Australian English for Living and Working in Australia. Lesson 2.
In Australia, a lot of social life begins at the café counter. In this lesson you rehearse ordering coffee and food the way locals do, from sleepy weekday mornings to relaxed weekend brunch. You meet baristas who speak quickly, shorten words and use casual phrases such as "What can I get you?" and "Have here or takeaway?". You learn how drink names, sizes and milk options work, and how to change or correct an order politely. You also practise short pieces of small talk about the weather, your day and what you do, so you can answer simple questions without freezing. Throughout the lesson you compare more formal textbook English with the relaxed style you actually hear in Australian cafés, and you decide which expressions you feel comfortable using yourself.
1. First morning at a busy Aussie café.
Imagine it is your first proper morning in Australia. You are jet-lagged, a bit hungry, and you desperately need coffee. You walk into a small place in the city called Laneway Beans. It is busy, the music is on, plates are clinking, and the barista is moving fast behind the machine. When it is your turn, she looks up with a quick smile and says, “Hey, how you going? What can I get you?” You understand some words, but she is speaking quickly, and there are new questions: “Have here or takeaway?”, “Any food today?”, “Full cream, skim or oat?” In this first block, we are going to focus on understanding that type of short, fast café interaction. You will listen to a short dialogue between the barista, Maddie, and a new customer who has just arrived in Australia. After you listen, you will write answers to some simple questions, so you can check how much you understood. Do not worry about catching every single word. Your goal is to hear the key information: the drink, the size, the milk, and whether it is for here or takeaway. You will see some useful phrases on the screen to help you before you listen.
Laneway Beans: your first Aussie coffee stop.
In Australia, a lot of social life happens at the counter. People do not always line up quietly and say fully correct textbook sentences. Things move quickly, and the language is short and relaxed.
You are at Laneway Beans, a little laneway café in the city. The barista, Maddie, talks to customers all morning, so her language is fast and efficient.
Here are some very typical barista questions you might hear in Australia:
Barista question
What it really means
"What can I get you?"
What would you like to order?
"Have here or takeaway?"
Are you drinking it here or taking it away?
"Any food today?"
Would you like to order something to eat as well?
"What size did you want?"
Do you want a small, regular or large?
"What milk are you after?"
Which milk do you want: full cream, skim, soy, oat, almond?
Notice a few things:
The grammar is often relaxed: "What milk are you after?" instead of "Which type of milk would you like?".
There is a lot of you-focused language: "What can I get you?", "What did you want?".
Questions are very short. Context does the work. When you are standing at the counter, "Any food today?" clearly means "any food to order".
Here are some natural customer answers:
"Can I grab a flat white, please?"
"Just a small long black, thanks."
"Can I get that to go?" (more American, but common in Australia too)
"Have here, thanks."
In the audio below, you will hear a short conversation between Maddie and a new customer. Listen for these details:
What drink does the customer order?
What size and what milk?
Is it have here or takeaway?
Do they order any food?
You do not need to understand every slang word. Focus on the key café information.
Practice & Feedback
Listen carefully to the café conversation in the audio. Imagine you are standing just behind the customer at Laneway Beans, waiting for your turn. Your job is to notice the key information about the order.
After listening two or three times, write full-sentence answers in English to these questions:
What drink does the customer order?
What size and what kind of milk do they choose?
Is the drink for here or takeaway?
Do they get anything to eat?
Write your answers in a short paragraph or as numbered sentences. Try to use some of the language from the table above, for example "They order", "They choose", "They ask for". Do not worry if you are not 100% sure about one detail – just write what you understood as clearly as you can.
2. Sounding natural when you order.
You have now heard a real Australian café conversation. In this block, we are going to look more closely at how people actually order, and how that is a bit different from the very formal style you often see in textbooks. In many grammar books, you might find sentences like, "I would like a coffee, please," or "May I have a cappuccino?" Those are not wrong, but in a busy Aussie café they can sound a bit stiff. Locals usually go for shorter, more relaxed phrases like, "Can I grab a flat white?" or simply, "Just a small long black, thanks." Notice the verbs we use: grab, get, have. They make the order feel casual and friendly rather than demanding. In a moment, you will read some example lines on the screen and then practise changing more formal sentences into natural café English. This is not about copying slang you hate. It is about choosing a style that feels comfortable but still sounds local enough that baristas do not treat you like a tourist every time. We will focus on a few high-value chunks that you can reuse every morning without thinking too much.
From textbook English to real café English.
Now that you have a sense of the sound of an Australian café, let us look at the phrases customers actually use when they order.
