Australian English for Living and Working in Australia. Lesson 3.
In this lesson you get out into the streets and shopping centres of your new city. You practise asking for and understanding directions to places such as the station, the chemist or a government office, hearing how Australians shorten place names and use landmarks instead of full addresses. You listen to announcements on trains and buses, and to quick exchanges at information desks and in shops. You notice polite, low-drama ways Australians refuse or say they are not sure. Then you build your own short dialogues for situations such as finding the right platform, asking where to get a travel card, or checking which aisle a product is in. By the end, you can move around town more independently, ask for help confidently and show you have understood by repeating key information back in your own words.
1. Asking for directions in the street.
In this first part of the lesson, I want you to imagine you have just walked out of a train station in an Australian city. You need to find a government service centre to sort out your ID, but the map on your phone is not very clear. There is a local walking past, so you decide to ask for help. You will see a short street conversation on the screen. While you read it, focus on how the visitor starts the conversation, how they show they are a bit lost, and how they check they have understood the directions. Also notice how the local uses landmarks, not a long, detailed address. This is very common in Australia. It is also normal for people to be relaxed and say things like “No worries” or “You’re right” to sound friendly. After you read, you will answer a couple of questions to show you got the main idea of the directions, and then you will write a short summary in your own words. Do not worry about perfect grammar. Focus on catching the key points, like which street to walk down, which corner to turn at, and roughly how long it will take.
Street scene: finding the Service Centre.
You have just arrived in Melbourne and need to get to the Service Centre to confirm your address. You come out of Central Station, look around and feel a bit lost, so you ask a local for help.
Model dialogue.
> You: Excuse me, sorry, I’m a bit lost. How do I get to the Service Centre from here?
>
> Local: Yeah, no worries. See that big library over there on the corner?
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> You: Yep, got it.
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> Local: Just walk past the library, down that street, for about ten minutes. You’ll go past a big park on your left.
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> You: OK, walk past the library, then past the park.
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> Local: Yeah. When you hit the traffic lights at the end, cross over and the Service Centre’s just on your right, next to the chemist.
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> You: Could you point it out on the map, just to be sure?
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> Local: Too easy. Here you are now, and this is the Service Centre. Just straight down.
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> You: Great, thanks heaps.
>
> Local: You’re right, happy to help.
Phrases to notice.
From this short exchange, notice these useful chunks:
“Excuse me, sorry, I’m a bit lost.” – soft, friendly way to start.
“How do I get to the Service Centre from here?” – clear question with place + from here.
“See that big library over there on the corner?” – using a landmark.
“Just walk past the library, down that street, for about ten minutes.” – direction + distance.
“When you hit the traffic lights…” – informal way to say when you reach.
“Could you point it out on the map, just to be sure?” – checking you understood.
“Thanks heaps.” / “You’re right, happy to help.” – very Australian thanks / you’re welcome.
Quick culture tip.
In Australian cities, people often give directions using landmarks like parks, pubs, libraries and big office buildings rather than full street numbers. Time expressions like about ten minutes are also very common.
To show you have understood, it helps to repeat the key steps back, like the learner does: “OK, walk past the library, then past the park.”
You will now read a slightly shorter version of this dialogue again and then summarise the directions in your own words, as if you were telling a friend how to walk there.
Practice & Feedback
Read the short dialogue in the resource box carefully. Then, in 2–4 sentences, summarise the directions in your own words, as if you were sending a quick text to a friend: explain what they should walk past, roughly how long it takes, and what they will see at the end.
Try to:
include at least one landmark (for example, library, park, traffic lights),
use one soft, natural phrase like “about ten minutes” or “just past”,
keep the style relaxed but clear.
Do not copy the original sentence by sentence. Imagine your friend has never been there before and you want to keep it simple but accurate.
Street directions (short version).
> You: Excuse me, I’m a bit lost. How do I get to the Service Centre from here?
>
> Local: No worries. See the big library on the corner? Just walk past the library, straight down that street for about ten minutes. You’ll go past a park on your left.
>
> You: OK, past the library and the park.
>
> Local: Yeah. When you get to the traffic lights at the end, cross over. The Service Centre’s on your right, next to the chemist.
Key information:
Start: Central Station
Landmarks: library on the corner, park on your left
Distance: about ten minutes’ walk
End point: at the traffic lights, cross, then Service Centre on the right, next to the chemist.
