以我之见，有些人学不好英语是因为他们不了解英美文化。文化这词是什么意思？英语教授可能强调过很多次，但因为他自己太熟悉文化这个词了，所以没有考虑到学生可能未必真正理解这词的意思。其实文化并非很学术的词，它是一个国家或地区甚或一个小城镇上人们的既定思维方式和从事习惯。我把这个概念再简化一些，就是人们看待和解决问题的稳定方式。
在我们的国家里，人们通常把儒家思想作为主要的思维模式，不管他们是否承认。在这种思想框架下，一些人总是试图平和地、优雅地甚至温柔地解决问题，这看起来是个完美的解决思路，但很明显不是唯一的解决思路。拿学英语来说，很多性格内向的人不肯开口说英语，不敢随时随地写英语，用英语，因为他们希望以一种优雅的方式度过“英语很弱”的阶段。可惜那样的想法是白日做梦，如果真的希望提高英语水平，就该撕破自己的“脸皮”，痛痛快快地学英语。我觉得这问题已经成为很多英语学习者的最大障碍。
但我并不打算贬低我们的传统文化，我想强调的是，如果另一种文化可以为解决问题带来新的启发，我们为什么不试一试？
最后，让我道出高效英语学习的秘密：像美国人一样思考，而不是像孔夫子一样思考。（注意！这并不表示我们要变成美国人。）
In my opinion, people will never master English if they do not try to deeply understand the cultural background of the major English speaking countries, especially the U.S. So what is culture? Your English teachers may have stressed it again and again, but he/she may be too familiar with the word 'culture' and just doesn't explain what it does mean.
Actually, 'culture' is not something academic, it's fixed habits or thinking patterns people have in a country or a state or just a small town. And I will put it even simple: it's the stabilized way people viewing and solving problems.
In our country, people generally take Confucian as their major thinking pattern, whether they believe it or not. And when facing a problem, some people tend to solve it peacefully, gracefully and gentlely. That seems a perfect problem-solving strategy, but obviously not the only one. Take learning English for Example, nervous ones may never try to open their mouth to speak, or start writing and using English right away, cause they want to get over the 'inexperienced' phase 'gracefully'. But such kinds of dreams hardly come true. If you want to improve, you have to break up your 'face', which is many chineses' really big trouble.
And I don't want to depreciate traditional chinese culture. The point is, if there's other cultures which could shed a new light on the solution, why not have a try?
At last, let me speak out the secret of efficient English learning: Thinking like an Amerian rather than a Confucian. (And that doesn't mean 'to be an American')
