Analysis of Culture Learning Approaches in British and American Films

【Abstract】：With the improvement of China's integration with the world economy， English learning and the English speaking population have increased as well. English learning needs an understanding of English culture， by visual and sensory way to understand and confirm British and American culture has become a shortcut of learning English. Combined with his won experience， the author is going to find new study approaches of English culture from the English movies.

【Key words】： English Movies；British and American Culture； Study approach

Introduction

Culture is a historical summary social phenomenon. In learning English， the most important and effective way is understanding and absorbing the characteristics of the British and American culture by all means. As cultural display window， English movies contain not only British and American historical and cultural values， and social ideology， but also integrated into the common community’s language features and lifestyle， which is of great significance for the study of British and American culture.

1. The Advantages of Culture Learning Approaches in English Films

Through English movies， we can relate with European and American society that is difficult to contact in normal life， which directly guide the understanding of their culture and the specific benefits in the following.

1.1Wide range of culture in English films

English movies have a long history that based on English classics， bestselling novels， arts， actions etc. and introduce the details of British and American culture and social values from different social aspects. Watching movies allows learners to quickly find the different priorities that need to learn， and facilitates the search of cultural material as well as topics of study.

1.2Motivate learner's interest

Films are attractive in nature； therefore， the British and American cultures that come from the movies not only enhance learners’ understanding on it but also stimulate learners’ interest. In addition， the usual suspense of films， the lens and angle using and fine acting effectively attract learners. So， English film is a good cultural learning approach.

1.3Drive the thinking of British and American cultural details

Narrator and interpretation of English movies help audience know about the details of the movie， as well as， the understanding of way of thinking in British and American culture. In addition to that， some idioms in the film also make learners contact with the real Anglo-American culture. For instance， “All at sea（不知所措）、Drank the fish（牛飲）” that occur many times in Pride and Prejudice. The emergence of these idioms shows British island culture and helps learners to realize and rethink the specific meaning of idioms and cultural connotation of cultural details.

2. Analysis of culture learning approaches in films

Watching movie is an effective approach of learning British and American culture. We need， however， to develop targeted ways to improve learning efficiency.

2.1 Define the viewing range according to different topics.

English films cover the whole cultural system of the west， as an English learner， we could not have a fully understand British and American culture in one day， which requires learners define viewing range according the culture scope that consistent with their study plan and target. For example， If we need to know about British and American classic culture， we can choose \" The Count of Monte Cristo \"， \" The Three Musketeers \"， \"Sense and Sensibility\"， \"Pride and Prejudice\" and so on. If we want to understand American social development and the living environment， we can choose “Forrest Gump”， \"The Pursuit of Happiness\"， etc. By a predetermined range to get to know some characteristics of British and American culture， and gradually deepen understanding of British and American culture.

2.2 Combining with the subtitles to strengthen comparative study

The subtitle of English movie is an important medium of culture learning. In reality， some people only focus on Chinese subtitle but ignore the English subtitle. The Suggestions during watching movies are taking notes that record the idiom， proverb and dialogue details in the movie dialogue， which is convenient for later queries and memory. For some good translation in the subtitles， we can analyze them according to original English or context. Use English subtitles to understand the cultural environment to achieve the original intention of watching movies.

2.3 Strengthen bilingual interactive learning

There are large amounts of poetry in British and American culture and it is difficult to figure out charm of poetry if you don't have good language in listening， speaking ability， moreover it is impossible have a better understanding of English culture. “If you don’t leave me， we will die together” is a famous line in “Notting Hill，” an American movie， which can be directly translated into“如果你不離開我，我們會死在一起?！?The subtitle， however， translate it as “你若不離不棄，我必生死相依?！?This is an idiom that reflects the inner meaning. Finding the correct one from two meanings requires having certain understanding of British and American literature. When watching English movies， we should strengthen the interactive learning of language and try to analyze the specific meaning of the statements by the cultural circumstance of the movies. At the same time， we should increase our culture accomplishment by analyzing and understanding the expression style of English culture.

3. Conclusion

Language learning needs a long-term accumulation； so does the cultural understanding. In daily life， if we didn't have a chance to personally contact British and American culture， we can learn it via English movies. Since watching English movies is the accumulation of British and American culture， we need to select great films to look for the right ways to understand and analyze British and American culture， eventually， improve our English ability.

References：

[1] Shu Dazhong， The importance of British and American movies in English Language and Culture [J]. Age of Literary， 2015（5）：120-120.

[2] Yu Guoying， New way of British and American Culture – Discussion of film appreciation in understanding British and American culture [J].Knowledge Tribune， 2016（5）：50-50.

[3] Xia Ying， Su Liangshu， Introduction of the Relations between English Study and Chinese or English Movies， [J]. Chi Zi， 2014（6）：132-132.