2. Building clear questions for directions.
Now that you have seen one full street conversation, let us zoom in on your side of the interaction. When you need help in an Australian city, the way you start and structure your question makes a big difference. In this block, you will look at some common patterns for asking for directions clearly but politely. You will see how Australians often combine a softener like “Sorry” or “Excuse me” with a very direct question, such as “Is this the right platform?” or “Where can I buy a travel card?”. I want you to notice the order of information: we usually start with the place or thing we want, then add details like *from here*, *to the city* or *for the hospital*. On the screen, there is a small table of model questions you might actually use today. After you read and compare them, you will write three of your own questions for your life in Australia. Imagine places you really need: maybe a chemist, a government office or the bus that goes past your workplace. Use the patterns to make your questions sound natural, not like a textbook.
Your toolkit for asking directions.
In the earlier scene, you asked:
> “Excuse me, sorry, I’m a bit lost. How do I get to the Service Centre from here?”
That was a great start. Let us build a small toolkit of other questions that are useful when you are getting around town.
Common patterns.
Here are some very typical Australian-style questions:
Situation
Natural question
Checking a platform
Excuse me, is this the right platform for the city?
Asking about a route
Sorry, how do I get to the hospital from here?
Checking which bus or tram
Which bus goes past the university?
Ticket or card help
Where can I buy a travel card?
Asking for walking directions
Could you tell me the best way to get to the museum?
Notice a few things:
We often start with a softener: Excuse me, Sorry.
Then we use a clear question with the place we want: the city, the hospital, the museum.
We add extra details: from here, for the city, that goes past the hospital.
Very Australian chunks.
From the course chunk bank, you will also hear questions like:
“Excuse me, is this the right platform?”
“How do I get to the city?”
“Where can I buy a travel card?”
“Which stop should I get off at?”
“Is there a bus that goes past the hospital?”
These are extremely high-frequency in real life.
Mini language tip.
Do not stress about complex grammar here. Focus on:
A soft start.
A clear question word: how, where, which.
The place you care about.
Any small detail that helps, like from here or that goes past the hospital.
You will now use these patterns to create your own realistic questions for your new city.
Practice & Feedback
Imagine you have just moved to a new Australian city. You need to visit several important places this week, but you are not sure how to get there. Using the patterns in the table and examples above, write three different questions you could ask a stranger or staff member.
Please:
start each question with a softener like Excuse me or Sorry,
include the specific place (for example, Service Centre, hospital, university, chemist),
add any extra detail that would help, such as from here, that goes past my street, or for the airport.
Write your three questions as full sentences, each on a new line. Make them realistic for your own life, not just copies of the examples.
Here are the model patterns again for quick reference:
Excuse me, is this the right platform for the city?
Sorry, how do I get to the hospital from here?
Which bus goes past the university?
Where can I buy a travel card?
Could you tell me the best way to get to the museum?
Is there a bus that goes past the hospital?
Structure reminder:
Softener + clear question + place + extra detail (optional).
3. Catching tram and train announcements.
Getting directions in the street is one thing. Once you are on a tram, train or bus in Australia, you also need to understand the announcements. These can feel fast, and sometimes the speaker has a strong local accent. In this block, you will listen to a short tram announcement and then a quick exchange between a passenger and the driver. Your goal is not to understand every single word, but to catch the key information: which tram, which direction, and where you need to get off or change. As you listen, focus on familiar chunks like “next stop”, “terminates here”, “change at Central”, and “tap off”. After listening, you will write a short summary of the information in your own words. This will help you practise **paraphrasing** what you heard, which is an important skill from the course objectives. Remember, in real life you can always ask a quick follow-up question such as “Sorry, is this the right tram for the hospital?” or “Which stop should I get off at?”. We will work with exactly that kind of language here.
Listening on the tram.
You managed to get on the right tram using your new questions. Now you need to listen out for your stop.
On Australian public transport, announcements can be fast and slightly blurred, but they usually follow clear patterns.
You will now hear:
A tram announcement.
A short exchange between a passenger and the driver.
While you listen, focus on catching:
the tram number,
the final destination,
any change you need to make,
the stop name where you should get off.
Useful chunks to listen for.
From the chunk bank and typical announcements:
“Just jump on the 86 tram.”
“You’ll need to tap on here.”
“Which stop should I get off at?”
“So I change at Central, yeah?”
“Next stop is…”
“This service terminates here.”
If you miss something, you can always ask:
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Which stop is for the hospital?”
“So I change at Central, yeah?” (very Australian way of confirming)
After you listen to the audio, you will write 2–3 sentences explaining what you understood, as if you were telling a friend which tram to take and where to get off.
Practice & Feedback
Listen to the tram announcement and short conversation in the audio carefully. You can listen two or three times if you need to.
Then, in 2–3 sentences, explain:
which tram number the person should take,
where they need to get off, and
whether they need to change to another service or not.
Write as if you are messaging a friend, for example: “Just jump on the 86 towards the city. Get off at Central and change to the train to the hospital.” Do not worry if you did not catch every word. Focus on the main points you are confident about and use your own words.
