Exploring The Intercultural Adaptation Of Volunteer Chinese Teachers In Kyrgyzstan

With the implementation and development of the “The Belt and Road Initiative”,China's international status continues to improve,and the international community increasingly strives to enter and understand China.The Confucius Institute,which serves as a bridge between China and the whole world,has also begun to penetrate more widely and deeply into the countries along the routes of the “The Belt and Road Initiative”,including the Kyrgyz Republic,which maintains close contact with China.At the organizational level,the Confucius Institutes in Kyrgyzstan have made great strides in teaching the Chinese language,cultural exchange,and deepening relations between the two countries.However,at the individual level,volunteer Chinese teachers who are expatriated to Kyrgyzstan usually face cultural incompatibilities.The social,cultural,and psychological inadaptability of individual volunteer Chinese teachers will not only affect the efficiency of their daily work but will also lead to volunteers' psychological issues.More importantly,it will ultimately affect the orderly development of the Confucius Institute's work.The cultural differences between China and Kyrgyzstan may,to some extent,exert enormous pressure on the future residence of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan and affect their work and the effectiveness of teaching the Chinese language in Kyrgyzstan.Therefore,it is necessary to study the status of intercultural adaptation,factors of influence and coping proposals for volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan.Taking in account of the above-mentioned practical needs,this study considers all existing volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan as the research object and applies a mixed research method combining quantitative and qualitative research with the aim of focusing on the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan.This study focuses on the following three questions:(1)What is the general situation of intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan?(2)What kind of pressure and challenges do volunteer Chinese teachers face in terms of socio-cultural adaptation and psychological adaptation in Kyrgyzstan?(3)What factors influence the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan?This study is based on the “Acculturation Process and Context Model” by Colleen Ward and Nicolas Geeraert(2016),combined with the existing intercultural adaptability model of volunteers in Confucius Institutes and related empirical research results,and finally formed the theoretical basis and guidance for research development.In terms of quantitative research,this study is based on personal observations and previous informal interview research results,and adjusted the “Acculturation Measures” by Kali A.Demes and Nicolas Geeraert(2014),and designed the “Questionnaire on intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan” aimed at the intercultural life practice of the research objects.After preliminary test,it is confirmed to meet the academic requirements of reliability and validity before it can be used in the formal large-sample questionnaire survey.In terms of qualitative research,focusing on the statistical distribution of quantitative results,this study is conducted in-depth interviews with 6 volunteer Chinese teachers in the basic theoretical framework of the“Adaptation Process and Context Model” with the aim to explain the underlying reasons behind the quantitative results.At the same time,this study pays attention to the actual social and cultural issues of Kyrgyzstan,the work features of volunteer Chinese teachers in the Confucius Institutes,and the contextual impact of the unique Chinese cultural spirit on the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers.This study uses SPSS 22.0 statistical program to conduct two rounds of analysis of the survey data.The data analysis of two conducted surveys shows that: first,the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers is negatively correlated with socio-cultural and psychological pressure.Secondly,the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan is mainly focused on two aspects: psychology and social culture,and these two aspects are significantly related.That is to say,psychological pressure stems from sociocultural incompatibility on one hand,and socio-cultural incompatibility may be aggravated by psychological pressure.Third,in terms of socio-cultural adaptation,the pressure faced by volunteer Chinese teachers mainly stems from two aspects: values ??and beliefs,and language proficiency as well.Fourth,in terms of psychological adaptation,“homesickness due to being far away from home” and “frustration caused by not being able to quickly integrate into local life” are two of the most important psychological pressures for volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan.In addition,the quantitative analysis of this study also reveals the impact of cultural distance between China and Kyrgyzstan.More significant factors are:“political instability in Kyrgyzstan” and “the situation with local teachers and students”.Compared to China's social security system,the political instability in Kyrgyzstan has affected the feeling of insecurity among volunteer Chinese teachers.In contrast to the authoritarian approach of Chinese teachers and students,Kyrgyzstan's orientation towards equal relations between teachers and students deprives volunteer Chinese teachers of a professional sense of belonging as a teacher.Cultural distance has a significant negative correlation with the intercultural adaptation level of the research object.After gaining a preliminary understanding of the intercultural adaptation status of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan,this study continues to draw on qualitative research to conduct in-depth interviews with existing volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan.Interview analysis relies on two types of coding,structural features and open features to sort out the interview content.Among them,the structural features are the four dimensions included in the scale and sub-items in each dimension,which are the verification content of the quantitative results.The confirmatory content of the quantitative results.The open features are related to the features of Chinese culture,social and cultural features of Kyrgyzstan,and work features of volunteer Chinese teachers in Confucius Institutes of Kyrgyzstan.In addition to the universal theoretical description and analysis of factors,this study also investigates the specific and contextual factors influencing the process of intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers.The interview results showed that:(1)Adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan can be roughly divided into three types: communicative adaptation,life adaptation,and work adaptation.(2)These three types of adaptation are mutually complementary,regardless of which part of the adaptation is prioritized,the level of adaptation of the other two aspects can be largely determined.(3)In contrast to the empirical results of theoretical studies,the stereotypes of local residents of Kyrgyzstan about China do not affect the intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan.(4)Awareness of volunteer Chinese teachers about Kyrgyzstan has a positive effect on their level of intercultural adaptation,therefore,it is necessary to conduct training courses related to the national conditions of Kyrgyzstan before taking office.(5)The difference between the expectations of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan and the actual working conditions has an important impact on the process and results of their intercultural adaptation.In addition,such an important factor as “expectation and difference” has not been taken seriously in the“Acculturation Process and Context Model” by C.Ward and N.Geeraert and in the“Acculturation Measures” by K.Demes and N.Geeraert.Based on qualitative and quantitative research results,this study believes that in terms of improving the level of intercultural adaptation of volunteer Chinese teachers in Kyrgyzstan,it is also possible to strengthen pre-job language training and expand professional exchange between returning volunteers and those who are going to take office,increase the number of training courses to familiarize with the national conditions of the host country and the experience of living in this country.