Understanding Chinese Language Teachers' Experiences Teaching In

Understanding Chinese Language Teachers’ Experiences Teaching in U.S. Classrooms: A

Sociocultural Perspective

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.)

Department of Educational Studies

College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services

Juanjuan Zhao

M.A., Shandong University, China, 2009 B.A., Shandong University, China, 2006

February 2016

Committee Co-chairs: Dr. Mary Brydon-Miller & Dr. Gulbahar, H. Beckett

i Abstract

This study focuses on exploring and understanding the teaching experiences and classroom practices of Chinese language teachers in secondary American schools in relation to the sociocultural and ideological factors of language planning and education. Since the teaching of Chinese as a world language is a relatively recent phenomenon, there has been a severe lack of research on Chinese language teachers’ experience and classroom instructions in American school settings. Furthermore, international and immigrant teachers in general are under- researched in the field of secondary education in the U.S. The limited research on experiences of international and immigrant teachers in the U.S. educational systems lacks a holistic and historical view of educational practices and employs a deficit model that ignores the wealth of knowledge that foreign-educated teachers possess.

Using an ethnographic case study design, this study collected data from multiple sources including: semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts. A total of 23 junior and senior high school teachers were interviewed and five of them were observed in their classroom teaching over a one year period. A sociocultural framework based on a synthesis of

Bourdieu’s concepts, Confucian educational ideology, neo-patriotism, cultural identity, and

Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) guided the interpretation of the findings.

Findings revealed that teacher participants experienced pedagogical conflicts, language and communicative difficulties, cultural and disciplinary challenges in their teaching practices due to a mismatch of educational values and the devaluation of their qualifications and experience in the American school settings. However, in resolving their conflicts and overcoming the challenges, they showed a dynamic, recursive process of making changes and adjusting to the American education system. This study identified five stages in this process that

ii involves (a) Transferring from Chinese educational practices; (b) Encountering conflicts in

American school settings; (c) Comparing the two educational models; (d) Adapting to American education; and (e) Negotiating and synthesizing educational practices from two education systems. Teacher participants’ beliefs in the strengths in both cultures and their synthesis of the two education models demonstrate a dialectical approach to conflict resolution in cross-cultural teaching. In adapting to American school settings, they reconciled contradictions and transformed their teaching practice into a flexible implementation of blended philosophies and practices by enriching their cultural and social capital. In spite of challenges due to the mismatch of cultural capital, the teachers saw the advantages of their educational values and approaches and considered themselves as bearers of the Chinese cultural and linguistic sources. This has practical implications for school administrators and teacher educators who should position these teachers in ways that would empower their experiences and knowledge so as to benefit multicultural education in the U.S. This study has significance to the fields of modern foreign language education in the U.S., cultural and immigrant studies in education, and sociocultural theories.

iii

Juanjuan Zhao

Dedicated to my late grandma Xiuping Zhang and grandpa Huancai Liu who showed me bravery and calmness facing the constant changes of life, from having, to losing, and to rebuilding, in the years of war, famine, revolution, and reform.

v Acknowledgements

This dissertation study marks the end of my six-year journey in the program. Looking back, I have so many people to thank. They are the ones who have helped me grow as a scholar and become a more mature human being.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to my co- advisors, Dr. Mary Brydon-Miller and Dr. Gulbahar H. Beckett, for their guidance, support, encouragement, and patience throughout my Ph.D. study. Thank you, Mary, for all the opportunities that you have provided, from my graduate assistantship to publications. Your passion for action research and ethics, your open-mindedness to learning and to diverse ways of knowing, and your approach of collaborating with international scholars are always an inspiration to me. Thank you, Gulie laoshi, for all the research projects that you have engaged me with, and the guidance and training that you have provided me during the processes, and everything that you have taught me about academia and beyond. Thank you both for providing me with immeasurable support for my dissertation from beginning to end, by reading and editing all aspects of the dissertation drafts and sending me your extensive, timely, and thoughtful feedback. I count myself lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from and be mentored by both of you.

To my committee members, Dr. Lisa M. Vaughn and Dr. Miriam Raider-Roth, for your kindness and support in teaching, working with, and guiding me during the program. Your encouragement and thoughtful comments and suggestions to the dissertation project are invaluable.

vi I am extremely thankful to everyone who participated in this study, in particular, the five teachers who graciously allowed me in their classrooms. I appreciate their kindness and willingness to share their experiences and knowledge. This study would not have been possible without their support.

I would also like to thank all my friends for being my laughter and my comfort in a foreign land, especially Dana Ng with whom I’ve shared joys and sorrows together in this academic journey. Thank all of you for your copy editing and feedback for the project.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to my husband, Tao Ma, who has been supporting me on almost every single research project that I have been involved with from the initial phase of the program. Thank you for being willing to listen to and talk with me about my crazy ideas and theories at midnights, for tolerating me to sleep on the couch in the past few months, for cooking and making sure that I had enough nutrition to finish the last step of my doctoral degree, and most importantly, for being my “chauffeur” driving me to multiple school sites on a weekly basis to collect data for the project. I promise that I will try to enjoy life with you more, and talk less about my academic works, listen to you more, and support your work more from now on.

I will forever be indebted to my parents and my brother who hold such a strong faith in my pursuit of this academic path and always support me wholeheartedly for whatever I do.

Thank you, dear brother, for taking care of the family and standing by mom and dad during my absence. Thank you, my dear grandma, for your understanding and love. I hope you keep your happy soul and enjoy peace in the other world.

vii Table of Contents

Chapter I Introduction ...... 1 Context of the Study ...... 1 Personal Link to the Research Topic ...... 8 Research Objectives and Questions ...... 9 Significance of the Study ...... 11 Definition of Terms ...... 13 Organization of the Dissertation ...... 15 Chapter II Literature Review ...... 16 Confucius and Confucian Educational Ideology in Chinese Society ...... 16 Teaching in a Foreign Environment ...... 28 Issues of Existing Studies on Cross-Cultural Teaching ...... 38 Characteristics of Chinese Language and Alternative Pedagogy ...... 43 A Sociocultural Framework of Mind, Activity, and Culture ...... 44 Summary of Literature Review and Theoretical Perspectives ...... 62 Chapter III Research Methodology ...... 67 Research Design ...... 67 Participants ...... 69 Data Collection ...... 74 Data Analysis ...... 80 Trustworthiness ...... 84 Ethics ...... 85 Chapter IV Interview Findings ...... 88 Participants’ Background ...... 88 Encountering Difficulties ...... 92 Comparing Two Education Models—the Experiences of Cultural Differences ...... 101 Adapting to American education—Self as a Learner and Constant Adjustment ...... 113 Examining the Outcomes of Adaptation ...... 115 Continuing Challenges ...... 123 Future of Teaching Chinese in the U.S...... 133 Summary of the Chapter ...... 135 Chapter V Case Studies Findings ...... 137 Case Study 1: Teacher Q ...... 137 Case Study 2: Teacher M ...... 155 Case Study 3: Teacher L ...... 167

viii Case Study 4: Teacher W ...... 180 Case Study 5: Teacher Z ...... 193 Themes from Cross-Case Analysis ...... 199 Chapter VI Discussion ...... 206 Not Merely Differences but Capital Mismatch and Devaluation ...... 206 Disadvantaged Sojourners ...... 210 Linguistic Capital and “Sojourner” Social Class ...... 212 Changing Capital, Unique Experiences, and Contextual Factors ...... 215 Qualities and Strengths of the Chinese Language Teachers ...... 217 Dynamic Process of Change in A Network of Interactions ...... 220 Teachers as Reflective Transformers ...... 224 Adjustment as a Recursive Learning and Practicing Process ...... 226 A Dialectical Integration through Negotiation and Pragmatic Compromise ...... 228 Continuing Challenges and Negotiation as Efforts for Capital Recognition ...... 231 Confucian Habitus in Action ...... 233 Cultural Identity, Cultural Superiority, and Patriotism ...... 235 Cultural Instruction and Neo-Patriotism ...... 240 Effects of Xenophobia and Neoliberalism to Foreign Language Education ...... 244 Summary of the Discussion Chapter ...... 246 Chapter VII Conclusion ...... 250 Concluding Remarks ...... 250 Theoretical Conclusions and Implications ...... 253 Implications for Policy and Practice ...... 257 Implications for Future Research ...... 265 Dialectic Integration of Educational Practices in Global Education ...... 267 References ...... 270

Appendix A Interview Guide ...... 293

Appendix B Observation Protocol ...... 297

ix List of Tables Table 1 Participants Demographic Information ...... 72

Table 2 Observation Information ...... 79

Table 3 A Domain Sheet Example on Suggestions to Future and New Teachers ...... 81

Table 4 Education Backgrounds of the Teacher Participants ...... 89

Table 5 Instructional Activities of Teacher M ...... 157

Table 6 Instructional Activities by Teacher L ...... 175

Table 7 An Example of Instructional Activities by Teacher W ...... 189

Table 8 An Example of Teacher Z’s Instruction ...... 195

Table 9 Common and Unique Experiences by the Five Focal Teacher Cases ...... 199

x List of Figures

Figure 1. Activity System ...... 46

Figure 2. Adaptation Process for Teacher Participants ...... 221

Figure 3. A Network of Interacting Activity Systems ...... 224

Figure 4. A Dynamic Process of Change with Internal and External Influences ...... 240

xi Chapter I Introduction

This chapter presents the context of the study by introducing the heightened interest in learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) and highlighting issues surrounding Chinese language programs on national and local scales. It also describes my personal connection to the research topic, research objectives and questions, and the significance of the study. The chapter concludes with definitions of key terms in the study and an outline of the organization of the dissertation.

Context of the Study

Neoliberal push and CFL attraction. The “economics of language” sees the spread and development of languages as a social phenomenon determined by economic variables (Zhang &

Grenier, 2012). The emergence of economic and political powers and the development of science and technology among other factors foster the spread of certain languages and the decline of others. In the last decade, with the perceived growing importance of People’s Republic of China as a global economic and political power, Mandarin Chinese has become the fastest growing modern foreign language in American schools and universities (Zhao & Beckett, 2014).

According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (2011), the Chinese language had the largest percentage growth, increasing by 195% from 2004–05 to 2007–08 in K–

12 public schools. “Chinese” (all dialects) is now the most widely spoken home language after

English and Spanish in the U.S. (Duff, 2006). This heightened interest in learning Chinese is also reflected at the governmental level. In a joint press conference during the Chinese president’s recent visit to the U.S., President Obama announced an initiative named “1 Million Strong,” 1 which aims to increase the number of Chinese Mandarin language learners to a total of one million by 2020. Obama remarked, “If our countries are going to do more together around the world, then speaking each other’s language, truly understanding each other, is a good place to start” (Allen-Ebrahimian, 2015, para. 4).

China itself has also been actively promoting and investing in the teaching of CFL through Hanban and Confucius Institutes (CIs). Hanban is the Office of Chinese Language

Council International, a non-profit government organization associated with the Ministry of

Education in China. Ever since its establishment in 1987, Hanban has been promoting and sponsoring Chinese language studies and cultural exchange programs (Zhao & Huang, 2010).

CIs are overseen by Hanban to provide specific help and support for the teaching and learning of

Chinese language overseas. CIs establish relationships with local colleges and universities, high schools, and elementary schools by providing courses and programs on language and culture.

They also provide volunteer teachers who are native speakers recruited from schools and universities in China. First founded in 2004, CI has increased rapidly in the first few years, to over 300 institutes by the end of 2009 (Zhao & Huang, 2010). According to the statistics on the

Hanban website, it had expanded to 443 institutes around the world by October 2015. It is expected that that the number of CIs will reach 1,000 by 2020. There are 144 CIs currently located in the U.S., which has sustained its number one position for holding the largest number of CIs for many years (Zhao & Huang, 2010).

Hanban has also been working closely with the College Board and the Asia Society to promote and expand Chinese language programs in the U.S. (Wang, 2007). For example, the 2

College Board has been running the Chinese Guest Teacher and Trainee Program, helping

Hanban arrange and place volunteer teachers in K–12 schools. It has been developing new

Advanced Placement (AP) courses and tests in Chinese. In collaboration with Hanban, the Asia

Society has created an Asia Society Confucius Classroom Network whose courses serve as exemplary Chinese language programs. Schools selected to participate in the network are asked to implement an innovative program aimed at enhancing or expanding their Chinese language programs, and to develop an ongoing partnership with a school in China (Asia Society, 2010).

“Wielding lingual power is a particularly effective means of spreading one’s influence”

(Johnson, 2009, p.137) as languages are carriers of cultures and knowledge. Those who hold the power have the authority to shape knowledge production in a way that suits their interests

(Foucault, 1977). Alliance Française, the British Council, the Goethe Institute, and the Japan

Foundation are all such efforts made in promoting and spreading the language and culture, and thus the influences, of their respective countries (Li, Mirmirani, & Ilacqua, 2009). Learning from their model, China has invested hugely in CIs, “implementing its geopolitical strategy and creating vital space for stability, growth, and long term gains through language” (Zhu & Li,

2014, p. 337). Scholars have looked at the promotion of Chinese language and culture through

Hanban and CIs as a soft power strategy of the country to influence and attract people around the world (e.g., Bianco, 2007; Starr, 2009; Zhao & Huang, 2010). Soft power refers to “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments” (Nye, 2004, p.31).

Confucius was seen as a carefully chosen brand name because of his strong influences in

Chinese society and other Asian countries and his global recognition (Starr, 2009). By 3 establishing Hanban and CIs and entrusting them with the task of promoting national language and culture, China demonstrates an institutionalized and strategic form of soft power influence.

In the age of neoliberal market economies and globalization, the increasing competition among countries can further push the exertion of soft power through the spreading of language and culture. According to Harvey (2005), neoliberal thinking preaches free market and free trade with the underlying assumption that liberating markets can benefit all human well-being. A primary feature of neoliberal markets is competition, between individuals, companies, and nations. Competition can result in monopoly, as stronger entities drive out weaker ones. It makes sense that developing countries such as China, in order to secure their positions in international competition, actively engage in enhancing their economic and social development domestically and promoting their influences internationally.

It is clear that the CFL attraction worldwide is generated by both China’s rising hard power (economy) and the country’s soft power strategy deeply connected with the global neoliberal drive. However, what is overlooked in these economic, political, and ideological discourses of CFL attraction is the examination of the effects of language promotion on practical and day-to-day instruction of the language in school settings in the target country (Zhu & Li,

2014). Key to the development of CFL is the teaching and learning of the language, especially instructional strategies adopted by teacher practitioners. The current studies on CFL examine either language policies in promoting CFL or specific linguistic and pedagogical challenges in teaching and learning Chinese, treating each as a separate and unrelated domain. It, thus, lacks a

4 holistic approach of studying language promotion and teaching and learning of Chinese based on the investigation of the teaching experiences and practices of teacher practitioners.

Chinese language teachers in the U.S. The rapid development of Chinese programs has resulted in a great demand for Chinese language teachers. However, there has been a shortage of qualified and certified teachers in the field (Wang, 2007; Xu, 2012), either due to limited foreign- language education programs that provide teaching certification in Asian languages (Brecht

&Walton, 1993), the stringent, varied routes and requirements for teacher certification across states (Wang, 2007), or both. As a result, schools in the U.S. have been trying to recruit teachers from China. According to the College Board (2016), more than 1,000 Chinese guest teachers have been placed in K–12 schools since 2007. In addition, educated native speakers of Chinese who reside in the United States constitute another important teacher source (Asia Society, 2010).

Critical languages are non-Western European languages that are deemed critical to U.S. national security. Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Russian, and Turkish, for example, are considered critical languages (National Security Education Program, n.d.). The vast majority of critical language teachers are native speakers who were formally educated outside

North America (Haley & Ferro, 2011; Wang, 2009; Xu, 2012). These native language teachers have linguistic competence and are living examples of the pragmatics of the target language

1(Schrier, 1994). International foreign language teachers not only help students learn the language, but also introduce authentic culture and customs, thus enhancing students’ skills in

1 Pragmatics deals with how a language is used in communication, which includes skills for using language for different purposes, changing language according to situations, and following rules for conversations (Leech, 1983). 5 cross-cultural communication by bringing in global perspectives (Cook, 2000).

