Observations on the world, language, music, technology, communication, culture, and life.
Are you a fan of Aussie Rules? Do you follow the “footy”?
I showed the following video to my class to help them understand the rules. Try the quick quiz after the video then look at the attached worksheet and answers to learn more.
Continue reading “What is Australian (Aussie) Rules Football?”
I teach English to overseas students, and I prepared this article to explain the many kinds of nouns. Native English speakers should also find this article interesting.
As you learn English you face the big challenge of learning and remembering new words and expressions.
How can you increase your vocabulary and become a great communicator in English?
The best strategy is to be exposed to a variety of English through reading, listening and speaking; writing down new words to help you remember then using these new words in your daily life.
Australians are a relaxed, friendly nation and the most famous Australian greeting is G’day (short for Good day).
G’Day, G,Day is a song by Australian country music legend, Slim Dusty. Here is a video of the song and the lyrics which contain some great Australian slang and language.
Continue reading “G’day G’day How ya goin? Aussie Greetings”
How to speak Australian? Abbreviate everything! In this video I share the video by hijosh with a transcription of all the words.
I often show this video to my students. The word list and following questions can be used in an ESL lesson.
Continue reading “How to speak Australian – abbreviate everything!”
Slim Dusty was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and recorded many songs about Australia.
The Pub With No Beer song is based on a poem written during World War 2. Beer was rationed during the war and American serviceman had drunk all the beer in the Day Dawn Hotel in Ingham, Queensland.
Dan Sheahan, a local farmer, had ridden 20 miiles to town for a beer and discovered there was none. He later wrote a poem based on this experience. In 1956 songwriter Gordon Parsons reworked this into a song and presented it to Slim Dusty.
I included a vocabulary list at the end of this article – useful for ESL students.
Watch Slim Dusty sing the song, and follow along with the lyrics.
In this article I explain the language and slang of Australian table wine, ranging from grape varieties, bottles and casks, paying corkage at restaurants, and playing goon of fortune in the backyard.
In a previous article I wrote about beer and drinking and many of these words apply to wine. You can read that article here.
