non -native

109

Australians don't really enjoy it but I do.

110

When you're travelling in an English -speaking country is the perfect opportunity to get as much speaking practice as you can, isn't it?

111

You can ask questions when you're on your tours or or ask for directions or recommendations.

112

Just ask someone to take a photo of you.

113

Let's practise a little together, okay?

114

Sorry for interrupting.

115

Does this train go to the city?

116

Try it.

117

Sorry for interrupting.

118

Does this train go to the city?

119

Excuse me, do you mind taking a photo of us?

120

Try it.

121

Excuse me, do you mind taking a photo of us?

122

So saying excuse me or do you mind, they're really polite ways of approaching or interrupting a stranger.

123

Excuse me, I've only just arrived in Melbourne and I'm a little lost.

124

Can you tell me where the post office is?

125

Try it, okay?

126

Excuse me, I've only just arrived in Melbourne and I'm a little lost.

127

Can you tell me where the post office is?

128

Adding that you've only just arrived helps the person to understand that you're new.

129

They might even ask some other questions about where you're visiting from or how long you're staying or what your plans are.

130

So you're taking every opportunity to spark up a conversation.

131

Some of them will work and others won't you won't get much of a reaction. Who cares?

132

The important thing is that you're having a go and that is one characteristic about Australians that you can definitely benefit from.

133

We love seeing people have a go, you know, having a crack.

134

So I hope that you enjoyed a little mini journey into how to start a conversation in Australia

135

and I really hope that you're able to come and visit us soon.

136

The most important thing that you take away from this video is just to get started.

137

Just by greeting someone, you're letting them know

138

that you have the courage to be bold along with being relaxed and positive and if you really enjoy sports,

139

Australians love and they appreciate people who step out of their comfort zone.

140

You know, have a crack.

141

And don't think of every conversation as it has to be this endless hour -long discussion,

142

just a quick exchange with a few people every day is enough to build your confidence over time.

143

And now that you know a little more about the land down under, I'm curious to find out, are you coming to visit?

144

Which city are you going to visit first?

145

What's on your bucket list?

146

Let me know down in the comments and I'll see you next week.

147

Bye for now!

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence

IPA PracticeMaster every sound

VocabularyBuild your word bank

Vocab GameLearn while playing

Scan QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

FOR YOU

Recommend Video

240 sentences

Episode 10: How to have small talk in Australian English

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

97 sentences

How I Learned English (didn’t speak it until I was 18)

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

679 sentences

Learn 75 English Phrases You'll Actually Use in Real Life | Slow English (A2-B1)

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

308 sentences

15 Questions Every English Learner Should Be Able to Answer | English Conversation Practice

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

133 sentences

9 Things Australians SECRETLY Judge You For!! 🇦🇺 | Australian Culture

Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults

168 sentences

'Getting acquainted' – Speaking to someone you've just met | Business of English #3 | ABC Australia

Business EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults

20 sentences

Learn Australian English FREE with The Aussie English Podcast

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

72 sentences

How Small Talk Can Improve Your English Speaking | Mr English Podcast Ep. 45

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

138 sentences

How to Survive Australian Beaches | Learn Australian English

Daily ConversationWorking Adults

413 sentences

What's an English class in Australia really like? | Real Life English Practice

Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “How To Start a Conversation in Australia & Practise Speaking English!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: conversation, Australian, Australia. This video has 91 sentences and 1654 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:19. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 36 of its 91 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
greet verb	/ɡɹiːt/	To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.
taxi noun	/ˈtæksi/	A vehicle that may be hired for single journeys by members of the public, particularly one with an automated meter to calculate the fare.
arrive verb	/əˈɹaɪv/	To reach; to get to a certain place.
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
supermarket noun	/ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/	A large self-service store that sells groceries and, usually, medications, household goods, and/or clothing.
interrupt verb	/ˌɪntəˈɹʌpt/	To disturb or halt (an ongoing process or action, or the person performing it) by interfering suddenly, especially by speaking.
skill noun	/skɪl/	A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
crack noun	/kɹæk/	A thin and usually jagged space opened in a previously solid material.
interaction noun	/ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/	The situation or occurrence in which two or more things act upon one another to produce an effect; the effect resulting from such a situation or occurrence.
polite adjective	/pəˈlaɪt/	Well-mannered, civilized.
soccer noun	/ˈsɑk.ɚ/	Association football.
belief noun	/bɪˈliːf/	Mental acceptance of a claim as true.
elsewhere adverb	/ˈɛlsˌʍɛɹ/	Synonym of somewhere else: in, at, or to some other place.
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
mini adjective	/ˈmɪn.i/	Miniature, tiny, small.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
strike up verb	To start something with somebody else, such as a conversation or relationship.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
take away from verb	To subtract a quality from; make something seem not so good or interesting.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Do you enjoy doing it?
Do you enjoy doing it?
Do you like living here?
Can you help me to find the vegemite?
What's on your bucket list?

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	you've ever visited · I've actually linked · who've moved
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Anyone who comes · people who drive · people who step
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	may not know · might say · might ask
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the most popular · the hardest · The most important

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 53 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
Long words — get the stress right: supermarket /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/, characteristic /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like greet, taxi, arrive.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: How To Start a Conversation in Australia & Practise Speaking English! - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

Small Talk | Useful Phrases & Questions for Everyday Conversation

Speaking Practice Lesson | Tell A Great Story in English

Quick English Shadowing Practice

How to SOUND Better in English! | Pronunciation Lesson

How to answer 'How was your weekend?' (without sounding boring!)

Prepositions of PLACE 👉 IN / ON / AT / BY 👈 Common English Grammar Mistakes

Shadow Me & Learn Phrasal Verbs for Shopping!

How To Talk About MONEY 💰 English Conversation & Vocabulary

Practice phrasal verbs in conversation | Speak naturally with me!

Conversation Lesson | How To Be Polite & Show Respect in English

Speak With Me | English Speaking Practice

Speaking English On Your Own | Shadow Me Every Day

Business English | Imitation Lesson | Idioms & Vocabulary

Speaking Practice For B1 (intermediate) | English Imitation Lessons

Advanced Speaking Practice (Persuasive Techniques)

Lesson 2 - Speak English Clearly! The Imitation Technique

English Phrases for Daily Conversation (Practice Small Talk!)

The Present Perfect Tense | English Grammar Lesson

Advanced speaking practice: English Imitation Lesson

Common English Phrases to Keep Your Conversation Going!

Episode 10: How to have small talk in Australian English

How I Learned English (didn’t speak it until I was 18)

Learn 75 English Phrases You'll Actually Use in Real Life | Slow English (A2-B1)

15 Questions Every English Learner Should Be Able to Answer | English Conversation Practice

9 Things Australians SECRETLY Judge You For!! 🇦🇺 | Australian Culture

'Getting acquainted' – Speaking to someone you've just met | Business of English #3 | ABC Australia

Learn Australian English FREE with The Aussie English Podcast

How Small Talk Can Improve Your English Speaking | Mr English Podcast Ep. 45

How to Survive Australian Beaches | Learn Australian English

What's an English class in Australia really like? | Real Life English Practice

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?