Abstract
The present article examines the influence of a newspaper, as the main source of cultural knowledge, on the development of intercultural communicative competence of ESL learners. A series of online questionnaires was conducted to gather information about first-year students’ Britishc ulture knowledge. This included determining the type of authentic materials and the knowledge assessment test on United Kingdom culture. As a result, the digital format of the newspaper “The Times” was chosen as the authentic material to enhance students’ reading skills. The test results indicated the level of understanding of United Kingdom culture leading to the creation of a task bank comprising collaborative discussions, individual reflections, and analytical exercises. Through the implementation of a comprehensive bank of reading tasks and articles covering various aspects of UK culture, students engaged in a rewarding learning experience. The post-test results confirm the effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing students’ comprehension of UK culture and traditions.