However, scholars have raised concerns toward international teachers’ understanding of and connection to the culture of American schools (Chmelynski, 2006). Specifically, international teachers are questioned in terms of their pedagogic skills (Brown, 2009), classroom management and discipline (Horwitz, 2005), and knowledge of school procedures and policies, curricula, and philosophies (Dunn, 2011). Dunn (2011) believed that the claimed benefits of international teachers were only used to justify the neoliberal agenda for recruiting international teachers who were proffered as a solution to the teacher shortage in the U.S. Neoliberal ideology has developed a stronghold in educational discourses (Giroux, 2005). According to this philosophy, schools will improve too “if they are in competition with one another and we allow market forces to commodity education” (Dunn, 2011, p. 1382). Under neoliberal globalization, countries worldwide have been in search of a better quality education by engaging in educational reforms and bringing in educational practices from other countries so as to give themselves a competitive edge (Beckett & Zhao, 2015). Exchange and recruitment of international educators are also regarded as solutions to the improvement and competition of education, especially when facing teacher shortage as in the case of American education. However, according to Dunn

(2011), international teachers, in fact, are not well prepared for U.S. schools either before they arrive or after, which adds to teachers’ challenges adjusting into a new sociocultural and educational setting. She even argued, based on their challenges and differences in educational practices, that international teachers could not really help enhance the global perspectives of students as claimed by the neoliberal discourse. 6

In the field of CFL education, Chinese teaching has been criticized for using a grammar translation approach that heavily emphasizes classical Chinese texts (Chu, 1990) and the context of a teacher-centered environment that does not appeal to non-Chinese native speakers in U.S. classrooms (Zhao & Beckett, 2014). These teaching approaches are culturally situated in such a way that they may only represent traditions of foreign language education in China, but not necessarily reflect the nature or the goal of American education on individualistic learning and creativity. This disconnect could result in mismatches between students’ and their teacher’s expectations and therefore negatively affect language learning (Horwitz, 1990; Schulz, 1996).

Furthermore, there has been a lack of training programs for Chinese language teacher education and professional development and a shortage of qualified trainers who are familiar with the pedagogy and issues related to the teaching of CFL (Wang, 2007). It is believed that the lack of qualified and experienced teachers has become the most significant barrier to the expansion of opportunities for students to learn Chinese (Zhang & Li, 2010).

Problems facing local Chinese programs. In response to the national interest in Chinese language and the recognition of China’s role on the international stage, local schools have started offering Chinese language courses. In the case of the research site, a Midwestern city in the U.S.,

Chinese is a relatively new course for many of its schools in the urban and suburb areas of the city. For instance, among thirteen high schools in its urban public schools, two of them had just began to offer Chinese a few years ago. There was a third which offered Chinese for three years but had to close its program due to the withdrawal of funding. Even since the establishment of the program, this school had been experiencing troubles finding and keeping qualified teachers. 7

Up until today, no district curriculum has been established due to lack of funding and qualified teachers who can be paid to create a curriculum for the district. Although there is a trend to expand Chinese language programs and other less commonly taught languages, it seems that finding qualified teachers has become a major challenge (Wang, 2007). Thus by studying and understanding teachers’ experiences on a local scale, this study can shed light on issues about the education and training of Chinese language teachers and problems that face the teaching and learning of CFL nationwide, and determine the kinds of support that they may need.

Personal Link to the Research Topic

The current research topic was chosen based on evolving educational needs both locally and nationally. In addition, my experience as a Chinese language teacher at a high school in a

Midwestern city informed my choice of research topic. During the first semester of my teaching in 2011, I found myself constantly struggling and wrestling with different sets of issues from teaching approaches to relationships with students. Although the semester started with excitement and curiosity for both my students and myself for the new journey, soon our enthusiasm waned. There were tensions and conflicts in several incidents in which I instructed the students to concentrate on learning, but they kept engaging in disruptive behaviors. Later I discovered that the clash of educational values and approaches was at the root of my struggles.

My teaching approaches and academic expectations did not match with the students’ learning preferences and expectations. Previously, I taught primarily college students in China, which is a different age group and requires little of a teacher’s involvement to motivate their learning.

Furthermore, both the college students and the high school students whom I taught briefly tended 8 to follow directions well. Despite the fact that I had been reading about different educational practices, it did not occur to me that this was a critical issue until I taught Chinese in schools in the U.S. They were not only pedagogical differences but everything related to teaching from the role of the teacher to the academic expectations of students. I later tried different instructional strategies and new methods, but still found it difficult to enhance and maintain students’ learning interests and motivation. In addition to pedagogy, my biggest challenge came from managing students’ misconduct. At the time, I was interested to find out if other native speakers of Chinese experience similar challenges, how they navigate the challenges, and what kind of support they may need in the process.

Research Objectives and Questions

With the increasing attention and development of Chinese language programs, it becomes imperative to study the experiences and teaching practices of Chinese language teachers, understanding their challenges and needs and the sociocultural and ideological factors affecting their experiences and practices so as to better inform the teaching and learning of CFL in the

U.S. However, since the teaching of Chinese as a world language is a relatively recent phenomenon, there has been a severe lack of research concerning the teaching and learning of

CFL in general (Wang, 2007; Zhang & Li, 2010). In particular, little is known concerning

Chinese language teachers’ experiences and teaching practices in American school settings in relation to the sociocultural and ideological factors of language policy and education (Zhao,

2015). The vast majority of the existing literature of CFL studies in North America, based on a literature review by Zhao (2015), focuses on Chinese linguistics and language acquisition such as 9 language transfer and sequences of acquisition.

Furthermore, within the context of neoliberal globalization in education, the exchange, visiting, and migration of human resources cross-culturally has become increasingly frequent.

There has been a large body of literature on cross-cultural teaching and learning in higher education (Hutchison, 2006). However, international and immigrant teachers in the field of secondary education are under-researched (Dunn, 2011; Hutchison, 2006; Lee, 2010). Many existing research studies of international and immigrant teachers were conducted outside the U.S. in countries such as Australia, Canada, and Britain (Lee, 2010).

This study aims to explore and understand the experiences and teaching practices of

Chinese language teachers who teach CFL in secondary schools in the U.S. from a sociocultural perspective. This research studies the confluence of sociocultural ideologies and contexts, educational practices, and teacher experiences. Through the examination of teacher experiences and the internal dynamics of classroom practices, this study intends to reveal the interplay of educational practices and the external, sociocultural, and worldwide forces acting on educational systems and practices. The purpose of the study is to better illuminate the cross-cultural teaching experiences and practices of foreign-educated teachers. The term Chinese teachers in this study refers to those who are native speakers of Chinese either guest teachers working at an American school through a visiting faculty arrangement, or teachers who are originally from mainland

China or Taiwan but educated and currently residing in the U.S. This study is guided by the following questions:

1. What are the overall experiences and challenges, if any, of Chinese language teachers

teaching in U.S. classrooms?

2. How do these teachers make sense of their teaching experiences and negotiate

challenges in their teaching practice?

3. How are the language and culture taught in classrooms?

4. What contributes to the teaching practices and overall experiences of teacher

participants and how do their practices affect the sociocultural context?

5. What implications can be drawn to the fields of CFL, modern foreign language

education, and cross-cultural teachings of immigrant and international teachers in the

U.S.?

Significance of the Study

Studying the experiences of Chinese language teachers fills a gap in the research. As noted above, there has been a great lack of research on the experiences and teaching practices of

Chinese language teachers in American school settings. However, understanding the experiences and needs of these teachers and the sociocultural context within which their teaching practices are situated is essential to the sustainable development of the teaching and learning of CFL in the

U.S. and beyond. Furthermore, the study of Chinese language teachers will contribute to the under-researched literature on international and immigrant teachers in American secondary education in general.

In addition, this study has significance to the fields of modern foreign language education in the U.S., cultural and immigrant studies in education, and sociocultural theories. The findings of this research will inform teacher education and professional development programs of

11 appropriate curriculum and program design and offer support for language teachers with foreign educational backgrounds. It will also provide important information for school administrators who can assist international or immigrant teachers in similar situations during their adaptation process. By investigating the experiences of Chinese language teachers teaching in American schools, this study will also provide a great service to the Chinese teaching profession in the U.S.

It will equip future Chinese teachers with a better understanding of what is expected to teach successfully in the U.S. secondary school environment. As a result, American schools and student learners of Chinese language will benefit by having better-informed and well-trained teacher practitioners.

Furthermore, this research will contribute to the area of cultural studies in the field of education by generating a better understanding of the need for culturally-conscious and culturally-sensitive thinking about today’s school teachers, especially those with foreign educational and cultural backgrounds. This study is expected to stimulate discussions among scholars and educators about the presence of international and immigrant teachers in the U.S. school systems, their taken-for-granted benefits to American education, and the often neglected challenges encountered by these teachers during their adjustment into American school settings.

It is hoped that the discussion could generate more research studies in the area to challenge the current structure of the school systems. In addition, the experiences and teaching practices of these teachers will provide insights into the negotiation of different educational values and approaches, which will be valuable to educators, scholars, and policy makers who are endeavoring to improve educational quality in the age of neoliberal globalization. 12

Definition of Terms

Some terms have been mentioned frequently in this study, such us “Chinese as A Foreign

Language,” “International or immigrant Teachers.” They are operationally defined as follows in order to establish a consistent and common meaning throughout the study.

Chinese Educational Model or System

Chinese educational model or system refers to current educational philosophies and practices in Chinese society. Likewise, American educational model or system stands for the dominant educational philosophies and practices in the U.S. The singular form of model and system is used to represent the outstanding features of or mainstream educational practices and values in each country.

Chinese Language Teachers

This phrase refers to native Chinese speakers who are teaching Chinese as a foreign language to non-native speakers of Chinese in U.S. schools. Chinese language teachers are international teachers, who are from a Chinese speaking country. It includes immigrant Chinese teachers and guest teachers from Chinese society. The immigrant Chinese language teachers refer to native Chinese speakers who immigrated to the U.S. and who are currently teaching Chinese as a foreign language in U.S. schools. They are ethnic Chinese, born, raised and educated in mainland China or Taiwan until at least at the age of 22, having finished their undergraduate degree in their home country. They now have received permanent residency or American citizenship after immigrating to the U.S. Chinese guest teachers in this study refer to native

Chinese-speaking teachers who are selected and organized by Hanban to teach temporarily in the 13

U.S. The phrase Hanban teachers is used to refer to this group of volunteering teachers.

Chinese Society

Chinese society in this study is a plural form for Chinese communities, including

Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Mandarin Chinese is the official language alongside with other languages in these communities. Chinese society shares the same cultural and historical traditions and is under significant influence of Confucianism.

Confucian Education

Confucian education in the study refers to a set of educational values and approaches that were developed based on Confucius’ ideas and practices, and which were further expanded by his followers. It is used to describe the present-day practices of Chinese education that were developed from a Confucian tradition.

International teachers

International teachers in the United States are generally defined as teachers who are born, raised, and educated in a foreign country but are now teaching in U.S. schools. This group includes immigrant teachers, guest teachers, and international students who become teachers in

American schools. Immigrant teachers are those who have received permanent residency or

American citizenship after immigrating to U.S., regardless of the purposes of their initial entry to the country. They had moved to the U.S. before they were employed as teachers.

Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

This refers to the teaching situation where Chinese is taught to speakers whose first language is not Chinese. Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) is different from Chinese as a 14 second language (CSL) which refers to the context where Chinese is a means of communication used in people’s daily lives within a community. On the other hand, when Chinese is taught as a foreign language, it is not used in people’s daily lives, but learned as one of the subjects offered within a school system or privately. According to Stern (1983), a crucial difference between CFL and CSL is that “a ‘second language’ usually has official status or a recognized function within a country while a foreign language has not” (p. 16).

Organization of the Dissertation

This chapter presents the context of the study by introducing the heightened interest in learning CFL and highlighting issues surrounding Chinese language programs on national and local scales. It also describes part of my professional practice that sparked the study, research objectives and questions that the study intended to address, and the significance of the study.

This chapter concludes with definitions of key terms used in the study and an outline of the organization of the dissertation.

This dissertation is organized into seven chapters. The next chapter (chapter 2) expands on the contexts of the study by reviewing the relevant literature and examining the advantages and limitations of previous studies, with particular attention to cross-cultural teaching, international and immigrant teachers’ teaching experiences in North America, Confucian educational practices, and characteristics of Chinese language. It also synthesizes and discusses theoretical perspectives to be employed in the interpretation of the findings. Chapter 3 contains an outline of the methodology chosen for the study with references to trustworthiness and ethics.

Chapter 4 reports interview findings for the study, including teacher participants’ perceptions of 15 their overall experiences and challenges and their adaptation process. Chapter 5 presents the findings from five case studies, primarily based on classroom observations. This chapter provides supplementary data to the interview findings and addresses the research question regarding how language and culture are taught in classrooms. Chapter 6 contains a discussion of the findings in light of the sociocultural framework developed in chapter 2. Chapter 7 outlines conclusions and implications for the study. It also presents recommendations for future practice, policy, and research. Appendices contain forms used in the study, including a copy of the interview guide and the observation protocol.

Chapter II Literature Review This study concerns Chinese teachers’ experiences and their teaching practice in

American school settings. Previous research was reviewed mainly in three areas: (a) Confucius’ beliefs and influences on Chinese education; (b) international and immigrant teachers’ teaching experiences in American schools and other cross-cultural settings; and (c) characteristics of

Chinese language. Following a review of these scholarly conversations, this chapter concludes with a discussion of theoretical perspectives that guide the interpretation of the findings.

Confucius and Confucian Educational Ideology in Chinese Society Educational values and practices in Chinese society are deeply rooted in Confucius’ philosophies of education (Biggs, 1996; Zhao, 2013). Studying the educational thoughts of

Confucius which are the foundation of Confucian education ideology, is crucial to understanding teachers’ expectations of education, their teaching practices, and relationships with students and school administrators.

Life of Confucius. Confucius (551–478 BC) known as Kong Fuzi or Kongzi in Chinese was an educator, politician, and social philosopher in the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476

BC) of Chinese history. He lived in an age of chaos characterized by political upheavals and interstate wars following the fall of a previously unified country with central governance, the

Zhou empire. According to Si Maqian, one of the ancient Chinese historians who wrote a biography of Kongzi, Confucius was born in 551 BC into a family with a distant tie to a ruling house extinguished five centuries earlier. His father died shortly after Kongzi’s birth. The lonely young Kongzi found his entertainment in performing make-believe rites and sacrificial offerings by arranging ritual vessels and staging ceremonies (Riegel, 2013). Growing up in poverty,

Kongzi studied hard and enjoyed learning history, music, ritual, and poetry. During the early years, he worked as a shepherd, clerk, and bookkeeper before he left his home state of Lu for the first period of wanderings from state to state in search of better employment, but with no success.

Eventually with the help of his student, Nangong Jingshu, Kongzi and his student travelled to the capital of Zhou to study ancient rites and ceremonies. Upon his return, he attracted more students to study under him. However, due to political turmoil and conflicts, Kongzi did not get any secure position until around age fifty when he was appointed to a position as governor for a town and then became the minister of justice in the state of Lu. Yet it did not take long for Kongzi to lose his position due to internal conflicts and external sabotage in his practice of his political ideals and reforms. Once again, he went on a journey seeking to persuade political leaders to adopt his ideals. All through his life, Confucius pursued a political career to practice his principles and create a unified and stable country, though he did not see his policy proposals implemented (Nylan & Wilson, 2010). Confucius resettled in Lu at the age of sixty eight and devoted his last years mainly to teaching and writing and passed away at the age of seventy three

17 after losing his son and two of his favorite students.

Kongzi’s political ideas are deeply interwoven with his emphasis on moral education. He encouraged students to serve the government if they mastered Way (humanity and virtues that guide our practice) and to continue to cultivate themselves during their services. He valued the importance of ethics in rulers and officials in successful governing. In managing a country, leaders need to improve and cultivate themselves first and lead their states through moral values.

A society of justice is operated based on the idea that everyone performs his or her assigned social roles, as leaders and followers, family and children (Nylan &Wilson, 2010). Furthermore, family is the primary source of moral training and ideal government. Confucius believed that if people were trained to embrace filial piety, respect, and loyalty to their family members, then they would extend these values to others in the community and to the whole society.

Confucius’ major principles for teaching and learning. The primary aim of education, according to Confucius, is to help people cultivate themselves and build their characters, with an ultimate goal of building a strong and peaceful society (Cooney, Cross & Trunk, 1993). There were several values that he emphasized and which have been considered as core concepts of

Confucian moral education. These include humanity (ren), righteousness (yi), loyalty (zhong), filial piety (xiao), and propriety (li), among others. The purpose of learning is to acquire all these virtues and to become a junzi (noble man). As a human being is “interrelational” (Cooney, Cross

& Trunk, 1993, p.36), the virtues of one man can reach out to and influence others. A junzi

(gentleman) as a truly cultivated and disciplined person helps others develop virtues and improve themselves while seeking to improve him/herself. Thus, a Confucian self cultivates “not only to become fully human, but also to create a harmonious and peaceful society with the Confucian concept of human-relatedness” (Ryu, 2010, p.19).

