Shadowing Practice: The Australian Flag Explained 🌏 | Learn Australian English - Learn English Speaking with Video
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G'day everyone and welcome back to Learn Australian English, the podcast where you improve your English while learning about Australian culture.
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I'm Jack. And I'm Liz.
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Great to have you with us.
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Today's topic is something you've definitely seen before, but you might not know much about.
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Yep.
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We're talking about the Australian flag.
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That big blue flag with the Union Jack, some stars and a lot of history behind it.
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And by the end of this episode, you'll understand what every single part of the flag means, where it came from, and why it still looks the way it does today.
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Great to know, especially if you are preparing for the citizenship test.
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If you look at the Australian flag for the first time, it can be a bit confusing.
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There's a British flag in the corner, a big star underneath it, and then a bunch of stars on the right.
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It almost looks like three designs combined into one, but there's a reason for every element.
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Exactly.
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So, let's break it down piece by piece as we go through the story.
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Before 1901, Australia wasn't one country.
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It was six separate British colonies.
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That's an important word for English learners – colony.
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A colony is a place that is ruled by another country.
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In this case, Britain.
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Each colony had its own flag.
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There was no single Australian identity yet.
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Then in 1901, something huge happened.
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Federation.
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Federation means the colonies joined together to form one nation, the Commonwealth of Australia.
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And once Australia became a nation, it needed a national flag.
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So the new government did something interesting.
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They held a public competition to design the Australian flag.
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Anyone could enter.
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Over 32,000 designs were submitted.
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That's enormous for a population of only about 4 million at the time.
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People were very excited to create a symbol for the new country.
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And here's a fun fact.
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Five different people submitted almost the exact same winning design.
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Which is why they all shared the prize money.
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Let's start with the most obvious part, the Union Jack in the top left corner.
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That's the flag of the United Kingdom.
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Its presence shows Australia's historical connection to Britain and the fact that Australia was founded as a British colony.
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Even today, Australia is part of the Commonwealth, and the British monarch is still technically Australia's head of state.
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That's why the Union Jack remains on the flag.
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Now look just underneath the Union Jack.
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You'll see a large white star with seven points.
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This is called the Commonwealth Star.
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Originally, it had six points, one for each of the six states.
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But in 1908, a seventh point was added.
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That seventh point represents all of Australia's territories.
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That's a great vocabulary word – territory.
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It's an area governed by the national government, not a state government.
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Now, on the right side of the flag, you'll see five stars forming a shape.
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This is the Southern Cross constellation.
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A constellation is a group of stars that form a recognisable pattern in the sky.
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The Southern Cross is visible in the night sky across Australia.
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It's a very important navigational symbol in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Early explorers and sailors used it to find their way.
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So it represents Australia's geographical location in the southern part of the world.
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Another detail people don't think about is the blue background.
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The blue comes from British naval tradition.
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It's called a blue ensign.
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That means it was originally used on ships.
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For many years, the blue flag was actually for government use, and a red version was for the public.
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It wasn't until 1954 that the blue version officially became the national flag for everyone.
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Even though the design was chosen in 1901, the flag didn't become fully official until much later.
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In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II signed the Flags Act, which made this design Australia's legal national flag.
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So it took more than 50 years to become official.
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Now here's where it gets interesting.
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Not everyone thinks Australia should keep this flag.
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Some people believe the Union Jack represents colonial history and doesn't reflect modern, multicultural Australia.
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Others feel the flag is part of history and should stay as it is.
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This debate has been going on for decades and you'll often hear Australians discussing it.
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So if you ever hear someone say, we should change the flag, now you know what they're talking about.
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Another funny thing is how often people confuse the Australian and New Zealand flags.
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They look very similar.
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Both have the Union Jack and Stars.
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But New Zealand stars are red and have a different pattern.
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Australians and New Zealanders both get a bit annoyed when people mix them up.
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Let's pause and give listeners some a few English phrases.
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You might say, the Australian flag features the Union Jack and the Southern Cross.
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Or, the seven-pointed star represents the states and territories.
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Great phrases to practise pronunciation and vocabulary.
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Let's recap what each part means.
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Union Jack.
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Connection to Britain.
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Commonwealth Star, States and Territories Southern Cross,
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Australia's location in the Southern Hemisphere Blue Background,
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British naval tradition Fun Fact,
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Australian Flag Day is celebrated on September 3rd every year Don't get this confused with Australia Day,
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which is on January 26th every year.
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Not many people celebrate Australia Flag Day, but it exists.
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So next time you see the Australian flag, you'll understand the full story behind it.
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And hopefully you've learned some new English vocabulary along the way.
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Thanks so much for listening to Learn Australian English.
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If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like and subscribe.
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See you next time!
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See ya, mate!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 93 sentences and 939 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:20. The speaker talks at a steady 128 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.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| colony noun | /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/ | A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| symbol noun | /ˈsɪmbəl/ | A character or glyph representing an idea, concept or object. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| submit verb | /səbˈmɪt/ | To yield or give way to another. |
| federation noun | /ˌfɛdəˈɹeɪ̯ʃən/ | An act of joining together into a single political entity. |
| seventh adjective | /ˈsɛvənθ/ | The ordinal form of the number seven. |
| naval adjective | /ˈneɪvəl/ | Of or relating to a navy. |
| underneath adverb | /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/ | Below; in a place beneath. |
| confuse verb | /kənˈfjuːz/ | to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| element noun | /ˈɛləmənt/ | One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. |
| reflect verb | /ɹɪˈflɛkt/ | To bend back (light, etc.) from a surface. |
| visible adjective | /ˈvɪzɪb(ə)l/ | Able to be seen. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as you'll, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: seventh /ˈsɛvənθ/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: federation /ˌfɛdəˈɹeɪ̯ʃən/, citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, constellation /ˌkɑn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, federation /ˌfɛdəˈɹeɪ̯ʃən/, citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/
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 colony, vocabulary, symbol.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is ruled · were submitted · was founded |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've definitely seen · you've learned |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should keep · should stay · should change |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might not know · might say |
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.