Study On Cross-cultural Adaptation Of International Chinese Language Teachers And Volunteers In Northern Ireland

In recent years,Northern Ireland has growing enthusiasm for learning Chinese due to deepening cultural and educational exchanges in Northern Ireland and China.Since the establishment of the Confucius Institute for Northern Ireland at Ulster University,also the only Confucius Institute in Northern Ireland,there have been eight Confucius classrooms in collaboration with 160 university,secondary and primary schools in the Northern Ireland region.CINIUU has played a huge role in cooperation between China and Northern Ireland in conducting Chinese language teaching and holding Chinese cultural promotion activities throughout Northern Ireland.Each year,the country dispatches a group of Chinese teachers and volunteers to teach in various regions of Northern Ireland.As a result,the research on their cross-cultural adaptation has great significance for local Chinese teaching.I was lucky to teach Chinese in Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022.Through observation,I found that there were different cross-cultural adaptation problems among Chinese teachers and volunteers.On this basis,I conducted a questionnaire and interview questionnaire combined with relevant cross-cultural adaptation theories involving social adaptation,psychological adaptation,work adaptation,life adaptation and communication adaptation,and quantified the results with the SPSS tool.The research showed that Chinese teachers and volunteers in Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022 had good cross-cultural adaptation overall.The main factors affecting their cross-cultural adaptation are language,basic knowledge of Northern Ireland,transportation,shopping,climate and accommodation.Among them,the most influential factor is their level of English,the next is their understanding of local conditions and customs.According to the result,I put forward some practical suggestions to improve the cross-cultural adaptability for Chinese teachers and volunteers who will come to Northern Ireland from the perspective of Chinese teachers and volunteers,Confucius Institute and preliminary training.In the end,I make a summary for the whole dissertation in the conclusion part and point out the shortcomings.