Textbooks often teach:
"I would like a cappuccino, please."
"May I have a muffin and a latte?"
"Could I have a coffee to take away, please?"
Again, these are not wrong. They are just more formal than most people use at the counter.
Here are some very natural alternatives you will hear all the time in Australia:
```text
Can I grab a flat white, please?
Can I get a small long black, thanks?
Just a regular latte, thanks.
I’ll grab a cappuccino to go.
Can I get that takeaway, please?
Anything decaf? What do you recommend?
```
Notice a few useful patterns:
Can I grab / Can I get
These are friendly, soft ways to order.
They are less direct than "I want" and less formal than "I would like".
Just a …, thanks.
"Just a small long black, thanks."
"Just a banana bread, warmed up, thanks."
"Just" makes the order feel light and non-demanding.
Takeaway / have here
"Can I get that takeaway, please?"
"Have here, thanks."
Adding please and thanks
In fast speech these might be short: "please" or "thanks" on their own.
You do not need long polite phrases. A simple "thanks" is enough.
Here is a short model exchange:
```text
Maddie: Morning! What can I get you?
You: Can I grab a flat white?
Maddie: Yeah, no worries. What size did you want?
You: Just a small, thanks.
```
In the task below, you will transform more formal sentences into this relaxed café style, using the chunks above.
Practice & Feedback
Read the model sentences on the screen again and pay close attention to the patterns: Can I grab…, Can I get…, Just a …, thanks, takeaway / have here.
Now look at these three formal sentences and rewrite each one in a more natural Australian café style:
"I would like a cappuccino, please."
"Could I have a latte with soy milk to take away, please?"
"May I have a small black coffee and a muffin?"
In your answer, write three new sentences, one for each original sentence. Try to:
Use verbs like grab or get.
Use just and thanks where it feels natural.
Include details like size, milk and takeaway where they appear.
You can also add small details if you like, for example "Can I grab a small cappuccino, thanks?" Write all three upgraded sentences clearly so a barista in Australia would find them natural and friendly.
Formal versions to transform
"I would like a cappuccino, please."
"Could I have a latte with soy milk to take away, please?"
"May I have a small black coffee and a muffin?"
3. Changing your order and asking for advice.
Ordering is not always a simple one-step action. Often you change your mind, or you see something tasty in the display after you have already started speaking. In Australian cafés, that is completely normal. People say things like, "Actually, can I change that to oat milk?" or "Sorry, I might grab a muffin as well." In this block, we are going to practise those quick little changes, plus one very useful question: "What do you recommend?" This is great when you are not sure what to choose from a new menu. Australians usually keep this language light and casual, with softeners like "actually", "maybe" and "could I". We will stay with our café, Laneway Beans. Imagine it is Saturday brunch, it is a bit more relaxed, and you have time to look at the food. You will see a mini menu on the screen, then you will practise making an order, changing part of it, and asking the barista for a recommendation. This kind of flexibility gives you much more confidence when you are dealing with real cafés, where it is easy to feel rushed or pressured.
When you change your mind at the counter.
Even confident locals often change their order halfway through. The key is to do it politely but simply, without a long apology.
Common patterns include:
```text
Sorry, could I change that to oat milk?
Actually, can I make that a large?
Oh, I’ll grab a muffin as well, thanks.
Could I add avocado toast to that?
What do you recommend?
Anything you really like?
```
Notice how these phrases use softeners:
sorry – a quick apology, not a big drama.
actually – shows you are changing your mind.
could I / can I – polite request forms.
A mini Laneway Beans menu.
Here is a small sample menu for Laneway Beans on a Saturday morning:
```text
COFFEE
Flat white (small / regular / large)
Long black (small / regular)
Latte (small / regular / large)
Milk options: full cream, skim, soy, oat, almond
FOOD
Banana bread (toasted, with butter)
Avocado toast
Veggie brekkie roll
```
Imagine you are at the counter. Here is a model exchange that includes a change and a recommendation question:
```text
Maddie: Morning! What can I get you?
You: Can I grab a regular latte, please?
Maddie: Yep, no worries. Any particular milk?
You: Actually, could I get that with oat milk?
Maddie: Oat latte, regular. Anything to eat today?
You: Maybe. What do you recommend?
Maddie: The banana bread’s pretty popular.
You: Okay, I’ll grab a slice of banana bread as well, thanks.
```
In the task below, you will create your own little ordering story using this menu.
Practice & Feedback
Use the mini Laneway Beans menu above to help you. Your job is to write a short ordering sequence where you:
Order a coffee, including size.