Confucius also paid special attention to the learning of social and ritual propriety. The teaching of social rituals serves the purpose of instructing people to perform their roles and communicate properly and meaningfully with others so that harmony and peace can be maintained. According to Tu (1984), ritual for Confucius is not a pattern of gestures or behaviors merely for the sake of forms, but rather it is “a shared, mutually understood system of non-verbal as well as verbal communication. As a socially recognized form, it both preserves and transmits the most authentic human ways of interacting” (para. 16). Interpersonally, people learn rituals to communicate properly and meaningfully to others. Ultimately, for Confucius, learning and practicing social rituals becomes a way to maintain a harmonious society in which individuals are expected to behave appropriately based on their roles and social status (Bond & Hwang,

1986). It is important to note that Confucius lived in a time characterized by moral disorder, political upheaval, and social chaos (Zhang, 1999). States that were once under the control of the unified Zhou Empire were fighting for supremacy. Kongzi who witnessed how people suffered from wars, heavy taxation, corrupted officials and social injustice, preached his ideas and taught leaders to perform rituals from the earlier dynasty with a hope of achieving social stability and harmony (Reid, 2000; Zhao, 2013).

According to Confucius, it is important for teachers to individualize teaching methods by understanding the characters of learners, to guide them in overcoming their flaws, developing their merits, and helping them improve their practice (Ng, 2000; Zhao, 2013). The Analects of

Confucius (Analects for short), a record of conversations carried on between Confucius and his students, documented many occasions on which Kongzi gave distinct advice and answers to different students about the same question. For instance, Zilu and Ran Qiu, two of his students, once asked him if one should put the maxim into practice as soon as one heard it. Confucius told

19 the former that the student’s father and elder brother were still alive and questioned the student about how he could apply it immediately, suggesting that he should take counsel before rushing to action. While being asked by the latter, Confucius told him to act on it immediately. One student heard both of the conversations and became confused so he asked Kongzi for an explanation. Kongzi said, “Qiu has a tendency to give up easily, so I push him. You (Zi Lu) has a tendency to jump the gun, so I restrain him.” (Analects, 1990, 11.20.).

Confucius expected students to be active and motivated learners who could devote themselves to learning conscientiously (Zhao, 2013). Making efforts to learn is the most important characteristic that Confucius asked from his students (Beck, 2006).

If they’re not eager to learn, I don’t enlighten them; if they’re not struggling to put into

words, I don’t assist them. I hold up one corner to show them, and if they can’t come

back with the other three, then I don’t go on (Analects, 2007, 7.8).

He did not discourse at length on subjects, but encouraged students to make efforts by giving them room to think and waited for them to arrive at the right answers (Beck, 2006). The following excerpt from Analects also demonstrates his emphasis on learning as the result of individual efforts. Moreover, these efforts are to be made continuously to improve oneself (Beck,

2006).

It is like someone raising a mound. If the mound needs one more basketful of dirt for

completion but the person stops, then I stop [helping him]. Or it’s like the case of level

ground. Although the person may have heaped up only one basketful of dirt, if he keeps

working, then I follow along (Analects, 2007, 9.19.).

Confucius cited examples to illustrate human qualities to his students (Beck, 2006).

These examples included both historical ones about ancient emperors and leaders, contemporary

20 issues and the people, and even his own disciples as object lessons for his students. The illustration of human qualities, especially good ones, provides a model that students might emulate, as can be seen in the following quote (C. Schirokauer, personal communication, July

28, 2013). “Among any three people, there must be one who can be my teacher. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them” (Analects, 2007, 7.22.).

Confucian educational ideology in Chinese society. Even today, Confucius’ ideas about education have tremendous influence on education in Chinese society and many Asian countries surrounding mainland China (Hu, 2002; Shen, 2001). The following introduces Confucian educational values and practices that are developed based on Confucius’ ideas that are prevalent in modern Chinese society.

Emphasis on education. One of Confucius’ major contributions lies in the emphasis on

the importance of education. Education is perceived as a serious undertaking that can help a

person achieve upward social mobility (Lee, 1996). Besides the utilitarian function of education

that can bring along social recognition and material rewards, education is also a reward of the

soul that comes in the form of inner satisfaction with full personal development (Guo, 2001).

“Largely because of the perceived role of education in cultivating people and strengthening a

nation, education as a goal in itself has been internalized through Chinese society, even by those

who have not received any schooling” (Hu, 2002, p. 97). As such, education attracts serious

attention from students, parents, teachers, schools, and the whole of Chinese society. Both the

government and households have been investing heavily in education, which is believed to

greatly foster economic growth (Starr, 2012). “Chinese urban families spend over 30% of

household income on education compared to 2% in the UK (Starr, 2012, p. 13). China is also

the leading sender of its students overseas both in higher and secondary education (Beckett &

Zhao, in press; Starr, 2012).

Learning as individual effort. Confucian education views the will and effort of

students as the driving force, whereas the role of the teacher is secondary to learners (Shim,

2008). Teachers are supposed to show students the way and students have to work hard; so

learning is more about the individual effort of students. Confucian educators believe that every

individual is born good and has the potential to fully develop him or herself if they put effort

into it. A study that examines the influences of Confucianism on teachers’ perceptions of

guidance and discipline in Hong Kong secondary schools reports that teachers who tended to

follow Confucian traditions, expected students to put effort into their learning by engaging in

the learning tasks assigned and enduring the boredom of learning (Hue, 2007). If students did

not work hard or demonstrated low motivation, they could be punished by copying texts from

learning materials or staying in the classroom after school to finish their homework before they

could go home. The importance of self-effort is so strongly emphasized in Confucian education

that individual abilities do not matter (Wu, 2006). Failure in academic performance is seen

more as a result of lack of effort rather than ability (Starr, 2012). This contrasts with the

Western perspective of expecting students’ performance to be based on their natural intelligence

(e.g., IQ). Starr (2012) further pointed out that although the concept of “everyone can succeed if

they work hard enough” (p.18) is encouraging and motivating for students, it can lead to

disasters (e.g., suicides) when students are anxious and pressured to achieve certain goals yet

unable to do so despite their hard work. In addition, the strong emphasis on self-motivation and

the efforts of students downplays the role of external support, access to resources, and the

socioeconomic status of learners in their learning process and outcomes. This Confucian notion

of strong effort and the controversies around it will offer an interesting perspective to examine

Chinese teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in U.S. classrooms.

Respect and authority. Respect, as one of the virtues advocated by Confucius, features in teacher-student relationships in Chinese society. In analyzing Chinese teachers’ resistance to pedagogical imports, Hu (2002) summarized three aspects of Confucian tradition that might have contributed to teachers’ highly honored status in Chinese society. First, teachers have social and moral obligations to cultivate good citizenship and have to establish themselves first as a role model for students to emulate. Second, teachers are expected to play the role of a mentor or parent for students. Good teachers are those who are ethical, caring, and willing to teach students. This explains why teachers in return should be respected as one’s parent. One of the popular sayings goes, “being a teacher for only one day entitles one to lifelong respect from the student that befits his father” (Hu, 2002, p. 98). Third, the fundamental responsibility of a teacher is to ensure that all students are motivated to learn and progress satisfactorily in their study.

Teachers are seen as the authorities of knowledge with supreme respect (Zhang & Liu, 2014).

Because of these perceived roles of teachers, students and teachers in Chinese society are reluctant to accept pedagogical practices that detract from the authority of the teacher.

Influenced by Confucian education, Chinese students are brought up to respect, rather than challenge, those who provide knowledge (Chan, 1999). One contemporary criticism of

Confucianism, however, comes from the concern about the impediment that respect for authority poses for students’ ability to “embrace modernity, democracy, individual rights, and equality in society” (Wang & Anderson, 2014, p. 4) and thus incompatibility with the kind of individuality that is valued in Western education (Ho & Ho, 2008). Clashes between individual autonomy and authority have been observed even within present-day Chinese society. Studies that investigated

23 filial piety in the relationships between Chinese parents and adolescent children found that parental expectations for respect conflict with their children’s interpretation of the concept and their demand for independence, requiring negotiation between the two sides on a daily basis

(Fong, 2007; Helwig, Arnold, Tan, & Boyd, 2003). The concept of respect and authority and the issues surrounding it can illuminate Chinese teachers’ expectations of their own roles and those of their students, as well as teacher participants’ negotiation of different expectations in

American school settings.

Self-regulation and strict discipline. The teaching of social norms that regulate how people behave properly toward one another is also part of Confucian education. In the current context of schooling, one of the teachers’ roles is to educate students about social norms and teach them to behave by school rules (Hue, 2007). Teaching students to follow the rituals and norms was believed to build their self-regulation (Cheng, 2004). Teachers who follow Confucian traditions exercise strict discipline, believing that being strict is a characteristic of a good and responsible teacher (Zhang & Liu, 2014). Students are taught to develop the capacity of self- control and discipline as a path towards self-cultivation. Here the teaching of proper behaviors is associated with the purpose of character building. Hue’s (2007) study discovered that teachers under the influence of Confucian culture expected students to practice ren (benevolence) and li

(politeness) to cultivate themselves to be a person of humanity. Teachers in the study used discipline with benevolence. When disciplining students, they also demonstrated students’ interpersonal qualities of ren (e.g., empathy and caring) which were fundamental to a close relationship between teachers and students. They also socialized students to the values of social forms and taught them to conduct behaviors in accordance with certain forms of politeness.

Criticism of strict discipline in Confucian education is targeted at its repression of the development of students’ creativity and critical thinking (Higginbotham, 2013). Strict discipline may limit students’ motivation to be actively engaged in their learning process. However, cultivating students’ creativity and innovative thinking is exactly what American education emphasizes (Zhao, 2009). This Confucian education ideology may also cause clashes with educational values and practices in American school settings.

Harmonious relations. The Confucian concept of harmony can offer insights into teachers’ expectations and ways of interacting with fellow teachers and administrators, especially principals. With all of his advocacy and efforts on moral education and the practice of social rituals, the primary concern for Confucius was to create a good society based on harmonious human relations (Hue, 2007). For interpersonal relations, harmony is “the practice of acceptance, tolerance, mutual respect, equality and patience” (Feng & Newton, 2012, p. 341). Tu (1979) explained that the ability to relate to others in the spirit of affection, righteousness, order, and friendship accordingly reflected one’s level of self-cultivation. These understandings of

Confucian harmony belong to genuine interactions based on sincere social relationships

(Huang,1999, as cited in Leung, Koch, & Lu, 2002). Another type is social interaction at surface level which refers to interactions that appear to be harmonious but with conflicts underneath the surface. Many studies focus on the interpretation of harmony in relation to conflict management, especially within hierarchical social structures (Chen & Ma, 2002; Huang, 2006). The maintenance of harmony is seen through conflict avoidance and perseverance and compliance of the inferior to the authority. A great deal of research has used this perspective to examine teacher-student relationships (Hu, 2002; Hue, 2005; 2007; Yeung, 2006). In present-day

Confucian classrooms, students are expected to know their place in relationship with their

25 teachers. If they misbehave, teachers can wield their power of authority to punish them for disrupting harmony in the class (Higginbotham, 2013). The application of Confucianism in understanding teacher-teacher and teacher-administrator relationships, especially in terms of harmonious relations is rare. How teachers influenced by Confucianism interact with one another, especially with superiors, however, is an area that waits further exploration.

Confucian educational ideology and Confucius’ principles of education. It is worth noting that Confucian educational values and practices, though originally developed from

Confucius, have developed to cover more than what Confucius originally came up with, including interpretation and application, misinterpretation and misapplication by generations

(Beckett & Zhao, in press). For example, the belief that Confucian teaching as only rote learning and memorization probably lacks a holistic understanding of Confucius’ practices. According to

Elliott and Tsai (2008), Confucius’ instructional strategies did emphasize heavily the teaching of classic literature, history and poetry, but more importantly students’ ability to connect textual information with lived experiences. “Real learning, according to Confucius, is situational in which students have to adapt and extend their learning to illuminate their lived experiences”

(Zhao, 2013, p.13). Learning classics from the past is to guide ones’ actions in current circumstances (Elliott & Tsai, 2008).

As put by Nylan and Wilson (2010), the image of Confucius has been constantly adapted and tamed to fit the perceived needs of every succeeding age. Such adaption of Confucius includes the elevation of Confucius to the status of supreme sage or “uncrowned king” (Nylan

&Wilson 2010, p. 67). A standard curriculum and a strong emphasis on learning of Confucian canonical texts as a way to select government officials were first brought up by the emperor of

Han-Wudi, three centuries after Kongzi’s death. They were labeled as Confucian, though were

26 criticized by scholars at that time for being too preoccupied with book learning. Additionally, according to Nylan and Wilson (2010), values that existed before Kongzi or belonged to his critics are now dubbed as Confucian such as widow chastity and a strong work-oriented discipline. Undoubtedly, because of the advocacy of Kongzi by the ruling class and the accumulated interpretations and applications of his ideas, Kongzi has achieved a place of honor, the highest status exceeding any other scholars in Chinese cultural history.

This study uses Confucian educational values and approaches, including both Confucius’ principles of education and the extension of his ideas to examine Chinese teachers’ practices and experiences in teaching non-native speakers in U.S. classrooms. Confucian educational ideology in comparison to Confucius’ principles of education, is more inclusive in describing the present- day educational philosophies and practices in Chinese society that have linkages to Confucian tradition, as well as to explain its influences on the teaching practices of teachers educated in

Chinese society. However, Confucian educational ideology has its limitations in illuminating cross-cultural teaching practices. Criticism and concerns raised towards Confucian educational values can help explain potential conflicts and clashes between American and Chinese educational systems, but they lack a holistic and critical examination in regard to how and why conflicts occur other than attributing any problems to cultural differences on a surface level.

Moreover, most of the studies on Confucian teaching have focused on analyzing the influences of Confucianism on classroom practices, thus overlooking a micro-examination of the teachers as social agents capable of making changes and adapting into new educational environment.

A great deal of research has focused on the interactions between Confucian traditions and modernity, and between Eastern and Western educational practices. For example, Yin, Wang, and

Lee (2013) investigated leadership dilemmas faced by administrators in dealing with

27 globalization and curriculum reform on the one hand and cultural resistance stemming from

Confucianism on the other hand in mainland China. Beckett and Zhao (2016) examined the experiences of secondary school Chinese teachers in implementing new curriculum reform. It was found that while adopting student-centered pedagogy pushed by neo-liberal market economy, teacher participants relied mainly on the direct instruction and teaching of texts that have their roots in Confucian educational tradition. They valued the transmission of proven and authoritative knowledge and embodiment of knowledge in textbooks. For the same reason, ESL students in Chinese society (e.g., mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) attending Canadian schools aspired to learn from authority and through individual learning rather than group work and projects (Beckett, 1999). However, there is a paucity of studies on the interaction between societal-cultural values (e.g., Confucian educational ideology) and change in teaching practices and beliefs of Chinese teachers teaching across cultures, in particular from both macro- and micro-level perspectives that examine both external, sociocultural dimensions of teaching practices and individual, psychological dimensions from within the teachers.

Teaching in a Foreign Environment Due to limited publications on the experiences of Chinese and other foreign language teachers in K-12 schools in the U.S., this literature search was expanded to include studies that investigate experiences of international and immigrant teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms in general. Cross-cultural studies that examined teachers’ experiences in other countries were also included.

Pedagogical gaps, challenges, and shifts. For international teachers educated in foreign cultures, “they are faced with the daunting realization that teaching in U.S. schools is tremendously different from their own schooling experiences” (Haley & Ferro, 2011, p. 290).

Pedagogical differences and knowledge are one of the most frequently discussed factors that hinder effective teaching for international and immigrant teachers within U.S. educational system.

In a study that investigated perceptions of Arabic and Chinese language teachers toward transitioning into U.S. schools, teachers believed that teaching in the U.S. was more student- centered compared with that in their home countries (Haley & Ferro, 2011). American pedagogy focuses on establishing an engaging learning environment where students are able to work collaboratively as they develop their communicative and social skills. The same belief was found in Xu (2012) who examined challenges native Chinese teachers faced in teaching CFL to

American students. Teacher participants believed that in American schools, teachers acted more as facilitators who attended to students’ needs, interests, and learning styles; whereas in their home countries teachers were the center and did most of the talking in class.

