Intercultural communicative competence (ICC)—the capacity to understand cultures and communicate effectively—is vital in language education. This study compared the effects of two reading-based approaches on EFL learners’ ICC development: short stories versus entries from Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. At a private language school in Hamedan, Iran, two homogeneous advanced-level classes (N=15 each) were selected through a proficiency test and pretested for baseline ICC using the Intercultural Language Learning Profiler (ILL-P) and Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Over the course, one class read short stories, while the other studied Oxford Guide articles, with instructional variables controlled. For the post-intervention assessment, both groups completed the Intercultural Readiness Check (IRC), Intercultural Adjustment Potential Scale (ICAPS), and the final exam. The results indicated that the Oxford Guide group achieved significantly higher ICC gains. Additionally, learners with higher achievement test scores in both classes exhibited greater intercultural improvement, suggesting a correlation between achievement test scores and ICC development. The findings highlight the efficacy of culture-specific textual resources in fostering ICC and underscore the role of language ability and achievement in intercultural learning. Further research with larger cohorts and diverse instructional methods is recommended to generalize these outcomes.