Change one detail of that coffee (for example, the milk or the size).
Ask the barista what they recommend to eat.
Decide on one food item and add it to your order.
Write your answer as 3–5 sentences, not as a script. You can imagine the barista’s questions, but you only need to write what you say as the customer. Try to use at least two of these chunks:
"Actually, could I…"
"Sorry, could I change that to…"
"What do you recommend?"
"I’ll grab… as well, thanks."
Make sure your writing is clear enough that a barista could understand exactly what drink and food you want.
Mini menu reminder:
```text
COFFEE
Flat white (small / regular / large)
Long black (small / regular)
Latte (small / regular / large)
Milk options: full cream, skim, soy, oat, almond
FOOD
Banana bread (toasted, with butter)
Avocado toast
Veggie brekkie roll
```
4. Quick small talk with your barista.
In many Australian cafés, the interaction does not finish when you pay. There is often a tiny bit of small talk while the barista or the person on the till makes your drink or hands it over. This can be just one or two lines, but it is a powerful way to feel more connected and less like an outsider. Typical topics are the weather, how busy work is, or simple plans for the day. You might hear questions like, "How’s your day going?", "Heading into work?" or "Got much on today?" You do not need long answers. Short, relaxed replies such as "Yeah, pretty busy but not too bad" or "Just heading to the office" are perfect. In this block, we will stay in Laneway Beans and imagine you are now a semi-regular. Maddie recognises you and starts some small talk while the coffee is pouring. You will see a couple of model mini-dialogues, then you will take the role of the customer and write your own replies in a chat-style format. This is great practice for keeping the tone light, friendly and natural.
Small talk topics at the café counter.
Once you have ordered, café staff often add one or two quick questions. It is not a deep conversation, just a friendly check-in.
Typical barista questions:
"How’s your day going?"
"Busy morning?"
"Heading into work?"
"Got much on today?"
"How’s your week been?"
Typical customer replies:
"Yeah, busy but not too bad."
"Not too bad, just heading to the office."
"Pretty quiet today, actually."
"Just on my way to uni."
"Big week, but nearly done."
Some customers will also ask one simple question back:
"How about you?"
"You guys busy today?"
Two model mini-dialogues.
```text
Maddie: Morning! How’s your day going?
You: Yeah, good, thanks. Just heading into work.
Maddie: Nice one. Keeping busy?
You: Yeah, busy but not too bad.
Maddie: Hey, how you going?
You: Not too bad. Bit tired.
Maddie: Fair enough. Big week?
You: Yeah, heaps on at work at the moment.
Maddie: Yeah, same here.
```
Notice the tone:
Short answers, often 2–6 words.
A mix of honesty ("Bit tired") and understatement ("not too bad" instead of "terrible").
Soft Australian slang like "heaps" is fine if you feel comfortable, but you do not have to use it.
In the activity below, you will answer Maddie’s questions as if you are chatting in real time.
Practice & Feedback
Imagine you are standing at the counter waiting for your coffee at Laneway Beans. Maddie starts a bit of small talk. Read her lines below. Your job is to write your side of the conversation, as if you were replying in a chat app.
Please:
Keep each reply fairly short, like a real quick chat at the counter.
Answer the question and, if you like, ask one simple question back.
Use some of the natural phrases from above such as "Yeah, not too bad", "Just heading into work", "Pretty busy but not too bad".
Write 3–5 turns from your side, labelled clearly, for example:
You 1: …
You 2: …
You 3: …
Focus on sounding relaxed and friendly, not on being perfectly original. Reusing chunks is completely fine here.
Maddie’s small talk lines:
```text
Maddie: Morning! How’s your day going?
Maddie: Heading into work or just hanging out?
Maddie: Got much on for the rest of the day?
```
5. Fixing a small problem with your order.
Even in the best cafés, orders sometimes go wrong. Maybe they give you full cream milk instead of soy, or your toast never arrives. In Australia, it is completely acceptable to speak up, as long as you keep the tone calm and polite. Many people start with a soft apology and a clear statement, such as, "Sorry, I actually ordered a soy latte," or "Excuse me, I think my toast might have been missed." The staff will often respond with, "Oh, sorry about that," and a reassuring phrase like, "All good, we’ll fix that up for you," or simply, "No worries." In this block, we will focus on that moment where you notice a problem and need to say something. We will stay in Laneway Beans. You are now a regular, you like the place, and you want to sound **firm but friendly**, not angry. You will listen to a short comparison between a slightly rude complaint and a much more natural Australian version. Then you will write your own polite line for a typical situation: you received the wrong milk in your coffee.