McGinnis (1994) studied the differences between what he called the ‘‘culture of instruction and the conflicts that may arise between language students and teachers as a result of their often sharply divergent cultures of instruction’’ (p. 16). One area for conflict that he identified was in the value that Chinese teachers put on accurate language use in contrast to the value that American students placed on creative use of a language. Many Chinese language teachers believe that students need to master pronunciation, tone, and sufficient amount of vocabulary and grammar before they could use the language for communication (Duff & Li,

2004; Wang, 1998). American students on the other hand, consider communication as a tool for learning and see interactions with native speakers as essential throughout their learning experience (Duff & Li, 2004). Teaching language to American students is not only to help students achieve high academic scores, but more importantly to develop their communicative

29 and social skills (Haley & Ferro, 2011). Participants in Xu’s (2012) study also stated that language teaching in America focused more on communication while foreign language teaching in China was taught through a grammar translation approach with heavy emphasis on written texts and the purpose of preparing students for high academic scores. This is in consonance with existing literature on English as a foreign language education in China where students are pressured to pass standardized language tests with little attention paid to the development of communicative skills (Anderson, 1993; Carjuzaa et al., 2008; Hu, 2002; Nunan, 2003; Zhao,

2009).

To be effective teachers in American classrooms, they had to actively and reflectively learn American pedagogy (Hutchison, 2006; Zhao, 2015). For instance, in an earlier classroom- based action research project conducted on teaching and learning approaches of Chinese as a foreign language in U.S. classrooms (Zhao, 2015), I discovered that my students’ decreased learning interests in the Chinese course and their frequent disruptive behaviors in the classroom had to do with my adherence to a teaching approach that relied heavily on exercises and textual learning. To enhance students’ engagement and enjoyment in learning, I then learned and adopted project-based instruction (PBI) as a supplement to the classes.

However, for beginning teachers, it might be difficult for them to recognize the “cultural and social nuances with which they are unfamiliar” (Haley & Ferro, 2011, p. 303). This added to instructional tensions between teachers and students, as each of them held different expectations of what teaching and learning should look like and of the roles each of them were expected to play in the process. Investigating cross-cultural conflicts in a Chinese immersion classroom in

Australia, de Courcy (1997) found that neither the teachers nor the students were prepared to adapt sufficiently to the other’s academic culture. As a result, teachers still held to their

30 traditional Chinese ways of teaching while the students attempted to learn in their traditional

Western context. Both of the groups seemed to believe that their first language behaviors were the more appropriate (Hinkel, 1996). Many scholars have urged the education of international and immigrant teachers as to the expectations of the school culture and pedagogy in the host country (e.g., Haley & Ferro, 2011; Hutchison 2006). However, de Courcy (1997) argued that teachers, who were also representatives of the cultures of the language they taught, should not be compelled to teach only according to the target cultural and educational norms. Instead, with the possession of dual cultures of both students’ and their own, teachers could seek a more flexible implementation of instruction approaches.

Classroom management and discipline. Classroom management and discipline is also reported as a major source of difficulty for international and immigrant teachers (Finney, Torres,

& Jurs, 2002; Haley & Ferro, 2011; Oriaro, 2007; Xu, 2012). Oriaro (2007) studied Kenyan immigrant teachers and Xu (2012) followed Chinese teachers teaching in American schools. In both of the studies, teachers felt frustrated by the unexpected frequency of disruptive behaviors in class. For example, students talked to one another while the teacher was talking or frequently asked for permissions to go to the restroom (Wang, 2002; Xu, 2012). International teachers also felt out of control during group discussions when students did not listen to them (Dunn, 2011).

They did not think that students had enough respect for them, while in their home countries students saw them as authorities and behaved according to disciplinary norms. The same opinion was expressed by Arabic teachers who believed that classroom management in Arabic-speaking countries was stricter and maintained primarily by discipline (Haley & Ferro, 2011). In American school settings, however, students do not perceive teachers as the authority in the class and can become disruptive if they are not engaged in learning activities or if they do not care about

31 school at all (Hutchison, 2006).

Furthermore, according to Xu (2012), Chinese teachers believed that American students did not study as hard as they expected and they struggled with students who would not turn in their homework and who disrupted others in class. Wang (2002) investigated Chinese teachers adjusting to Toronto schools and found the same challenge that teachers faced with discipline.

Participants who began teaching in Toronto schools experienced constant struggles between what they were inclined to do and what they were supposed to do. They tended to judge students’ behaviors based on the standards in Chinese schools, though many students’ behaviors they understood as disciplinary issues were actually natural in Toronto schools. As a result, many teachers found themselves spending a large amount of time managing students’ disruptive behaviors, which took up their instruction time. Teachers revealed that student misbehavior in the classroom affected their effective teaching and students’ learning outcomes (Dunn, 2011;

Hutchison, 2005; Xu, 2012).

In order to ensure a positive learning environment, teachers considered it necessary to create order in their classrooms (Dunn, 2011; Sun, 2012). “The belief that ‘control’ and ‘order’ are necessary for good teaching was clearly conveyed to international teachers, who emphasized they did not ‘want’ to be strict but felt it was necessary, based on what they had seen in other classrooms and heard from administrators” (Dunn, 2011, p. 1396).

Expectations and the nature of the student body in American education. International and immigrant teachers in many of the studies reported being surprised to realize students’ low motivation in learning in American schools (e.g., Dunn, 2011; Haley & Ferro, 2011; Xu, 2012).

Teachers felt that students had many abilities and potentials, but they would not put much effort into study (Dunn, 2011). For teachers from cultures where academic achievements are highly

32 valued, it is understandable that they express surprise and even frustration with some of the students’ lack of motivation in learning. However, an inadequate understanding of the nature of the student body could cause disciplinary issues, which then demands more responsibilities from teachers (Hutchison, 2006; Zhao, 2015). Thus, teachers have to make their lessons interesting and engaging in order to motivate students (Haley & Ferro, 2011). However, the majority of teachers in Haley and Ferro’s (2011) study, for example, were concerned with their limited knowledge of instructional methods that motivate students to study. Similarly, participants in

Xu’s study (2012) reported that they did not expect to invest so much time in thinking about innovative instructional activities to maintain students’ interests.

American K-12 schools represent a great linguistic and racial diversity among students

(Gomez, Strage, Knutson-Miller, & Garcia-Nevarez, 2009; Hutchison, 2005; Linnell, 2001). In a diverse teaching environment, teachers are expected to recognize the multiple intelligences and various learning styles of students. They should attempt to “intellectually and emotionally connect with, and respect all their students from all backgrounds” (Hutchison, 2006, p.73).

Working with learners with special needs may also be a challenge for international and immigrant teachers. According to Xu (2012), teachers from China did not have the knowledge of adjusting curriculum and teaching strategies to deal with students with special needs. In addition, teachers also stated that they did not have enough time to help students with special needs in class, and can be overwhelmed if needed by several students at the same time. In response, Wang

(2009) called for teachers’ understanding of sociocultural history and backgrounds of students as well as the values and mindset of the local community. Understanding these can prepare them for teaching in multicultural settings. Furthermore, she argued that providing training and constant support for teachers during their teaching practice was equally important for their successful

33 transition into American school settings.

Teacher-student relationships. Teacher participants in Hutchison (2005) found that relationships with students were less formal in American schools than in their home countries.

Unlike the teaching style in the U.K., teachers noticed that they did not have to be strict and rigid with students all the time, but could relax and converse with students to create a more relaxing learning environment (Hutchison, 2005). Students in the U.S. can challenge their teacher’s views and speak their own minds. As illustrated by Hutchison (2005), “American students are generally fully aware of their rights to the democratic freedom that America stands for” (p. 166). This is quite different from hierarchical societies such as China where teachers are the authorities and students are expected accept what is taught without questions (Xu, 2012).

International and immigrant teacher participants learned that they had to earn trust and acceptance from students rather than see themselves as the authorities (Sun, 2012; Xu, 2012). A teacher participant in Hutchison’s (2005) study revealed that she first used her British way of working with American students, but then she had to make adjustments after realizing that the previous way did not cater to students and the target culture. However, once she adopted a more relaxed and informal stance towards students, she found that students made great demands on her working time. Students kept intruding on her classroom during the school day or planning hours because students did not feel inhibited to visit her for all kinds of reasons. She oftentimes had to come to school on weekends to get her work done. However, there were also teachers who found it difficult to establish a close relationship with their students (Wang, 2002). For teachers new to teaching in America, establishing a positive relationship with students could be a challenge. One participant from China recalled that her students did not accept her as their teacher and treated her as an outsider because of her international identity, especially during her first year of

34 teaching (Sun, 2012). Even though teachers respected students’ greater sense of freedom, they also understood that dealing with students was seeking balance between equity and authority.

One the side of equity, teachers tried to be casual and equal and to respect freedom; while on the other hand, they could not give away authority and control over the students (Hutchison, 2005;

Wang, 2002).

Language barriers. Language barriers are a major challenge identified for international and immigrant teachers’ successful transition into American education (Dunn, 2011; Haley &

Ferro, 2011; Hutchison, 2006; Kato, 1998; Wang, 2009; Xu, 2012). Such language difficulties involve improper use of English expressions, unfamiliarity with colloquialisms, accent, manners of speaking, wrong spellings, and lack of fluency (Dunn, 2011; Wang, 2002; Hutchison, 2006).

Immigrant teachers did not feel comfortable or confident with their proficiency in instructional

English (Dunn, 2011; Wang, 2002). They experienced embarrassment and felt a lack of respect from their students if being challenged due to communication issues (Dunn, 2011).

In a study on teachers who were Japanese native speakers it was found that their main concern was language used for classroom management (Kato, 1998). Language problems could also interfere with the meanings teachers wanted to express and prevented them from being understood by the American students (Xu, 2012). For example, participants in Xu’s study said that lack of proficiency in English made it difficult for them to use humor as a way to establish a positive classroom climate conducive to learning. In addition, language barriers can restrict teachers from participating in professional development programs and pursuing education degrees (Lee & Bang, 2011).

Lesson planning. International and immigrant teachers have to acclimate to creating their own lesson plans and sometimes even developing their own curricula, a freedom that Fee

(2011) termed as a “puzzle” for international teachers. According to Fee (2011), teachers from

Mexico received lesson plans based on books distributed by the government and recorded what they taught afterwards. As teachers were used to the ways of planning for classes in their home country, creating lesson plans, especially at the initial teaching stage, could be a daunting task.

The same is the case with Chinese teachers who normally relied on teaching materials and textbooks provided by schools in China (Wang, 2002). Teachers may use lesson plans that are designed as ready-to-use or instruct based on textbooks, materials, and syllabi provided by the department. In contrast, teachers of foreign languages in many American schools usually have to make their own lesson plans and decide what and how much to teach for a class individually.

Making one’s own lesson plans gives teachers more power and flexibility in their teaching practice, however such freedom could be a double-edged sword for teachers of less commonly taught languages, especially if they are not trained to do lesson plans.

School support and other challenges for foreign language instruction. Teachers of foreign language also experienced difficulties in communication with parents, insufficient support from schools, and limited professional development.

Working with parents. In terms of the experience of working with parents, some international teachers appear to be comfortable communicating with parents. They initiated correspondence with parents by reporting students’ progress to them via emails and phone calls.

Teachers thought that parents are generally supportive of their work (Hutchison, 2005). Some also noted that there were more communications with parents than in their home countries, such as in Germany, China, and Taiwan (Hutchison, 2005; Xu, 2012). A teacher participant from

China stated that parents contacted her mainly for getting praise for their kids, asking for help for their children, and complaining about grades (Xu, 2012). Contrary to the tradition in China

36 where parents stand by the teacher’s side, participants in Xu’s study also observed that parents tended to protect their children in U.S. schools. Hutchison (2005) argued that for international teachers who were already overwhelmed by their duties, it was important for schools to help teachers find ways to manage and build a relationship with parents.

Isolation, lack of support, and need for professional development. Some foreign teachers believed that there was a lack of support from the schools regarding school procedures and policies. They were often expected to start their job without being sufficiently informed about school procedures. Visiting Spanish teachers in the U.S. in Finney, Torres, and Jurs’ study

(2002) reported a lack of instruction with grading systems, ordering supplies, and policies regarding interaction with student parents, which affected the teachers’ effective transition to

American school settings. Isolation from fellow teachers and other disciplines was also an aspect that bothered many new foreign language teachers who greatly desired the support and experiences shared by their colleagues (Finney, et al., 2002). A review of the literature also indicates that teachers are in great need of professional development opportunities which however, has not been fulfilled due to the lack of infrastructures and resources to train and provide support to both prospective and practicing teachers (Lee & Bang, 2011; Pufahl &

Rhodes, 2011; Wang, 2009). Lack of professional development has placed these teachers at a disadvantage in responding to the cultural and linguistic needs of their students and in using appropriate teaching techniques to motivate students (Lee & Bang, 2011).

Paucity of teaching materials. The paucity of appropriate teaching materials is a major concern for foreign language teachers. Many of the available textbooks for Chinese as a foreign language, for example, are criticized for following pedagogical practices in China with a heavy emphasis on vocabulary and grammar (Ning, 2001). Furthermore, the majority of existing

37 publications on foreign language education deal primarily with commonly taught languages such as French, Spanish and German (Duff & Li, 2004; Tsung & Cruikshank, 2010), which provide little research support for teachers of critical languages.

Issues of Existing Studies on Cross-Cultural Teaching

The existing literature on cross-cultural teaching as presented above identified various challenges faced by immigrant and international teachers in the areas of English language, pedagogy, lesson planning, classroom management, relationships with students, and communication with parents. These challenges are largely attributed by these studies to the differences in cultural and educational practices, teachers’ insufficient knowledge of education in the target country, and thus the lack of preparation and support for pre-service and practicing teachers. Difficulties encountered by immigrant and international teachers in cross-cultural settings and issues surrounding foreign language education in the U.S. do call for serious attention from language programs, teacher educators, and schools actions needed to better help these teachers transition into the new educational environment.

However, the focus mainly on challenges faced by international and immigrant teachers in the existing literature and the call for training them in mainstream instructional approaches and practices in the target country as a remedy for their difficulties (e.g., Duff, 2008; Dunn,

2011; Fee, 2011; Hutchinson, 2005; 2006; Sun, 2012; Xu, 2012) indicates a deficit perspective toward international and immigrant teachers. It ignores the wealth of knowledge that they possess and lacks an appropriate recognition that these teachers are competent professionals who can enrich the lives of students, the school environment, and the curriculum (Lee, 2010; Lee &

Bang, 2011). International and immigrant teachers bring with them diverse cultural and linguistic knowledge relevant to the multicultural backgrounds of students in modern classrooms.

Immigrant Chinese teachers in Wang’s (2002) study, for example, believed that their presence with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds in Toronto school systems provided them with unique advantages in responding effectively to the learning needs of minority students and facilitating the socialization of immigrant students. International and immigrant teachers also demonstrate qualities and strengths in culturally responsive and flexible pedagogy, multilingual ability, global perspectives, passion for teaching and continuing self-improvement, among others

(e.g., Arun, 2008; Carrison, 2007; Lee, 2010). However, professional development opportunities for international language teachers are often rooted in a deficit model, teaching primarily concepts and methods popular in the mainstream classroom of the host country, which others the voices, experiences, and resources of international and immigrant teachers (Lee & Bang, 2011).

Scholars have been urging teacher educators to abandon this one-size-fits-all model based only on the mainstream classroom practices in the host culture for the education and professional development of modern language teachers. Scholars suggest seeking alternative and flexible teacher education curricula to adequately prepare international and immigrant teachers for transitioning into U.S. classrooms (Haley & Ferro, 2011).

Furthermore, many of the studies conducted lack a holistic view of the larger sociocultural, ideological, and political landscapes within which the teaching practices of international and immigrant teachers are enacted and within which their experiences are situated; and of the individual, micro-level factors that affect teachers’ experiences and practices. There 39 were a few studies found that examined the effects of educational policies and ideologies on the recruitment, preparation, and pedagogy of international educators. For example, Dunn (2011) focused on the contexts of globalization and neoliberalism in connection to international teacher recruitment in a southeastern district of the U.S. By presenting the difficulties and challenges faced by international teachers in American schools, she showed a disjuncture between the neoliberal ideology/policies surrounding alternative recruitment of international teachers and these teachers’ lived experiences. Zhu and Li (2014) studied how China’s geopolitical strategy and linguistic ideology of promoting Mandarin Chinese as a global language had been received and implemented in the U.K. Their classroom observations revealed a gap between the promotion of China’s cultural diversity and the narrow focus on traditional customs and everyday social practice. There were also tensions discovered between the teaching of Mandarin

Chinese and other varieties of Chinese and languages used by overseas ethnic Chinese communities. Although these studies examined the sociocultural and ideological forces of certain educational activities and teacher experiences, they did not focus on experiences and teaching practices of international teachers per se. Their examination of the political and ideological discourses was not focused on illuminating the lived experiences and teaching practices of international and immigrant teachers, but rather to foreground the disjuncture between policy and practice, and ideological tensions represented in classrooms. Furthermore, these studies lack a micro-level analysis of the internal, psychological aspects of teacher participants and the roles that these factors play in affecting their classroom practices and adaptation in a novel environment. A holistic perspective that examines both the external, sociocultural context and 40 the internal, individual activities is crucial to illuminating the teaching practices and experiences of foreign-educated teachers, as well as to better understand their needs. Due to the lack of such a micro-level examination, these studies overlooked the abilities of international and immigrant teachers as active social agents in changing and transforming their practices and contexts.

