Listen to the conversation
Press ▶ Play conversation, or 🔊 on any line. Then try 🎭 Practise as "You": the other person speaks, and you say your lines out loud.
Key words and phrases
| Phrase | What it means |
|---|---|
| How ya going? | How are you? Reply: Good, thanks. How are you? |
| smoko | A short break at work, especially a morning tea break. |
| arvo | Afternoon: see you this arvo. |
| the footy | Australian football (AFL) or rugby league, depending on your state. |
| Any plans for the weekend? | A very common Friday question. Keep your answer short and friendly. |
| my shout | I'll pay: coffee's my shout. |
| heaps | A lot: thanks heaps. |
Tips
- How ya going? is a greeting, not a real question. A short, friendly answer is perfect.
- Keep small talk light: weekends, weather, food, sport and holidays are safe topics. Australians often avoid money and religion at work.
- If someone shouts you a coffee, it's polite to offer the next one.
- Barrack for means support a team. (Don't say root for in Australia: it's rude slang here.)
Aussie words in this conversation: how ya going, smoko, arvo, footy, my shout, heaps.
More everyday situations
- Seeing a GP (doctor)
- Inspecting a rental
- Calling a tradie
- Opening a bank account
- Ordering coffee and food
Unofficial practice. We wrote these questions to match the official PTE Academic task types and timings. They are not real exam questions, and points shown are practice feedback, not a PTE score. For an official estimate, use Pearson's scored practice tests.