This chapter from the guidebook American Ways analyzes some common ways that Americans think and express themselves.
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In this article in The Guardian, Lauren Razavi explores what motivates language learners.
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Linguist Angel Lin writes about the role English study played in her life while growing up in Hong Kong.
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Sanders writes about the special relationship between his father and the fruit of a local tree.
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Journalist Rick Bragg writes an ode to sweet iced tea, the archetypal Southern drink.
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Author Yiyun Li recalls her first encounter with a Western luxury product in 1980s Beijing.
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Language-learning enthusiast Lydia Machova explains what she believes to be the key to success in language learning.
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In this article from The Academy of Management Executive, the authors challenge the commonly used idea of “cultural dimensions” and propose “cultural sensemaking” as an alternative way to understand other cultures.
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A sweeping study of cultural differences between the world’s societies that attempts to explain these differences in terms of different “cultural dimensions.”
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This quirky radio show, focused on unusual real-life stories about ordinary Americans, is one of the longest-running and most popular programs on National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. With full transcripts.
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Similar to The Moth, Story Collider is a stand-up storytelling event series, but with a focus on science. With full transcripts.
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Every episode of this podcast is a reading of a popular New York Times column called “Modern Love,” in which ordinary people share their dramatic and sometimes very improbably love stories. With links to the original articles.
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A podcast about languages across the world and phenomena related to languages.
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A portrait of a colorful local character in a small town in rural Alabama, told over the course of seven episodes. Highly recommended—feels like listening to a novel. With full transcripts.
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In this very popular podcast about American Internet culture, the two hosts go to absurd lengths to track down the origins of memes and unpack the backstory behind various Internet phenomena. With full transcripts.
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This article from The New Republic examines what it means to be “cool” in American culture, in light of the findings of recent psychology studies.
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A vocabulary book highly recommended by a student. Introduces words according to situation: e.g. "words used to describe a liar," "words used to flatter someone," etc.
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This short story, about a seemingly quaint ritual in a small American town that turns out to be something truly terrifying, is assigned in many American middle and high schools, to teach about the dark side of human nature and the dangers of mob behavior.
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Writer Sarah Seltzer reconsiders a controversial classic, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. From Flavorwire, an online magazine of cultural commentary.
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A series of infographics by Chinese designer Liu Yang illustrating cultural differences, based on her experience living in Germany.
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