Insufficient understanding about international and immigrant teachers, thus, may contribute to prejudice and discrimination and deepen the deficit perspective toward these teachers in

American schools (Lee, 2010).

There also have been plenty of studies looking at practical challenges facing international and immigrant teachers in U.S. classrooms based on cultural differences and clashes (e.g., Fee,

2011; Haley & Ferro, 2011; Hutchinson, 2005; 2006; Oriaro, 2007; Sun, 2012; Xu, 2012).

However, these studies lack theoretical lenses that can further illustrate sociocultural, ideological, and philosophical aspects of foreign-educated teachers’ experiences and teaching practices beyond differences in cultural practices and values. A holistic conceptual exploration based on sociocultural analysis can transcend the discourse on cultural dissonances and clashes by opening dialogues for learning and integrating educational concepts and approaches across cultures. Examining the interaction between societal culture and pedagogical approaches introduced from abroad in English as foreign language classrooms in China, Hu (2002) remarked, “it is necessary to conduct an audit of the sociocultural factors at work in the language classroom and the philosophical assumptions underlying a pedagogical innovation of foreign origin so as to identify culturally proper points of interface” (p. 103).

The literature reviewed is also methodologically limited. Many studies employed 41 interviews or surveys to elicit teachers’ perspectives of their experiences without long engagement in the field to observe the real classroom interactions and to provide supplementary information to their perceptions (e.g., Fee, 2011; Francis, 2005; Haley & Ferro, 2011). Even for those that included classroom observations (e.g., Dunn, 2011; Zhu & Li, 2014), their observations were short-term and temporary, which could not present enough information about the patterns and routines in teachers’ classroom practices or validate their responses in the interview or questionnaires. The lack of triangulation of data sources reduces the credibility of findings presented by the existing body of literature.

Because of the inadequate data sources, the majority of the studies also lack a historical and comprehensive understanding of international and immigrant teachers’ teaching experiences and adjustment to a novel environment. They saw only challenges that teachers faced or the changes they had to make to conform to target cultural and educational practices, but overlooked the dynamics of educational values and classroom practices involved when international and immigrant teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds come into continuous contact with the target culture. Teaching practices and adaptation processes in a novel environment from a historical perspective should be a changing and dynamic process rather than being static as presented in most of the studies. Additionally, many of them including even several dissertation studies are limited in scope because of their small sample size (e.g., Francis, 2005; Lee, 2010;

Lee & Bang, 2012; Sun, 2012; Wang, 2002). For example, Sun (2012) only studied one teacher participant and Lee and Bang (2012) focused on three. The findings from these studies can be extended and limitations overcome in a study that examines diverse data sources and a larger 42 sample size.

Characteristics of Chinese Language and Alternative Pedagogy In critical languages, special attention has to be paid to the characteristics of non- alphabetic languages such as Chinese language and pedagogical challenges it may bring to the teachers. Linguistically, Chinese and English belong to two different major language families, one from Sino-Tibetan languages and the other from Indo-European languages. The linguistic distance between Chinese and English was rated 6 on a 7-point scale whereas the distance between Spanish\English and French\English was 3 and German\English was rated 1 (West &

Graham, 2004). Regarding the time needed to acquire a given level of language proficiency, it is estimated that it takes English-speaking American students approximately 480 contact hours of classroom instruction to reach limited working proficiency of European languages, but it takes around 1,320 hours to reach a comparable level of proficiency of Chinese and Japanese (Everson,

1994).

What makes Chinese such a distance language is its rather complex writing system and the disparity between writing and speaking systems. Unlike English language, the written form of Chinese is non-phonetic and character-based (Ye, 2011). The task of learning written Chinese involves learning the symbol (the character), its sound, and meaning. The sound system-Pinyin which is alphabetic requires students to memorize both its spellings and tones. However, the sound system does not relate to the symbols and vice versa, that is, recognition of one does not give a clue to the other (Joden & Walton, 1987). The disparity between the writing and the speaking systems of the language as well as the complexity of learning characters can affect students’ motivation, especially at the beginning of their learning experience (Tian, 2009; Ye,

2011). These unique features of language bring an entirely new learning concept for the student,

43 which may eventually add another dimension to instruction difficulty. As teachers, they may have to find ways to make lessons less challenging and more interesting so as to keep students’ interest and motivation in an “environment with previously-established professional structures and performance expectations from the commonly taught languages” (Schrier, 1994, p.54). Thus, based on the distance from Indo-European languages in terms of syntactical, pragmatic and orthographical characteristics, scholars have argued for a different set of pedagogical standards for critical languages because instructional methods that work well with commonly taught

European languages may not apply to less commonly taught languages (Dew, 1994; Ling, 1994;

Walton, 1991).

A Sociocultural Framework of Mind, Activity, and Culture This study was rooted in several theoretical conceptualizations that help frame the inquiry.

Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and field (Bourdieu, 1977; 1984; 1986; 1991; 2000) were used to illuminate the conflicting experiences and challenges faced by Chinese language teachers due to the mismatch of educational values across cultures and adaptation processes based on negotiation of different educational approaches. Confucian philosophy of education shed some light on particular teaching approaches and beliefs that teacher participants may hold and practice due to the influences from Confucian education. Neo-patriotism (Beckett & Zhao, in press) helped interpret teacher participants’ sentiments of pride and duty in teaching Chinese culture and their adherence to the Chinese model of education in their current teaching practice.

Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 1999) adopts a dynamic and historical perspective of looking at human behaviors, which was employed to study participants’ teaching practice (as the unit of analysis) in a sequence of actions and transformations. More importantly,

CHAT is grounded in sociocultural perspectives and it studies both the macro-and micro-levels

44 of an activity and the interplay of the two layers. In situating teaching practices against the larger social, cultural, and historical contexts, it served as a framework to connect all the other theoretical perspectives above by positioning each of them in its sociocultural and individual human dimensions of teaching activities. The integration of these theoretical perspectives allowed an examination of the participants’ experiences and classroom practices in relation to the external, sociocultural, and ideological levels of language education.

Understanding CHAT. Activity in CHAT is defined as “any motivated and object- oriented human enterprise, having its roots in cultural history, and depending for its actual occurrence on specific goal-oriented actions” (Van Oers, 2001, p. 71). An activity contains performative actions that carry out certain tasks and conversational actions that intend to communicate about the tasks. The relationship between activities and actions are dialectical

(Roth & Lee, 2011). Individual and concrete actions constitute activities; but activities also motivate action sequences. Outcomes of certain actions become resources in a later stage of an activity for subsequent actions. Although people act differently according to the changing contexts, the overall motive (activity) may stay unchanged. Thus, an activity is an “evolving and complex structure of mediated and collective human agency” (Roth & Lee, 2007, p.198). The teaching of Chinese as a foreign language, for example, can be understood as a historically rooted and goal-oriented activity. Within the activity, there are various teaching and learning actions operated by Chinese language teachers, for example, that are context specific which require constant changes and adjustment. Studying an activity includes the investigation of, not merely the actors, but also all the other elements involved in the activity, including the sociocultural factors and their interactions with and influences on an activity (Zhao, 2015). These

45 elements within an activity include subjects, objects, tools, divided labor, rules, and community

(see Figure 1).

Subjects are actors engaged in the activities (can be a person or a group), acting upon an object with predetermined goals, using tools (artifacts or concepts) in the course of carrying out the activity. Objects exist in two forms, either as a material entity or as an object or image of a goal (Roth & Lee, 2007). Accomplishment of a goal, engages a collective effort of actors who contribute by sharing divided labor and providing contributions, as well as the compliance of rules and regulations guiding execution of activity in the system. The activity is embedded in a community, which makes up part of the social cultural context (Zhao, 2015).

Tools, instruments, mediating artifacts

Subject Object Outcome

Rules Community Division of labor Figure 1. Activity System Based on Engeström’s activity theory diagram (1987, p. 78)

Relative to sociocultural theory, CHAT is originally linked to the work of L.S. Vygotsky who aimed to create a Marxist psychology that could explain a mediated process between consciousness and world (Daniels, 2004). Vygotsky criticized the prevalent psychoanalysis and behaviorism at his time that examined isolated elements (e.g., individual/society; physiological/psychic phenomena) in explaining psychological development (Langemeyer & 46

Roth, 2006; Nussbaumer, 2011). Influenced by classical German philosophy and Marxism, he maintained that human development should be interpreted as a process of co-evolution between the consciousness and world, and thus needs to be studied as a whole (holistically) and in a process of change (historically) (Langemeyer & Roth, 2006). Human beings as agents react and act upon objects of the environment mediated by signs and tools.

After Vygotsky, activity theory was extensively developed and implemented in various fields from educational research to information system design (Roth & Lee, 2011). According to

Edwards and Daniels (2004), one strand of it, often labeled sociocultural or cultural-historic, prospers in North America. It connected with the discipline of developmental psychology and with cognitive anthropology and socio-linguistics. Another strand that was taken forward by

Leont’ev and Luria in Russia and later by Engeström to what is known as CHAT is a continuous development on the intersection of consciousness and activity. Both strands of activity theory according to Daniels (2004) attempt to

theorize and provide methodological tools for investigating the processes by which social,

cultural, and historical factors shape human functioning. Neither account resorts to

determinism in that they both acknowledge that in the course of their own development

human beings also actively shape the very forces that are active in shaping them (p. 121).

Applying CHAT Concepts. This study adopted Vygotsky’s holistic and historical perspectives of human activity. Specifically, it applied concepts of activity that include (a) the networks of interacting systems, (b) conflictual nature of social practice, (c) multiple perspectives, (d) historical background of a social structure, and (e) transitions and reorganizations within and between activity systems (Engeström, 1999). The following explains each of these concepts.

(a) According to Engeström (1999), the collective, artifact-mediated and object-oriented activity system, seen in its network relations to other activity systems, is the prime unit of analysis. So it is no longer the individual activity, but joint activity interacting with others as the unit of analysis for activity theory (Wilson, 2006). Activity systems are interconnected and part of a network of activity systems that would comprise larger activity systems and even human society (Zhao, 2015). In the current study, in addition to the focus on instructional activity, its interactions with relational tasks that involve students, parents, and colleagues (e.g., relationship building and management) were examined.

(b) Contradiction acts as a source of change and development. Engeström (1987) distinguished several levels of contradictions. The primary contradiction refers to the contradiction of activities in capitalism which is reflected in “the use value and exchange value of commodities” (Engeström, 2009a, p. 58), prevalent in every element within an activity. Use value is the direct benefits of an activity’s outcomes for the participants of the activity, whereas exchange value refers to the value of something when it is exchanged for something else. For example, students attending schools (activity) receive grades and diplomas (exchange value) and may also learn useful knowledge about the world (use value). The object of school-going activity, according to (Engeström, 2009b) is a contradictory unit of the use value and exchange value.

Secondary contradiction occurs among elements within an activity. The tertiary contradiction appears when a system adopts a new element from the outside and it clashes with some old elements. The quaternary contradiction happens between activity systems. These contradictions generate disturbances, but meanwhile may foster change to the activity. “Contradictions, when they are brought to the level of consciousness, engender homeostatic processes within activity systems, which thereby change and develop over (historical) time” (Roth & Lee, 2007, p. 204).

(c) Activity systems are multi-voiced. There are multiple participants in multiple roles who bring with them multiple points of view derived from differing histories, traditions, and interests. Noting multiple perspectives indicates the collective contributions of subjects in activity systems, but multi-voicedness can be multiplied in networks of interacting activity systems, which can be a source of conflict, demanding actions of negotiation.

(d) Activity systems are also historically constituted. To study a phenomenon historically means to study it in the process of change and development (Langemeyer & Roth, 2006). It includes examination of “local history of an activity and its objectives, as well as history of theoretical ideas and tools that have shaped the activity” (Engeström, 2009a). As an activity represents collective forms of practices, comprehending it allows not only synchronic (grasping the entire structure of an activity) but also diachronic (cultural-historical) analysis (Roth & Lee,

2007).

(e) The last principle proclaims the possibility of expansive transformation through the process of internalization and externalization in activity systems. Engeström (1999) described it as an expansive cycle that begins with internalization which is about training and socializing novices to become competent members of an activity. Externalization occurs when individuals are able to transform their internal thoughts to external actions. As contradictions within an activity system worsen, participants begin to question and may even deviate from its routine.

Engeström (1999) stated, “as the disruptions and contradictions of the activity become more demanding, internalization critically takes the form of self-reflection and externalization, a search for solutions, increases” (p.33–34). Externalization occurs when individuals, based on their participation in activity systems, transform their internal thought through which they shape the activity in which they are engaged. Externalization reaches its peak when a new activity

49 model is generated and put into practice. Internalization will then take over again to transform external activities into internal ones, including examining contradictions and thinking of alternative plans. Psychologically, internalization means that external actions are transformed by processing them inward into an internal psychological operation (Vygotsky, 1978). The crucial part in internalization is that external or social actions grow inward, which then yields the formation of meaning at individual or personal level (Robbins, 2003).

Understanding Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and field. Building on the work of Marx, Bourdieu extended his ideas of capital beyond the economic by including the more symbolic forms of assets (Thompson, 1991). According to Bourdieu (1986), capital is an accumulated material or symbolic asset that enables individuals the capacity and power to produce profits or advantages or reproduce capital themselves. There are three types of capital identified by Bourdieu: economic, social, and cultural. Economic capital refers to the material and financial assets possessed by an individual. Social capital is the benefits and resources that can be found through social networks and connections. Cultural capital represents the symbolic assets that a person possesses. Cultural capital appears in three forms: embodied, institutionalized, and objectified. Embodied cultural capital exists in the form of “long-lasting dispositions of the mind and body” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 243). It can be acquired through self- improvement, inculcation, and assimilation. Objectified cultural capital is the material representation of cultural capital. Book and art collections, physical equipment, and instruments are all such objectified forms of cultural capital. Institutionalized capital refers to academic qualifications that are obtained from educational institutes. All these forms of capital are contingent and convertible to one another.

Like Marx, Bourdieu believed that capital which forms the foundations of social life

50 determines one’s social position and the more capital one possesses, the more power one holds in his or her social position. However, Bourdieu disagreed with the Marxist analysis that based everything only in the economic realm and the opposing social classes stemming from it.

According to Bourdieu, phenomena or developments should be explained multi-dimensionally, that is, “the world as a multi-dimensional space, differentiated into relatively autonomous fields; and within each of these fields, individuals occupy positions determined by the quantities of different types of capital they possess” (Thompson, 1991, p. 29).

The concept of field refers to a structured social space with its own values, “modes of domination” (Bourdieu, 1977, p. 183), and mechanisms of preserving the status quo or altering the distribution of the forms of capital, among others. The notion of field can be attributed to

Kurt Lewin who developed the field theory to examine the patterns of interaction between individuals and their environment in psychology (Martin, 2003). German scholars such as Max

Weber and Friedrich Fürstenberg built on the theory to study social sciences. According to

Martin (2003), this line of field theory in social sciences was brought to a more finished state by

Bourdieu who has made many distinctive improvements to the theory. For example, Bourdieu went beyond previous field theories in adding the notion of habitus that serves to organize perceptions. Habitus is internalized rules, thoughts, and values of a given field that have been inscribed on individuals and become a natural and permanent disposition of the person or the group. It was proposed to describe “the mode of the generation of practices” (Bourdieu, 1977, p.