4. Asking staff about travel cards.
You have now heard how announcements sound and how a quick question to the driver might go. Let us move to another very common situation: talking to staff at an information desk or ticket office when you need a travel card. This is a classic short institutional conversation in Australia. The staff will usually be friendly but quick, because there is a queue. Your job is to ask for what you need clearly, understand their explanation, and confirm any important details, like where to tap on or how much credit you need. On the screen, you will see a model dialogue between a visitor and a station staff member. Notice how the visitor starts, how they ask follow-up questions like “Could you show me?” and how they **repeat back** the key steps at the end. After that, you will do a short chat-style simulation. You will write what you would say as the visitor in a similar situation. I will reply as the staff member, so it feels like a real interaction. Focus on sounding clear, polite and relaxed, not overly formal.
At the station information desk.
You are now at Central Station. You need a travel card to use the trams, trains and buses.
Model dialogue: asking about a travel card.
> You: Hi, excuse me. Where can I buy a travel card?
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> Staff: Just here, you’re in the right spot. Do you want a weekly pass or just pay-as-you-go?
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> You: I’m not sure, I’ve just arrived. What do most people do?
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> Staff: Most people just top up as they go. You can start with twenty dollars.
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> You: OK, I’ll do that. How do I use it on the tram?
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> Staff: You’ll need to tap on here at the card reader when you get on, and tap off when you get off.
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> You: Could you show me where to tap on?
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> Staff: Yeah, no worries. See that machine by the door? Just tap your card there.
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> You: So I tap on when I get on, and tap off when I get off, yeah?
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> Staff: That’s it.
>
> You: Great, thanks heaps.
Language to reuse.
Useful chunks from this scene and your chunk bank:
“Hi, excuse me. Where can I buy a travel card?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve just arrived.”
“What do most people do?” – good neutral question.
“How do I use it on the tram?”
“You’ll need to tap on here… and tap off when you get off.”
“Could you show me where to tap on?”
“So I tap on when I get on, and tap off when I get off, yeah?” – repeating back to confirm, very Australian with yeah? at the end.
Tone and culture.
Notice the tone: practical, friendly, not too formal.
No long titles like “Dear Sir”. Just “Hi, excuse me.”
Short answers from staff: “Yeah, no worries.” / “That’s it.”
Now you will practise this in a chat-style way: you write your first line as the visitor and continue the short conversation.
Practice & Feedback
Imagine you are at a busy station information desk in Sydney or Melbourne. You have no travel card yet, and you want to:
Ask where to buy one and what kind is best.
Ask how to use it on trams or buses.
Confirm what you need to do when getting on and off.
Write a short chat-style conversation from your side. Start with a greeting like “Hi, excuse me” and then write 3–5 messages you would send or say as the visitor. I will reply as the staff member.
Try to:
reuse at least two chunks from the examples above (for example, “Where can I buy a travel card?”, “I’m not sure, I’ve just arrived”, “Could you show me…?”),
keep your tone friendly and relaxed, not too formal,
include one sentence where you repeat back the instructions to check you understood.
Useful phrases from the model:
Hi, excuse me. Where can I buy a travel card?
I’m not sure, I’ve just arrived.
What do most people do?
How do I use it on the tram?
You’ll need to tap on when you get on, and tap off when you get off.
Could you show me where to tap on?
So I tap on when I get on, and tap off when I get off, yeah?
5. Getting help in shops and centres.
You have sorted out your travel card and can move around town. The next common situation is finding things inside big shopping centres and supermarkets. Signs are not always clear, and brands may be different from what you know. In Australia, shop staff are generally happy to help, but the interaction is usually quite quick and informal. In this block, you will look at a short scene where a customer asks for help in a large supermarket. You will see how the customer explains what they need, how the staff member uses simple directions inside the shop, and what happens if they are not completely sure. We will also look at some soft, low-drama ways Australians say they do not know, like “I think it’s in aisle five, but I’ll just check for you”. After reading, you will write a short question and a follow-up sentence where you repeat the instructions back, so you are confident you understood. This is the same strategy you used on the street and at the station, now inside a shop.
Inside a big supermarket.
Later that day, you go to a large supermarket to buy some medicine. You cannot find the right section, so you ask for help.
Model dialogue: asking in a shop.
> You: Hi, sorry, where can I find painkillers?
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> Staff: Hey, no worries. They should be in aisle five, near the pharmacy counter.
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> You: Aisle five, near the pharmacy counter?
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> Staff: Yeah, just head straight down there, then turn left at the end. You’ll see the pharmacy sign.
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> You: OK, so straight down and then left at the end, near the pharmacy sign?
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> Staff: That’s it.