When your order is not quite right.
Problems happen: wrong milk, missing food, coffee too strong. The goal is to speak up clearly without starting a big fight.
Useful complaint openers:
```text
Sorry, I actually ordered a soy latte.
Excuse me, I think my toast might have been missed.
Sorry, this was meant to be takeaway.
I’m pretty sure I asked for oat milk, not full cream.
```
Useful staff responses:
```text
Oh, sorry about that.
All good, we’ll fix that up for you.
No worries, I’ll sort that out now.
My mistake, I’ll grab you a new one.
```
The language is:
Polite – you use "sorry" or "excuse me".
Clear – you say exactly what is wrong.
Low drama – no angry words, no long story.
Australians generally respect this kind of direct but friendly style.
In the audio below, you will hear two short versions of the same situation: the customer ordered a soy latte but got full cream milk. The first version is too direct for Australian style. The second version sounds much better in a typical café.
Listen once just to understand the difference in tone, then again to focus on the exact words used.
Practice & Feedback
First, listen to the audio carefully. Notice the difference between the rude / too direct version and the polite but clear version. Pay attention to words like "sorry", "actually", "think" and to the staff member’s reassuring response.
Then, imagine this situation at Laneway Beans:
You ordered a small oat flat white takeaway, but when you take a sip, you can tell it is full cream milk. You walk back to the counter.
Write 1–3 sentences of what you would say. Try to:
Start with a softener like "Sorry" or "Excuse me".
Clearly say what the problem is.
Keep the tone calm and friendly.
For example, you might begin with something like, "Sorry, I think this might be full cream?" but use your own words. Focus on sounding natural and respectful.
6. Putting it all together in one café visit.
You have now practised the key moments of an Australian café visit: understanding fast questions, ordering naturally, changing your mind, joining small talk, and fixing small problems. In this final block, you are going to put everything together in one integrated script. Imagine it is the end of your first week in Australia. You walk into Laneway Beans feeling a lot more confident than on day one. Maddie recognises you, you order coffee and maybe some food, there is a tiny bit of chat about your day, and then you notice a small mistake with your order and fix it calmly. Your job is to write the full conversation between you and Maddie from start to finish. This kind of rehearsal is powerful. When you are actually in a café, your brain has already walked through the steps, so the language is ready. On the screen you will see a checklist of things to include, plus a few chunks from the lesson to remind you. Use them, but do not be afraid to add your own personality. Think of it as writing a short scene from your new life in Australia.
Your Laneway Beans café script.
To finish the lesson, you will write a full café interaction as a short script. You can base it on your real life, or you can invent details.
Include these stages.
Try to include all of these moments in your dialogue:
Greeting and first question
Maddie greets you and asks what she can get you.
Your drink order
You order a coffee with size and milk.
Food and follow-up
You decide whether to get food, maybe asking, "What do you recommend?"
Small talk
One or two short lines about your day, work, study or the weekend.
Small problem and repair
There is a tiny mistake (for example, wrong milk, wrong size, have here vs takeaway), and you fix it politely.
Friendly ending
A short thank you and goodbye.
Useful chunks to reuse.
You do not need to use all of these, but try to include at least four:
"Can I grab a flat white?"
"Just a small long black, thanks."
"Have here or takeaway?"
"Anything to eat today?"
"What do you recommend?"
"How’s your day going?"
"Yeah, busy but not too bad."
"Sorry, I actually ordered a soy latte."
"All good, no worries."
"Cheers, see you later."
Format.
Write your script like this:
```text
Maddie: …
You: …
Maddie: …
You: …
```
Aim for 8–12 lines in total. Keep each line short and natural, the way people really speak at the counter. Imagine you are rehearsing your ideal, confident café visit before you actually move to Australia.
Practice & Feedback
Now it is your turn to run the whole interaction. Imagine it is Friday morning at Laneway Beans. You feel more relaxed, but you still want to be clear.
Write a full dialogue between you and Maddie that includes:
Greeting and your drink order (with size and milk).
A decision about food (yes or no, possibly with "What do you recommend?").
One or two lines of small talk about your day, work, study or the weekend.
A small problem with the order that you fix politely.
A friendly ending.
Use the script format shown above and aim for 8–12 lines. Try to reuse some of the target chunks from the lesson, but also add details from your real life, such as your job or what you are doing after coffee. Focus on sounding natural, modest and friendly, the way people usually do in Australian cafés.
Checklist reminder:
Greet and order a drink.
Mention size and milk.
Decide about food and maybe ask for a recommendation.
