This study investigates the complementarity between linguistic and non-linguistic modes of expression in reading in Higher Education and how this combination can counterbalance the accountability that characterises the measured university in current times. Participants are Argentine college students aged 21-22 at the time of data collection. They read a literary narrative text in Spanish about a culturally familiar theme -- a regional Christmas celebration. The hypothesis that the native language and the familiar topic would facilitate cultural understanding was not confirmed. The case is innovative because cultural understanding is generally investigated using research instruments and measures of analysis that focus on memory and recall. By contrast, here participants completed a reading response task and a visual reformulation, which enabled the combination of linguistic and non-linguistic modes of expression -- the latter not usually favoured by schools and universities. Content analysis shows the complexity and fluidity of cultural understanding in Higher Education even when students read about familiar cultural content in their native language. The article is of interest to educators and researchers involved with reading-mediated courses, activities and tasks in Higher Education. Implications for pedagogy are explored.