Culture In Content
“Interviews”
Interviews
See frequently asked questions.
See list in alphabetical order.
Interviews Organized by Topic
New activities are marked (NEW)
Careers and Employment
- Cracking the Interview Code – With Aubrey
- First Job Experiences – With Aubrey
- Job Hunting Strategies – With Aubrey
- Life of a Ceramic Artist – With Emily
- Qualities of a Good Leader – With Aubrey
- Remote Work Versus Office Life – With Aubrey
- What is Success? – With Aubrey and Emily
Education and School Life
- College Roommates – With Aubrey
- Favorite Classes – With Aubrey
- “I didn’t do my homework!” – With Aubrey
- Learning a Foreign Language – With Aubrey
- Online Learning – With Aubrey
- Phones in the Classroom – With Aubrey
- Plagiarism in the AI Era – With Aubrey
- School Rules and Policies – With Aubrey
- Secrets of College Success – With Aubrey
- Student Excuses – With Emily
- The Homework Debate: Useful or Useless?
- The Ideal Teacher – With Emily
- The Teacher Debate – With Aubrey
- Unmasking Stereotypes – With Aubrey
Entertainment and News
- Favorite Websites – With Aubrey and Emily
- Never Have I Ever – With Aubrey and Emily
- Reality TV Entertainment – With Aubrey (NEW)
- Theater Versus Home Movies – With Aubrey
- The Political Divide – With Aubrey
- Unveiling News Bias: A Closer Look – With Aubrey and Emily
Food and Dining
- Competitive Eating – With Emily
- Cooking Tips – With Aubrey and Emily
- Eating Preferences – With Aubrey
- My Favorite Meal – With Emily
- Restaurant Recommendations – With Emily (NEW)
- Tipping Customs – With Aubrey
Housing and Neighborhoods
- City Versus Small Town Life – With Aubrey
- Dream House – With Aubrey
- Home Safety – With Aubrey
- Homestay Experiences – With Aubrey
- How to Deal with Neighbors – With Emily
- My Neighborhood – With Aubrey
Holidays and Traditions
- Birthday Celebrations – With Aubrey
- Christmas – With Aubrey
- Independence Day – With Aubrey
- Memorial Day – With Aubrey
- New Year’s Day – With Aubrey
- Thanksgiving Day – With Aubrey
Lifestyles and Health
- A Healthy Lifestyle – With Emily
- Charitable Giving – With Aubrey
- Childhood Tech Tricks and Tales – With Aubrey
- Decoding Online Health Information – With Aubrey
- Daily Annoyances – With Emily
- Dogs or Cats? – With Aubrey
- Economic Woes – With Aubrey and Emily
- Elevate Your Style with Color – Aubrey
- End-of-Life Scenarios – With Aubrey
- Game-Changing Innovations – With Aubrey
- Getting a Tattoo – With Aubrey
- Gift Giving – With Emily
- Gift Suggestions – With Aubrey
- Household Chores – With Aubrey
- If You Had a Million Dollars – With Emily
- Internet Addiction – With Aubrey
- Is it Okay to Lie? – With Aubrey and Emily
- Laugh, Cry, Sigh: The Many Feelings of Life
- Life in Space – With Aubrey
- Life Memories: Have You Ever? – With Aubrey
- Managing Stress in Our Lives – Aubrey
- Superpowers – With Aubrey and Emily
Recreation and Sports
- Camping Experiences – With Emily
- Popular Outdoor Activities – With Emily
- What Constitutes a Sport? – With Aubrey and Emily
Relationships
- Best Personal Traits – With Aubrey
- Declining Invitations – With Aubrey
- Friendship – With Aubrey
- Ideal Parenting – With Aubrey
- If Pets Could Talk – With Aubrey and Emily
- Introverted or Extroverted? – With Aubrey and Emily
- Introductions – With Michael
- Meeting New People – With Aubrey
- Online Dating – With Aubrey
- Pet Ownership – With Emily
- Texting or Talking? – With Emily
- The Generation Gap – With Aubrey
- The Ideal Friend – With Emily
Shopping and Money
- Advertising Gimmicks – With Aubrey (NEW)
- Credit Cards – With Aubrey
- Grocery Stores – With Aubrey
- Money Secrets – With Aubrey
- Online Shopping – With Aubrey and Emily
- Spending Spree – With Aubrey
- The Value of Money – With Aubrey and Emily
Technology
- The Future of AI – With Aubrey and Emily
- Time Travel – With Emily
- Time Travel: Should it Be Allowed? – With Aubrey
- The Future of Robots – With Aubrey
- The Impact of Social Media – With Aubrey and Emily
Travel and Transportation
- Annoying Drivers – With Aubrey
- Budget Travel – With Aubrey
- Driving Lessons – With Aubrey
- Favorite Ways to Travel – With Aubrey
- Interplanetary Travel – With Emily
- My Favorite Vacation Memory – With Emily
- Overseas Travel – With Aubrey
- Road Rage – With Aubrey and Emily
- The Driving Age: When Should You Stop? – With Aubrey
- The Perfect Vacation – With Aubrey
- Travel Destinations – With Aubrey and Emily
- Utah Sightseeing – With Aubrey
The World
- Saving the Environment – With Aubrey
Interviews Organized in Alphabetical Order
- A Healthy Lifestyle – With Emily
- Advertising Gimmicks – With Aubrey
- Annoying Drivers – With Aubrey
- Aubrey’s Favorite Things – With Aubrey
- Birthday Celebrations – With Aubrey
- Budget Travel Accommodations – With Aubrey
- Camping Experiences – With Emily
- Charitable Giving – With Aubrey
- Childhood Tech Tricks and Tales – With Aubrey
- College Roommates – With Aubrey
- Christmas – With Aubrey
- City Versus Small Town Life – With Aubrey
- Competitive Eating – With Emily
- Cooking Tips – With Aubrey and Emily
- Cracking the Interview Code – With Aubrey
- Credit Cards – With Aubrey
- Daily Annoyances – With Emily
- Decoding Online Health Information – With Aubrey