72) and to transcend the dichotomy between “deterministic social structures versus unfettered individual choice” (Kelly & Lusis, 2006, p. 834). Habitus is developed based on the laws

51 regulating a field. As Bourdieu (1977) stated, “the structures constitutive of a particular type of environment (e.g., the material conditions of existence characteristic of a class condition) produce habitus, systems of durable, transposable dispositions/structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures” (p. 72). Habitus also generates practices that then give evidence to the habitus. Nash (1999) offered a clear interpretation of the relationship between habitus and social practice. As with two sides of a coin, the habitus is organized by principles of the structure, in

some way that could be represented as a code, and practices are organized by these so

structured principles of the habitus. We may thus say that, as a result of their

socialization, members of a social group come to acquire a set of dispositions which

reflect the central structural elements (political instability, kinship rules, and so on) of

their society, and therefore behave in ways which necessarily reproduce those structural

elements, although in a modified form. (p. 177)

Bourdieu (1977) also noted that habitus is not the exclusive principle of practices. There are also

“traditional precepts, customary recommendations, ritual prescriptions, functioning as a regulatory device which orients practice without producing it” (p. 21), which is different from habitus as a generative schema. Habitus generates “practices, perceptions and attitudes which are

‘regular’ without being consciously co-ordinated or governed by any ‘rule’” (Thompson, 1991, p.12).

The “embodied capital, external wealth” can be “converted into an integral part of the person, into habitus” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 246). In explaining his word choice for “habitus” over

“habit,” Bourdieu further remarked, “the habitus is a capital, but one which, because it is embodied, appears innate” (1993, p. 86, as cited in Nash, 1999, p. 179).

All of these Bourdieusian concepts are concerned with power dynamics. In a more recent publication, Language and Symbolic Power (1991), he argued that language functions as a capital and thus a medium of power through which individuals pursue their interests. “Utterances are not only (save in exceptional circumstances) signs to be understood and deciphered; they are also signs of wealth, intended to be evaluated and appreciated, and signs of authority, intended to be believed and obeyed” (p. 66).

Drawing on his previous concepts, he elaborated that linguistic interactions are “forms of practice that can be understood as the product of the relation between a linguistic habitus and a linguistic market” (Thompson, 1991, p. 17). In a given social context, certain language forms are valued more highly than others. Speakers should have the capacity to produce these forms in the market concerned, which is known as their linguistic capital. However, linguistic capital, alongside cultural and economic capital is unevenly distributed in a market. Thus, the differences in people’s language practice (e.g., accents, grammar, and vocabulary) bear the traces of the social positions of speakers and reflections of quantities of linguistic capital. While the objective social structures (e.g., social classes) produce certain forms of language practice, they are also reproduced through the utterances.

Applying Bourdieusian concepts to sojourner. Although Bourdieu’s theory of practice originally focused on power dynamics within a given society, his concepts have been widely applied in cross-cultural studies of various disciplines. For example, there are studies that examine engagement of international students studying in North American universities

(Suderman, 2015), transnational academics teaching in the UK higher education (Luxon &

Peelo, 2009), employment experiences of overseas trained teachers in Australia (Guo & Singh,

2009), and migration of skilled workers into developed countries (Erel, 2010; Kelly & Lusis,

2006). In all of these studies, participants brought with them their work or educational experiences (capital) which was gained from their culture of origin as well as the taken-for- granted, tacit aspects of their culture that have been incorporated to their mind (habitus). In studying or working in a new environment, there appears to be a power dynamic surrounding the mismatch between habitus and capital in cross-cultural settings and the devaluation of their previously acquired capital and habitus in the host society. These applications of Bourdieusian concepts in cross-cultural settings are highly relevant to the current study.

Furthermore, as a cross-cultural study that looks at teaching experiences of international/immigrant teachers, Bochner’s (1986) concept of sojourner in an exotic environment will offer a useful perspective in understanding the adjustment and negotiation of their capital and habitus in a new field. Sojourners are individuals who venture into different societies. They can be understood as a particular social class because of the group position and their shared social dispositions. Social classes, according to Bourdieu, are traditional economic classes defined by Marxists, but refer to “sets of agents who occupy similar social positions in the social space, hence possess similar kinds of and similar quantities of capital, similar life chances, and similar social dispositions, etc.” (Thompson, 1991, p. 30).

As newcomers, they learn second-culture social skills and become a mediating person between two cultures.

Sojourners initially have to learn the rules of the game and then the game itself. This

places the sojourner at a disadvantage, since the people with whom the game is being

played already know both the rules and the moves, and expect everyone else to have that

knowledge and those skills (Bochner, 1986, p. 352)

The acquisition of game rules in a new environment echoes Bourdieu’s socialization of

54 habitus, both of which speak to international teachers’ experiences in this study.

In presenting the adjustment model as a learning process, Bochner also criticized the traditional clinical approach of treating culture shock as a deficiency of sojourners and warned host societies against the perceived superiority of mainstream culture which would become an obstacle for building a multicultural society. He stated,

Insensitivity to cultural differences and an inability to communicate and work with

culturally disparate persons is a major source of inter-ethnic discrimination, hostility, or

at best indifference and avoidance, and hence a barrier to the establishment of pluralistic

structures (Bochner, 1986, p. 356).

The deficit view of sojourners is similar to the deficit model prevalent in the education and professional development for international and immigrant teachers in host societies. Bochner’s emphasis on inter-cultural skill building as a core competency for a pluralistic society could be applied to the understanding of diverse educational values and practices and the training of international and immigrant teachers to be more successful educators in U.S. classrooms.

Cultural identity and habitus. Culture as an aggregate of historically accumulated ideas and values is an enormous force in shaping an individual’s sense of self (Hofstede, 2010).

Cultural identity develops from “formal or informal membership in groups that transmit and inculcate knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, traditions, and ways of life” (Jameson, 2007, p.

207). The development of cultural identity is both regional and historical, involving the formation of values, attitudes, and behaviors of a group of people from a particular region and the transmission of knowledge and values between generations (Jameson, 2007). Groups, organizations, and societies are also agents that conserve and pass on this information generation to generation and from one physical place to another (Hofstede, 2001). As a member of a cultural

55 group, people are disposed to a certain way of being, acting, and thinking. Hofstede (2001) termed the functions of societal and cultural forces that regulate people’s thinking and acting subjective “mental programming” (p. 4). There are different levels of mental programs that either function as a biological operating system, inherited in our genes or as subjective human culture, learned after birth. The subjective human culture is collective mental programs that are shared by people who belong to a certain cultural group. People of a collective mental program display similar tendencies.

These accounts of identity sail close to Bourdieu’s position on the function of habitus. In fact, habitus has been adopted to study the formation of identity. Scholars in this strand believe in the importance of social factors in shaping people’s identity and seize upon the dispositional nature of habitus to emphasize “the intractable, involuntary and pre-reflective aspects of

‘identity’, embedded in embodied and habitual social practices” (Bottero, 2010, p. 5–6). While acknowledging the habitual, dispositional nature of identity, scholars also recognize the existence of people’s explicit identification of self and others (Adams, 2006; Bottero, 2010). This study adopted a hybrid model that encompasses both the habitual nature of cultural identity and the role of explicit identity awareness to study teacher participants’ attitudes and teaching approaches in relation to their original culture and educational practices in their adaptation process.

Extending CHAT with Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and practice.

Although CHAT seems to be a powerful sociocultural framework to understand experiences and classroom practices of teacher participants and their trajectory of adaptation and transformation in the study, it needs Bourdieu’s concepts to account for places where CHAT is implicit or underdeveloped (Williams, 2012).

CHAT emphasizes the importance of examining human activities from holistic and historical perspectives, but it lacks the construct of Bourdieu’s concepts in revealing the deterministic power of social structure and class in shaping one’s dispositions (thinking and actions). In applying CHAT and Bourdieu to interpret science education, Williams (2012) stated,

there are sociological assumptions implicit in CHAT—or much of early CHAT at any

rate—that need to be elaborated; the foundational assumptions neglect the ongoing

success of capitalism and the significance of the educational field as a reproducer of

social relations rather than a tool of social liberation. (p. 69)

In the case of the current study, CHAT suggests the influences of external, societal factors on participants’ experiences and teaching practices. Nonetheless, Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and practice are especially insightful in terms of how participants’ preferences and adaptation of certain teaching approaches function as a habitus and how it shapes the field of CFL education.

As a theory originated in psychology, CHAT develops from a focus on the human mind and development through interaction with the outside world, whereas sociologists’ primary goal is to account for the structure and function of the social world via social practice. This is perhaps why

Bang (2014) remarked that compared to CHAT, “Bourdieu draws attention to mediation at a

‘macro’ or class structural level between man, physical objects and activity” (p. 342).

In addition, CHAT suggests studying the conflictual nature of social practice and indicates that contradictions arise during interactions among and within activity systems, assuming that there are different traditions and interests involved in the process and these differences will certainly lead to conflicts. Engeström (1987) used economic concepts of use value and exchange value as the primary contradiction in CHAT, but his concepts lack the explicit and thorough explanation that could be found in Bourdieu. The concepts of capital

57 values and mismatch of capital/habitus across fields (Bochner, 1986; Bourdieu, 1977), thus can supplement CHAT in explaining the sources of differences and contradictions for international and immigrant teachers teaching in a foreign environment.

Furthermore, for the current study, Bourdieu’s theorizing of language as a form of capital and medium of power offers an explicit and insightful perspective to examine potential language barriers of the teacher participants. In CHAT analysis, however, language function as tools, signs, and objects within an activity, which deals mainly with the traditional approaches to language and theory of speech-acts (Roth & Lee, 2007). A large component of activity heritage concentrates on language acquisition in terms of dialectical processes of inside and outside interactions (e.g., Vygotsky, 1978; Luria, 1976; and Lantolf, 2000), which might not be appropriate for the purpose of the study.

However, just like any theoretical constructs, Bourdieu’s sociological interpretation of agency and society is not perfect. Scholars have criticized Bourdieu’s framework for restricting the role of reflexivity in guiding one’s actions (Jenkins,1992; Sayer, 2004). Reflexivity is understood as “the regular exercise of the mental ability, shared by all normal people, to consider themselves in relation to their (social) contexts and vice versa” (Archer, 2012, p. 1) and to alter their place or circumstances in society. Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) and Bourdieu (2000) noted changes in individuals’ habitus in response to new experiences and the occurrence of rational choices/reflection during crisis (which is when a mismatch appears between habitus and field), but they lack sufficient descriptions regarding how individuals deal with changes and conflicts in terms of a knowing consciousness and sense making on an individual level.

Reflection is treated as only a form of habitus and a required constituent as any other disposition within a field. “It is not transcendent reflexivity,” said Adams (2006, p. 515). And even the

58 formation of habitus, according to Williams (2012) lacks the consideration of “how the societal enters the subjective psyche” (p.69). Overall, Bourdieu’s perspective underestimates “the degree to which agents can stand back from their milieu, reflect critically on their habitus, and act to transform it” (Bottero, 2010, p. 12). However, what CHAT was criticized for above—the belief in individuals’ power to act and change the environment—now becomes a merit of the framework. Individuals as social actors are actively engaging in envisioning solutions and handling conflicts. Reflexive consciousness, as a crucial aspect in activity, is crucial to understanding how educational and cultural values become internalized and how internalization facilitates action taking and transformation in the event of contradictions.

Despite of the differences in the fields of origin, there are great similarities between the two theoretical frameworks as both embrace Marxist concepts (Bang, 2014). CHAT emphasizes sociocultural influences on human development and how the activities people engage in also shape the outside world that impacts them. The other examines the interplay between habitus/capital and practice. Habitus is a natural disposition of an individual or a group that develops from acquisition of the tacit rules of a field. It reflects social structure and one’s social positions in a field. It also impacts one’s social practice and in the course of the practice, individuals or groups reproduce habitus/capital and the object social structure. Thus, both study the dialectical relations between individuals and society, agency and structure, the internal and external, the subject and the object.

Understanding and applying neo-patriotism. This study also adopted neo-patriotism as a theoretical perspective to look at the teacher participants’ attitudes toward and classroom instruction in relation to their homeland, its culture, and education. CHAT has been criticized for lacking the consideration of emotion and motivation in human activities, though these internal

59 dimensions of human beings are integral to action (Roth, 2007). The adoption of neo-patriotism will serve as an extension to the CHAT framework’s constructs of subjectivity.

In Beckett and Zhao (in press) neo-patriotism was defined as the ideology of modern patriotic sentiment observed in China that

stretches neoliberal global competition to include exertion of intellectual knowledge by

“exporting” (Feng, Beckett, & Huang, 2013) knowledge that some P.R.C citizens deem

necessary for the rest of the world to learn. Such neo-patriotism is reflected in the

Chinese government’s funding of Chinese language programs in the U.S and other

countries and the many Chinese teachers’ journey to those countries to “spread Chinese

language and culture” (Beckett & Li, 2012) as a way to compete for global standing.

(Introduction-definitions, para.1)

Central to the ideology is the feeling of pride and perceived importance of one’s culture and heritage. According to Druckman (1993), pride and love are deemed as healthy patriotic feelings toward one's own country and culture, which distinguishes patriotism from nationalism that is often associated with prejudice against other groups and nations.

Another affection basic to patriotism and nationalism is loyalty, a strong sentimental attachment to one’s group and nation. Loyalty affects individuals’ behaviors. Druckman (1993) cited experimental studies that examined behaviors and perceptions of individuals who were informed that they were representatives of a group and were perceived to stand for their group.

The author noticed an increase in the participants’ loyalty and commitment as the pressures on them mounted. “As the demands for loyalty and commitment increase, the tendency is to defend the group’s position and to gain something for the group in any negotiation” (p. 55). Thus, one could develop a strong sense of responsibility influenced by group or national loyalty.

The perceived importance of one’s nation and cultural heritage can be understood as a reflection of loyalty and thus a justified attitude of patriotism. This attitude does not necessarily lead to hostility towards another nation or involve “feelings of superiority and a need for national power and dominance” (Druckman, 1993, p.46). Hostility to other culture, on the other hand, is a typical sentiment of nationalism (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989).

However, neo-patriotism is different from general patriotism. Unlike general patriotic sentiment, neo-patriotism is grounded within the discourse of competition under neoliberal market economy. One the one hand, economic reforms and projects need nationalism to gather support and unitize national efforts to achieve the economic goal (Callahan, 2004). On the other hand, economic development and competition with other nations foster nationalistic sentiment.

As Harvey (2005) remarked,

The neoliberal state needs nationalism of a certain sort to survive. Forced to operate as a

competitive agent in the world market and seeking to establish the best possible business

climate, it mobilizes nationalism in its effort to succeed. Competition produces ephemeral

winners and losers in the global struggle for position, and this in itself can be a source of

national pride or of national soul-searching (p. 85).

This helps explain China’s outward transference of its knowledge and culture that arises out of its increased national pride as a result of its economic development and relative competitiveness on the global stage.

In addition, the history of foreign invasion in the 19th and 20th centuries and the discourse of national humiliation also facilitate China’s “patriotic nationalism,” a term specifically associated with the rise of China (Callahan, 2004) and its active approach in presenting itself culturally and ideologically with the purpose of seeking global recognition. Humiliation was

61 found to be an integral part of the construction of Chinese nationalism, which served to commemorate its weak past and thus also worked as an encouragement for its revitalization

(Callahan, 2004). The notion of “the rightful place of China on the world stage” according to

Callahan (2004) informs Chinese foreign policy. In his analysis of Hanban’s CFL promotion,

Starr (2009) raised the question: “Why has China, a relatively poor country, embarked on this

(funding and promoting CIs)?” He then argued that national pride played an important role.

“Many Chinese are still smarting from past humiliation and want to see China’s contribution to world culture better recognized” (p.80).

It should be noted, however, that neither the nationalistic sentiment that accompanies neoliberal market economy nor the discourse of national humiliation is peculiar to China, but “a translational model,” as argued by Callahan (2004). The former applies to nations worldwide that have participated in global markets. The latter is intertwined with modernity in general that is developed in resisting imperialism and dealing with domestic wars and conflicts.

To summarize, the ideology of neo-patriotism employed in the study extended the original definition by Beckett and Zhao (in press) that focused on the patriotic nationalism associated with neoliberal competition and embraces also the traits of patriotism (e.g., national pride and loyalty; Druckman, 1993) and sentiment grounded in the discourse of national humiliation (Callahan, 2004; Starr, 2004). This framework, thus, integrated economic, political, psychological, and historical perspectives of patriotism and patriotic nationalism.

Summary of Literature Review and Theoretical Perspectives In this chapter, Confucius’ educational principles and Confucian educational ideology were viewed to provide a cultural background of current Chinese educational values and practices in relation to Confucian tradition. Under the influences of Confucian educational

62 ideology, educators in Chinese society place strong emphasis on education, view learning as the result of individual efforts, and emphasize respect, authority, discipline, and harmony. While these Confucian values have perpetuated and fostered the development of education in Chinese society and beyond, scholars have also raised serious concerns about the downside of such a tradition that often poses a threat to the development of democracy, individual rights, and equality in society and students’ creativity and critical thinking. Some of the Confucian values are also considered a contradiction to Western perspectives of education. Criticism and concerns raised towards Confucian educational values can help explain potential conflicts and clashes between American and Chinese educational systems, but a holistic framework that considers both the marco-and micro-dimensions of society, culture, and mind needs to be employed to examine how and why conflicts occur beyond cultural differences.

