Abstract:

This paper, based on the investigation on the correlation between watching American TV series and the improvement of English majors’ professional quality in College, aims to research the indispensable role of American TV series in improving English majors’ target language proficiency. The research is conducted in the form of a questionnaire to English majors. First of all, the paper proposes the concept of American TV series and their relationship with English learning. Then it states the culture inside them and the reasons for their popularity. The third part is about the procedures and results of the research. It is shown that American TV series do play an indispensable role in improving English majors’ language proficiency. Besides, the paper also discusses the advantages of using American TV series as teaching materials in improving listening, speaking and the cultivation of intercultural awareness. Finally, some examples are proposed, and it is concluded that the proper use of American TV series can effectively help English majors improve their language proficiency.

Key words: American TV series; English majors; language proficiency; application

摘要：

本文基于关于观看美剧与提高英语专业学生专业素养相关性的调查问卷，意在研究美剧对英语专业学生专业素养的促进作用。首先，本文解释了何为美剧，美剧与英语学习的关系。其次，本文陈述了美剧中蕴含的西方文化以及美剧受欢迎的原因。第三部分描述了问卷调查的过程及结果。其结果表明，美剧确实对英语专业学生的专业素养有促进作用。除此之外，本文研究了将美剧作为提高听力、口语及跨文化意识的学习材料的好处。最后，用一些例证来说明适当的利用美剧对提高英语专业学生英文素养有积极的促进作用。

关键词：美剧；英语专业学生；英文素养；应用
 
1.    Introduction
What is American TV series? It refers to all the TV programs of English speaking countries, including the network television series. More specifically, American TV series represent the series which are directed and acted by Americans, which reflect the state of society, the daily life and the traditional culture of the U.S. (Wang, 2008). Moreover, the exceptionally large number of audience has become an important part in the TV programs at the very beginning. Of course, we explain this concept more frequently from a view of culture in a more generalized point of view.