Abstract:Facial expressions show the deepest feeling of men honestly. To have a good command of facial expressions is very important for us to understand a person as well as to present a good images of ourselves. This paper gives you a general introduction to facial expressions and their significances as well as their functions for verbal communication, from which we can see the importance and necessity of facial expressions in cross-cultural communication. Meanwhile, because of different cultures, facial expressions have their different meanings between Chinese and Americans, especially in the family education. Moreover，we will have some accustomed facial expressions that do harm to our images and affect our daily communications. So, we should pay attention to it and avoid their appearances.

Key words: facial expressions; cross-culture communication; family education

中文摘要:面部表情透露了一个人的内心最深层次的感受。因此了解相关的面部表情知识有助我们更好地了解一个人，同时也让我们能够更好地表达自己的内心感受。本文总括地介绍有关面部表情的知识，及其在跨文化言语交际方面所发挥的重要性和必要性。同时，由于中西文化的不同使得中美人们在面部表情的一些使用也有所不同，尤其在中美家庭教育方面。因此在跨文化交际中要注意这些文化差异，正确地认识和使用好面部表情。人们在交际的过程中会有一些习惯性的面部表情的出现，这些表情往往会影响到交际效果及个人形象，因此，要注意避免它们的出现。

关键词：面部表情；跨文化交际；家庭教育