The existing literature on cross-cultural teaching identified various challenges faced by immigrant and international teachers in the areas of English language, pedagogy, lesson planning, classroom management, relationships with students, and communication with parents.

These challenges are largely attributed, by these studies, to differences in cultural and educational practices, teachers’ insufficient knowledge of education in the target country, and thus the lack of preparation and support for pre-service and practicing teachers. For critical language education in the U.S., the paucity of teaching materials, limited teacher certification and education programs, and shortage of qualified teacher trainers also added to the challenges posed to foreign language instructors.

The experiences of immigrant and international teachers in cross-cultural teaching settings and issues surrounding foreign language education in the U.S. do call for serious attention from language and teacher education programs, schools, and other agencies and actions

63 needed to better help them transition into the new educational environment. However, there are several disadvantages identified in the literature reviewed that need to be addressed by the current and future research.

(a) The large body of the literature in the field focuses mainly on immigrant and

international teachers’ challenges and ignores the wealth of knowledge that they

possess. This focus may become an invitation for a deficit model of professional

development and education programs that impose mainstream concepts and

methods, othering the voices and experiences of immigrant and international

teachers (Lee & Bang, 2011).

(b) Many of the studies conducted lack a holistic view of the larger sociocultural,

ideological, and political landscape within which the teaching practices of

international and immigrant teachers are enacted and within which their experiences

are situated; and of the individual, micro-level analysis that affect teachers’

experiences and practices.

interviews or surveys to elicit teachers’ perspectives of their experiences without

long engagement in the field to observe the real classroom instruction and to provide

supplementary information to their perceptions.

(d) Because of the inadequate data sources, the majority of the studies thus lack a

historical understanding of international and immigrant teachers’ teaching

experiences and adjustment into a novel environment. They saw only challenges that

teachers faced or the changes they had to make to conform to target cultural and

educational practices, but overlooked the dynamics of educational values and

classroom practices involved when international and immigrant teachers from

diverse cultural background come into continuous contact with the target culture.

The literature review also included characteristics of Chinese language that may add to instructional difficulty for teachers and calls for alternative pedagogy suitable for teaching CFL to non-native speakers.

To fulfill the purpose of the current inquiry, this study developed a sociocultural framework based on a synthesis of Bourdieu’s concepts, Confucian educational ideology, neo- patriotism, cultural identity, and CHAT. Bourdieu’s concepts (alongside their extension with the theories of sojourner and cultural identity), neo-patriotism, and Confucian educational ideology can provide supplementary perspectives to CHAT which is positioned as the connecting framework due to its sociocultural roots, its extensiveness in studying sociocultural issues, and its wide application in educational research.

Neo-patriotism and Confucian educational ideology are two unique phenomena particular to this type of cross-cultural practice in the age of globalization. However, both can be understood in a dialectical relation between individual and society, internal and external dimensions, which then fall under the umbrella of both CHAT and Bourdieu’s concepts.

Patriotism is a personal attachment that comes inward, but the development of which has deep connections with one’s education, position of one’s country on a global stage, and the country’s history, and more. These external factors can dictate individuals’ minds and shape their actions through which they shape the outside world or maintain and reproduce patriotism. It is the same with Confucian educational philosophy. As a set of beliefs and practices that are developed first from one individual then by other contributors in history, it has become a prevalent ideology of

Chinese society that it guides both their individual and societal, collective educational practices.

Each individual’s practice of the Confucian ideas is a further extension, preservation, or modification of the tradition.

Chapter III Research Methodology

Research Design

This research adopted a multiple case study with ethnographic design. Case study is an interpretive category of research conducted to shed light on a particular phenomenon (e.g., a person, group, or event; Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). Stake (1995) differentiated among three types of case studies, the intrinsic, the instrumental, and multiple/collective case study. Intrinsic case study, similar to descriptive case study (Yin, 2003), refers to study on a particular individual case, such as a program, an individual, or an agency. Scholars engaging in instrumental case study focus on a case as an instance of a wider phenomenon in order to obtain a better general understanding of it. When more than one participant is chosen, the work becomes a collective or multiple case study (Yin, 2003). Thus, the present study is instrumental, multiple or collective study, “in which multiple cases are described and compared to provide insight into an issue”

(Creswell, 2005, p. 439). Furthermore, this study utilized case study because case studies are

“intensive descriptions and analyses of a single unit or bounded system” (Merriam, 1998, p. 19).

A case study allows researchers to focus on a single case or multiple cases with a rich, in-depth description and explanation in a specific context (Creswell, 1998; Merriam, 1998).

Ethnography is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena

(Hatch, 2002). It studies the phenomenon in its natural context, studying the places that certain aspects of culture are represented or groups of people inhabit, most importantly, focusing on the practices, beliefs, and norms that make up the culture of those contexts. The goal of contemporary ethnographies is “to account for the behavior of people by describing what it is 67 that they know that enables them to behave appropriately given the dictates of common sense in their community” (McDermott, 1976, p. 159). A key assumption for the ethnography is that by entering directly into and interacting with the lives of the people being studied, one reaches a better and more comprehensive understanding of the beliefs and behaviors of those individuals

(Mertens, 2005). I selected the qualitative ethnographic design by being an observer in classrooms in order to understand teacher participants’ experiences in their natural contexts with a more in-depth knowledge of the information obtained from their own perspectives.

Ethnographic case study is an appropriate approach for the study because of its “orientation to cultural understandings, its attention to local contexts of practice, and its recognition of the importance of incorporating multiple points of view in relation to observed phenomena” (Duff &

Uchida, 1997, p. 456).

However, ethnographic is different from ethnography. “‘Ethnographic’ refers to the use of theoretical principles and logics of inquiry derived from ethnography grounded in social and cultural anthropology” (Bloome, 2012, p. 11). Unlike classic ethnography which typically

“demands long-term engagement in the field, ethnographic case studies can be conducted over shorter spans of time to explore narrower fields of interest to help generate hypotheses”

(Parthasarathy, 2008, para. 4). The adoption of ethnographic perspective allows educational research to make good use of many of the features of ethnography without having to become fully-fledged anthropologists (Street, 2012). Thus, the macro aspect of ethnography that seeks to understand a phenomenon within a larger social and cultural context still applies to ethnographic case study. Furthermore, ethnographic case study combines many other merits of ethnography 68 and case study, which is the primary rationale to choose this type of methodology. Ethnography looks for cultural understandings and emphasizes the authentic settings of the phenomenon being studied. In addition, ethnographers immerse themselves in the naturalistic settings to become a part of the local community where they study for a certain period of time and to deepen their own understanding of cultural phenomena (Gall, Gall, and Borg, 2003; LeCompte & Schensul,

1999). Both ethnography and case studies incorporate multiple points of view for the issue being studied. Both focus on rich investigation and ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 2000) to convey the richness and depth of evidence brought to bear. As Merriam (1998) puts it, ethnography and case study have a common goal in “eliciting understanding and meaning, the researcher as a primary instrument of data collection and analysis, the use of fieldwork, and inductive orientation to analysis, and findings that are richly descriptive” (p.11). The advantage of ethnography and case study in terms of in-depth investigation of an issue brings in “congruence of experiential, presentational, and practical knowing: leads to action to transform the world in the service of human flourishing” (Guba & Lincoln, 2005. p.196). In this sense, ethnographic case study can serve as the groundwork for future actions and interventions.

Participants

Purposeful sampling (Creswell, 2009) which considers the type of case that is most promising and useful for the intention of this study was used. The goal of purposeful sampling is to select “information-rich cases whose study will illuminate the question under study” (Patton,

1990, p. 169). Participants were recruited from Chinese language teachers who met the standards of (a) native speakers of Chinese (b) teaching non-native speakers (c) in middle or high schools 69 across the country. Native speakers of Chinese refer to international teachers from mainland

China and Taiwan, both have Chinese as their first language. These international teachers included immigrant teachers who have received the status of permanent residency or American citizenship after immigrating to the U.S. and guest teachers who came to teach in the U.S. through an exchange program for a given amount of time. For those who immigrated to the U.S., they were defined as ethnic Chinese, born, raised, and educated in mainland China or Taiwan until at least at the age of 22, having finished their undergraduate degree in their home country.

The sampling of the teacher participants included those from the research site and outside. To recruit teachers in the research site, I contacted the teachers directly to get their consent for interviews. Permissions were also obtained from school principals if the teachers agreed to be observed. For those outside of the research site, I emailed my recruiting information to the

Chinese Language Teachers Association, Confucius Institutes, and Asian Study programs of different universities and asked them to distribute the message.

As a result, a total of 23 (twenty one females and two males) junior and senior high school teachers were recruited for the study. To protect the participants’ confidentiality, each of them was assigned with an alphabetic letter (code) based on their initials (see details in Table 1).

Among them, nine teachers were from Ohio and the rest were from other states, including

Massachusetts, Michigan, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Utah, and New Jersey. Five of the teachers were in the age range of 26–30, six were in the 31–35 range, one between 36–40, three were in the age range of 41–45 and four were in the 46–50 range. Twelve were full time teachers and eleven were part time, of whom six were Hanban 70 teachers. Hanban teachers were directly supervised by CIs which operate in collaboration with local affiliate colleges and universities. Twelve teachers worked for private schools; eight taught in public schools; one worked in a charter school; and two Hanban teachers have taught in schools of all kinds, including both public and private, Chinese schools, after school and weekend programs. Their teaching experience varied from four months to twenty-six years by the time of the interview.

This study focused on junior and senior high school teachers in part because foreign language learning for students in middle and high school is a very important stage, preparing students for college. Many competitive universities require students to take two or more years of foreign language in high school. Furthermore, students’ learning in high school serves a foundation for their continuous study in college. For many students, it is their first time to be exposed to a foreign language. Effective learning experiences in high school provide students with a smooth transition to their next phase of inquiry. Key to their successful transition are teachers who make the greatest impact on their learning experiences. Thus studying middle and high school teachers’ experiences and difficulties can inform policy makers, schools, and teacher educators about the support and resources teachers need, which will eventually benefit students headed to college (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007).

Table 1

Participants Demographic Information

Number of Age Years of Grade Number of School Teachers Gender classes & Status States Recent degrees Previous occupations Range teaching levels students types levels B.A. in international A F 46–50 11 5; 5 9–12 ~50 Private Full time MA Bank clerk, U.S. trade Taiwan College EFL Unknown (a Unknown (a Online Part time B M 31–35 2 9–12 MI B.A. in English, China instructor& student lot); 4 lot) (all) Hanban advisor, China M.A. in ed.; B.A. in Computer engineer, C F 41–45 6 5; 3 9–12 >100 Public Full time OH history, Taiwan U.S. Part time Master in music ed., Graduate student, D F 26–30 <1 3; 2 10; 11 ~15 Charter DE Hanban U.S. U.S. Computer engineer, E F 46–50 4 5; 3 9–12 ~80 Public Full time PA M.S. in CS; MBA, U.S. U.S. 7; 11; Part time M.A. in CFL ed., HK Graduate student, HK F F 26–30 4 2; 3 10 Private OH 12 Hanban China China M.A. in history; G F 31–35 5 4; 4 9–12 ~40 Private Part time NY Travel agency, U.S. communication, US Graduate student, H F 36–40 12 6; 4 5–12 96 Public Full time WI M.A. in CFL ed., U.S. U.S. College English I F 31–35 4 4; 2 2–4; 7 ~80 Charter Full time PA M.A. in TESOL, U.S. instructor, China Computer teacher, K F 41–45 8 5; 2 6–8 ~85 Charter Full time PA M.A. in ed., U.S. U.S. L F 46–50 13 2; 2 9–12 17 Private Part time OH B.A. in law, Taiwan Housewife, U.S. M F 41–45 6 5; 5 7–12 >100 Public Full time OH M.A. in ed., U.S. Math teacher, U.S. Part time Graduate student, N F 26–30 <1 1; 1 9; 12 9 Private DE M.A. in CFL ed., China Hanban China

Translator; manager P F 41–45 9 2; 2 9–12 38 Private Part time CT B.A. in English, China assistant, China University librarian, Q F 51–55 4 3; 2 10; 11 50 Public Full time OH M.A. in ed., U.S. China Part time High school English R F 26–30 <1 5; 5 7–12 ~50 Private PA M.A. in English, China Hanban teacher, China M.A. in world Graduate student, S F 26–30 4 2; 2 9–12 15 Public Full time UT languages, US U.S. Graduate student, T F 26–30 1 4; 4 9–12 N/A Private Full time NJ M.A. in CFL ed., U.S. U.S. M.A. in foreign Graduate student, U F 26–30 4 5; 5 8–12 >40 Private Full time OH language, U.S. U.S. College instructor of W F 31–35 6 2; 2 9–11 30 Private Full time OH M.A. in music ed., China music theory, China High school English X F 46–50 2 3; 4 9–12 29 Private Part time OH M.A. in ed., US teacher, China Online Unknown (a Unknown (a Part time M.A. in applied College English Y M 31–35 3 9–12 (all MI lot) lot) Hanban linguistics, China instructor, China kinds) High school English Z F 31–35 1 1; 1 10; 11 6 Private Part time OH M.A. in ed., U.S. teacher, China

Note. CS: Computer science; CFL: Chinese as a foreign language; ed.: Education; F: Female; M: Male; HK: Hong Kong; ~: About; >: More than; <: Less than Areas highlighted in grey were the information of the teacher participants who were observed in the study.

Data Collection

Due to the in-depth nature of the ethnographic case study, multiple techniques were utilized to collect data. These multiple sources of data collection included:

(a) one-on-one semi-structured interviews with teacher participants that were audiotaped;

(b) classroom interactions that were videotaped;

(d) artifact collection including the course syllabi, handouts, and lesson plans from the observed teacher participants;

(e) memos from the interviews; and

(f) field notes and a field work journal from class observations and interviews with the teachers who were been observed.

Interviews and participant observations were the two major data collection tools utilized for the study. Interviewing is described as a powerful tool to understand participants’ culture and the meaning making process of their experiences through language (Seidman, 1998; Spradley,

1980). The interview format was one-to-one and semi-structured (Creswell, 2005). According to

Creswell (2005), open-ended questions can provide the interviewees with space, flexibility, and options to respond based on their experiences without much constraint. For researchers, although they “come to the interview with guiding questions, they are open to following the leads of informants and probing into areas that arise during interview interactions” (Hatch, 2002, p. 94).

For each interview, an “interview protocol” (Creswell, 2005, p. 222) was prepared to record the date, time and place of an interview, interviewer, and interviewee’s name, structured questions and some space between the questions for note taking. After the completion of the interviews

74 with each participant, a memo was written to summarize and analyze the information obtained from the teacher informant.

Given the substantial information being collected from interviews, each teacher participant was interviewed formally for up to three times during the length of the study from

September 2013 to April 2014. Each interview emphasized different aspects of teacher experiences (see Appendix A). The first interview focused on gathering general information about what brought the participants to the field of teaching CFL and their experiences of classroom instruction. The second interview emphasized experiences regarding work relations, communications with parents, non-teaching tasks, and teacher evaluation. The last interview focused on their experiences and perceptions of teacher education and professional development, teachers’ suggestions to improve their experiences teaching in American schools, and advice for future Chinese language teachers in the field. Because of the semi-structured nature of the interviews, prompt questions that vary according to the participants and the conversations were also raised to clarify and obtain further information. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted at the same time. Additional questions (e.g., How do you define teacher-and student- centered questions? Which category do you think your teaching approaches belong to and why?) that were informed by the classroom observations and other interview informants were also added during the data collection process. Each interview lasted from half an hour to an hour.

Depending on the interview length and schedule of the interviewees, some discussed their perceptions and experiences covering all three topics in one interview and others did it in two or three separate times. The selection of the interview location was based on the participants’ preferences. For participants who lived outside the research site, phone interviews were conducted. All of the 23 teachers participated in the interviews. I audiotaped the interviews and

75 transcribed them for later analysis. The casual interviews were conducted in the language that the participants felt most comfortable with, which was in primarily Chinese with occasional English phrases. They were coded and analyzed in the original language used for the conversations.