Sometimes staff are not totally sure:
> You: Hi, excuse me. Do you know where the travel-sized shampoo is?
>
> Staff: I’m not a hundred percent sure. I think it’s in aisle eleven, but I’ll just check for you.
Useful patterns.
“Hi, sorry, where can I find…?” – very common, friendly opener.
“They should be in aisle five…” – soft, not too direct.
“Just head straight down there, then turn left at the end.” – simple in-shop directions.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure. I think it’s in…” – polite uncertainty.
Repeating back:“Aisle five, near the pharmacy counter?” / “So straight down and then left at the end…?”
Culture note.
Australians in shops often keep things short and friendly: “Hey, no worries”, “That’s it”. It is perfectly OK to ask again or to repeat the directions to check you got them right.
In the activity, you will create your own mini shop question that fits your life, and then repeat the answer back in your own words.
Practice & Feedback
Think about a real item you often look for in a big supermarket or shopping centre (for example: gluten-free bread, batteries, phone chargers, travel-sized shampoo, a specific service counter).
Write two sentences:
A polite question to staff using a pattern like “Hi, sorry, where can I find…?” or “Excuse me, do you know where the … is?”.
A follow-up sentence where you repeat back the directions you imagine they give you, using simple in-shop language like “So straight down and then left at the end?” or “OK, aisle eleven near the pharmacy counter?”.
Make the situation realistic for your life in Australia. Try to include at least one aisle number or small landmark inside the shop, such as pharmacy counter, self-checkout, or bakery section.
Patterns to copy and adapt:
Hi, sorry, where can I find [item]?
Excuse me, do you know where the [item] is?
They should be in aisle [number], near the [landmark].
Just head straight down there, then turn left at the end.
I think it’s in aisle [number], but I’ll just check for you.
So straight down and then left at the end, near the [landmark], yeah?
6. Putting it all together around town.
You have practised each part of getting around town separately: asking someone in the street, listening to announcements, talking to staff at a station, and getting help in shops. In this final block, you will bring everything together in one short story. Imagine it is your first full day in Australia. You need to go from your accommodation to a hospital appointment, then stop at a supermarket on the way home. You will plan and write the key mini-conversations you have along the way, using the language and strategies from this lesson: softeners like “Excuse me”, clear questions such as “Is this the right platform?”, and confirmation phrases like “So I change at Central, yeah?”. On the screen there is a simple checklist to guide you, plus a reminder of useful chunks from the lesson. Your writing does not need to be long or perfect, but it should feel like a real sequence of interactions you could actually have tomorrow. This is your small performance task: by the end, you should feel that you could move around town more independently and ask for help confidently in Australian English.
Your mini day out in Australia.
Now it is your turn to run the whole journey.
Imagine this scenario:
> You are staying in a share house in the suburbs. You need to get to the hospital for an appointment at 10 am. You will take a tram to Central Station, change to a train, go to the hospital, and then stop at a supermarket on the way home to buy something you need.
You will write the key bits of English you would actually say in this journey.
Checklist of micro-conversations.
Try to include at least three of these moments:
In the street near your house – ask someone how to get to the right tram or bus.
At the station or tram stop – check you are on the right platform or tram.
On the tram or train – confirm where to get off or where to change.
At an information desk – ask about a travel card or which line goes to the hospital.
In a supermarket on the way home – ask where to find something.
Phrases to reuse.
From the lesson chunk bank and examples:
Sorry, I’m a bit lost.
How do I get to the city from here?
Excuse me, is this the right platform?
Where can I buy a travel card?
Which stop should I get off at?
Is there a bus that goes past the hospital?
You’ll need to tap on here.
Just jump on the 86 tram.
So I change at Central, yeah?
Hi, sorry, where can I find…?
What to write.
You do not need to write long paragraphs. Instead, write a short script or sequence of lines, like this:
> You (street): Excuse me, I’m a bit lost. How do I get to the tram that goes to Central?
>
> Local: Just jump on the 86 tram at the corner. It’s about a ten-minute ride.
>
> You (platform): Hi, is this the right platform for the train to the hospital?
and so on.
Aim for around 8–12 lines of conversation in total, covering at least three of the moments in the checklist.
Practice & Feedback
Write a short script of your journey as described above. Imagine the real places in your own Australian city, if you know them, or just keep the names general (for example, Central Station, the hospital, the supermarket).
Your script should:
include at least three different mini-conversations (for example, street + station + supermarket),
use at least four of the useful chunks from the list on the screen,
show you asking, understanding and confirming directions or information.
You can write it like a dialogue with labels, for example:
> You (street): …
> Local: …
> You (station): …
> Staff: …
Aim for 8–12 lines in total. Focus on sounding natural, clear and polite, not on perfect grammar.
