Abstract:

This study aims to investigate the effects of English films and TV dramas appreciation on cultivating Chinese college students’ intercultural communication competence. Films and TV dramas are the microcosm of a nation’s cultural life, so English films and TV dramas appreciation is an important way for Chinese college students to learn western nations’ cultural background. The contents of a nation’s culture are quite extensive, but films show various aspects of these cultures vividly to the audience through dynamic pictures. The unique features of English films and TV dramas make it an uncommonly powerful learning tool to enhance Chinese college students’ intercultural communication competence. Therefore, on the basis of researches and scientific theories, the paper puts forward four practical suggestions on how to appreciate the English films and TV dramas efficiently: choosing materials from easy to difficult, choosing materials by classification repeated watching, as well as memorizing and applying.

Key words: English films and TV dramas appreciation; intercultural communication competence; college students

摘要：

本文旨在研究英语影视欣赏对大学生跨文化交际能力培养的影响。影视剧是一个民族文化生活的缩影，所以英语影视剧欣赏对中国大学生而言是学习西方国家的文化背景的重要途径。英语电影和电视剧的独有特点使其成为可以中国提高大学生的跨文化交际能力的一个有力学习工具。文章首先描述了跨文化交际和跨文化交际能力的概念，分析了英语影视剧的特点和功能，最后就大学生如何通过欣赏英语影视剧提高跨文化交际能力提出了四点切实可行的建议：从易到难选材，分类选材,反复观看,记忆和应用。

关键词：英语影视欣赏 ；跨文化交际能力 ；大学生

1. Introduction
  Culture is a concept which has complex content, and it includes knowledge, beliefs, policy, art, law, ethics, customs, abilities and habits formed by people as social members. Hall (1959:186) reminds us “Culture is communication and communication is culture.” Communication and culture are inseparable. With the global economic integration and the increasing exchanges between the outside world and China, effective intercultural communication becomes an important topic. As the future builders of China, Intercultural communication competence includes not only language skills, but also cultural competence, which is the appreciation and understanding of foreign cultures. In order to cultivate Chinese college students’ intercultural communication competence, language teaching and culture teaching have been combined together in English class. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t improve Chinese college students’ intercultural competence efficiently because usually there is only one or two Listening and Speaking lessons per week when students are in first two years, even some sophomores do not have to study English once they pass CET6. Consequently it is difficult to improve college students' intercultural communicative competence just relying on these lessons in school.