Cross-cultural Identity Research of Foreign Language Teachers' - A Case Study of Chinese Teacher Volunteers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the positioning of "Chinese Teacher Volunteers" social identity and cultural identity on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral levels from the perspective of novice volunteers, and the construction of their identity through social interaction in cross-cultural contexts. The cross-cultural adaptation of volunteers provides some help and also provides new ideas for volunteer training institutions. This study uses qualitative research methods to achieve the above objectives. Ten graduate students in "Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages"(TCSOL) were selected as research subjects. They went to Sri Lanka as a Chinese teacher volunteer for a one-year teaching internship. This study describes and explains their identity status overseas by conducting qualitative interviews with them. The study found that the social identity of volunteers is reflected in the identification of two social roles: “volunteers” and “Chinese teachers”. The “Volunteer” role highlights the “national mission” and puts pressure and motivation on them; the “Chinese Teacher” role motivates them to work hard to improve themselves to meet the expectations of this professional role. In the constant social interaction, the volunteers were transformed from passive “foreign language assistants” to active “cultural communicators”, and the “national mission” of “language and cultural communication” was finally implemented from concept to action. The cross-cultural environment influences volunteers at a deeper level. In the face of different cultures, the volunteers' thoughts, feelings, and actions have their own imprints of their own culture, and are inevitably influenced by different cultures. By comparing the two cultures, the volunteers have a deeper understanding and reflection on their own culture, and they are more convinced of the cultural identity of their "Chinese." In the process, cultural shocks have brought challenges to their cultural identity. They feel that they are lonely and confused "foreigners", their inner ups and downs, negative psychology, but at the same time, it also breeds an opportunity to transcend the original cultural identity. As a cultural communicator, volunteers still have a broad room for improvement in their identity. On the one hand, volunteers need to expand their understanding of “communication” and “culture”, strengthen their initiative and creativity as a subject of communication, and enhance their reflection and openness to culture; On the other hand, volunteer training institutions can take certain measures in the selection, training and management stages. Through the efforts of both parties, we will continue to expand the connotation of the social and cultural identity of Chinese teacher volunteers, so that they can carry out their mission on a broader stage