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Aussie
words and
customs
What surprised you most about
the use of English in Australia?
CRIKEY
Andres Felipe Betancur,
Colombia
“Crikey. I still don’t understand
what crikey is!”
20
When deciding to study in
Australia, the first thing many
students think is: ‘Will my
English be good enough?’
Learning to speak, write and
think in another language
can be challenging. We have
a range of English language
courses, taught by patient
and experienced teachers
who are here to help you.
Even with good English
skills there are always things
that surprise you about
countries you visit. We asked
our students from Monash
English and the Shanghai
Ocean University study
tour group what surprised
them the most about
Australia…
mate!
Reem Alyousif,
Saudi Arabia
“I didn’t understand the
word ‘mate’. I thought
they said ‘Mike’. I was
like, I am not Mike?”
...zy
Can (Vicky) Wei, China
“Australians use many ‘zy’ at
the end of their words, like
mozzy instead of mosquitos.”
M
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What surprised you about
life in Australia?
KEEP
LEFT
Idrees Alsolbi, Saudi Arabia
“They drive on the different
side of the road, so I was very
confused by the ‘keep left’
and ‘keep right’ signs.”
Eriko Matsunaga, Japan
“Australians like to have their
meals outdoors. For me,
I think it is too cold to have
meals outdoors in Melbourne.
In Japan we eat indoors.”
Anoos Sadayo, Saudi Arabia
“Cultural events are celebrated well
here in Australia, which I think is
very good. You see celebrations
all the time at Federation Square.”
21
arvo?
Janice Fu, Shanghai
Ocean Uni, China
“What surprised me the
most is Australian English.
It’s quite unique both
in speaking and writing.
Like ‘Maccas’ is McDonald’s
and ‘arvo’ is afternoon.”
Kanye Xue, Shanghai
Ocean Uni, China
“Most people here have really
short working hours, which
surprised me most.”
Ahmed Aldhuwaghi,
Saudi Arabia
“I find the Australian footy
very special. It’s like American
football, but Aussies play it
on an oval.”
Yuyan (Luna) Song, China
“Melbourne is bigger than I
thought, but transport is good.
I can get free trams in the city.”
zeed au vs. us
Hui (Kevin) Zhu, China
“I was really surprised at
the pronunciation of ‘z’.
It is zed not zee.”
Tuan Hong (Henry) Vu,
Vietnam
“Australian English spelling
is different. In Vietnam we
use American spelling like
mom vs mum.”
Guochen (Ben) Li, China
“There is a big Chinese
community in Australia.
You can get all types of
goods and food here.”
Beta Leong, Shanghai
Ocean Uni, China
“Th H