This lesson is suitable for intermediate-level learners . After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes
Different phrases to use when talking about commemorating:
- I feel we should do something special for Anzac Day.
- Maybe we could go to the dawn service at the local war memorial?
- It's a good way to honour those who served.
- It's a good way to pay tribute.
- It would be a nice gesture to lay a wreath or some poppies.
- Lest we forget.
Colloquial expressions about commemorating:
To take a trip down memory lane means to think about people or events from the past.
Lest we forget means “so that we don’t forget” and reminds us to never to forget the sacrifices made by soldiers in war.
Useful structures:
I feel we could/ should + verb and Maybe we could/ should + verb are two useful ways of making a suggestion.
If you say I feel we or maybe we + could, as in ‘I feel we could take mum to the movies for her birthday’, then you are just suggesting a possibility.
If you use ‘should’, as in ‘I feel we should do something special for Mum's birthday’, then you are making a proposal that is a bit stronger.
Vocabulary:
To commemorate is to do something to honour and help people to remember important people, events, or moments from the past.
To pay our respects to means to honour someone or show your admiration for them.
To move somebody means to have an emotional impact on them emotionally.
If something is moving, it has a strong effect on your feelings. It can make you feel sad or grateful.
A veteran is someone who has served in the armed services in the past.
The dawn service is an early morning ceremony held on Anzac Day to commemorate those who served and died in war. It usually takes place at a war memorial.
A war memorial is a structure built to honour and remember the people who have died in wars.
A tribute can be something small like nice words that one person says said about someone or it could be something big like a war memorial built by the community to remember them.
Traditionally, the Last Post is the tune played on a bugle at the end of the day. It is often played at military funerals and remembrance ceremonies to remember and say goodbye to soldiers who have died.
Remembrance ceremonies are special events held to remember and honour people who have died, especially soldiers who have died in war.
A wreath is a ring made of flowers and leaves, used for decoration and is traditional at funerals or at ceremonies to remember someone who has died.
A poppy is a bright, colourful flower which is often red, that grow wild in many parts of the world. Because they grow in areas where many soldiers died in Europe, they are traditionally used in ceremonies to honour heroes who have lost their lives in war.
Cultural information:
Anzac Day is commemorated on the 25th of April because it was on this day in 1915, that Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an army that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.
Many of them died. So, on this day each year we honour soldiers in Australia and New Zealand who fought in World War I and in the other wars that have followed since then.
READ MORE IN YOUR LANGUAGE
What does Anzac Day mean to migrants?
Transcript:
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia.
Hi, I’m Josipa. Recently, my mum and I have been taking many trips down memory lane together, that is, we’ve been thinking and talking about our past and our family history.
I discovered that my grandfathers fought on opposite sides during World War II. Although their stories are absolutely fascinating, I’m not going to talk about my family history today.
Instead, we’re going to focus on practising phrases that we can use when we want to remember and honour people, events, or moments from the past who are important to us. We call this act of remembering and honouring 'commemorating’.
On the 25th of April, Allan and Claire are planning to commemorate Anzac Day. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Corps stand for a specific group in the army.
Anzac Day is commemorated on this day because it was on this day in 1915, that Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an army that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey.
Many of them died. So, on this day each year we honour soldiers in Australia and New Zealand who fought in World War I and in the other wars that have followed since.
Let’s listen to Allan and Claire.
Claire
I feel we should do something special for Anzac Day.
Allan
Maybe we could go to the dawn service at the local war memorial? It’s quite moving.
Claire
I've never been to one before. What's it like?
Allan
It's a good way to honour those who served. Everyone gathers around at dawn, there's a moment of silence, and they usually have someone play the Last Post.
Claire
We should definitely make it happen. Do you think we should bring anything? Like flowers or something?
Allan
it would be a nice gesture to lay a wreath or some poppies and after the service, we could grab a cuppa and maybe chat with some veterans to find out more about their war stories.
Claire
Great idea!
Allan
Absolutely. Lest we forget.
We just heard a lot of phrases that can be useful for talking about moments in life when we want to pay our respects to people or events that it is important to remember.
By the way, to pay our respects means to honour or show admiration for someone.
So, Claire feels like they should do something special for Anzac Day. Allan agreed with her, and made a suggestion of how they could do it when he said,
Maybe we could go to the dawn service at the local war memorial?Allan
The dawn service is an early morning ceremony held at sunrise on Anzac Day to commemorate those who served and died in war. It usually takes place at a war memorial.
A war memorial is a structure built to honour and remember the people who have died in war.
Have you been to a war memorial in your city?
I’ve been to the Shrine of Remembrance, which is a war memorial in Melbourne, and to Anzac Square, the beautiful Queensland State War Memorial in Brisbane.
Allan also said that the dawn service is...
It's quite moving.Allan
If something is moving, it has a strong effect on your feelings. It can make you feel sad or grateful. In this case, possibly both!
Do you remember if Claire has ever been to a dawn service before? She said,
I've never been to one before.Claire
This will be her first time! I’ve been to a war memorial, but I’ve never been to a dawn service before either. Have you?
I wonder what it is like?
Allan
It's a good way to honour those who served. Everyone gathers around at dawn, there's a moment of silence, and they usually have someone play the Last Post.
Ok, let’s break Allan’s answer in two parts. He first said,
It's a good way to honour those who served.Allan
This means that Allan thinks it's a good way to show respect for people who were in the military. We could also say, "It's a good way to pay tribute to those people," and that would mean the same thing.
A tribute is an act, statement, or gift that is designed to show that we are grateful, and to show respect to, or admiration for someone.
A tribute can be something small like nice words that one person says said about someone or it could be something big like a war memorial built by the community to remember them.
It's a good way to pay tribute to those who served.
‘Served’ means they served their country by being in the military, either fighting or supporting the armed services. So, during the dawn service,
Allan
Everyone gathers around at dawn, there's a moment of silence, and they usually have someone play the Last Post.
Traditionally, the Last Post is the tune played on a bugle at the end of a day’s activities in the military day.
It is often played at military funerals and remembrance ceremonies to remember and say goodbye to soldiers who have died.
Remembrance ceremonies are special events held to remember and honour people who have died, especially soldiers who lost their lives in wars. So yes, we can say that Anzac Day is a remembrance ceremony.
We should definitely make it happen.
You can use this phrase whenever you strongly agree with a plan and want to make sure it gets done.
Let’s continue, Allan said,
It would be a nice gesture to lay a wreath or some poppies.Allan
A wreath is a ring made of flowers and leaves, used for decoration and is traditional at funerals or at ceremonies to remember someone who has died. And, are you familiar with poppies?
A poppy is a bright, colourful flower which is often red, that grows wild in many parts of the world. Because poppies grow in areas where many soldiers died in Europe, they are traditionally used in ceremonies to honour heroes who have lost their lives in war.
At the end of the dialogue, Allan used a phrase that we often hear or see around Anzac Day and war memorials. He said,
Lest we forget.Allan
Lest we forget means so that we don’t forget and is the phrase we use to remind us to never to forget the sacrifices made by soldiers in war.
A big thank you to our educational consultant, Professor Lynda Yates, and our guest Abhas Parajuli.
Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire.