- Declining Invitations – With Aubrey
- Dogs or Cats? – With Aubrey
- Dream House – With Aubrey
- Driving Lessons – With Aubrey
- Eating Preferences – With Aubrey
- Economic Woes – With Aubrey and Emily
- Elevate Your Style with Color – Aubrey
- End-of-Life Scenarios – With Aubrey
- Favorite Classes – With Aubrey
- Favorite Ways to Travel – With Aubrey
- Favorite Websites – With Aubrey and Emily
- First Job Experiences – With Aubrey
- Friendship – With Aubrey
- Game-Changing Innovations – With Aubrey
- Getting a Tattoo – With Aubrey
- Gift Giving – With Emily
- Gift Suggestions – With Aubrey
- Grocery Stores – With Aubrey
- Home Safety – With Aubrey
- Homestay Experiences – With Aubrey
- Household Chores – With Aubrey
- How to Deal with Neighbors – With Emily
- “I didn’t do my homework!” – With Aubrey
- Ideal Parenting – With Aubrey
- If Pets Could Talk – With Aubrey and Emily
- If You Had a Million Dollars – With Emily
- Independence Day – With Aubrey
- Internet Addiction – With Aubrey
- Interplanetary Travel – With Emily
- Introverted or Extroverted? – With Aubrey and Emily
- Introductions – With Michael
- Is it Okay to Lie? – With Aubrey and Emily
- Island Survival – With Aubrey and Emily
- Job Hunting Strategies – With Aubrey
- Laugh, Cry, Sigh: The Many Feelings of Life
- Learning a Foreign Language – With Aubrey
- Life in Space – With Aubrey
- Life of a Ceramic Artist – With Emily
- Life Memories: Have You Ever? – With Aubrey
- Managing Stress in Our Lives– Aubrey
- Meeting New People – With Aubrey
- Money Secrets – With Aubrey
- My Favorite Meal – With Emily
- My Favorite Vacation Memory – With Emily
- My Neighborhood – With Aubrey
- Never Have I Ever – With Aubrey and Emily
- New Year’s Day – With Aubrey
- Online Dating – With Aubrey
- Online Learning – With Aubrey
- Online Shopping – With Aubrey and Emily
- Overseas Travel – With Aubrey
- Pet Ownership – With Emily
- Phones in the Classroom – With Aubrey
- Popular Outdoor Activities – With Emily
- Qualities of a Good Leader – With Aubrey
- Road Rage – With Aubrey and Emily
- Reality TV Entertainment – With Aubrey
- Remote Work Versus Office Life – With Aubrey
- Restaurant Recommendations – With Emily
- Saving the Environment – With Aubrey
- School Rules and Policies – With Aubrey
- Secrets of College Success – With Aubrey
- Spending Spree – With Aubrey
- Student Excuses – With Emily
- Superpowers – With Aubrey and Emily
- Texting or Talking? – With Emily
- Thanksgiving Day – With Aubrey
- Theater Versus Home Movies – With Aubrey
- The Future of AI – With Aubrey and Emily
- The Homework Debate: Useful or Useless?
- The Generation Gap – With Aubrey
- Time Travel – With Emily
- Time Travel: Should it Be Avoided? – With Aubrey
- The Future of Robots – With Aubrey
- The Ideal Friend – With Emily
- The Ideal Teacher– With Emily
- The Impact of Social Media – With Aubrey and Emily
- The Perfect Vacation – With Aubrey
- The Political Divide – With Aubrey
- The Teacher Debate – With Aubrey
- The Value of Money – With Aubrey and Emily
- Tipping Customs – With Aubrey
- Travel Destinations – With Aubrey and Emily
- Unmasking Stereotypes – With Aubrey
- Unveiling News Bias: A Closer Look – With Aubrey and Emily
- Utah Sightseeing – With Aubrey
- What Constitutes a Sport? – With Aubrey and Emily
- What is Success? – With Aubrey and Emily
Frequently-Asked-Questions
Randall explains the purpose and development of this section of his Web site called Culture in Context.
What is the main learning objective of this section of your Web site?
The main objective is to give learners new opportunities to improve their listening skills with unscripted and natural samples of English in a video format.
How did you select the topics for the interviews?
First, I selected topics, in part, to align with other listening activities on the Web site, so learners can recycle similar topics for additional language practice.
Second, I chose high-interest topics in everyday life that would interest teachers and learners
Who are the people in the interviews?
The voices are my adult children who have appeared in many of my listening activities for the past 20 years. Now, you get to meet them close up and personal.
How long are the interviews?
Most of the interviews are between 2-5 minutes, a very digestible length for language learning.
What levels of difficulty are these interviews?
These interviews are for intermediate to advanced learners, due in part the the unscripted nature of conversations. We wanted to make them as authentic as possible without digesting the language for the consumption of the learn. Enjoy.
How are the interviews and activities organized?
Each activity will have several key parts:
- A pre-listening question to stimulate thought around the topic.
- A list of vocabulary that appear in the interview with sample sentences to learn how the words are used in context.
- The video.
- A comprehension quiz that focuses on the main points of the interview.
- Post-listening questions that recycle the topic and vocabulary from the video. Some deal with general comprehension, and others deal with inferring meaning.
- A list of related listening activities on my site that can extend learning on similar themes.