Overseas Chinese Volunteer Teachers Psychological Acculturation Research Report

Since 2004, China started to the project of Chinese volunteer teachers, there are tens of thousands of volunteers going overseas to teach Chinese at present. With an increasing number of Cross-cultural research today, it is necessary to study about the adaption of cross-culture for Chinese volunteer teachers, in particular the study of psychological acculturation of Chinese volunteer teachers is strategic. Only their psychological acculturation is good, could they take a good attitude to be able to calmly carry out teaching in a foreign countries, as well as better integrate into local life. Body and mind influences each other, so it is essential to maintain mental and physical health in their work and life.By adopting a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, I get a conclusion by offering them questionnaires and preliminary that among these assigned Chinese volunteer teachers, about a third of them have varying degrees of mental depression. The main reason that influences their psychological acculturation is demographic factors, including gender, age, emplacement time, experience abroad(cross-cultural experience), cross-cultural training; in addition, socio-cultural adaptation and psychological acculturation is in a significant positive correlation,which means social and cultural adaptation is better, psychological acculturation is better. Then I interviews some of the volunteers and complement the preliminary conclusions by analysis of the results of the interviews.To help Chinese volunteer teachers improve their psychological acculturation, I think we can proceed from the following aspects. The first is for the Chinese volunteer teachers themselves, who should improve intercultural competence from three aspects.From a psychological point, they should receive professional training in the cognitive,emotional, behavioral aspects to enhance cross-cultural sensitivity; from the perspective of professional skills, the volunteers need strive to improve their basic knowledge of Chinese language level and enhance the training of their teaching skills and techniques;from the perspective of life, thy ought to strengthen regular healthy habits andstrengthen the security management. The second is for the Hanban Confucius Institute Headquarters may be undertaken to improve the volunteers’ psychological acculturation from the following aspects; stepping up the publicity of pre-selection to regulate the sex ratio, strengthening the organization and management after their post and establishing psychological counseling. The third is pre-job training for Chinese volunteer teachers,increasing professional cross-cultural training courses to improve cross-cultural adaptability of volunteers. Finally, the school where Chinese volunteer teachers work can carry out teaching exchange and organize activities to enhance the relationship between volunteers and the colleagues of host country and enhance social support of Chinese volunteer teachers.