The Hindering Factors in Adaptation Process of Foreign Teachers in China 摘 要：西方文化和中国文化之间的巨大差异对外籍教师在生活的各个方面提出了严峻的挑战。本文列出了四条可能会给外籍教师造成困难的文化上的差异。
Abstract： The huge gap between western culture and Chinese culture challenges the foreign teachers in every aspect of their lives. In the following， this paper will list four cultural differences that may cause difficulties in the foreign teachers’ acculturation process.
关键词：适应；外籍教师；文化；教学
Key words： adaptation；foreign teachers；culture；teaching
[中图分类号]：I206 [文献标识码]：A
[文章编号]：1002-2139（2012）-21--01
The world is shrinking and globalization is deepening with the increasingly frequent international exchanges and updated traffic and communication channels. There is a greater need for these universities to employ more native English speakers to teach oral classes. The problems of how these foreign teachers will adapt to Chinese culture and what kind of difficulties they will encounter when they are in contact with Chinese people will need some theoretical guidance and should draw the attention of the experts in cross-cultural communication and cross-cultural psychology. The following are some factors that hinder the adaptation process of foreign teachers in China.
一、Individualism and collectivism
Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose. Everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only.” Collectivism “stands for a society in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong cohesive in groups， which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.” Individualistic cultures like USA （highest score = 1st rank） and France （10th rank） are more self-centered and emphasize mostly on their individual goals. People from individualistic cultures tend to think only of themselves as individuals and as “I” distinctive from other people. Asian – collectivist cultures like China （Hong Kong 37th rank）， view other companies with less collectivistic philosophy as cold and not supportive. Collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups and think more in terms of “we”. Harmony and loyalty within a company is very important and should always be maintained and confrontation should be avoided. In China it is out of question to disagree with someone’s opinion in public. You will do that in a more private and personal atmosphere to protect a person from the “loss of face”. In collectivistic cultures a direct confrontation will be always avoided. 二、Low-context versus High-context Cultures
Chinese culture， according to Edward T. Hall’s scale， is a high-context culture. Many of the meanings in Chinese culture being exchanged during the encounter do not have to be communicated through words. One reason is that Chinese people are very homogeneous. We have similar experiences， information networks， and the like. Chinese culture， because of its tradition and history， changes very little over time. In this culture， consistent messages have produced consistent responses to the environment. American culture is a low-context culture， according to this scale. The population in America is much less homogeneous and therefore tends to compartmentalize interpersonal contacts. This lack of a large pool of common experiences means that each time they interact with others they need detailed background information. In American culture， the verbal message contains most of the information and very little is embedded in the context or the participants. This characteristic manifests itself in a number of ways. Differences in this communication dimension can also influence people from these two countries’ daily interaction. American expatriates need to know more about Chinese indirect， vague and implicit communication style when they come and stay in China， trying to interact with Chinese people and understand their meanings.
三、Difference on Educational System
Education is influenced by culture. Most cultures that have formal educational systems teach much the same content----reading， mathematics， writing， and so forth----but educational differences can be found in what a culture emphasizes and how the content is taught. The following are 3 factors that differentiate Chinese students and western ones.
1.Trial and error versus “watch then do” In the United States， students learn how to solve problems and reach conclusions by trail and error. They practice over and over， expecting and accepting mistakes， until they become skilled. In China， students are expected to continue to watch how something is done as many times and for as long as necessary until they feel they can do it.
2.Dependent versus independent learning. Culture influences the degree to which students rely on the support， help， and opinions of their teachers. Western students are relatively more independent and expected to think for themselves while Chinese students are more dependent to the teachers or authorities to get the answer. 3.Participatory versus passive learning. Western students are taught to participate actively in the learning process by asking questions and engaging in discussion. However， Chinese students are more accustomed to passively listening and taking notes. They are expected to learn by listening， watching （observing） and imitating while critical thinking， judgmental questioning and active initiation of discussion are expected from students in western culture.
In summary， this paper has pointed out three aspects that may cause difficulties in their adaptation process. In fact， the Western and Chinese cultural parameters are so different that they clash with each other when they encounter one another. This clash will create tremendous stress in the lives of the foreign teachers in China and may result in psychological distress， personal identity crises， role confusion， family discord， interpersonal problems， and employment issues. Thus the purpose of this research is to help the foreign teachers to realize these challenges caused by cultural differences and get them prepared for the big clash or shock.
