About English Down Under
A free place to practise real Australian English, by speaking it out loud.
What you'll find here
- Imitation Lab: a 20-minute daily speaking session with a practice streak.
- Phrase Bank: phrases with pronunciation notes, common mistakes and speaking practice.
- Guides: English for cafés, job interviews, renting, small talk and phone calls.
- Episodes: lessons with Sam and Leo, with matching practice exercises.
- Aussie vs US vs UK: vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling compared.
How the practice works
The idea is simple: to speak better, you have to speak. Instead of only studying, you imitate. In each lesson you echo a short sentence, change a thought from "I" to "he", "she" or "they", and then summarise an idea in your own words. Each step builds the rhythm and habits of natural speech.
Meet Sam and Leo
Sam and Leo are our two coaches. They are AI hosts with AI-generated voices, and the audio on this site is a guide to rhythm and wording rather than a recording of a real person. The Imitation Lab's optional in-depth feedback uses an AI model from Anthropic, with your own API key.
A note on accents
Australian English varies by region, age and background. There is no single correct Australian accent, so treat what you hear here as one useful model. Listen to lots of real speakers as well.
Who makes this
English Down Under is made in Australia by Danni, who also runs the Down Under English (DUE) YouTube channel and the slang dictionary Fair Dinkum. The channel and this website share the same lessons and characters.
Corrections and ideas are very welcome.
Get in touch →Fair Dinkum has 600+ Aussie slang words with origin stories.