Participant observation is a tool for researchers to learn about the activities of the people under study in a natural setting through observing and participating in the activities. It is defined as a process of “establishing rapport within a community and learning to act in such a way as to blend into the community so that its members will act naturally, then removing oneself from the setting or community to immerse oneself in the data to understand what is going on and be able to write about it” (Kawulich, 2005, Definitions, para. 3). “It involves getting close to people and making them feel comfortable enough with your presence so that you can observe and record information about their lives” (Bernard, 2006, p.342). Furthermore, participant observation gives researchers both insider and outsider experiences (Spradley, 1980). In the current study, I served as a teaching assistant when needed by helping with teaching sections of the classes, answering cultural and linguistic questions raised by the teachers and students, assisting with cultural events

(e.g., festival celebrations and Chinese club events), tutoring students during lunch breaks, and grading and commenting on students’ assignments. The role of participant observer in the research provided me opportunities to join teachers’ classroom life. I also participated in lab and lunch duties with the teacher informants to obtain a better understanding of their non-teaching tasks and experiences.

According to Spradley (1980), there are different degrees of involvement with the people and the activities that ethnographers observe. These variations were categorized into five types of participation including nonparticipation, passive, moderate, active, and complete. Researchers may have no involvement with the people or activities being studied by choosing not to be at the

76 scene of action. Researchers who use passive participation are present at the scene of action, but they do not participate or interact with other people. Active participation refers to a situation when researchers attempt to participate in activities to the fullest possible extent in order to learn the cultural rules for certain behaviors by observing and learning from others, as well as observing themselves. Complete participation is the highest level of involvement, which occurs when researchers study a situation in which they are already an ordinary participant (e.g., researchers turn their ordinary situations in which they are members into research settings).

However, complete participation may prevent the researchers from being able to see the nuances and tacit cultural rules at work. In this study, moderate participation was chosen to seek “a balance between insider and an outsider, and between participation and observation” (Spradley,

1980, p. 60).

Five out of the 23 participants, who taught in the research site, were observed (see Table

1). These five participants were considered as key informants and focal cases among the 23 teacher cases. Observation made by key informants was to be triangulated with inputs from the interviews with them and other teacher informants. Key informants are local individuals who can directly provide information about the CFL community, help the researchers make connections between the phenomena raised in the interview and classroom practices, and enable them to have a better understanding of the study population and their cultural environment (Module 2: participant observation). Specifically, classroom observation of the focal cases helped “draw inferences about someone’s meaning and perspective that you couldn’t obtain by relying exclusively on interview data” (Maxwell, 1996, p. 76). It enabled me to see how teachers taught and interacted with students in classrooms. The teachers might act differently in the classroom compared to what they would say in the interview. In addition, classroom observations allowed

77 me to see things that teachers might hesitate to or are “reluctant to state directly in interviews”

(Maxwell, 1996, p. 76). Classroom observation of the key informants, therefore, provided me with alternative interpretations to view the data and to look for the same phenomena (e.g., differences and challenges in teaching pedagogies, classroom management, and others listed above).

Classroom observation was video recorded and conducted on a weekly basis that spanned the academic year for up to 22 weeks depending on the school schedule and availability of teachers (see Table 2 for details). Each class lasted about 60 to 90 minutes. I transcribed the video recordings. During the observations, I took field notes and recorded descriptions of events that took place in the participants’ classrooms from the beginning of each period to the end. An observation protocol was created based on Spradley’s (1980) dimensions of social situations for descriptive observations and elements of an activity system (Engeström, 1999) to guide classroom observation (see Appendix B). This protocol includes descriptions of the classroom setup and environment, teacher instructions, student responses, verbal and nonverbal interactions

(Merriam, 1988), time and sequence of teaching and learning activities and acts, objects involved, the goal of activities, outcomes, rules, conversations, the author’s reflections, and notes. The observation protocol helped me focus on descriptive, “grand tour observations”

(Spradley, 1980, p.76) of the classroom practices by the key teacher participants. Grand tour observations gave an overview of the classroom activities and sequences of events. General, descriptive observations were conducted throughout the case studies, but the more focused and selective observations were also performed after initial data recording and informal analysis based on field notes and journaling.

Information from informal interviews refers to conversations held between the

78 investigators and the participants after each classroom observation. Conversations of this type were directly related to instruction methods, activities, lesson design, and classroom management. I took notes after the conversations based on my memory and attached them to each of the classroom observation notes for later analysis. Comments from the conversations used as supporting evidence in the findings will be paraphrased. The casual conversations were conducted in the language that the participants felt most comfortable with, which was in primarily Chinese with occasional English phrases. They were coded and analyzed in the original language used for the conversations. Only quotations that were selected for illustration some of the findings were translated into English. The investigator is fluent in both languages and by coding and analyzing the data in the original language used by the participants during data collection, she intended to maintain the original meanings that the participants wanted to express and the validity of the data (Smith, Chen, & Liu, 2008). Finally, artifacts including the course syllabi, handouts, and lesson plans were also collected to complement the information from class observations and interviews.

Table 2

Observation Information

Number of Class Cultural Observation Number Hours Total Teachers classes period events duration of visits observed hours observed (hours) (times) 04.03.2014– L 5 2 1 0 10 05.08.2014 10.10.2013– M 19 3 1 3** 50 04.24.2014 09.19.2013– Q 22 4* 1.5 1*** 67 04.08.2014 04.03.2014– W 5 2 1 0 10 06.02.2014 04.09.2014– Z 5 1 1 0 5 142 04.15.2014 Note. This table only displays observation information for video recorded classroom

79 instruction and cultural events. Time for casual conversations was not included. *: Two levels of classes in fall and another two different classes and levels in winter and spring quarters. **: One field trip to art museum and two Chinese club events ***: Chinese New Year celebration

Data Analysis

Data were first analyzed informally through memoing and reflective journaling during the data collection to make sense of the teacher participants’ behaviors and beliefs and to “record analysis of cultural meanings, interpretations and insights into the culture being studied”

(Spradley, 1979, p. 76). The analysis generated in this stage helped interpret some of the salient features and aspects of teachers’ experiences for the later analysis. Initial analysis of data from case studies helped to narrow down the focus of the observations. This step also turned out to be extremely useful for guiding the selection of representative examples and quotes in the writing of the findings.

A formal and systematic data analysis was conducted following three stages after the data collection. In the first stage, interview data were analyzed to capture a general picture about teachers’ experiences in general before delving into the specifics of each case. Interview data were analyzed inductively through open coding and domain analysis (Spradley, 1980) to identify themes and patterns in each case. Inductive data analysis was conducted based on the following steps:

1) Start with open coding. Interview transcripts were coded line-by-line. This allowed me to thoroughly examine the data and identify concepts within raw data with open-mindedness;

2) Read codes and identify semantic relationships by grouping codes into categories.

Semantic relationships were identified based on nine semantic relationships categorized by

Spradley (1979) for accomplishing domain analysis. They are strict inclusion (X is a kind of Y), spatial (X is a place in Y, X is a part of Y), cause-effect (X is a result of Y, X is a cause of Y),

80 rationale (X is a reason for doing Y), location for action (X is a place for doing Y), function (X is used for Y), means-end (X is a way to do Y), sequence (X is a step or stage in Y), attribution (X is an attribute, or characteristic, of Y). Additionally, a comparison domain (X is defined in terms of its similarity or contrast with Y) was created to describe the comparative relationship identified in the data.

3) Create domain sheets based on semantic relationships (Hatch, 2002, p. 164).

According to Spradley (1979), “any symbolic category that includes other categories is a domain. All the members of a domain share at least one feature of meaning” (p.100). A domain contains an included term, semantic relationship, and a cover term. Included terms are the members of a category that derived from open codes in the first stage of domain analysis. A cover term names the category into which all the included terms fit. The following is an example of a domain sheet created based on means-end relationship.

Table 3

A Domain Sheet Example on Suggestions to Future and New Teachers

Semantic Included terms Cover term relationship Avoiding lecturing throughout a class Understanding students’ learning interests Learning new pedagogical approaches Doing classroom observations Communicating better adjust to American Participating in professional development are ways to education Designing interesting & engaging lessons Including learning goals Building trusting relationship with students Learning classroom management skills Improving English language

81 4) “Identify salient domains, assign them a code and put others (domains) aside” (Hatch,

2002, p. 167). This is a process of “data reduction” (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 10), the goal of which was to narrow the focus of my analysis by studying the categories that emerged from the domain analysis and to decide which domains will be salient to my research. The salient domains were selected based on their frequency reported in the study and also their relevance to the purposes of the study. For example, a domain focusing on comparisons between American and

Chinese society in general that had no relevance to education was not included. One teacher’s experience of her school’s foreign language course requirements was put aside as it was particular only to that school.

5) Reread data, refining salient domains and keeping a record of where relationships are found in the data (Hatch, 2002, p. 169). At this stage, I reread my data alongside with domains to find all of the important included terms in the data.

6) Decide if domains are supported by data and search data for examples that do not fit with or run counter to the relationships in your domains (Hatch, 2002, p.170). Domains can be altered due to confrontation with data. Some can be abandoned based on contractions with data or lack of examples. This stage was to finalize salient domains.

7) Complete an analysis within domains (Hatch, 2002). “This step is about looking within the domains identified for complexity, richness, and depth” (p.171). In both steps 7 and 8, the researcher should be ready to go back and forth between domains and data.

8) Search for themes across domains (Hatch, 2002). This step studies domains by looking for connections among them. One can either start this step with potential themes in mind or do systematic comparison by looking for similarities and differences. Themes can be displayed graphically or by a written summary.

82 The second stage was to examine each single case by analyzing the classroom observations, informal conversations, artifacts, and interviews. Observation transcripts were first coded based on the observation guide to provide information about types of activities that were used throughout a class period. A further analysis of the activities was conducted both deductively and inductively based on pre-determined categories informed by the interviews and emerging concepts from the field notes, the journal, and the observation transcripts. Codes were numbered and organized according to the dates of the observation and the levels of the class and were then grouped into different categories based on their semantic relationships and concepts.

The following analytic steps were similar to the thematic analysis that were listed above for interview analysis, which were to identify salient domains, reread data and refine salient domains, search for empirical supporting evidence in the artifacts, observation transcripts, and conversation notes, complete an analysis within the domains, and search for themes across domains. Artifacts were examined to complete the information obtained from the classroom observations and the interviews.

The third level of the analysis was cross-case analysis to contrast and compare the focal cases. In a multiple case study, “the researchers have an obligation to provide interpretation across the cases” (Stake, 2006, p. 39). The cross-case analysis stage of the research was “to link the researcher’s assumptions and insights from the literature with comments on the extent to which such writings did or did not discern the particularities of the particularities” (Niyozov,

2001, p. 67) of the participants being studied. After the separate analysis of each case, a cross- case analysis was performed during which codes derived from the second stage were compared systematically across all five teacher informants to identify and understand any similarities or variations in the experiences and teaching practices of the local Chinese teachers.

83 Trustworthiness

The purpose of qualitative research is to bring credibility, dependability, transferability, and conformability of knowledge generated from a particular social context to a larger environment (Anfara, Brown, & Mangione, 2002). According to Schwandt (2001), credibility can “address the issue of the inquirer providing assurances of the fit between respondent’s views of their life ways and the inquirer’s reconstruction and representation of same” (p. 258).

Dependability refers to a research process that has been “logical, traceable, and documented” (p.

258). Transferability focuses on researchers’ responsibility for “providing readers with sufficient information on the case studied such that readers could establish the degree of similarity between the case studied and the case to which findings might be transferred” (p. 258), so that following studies can “engage in reasonable but modest speculation about whether findings are applicable to other cases with similar circumstances” (p. 107). Conformability concerns establishing the links among assertions, findings, and interpretations.

To increase the trustworthiness, or credibility, dependability, transferability, and conformability of the study, I employed the following procedures:

1) Member checking, the process of asking participants to comment on the accuracy of their accounts (Creswell, 2005). Member checks with informants in the study were done in several ways. First, I followed up with the teacher participants at the end of the data collection to clarify their comments from interviews and conversations, and verify field notes from the observations to make sure that my understandings of their meanings were accurate. In addition, the teacher participants had the opportunity to review their interview transcripts, to edit, and to provide further comments to the interview. I also shared with them the analysis and interpretations of their interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis to confirm if

84 the findings were true representations of what they wanted to express. Finally, the teacher participants were contacted to read and approve their narrative contributions that were placed in the research report before the final draft (Creswell, 1998).

2) Peer debriefing and examination (Lincoln & Guba, 1985), “a process of exposing oneself to a disinterested peer in a manner paralleling an analytic session and for the purpose of exploring aspects of the inquiry that might otherwise remain only implicit within the inquirer’s mind” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 308). Committee chairs and members and friends in graduate programs read the study and provided me with feedback.

3) Triangulation of data collection (Creswell, 2005), a process of corroborating evidence from different individual types of data or methods of data collection. I conducted multiple interviews with teacher participants, did classroom observations of the teachers, and collected lesson plans and other documents. Collecting data from several sources of information provided different perspectives on the issue.

4) The diverse methods of collecting data also enabled me to provide thick and accurate descriptions of the teachers’ experiences.

5) Prolonged engagement in the field (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). I also did long-term observation of classrooms at the research setting.

Thus, member checking, peer debriefing and examination, triangulation of data collection, thick description, and prolong engagement in the filed were the multiple strategies employed to increase the trustworthiness of the study.

Ethics

Ethical issues should be sensitively considered for all research types involving human participants. Three principles identified in the Belmont report (1979)—respect for persons,

85 beneficence, and justice—have been adopted as the standard for universities, research institutions, and many school districts in the U.S., guiding their practice of human participants’ research. Respect for persons means, “that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents” and “that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection” (p. 193). This study gained approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The participants were well-informed about the consent process and knew the nature of the study prior to their participation. Before every interview, they read through and signed the consent form or participated through oral consent of the information sheet if they resided outside of the research site. They were also aware that their data would be anonymized and that they could refuse to answer some of the interview questions or withdraw from the study at any time.

Beneficence is related to benefits, that is, how research is conducted in a way that serves the interests of individuals, groups or even society as a whole. In the Belmont report, beneficence is considered as an obligation of researchers, namely, “to do no harm” and “maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harm” (p. 199) to participants. Justice requires that the benefits and burdens of research should be justly distributed. In the study, I made clear my position with potential teacher participants, meeting one-on-one to discuss the goals of the study. I clearly described that my intention was to understand their practice and experiences rather than evaluating them. The teacher participants were not compensated for their time, but they understood that their participation in the study would make a difference to the field of CFL and modern foreign language education, which would eventually benefit them. For instance, the suggestions given by the teacher participants and the practical implications drawn based on their teaching experiences to the teacher educators and school administrators will help change the way how modern language teachers of foreign educational backgrounds are viewed in their schools,

86 how these teachers see their teaching practices and cultural knowledge, and how and what they should be trained in their professional development.

87 Chapter IV Interview Findings

This chapter presents participants’ perceptions of their experiences and practices based on an inductive analysis of the interviews. It addresses the following research questions:

What are the overall experiences and challenges, if any, of the teachers in their teaching practice?

How do these teachers make sense of their teaching experiences and negotiate challenges in their teaching practices?

Participants’ Background

An examination of the participants’ background reveals their diverse education and career backgrounds, a journey of re-finding themselves in a foreign land, and mixed identities.

Diverse education and career backgrounds. Examination of the prior education and work experiences of the participants and their journey of becoming a Chinese language teacher helps to illustrate their current teaching experience. Chinese teachers who participated in the study had diverse education and career backgrounds. They were from various professions prior to becoming a Chinese teacher. Their occupations ranged from bank clerk, to travel agent, to engineer. Among the total of 23 teachers, seven started their career in non-teaching related areas, such as finance, computer science, and translation. Seven were in graduate school before entering the teaching profession, of which six obtained their Master’s degrees in language

(English or Chinese) and one in music education. Nine taught previously in other subject areas either in colleges/universities or high schools. Among the six Hanban teachers in this study, half of them were recruited among college or high school English instructors and the other half were newly graduated Master’s students. The English instructors held their Master’s degrees in

English, whereas two of the newly graduated students were from CFL and one from music education.

88 The majority of the teacher participants held a Master’s degree with four who graduated

with a bachelor’s degree. Three teachers had double Master’s degrees (see details in Table 4).

Although the content areas were diverse, education, English, and CFL were the top three areas in

which most of the participants (n = 15) held their most recent degrees. All of the six who have

their Master’s degree in education were immigrant Chinese teachers. In addition, the majority (n

= 14) of the teacher participants received their recent Master’s degrees from American

universities.

Table 4

Education Backgrounds of the Teacher Participants

Content areas Total # of # of # of Places obtained teachers Bachelor’s Master’s Education* 6 0 6 All from U.S. CFL Education 4 0 4 2 U.S.; 2 P.R.C. Foreign/World Languages 2 0 2 Both from the U.S. English 5 2 3 4 P.R.C.; 1 U.S. Music 2 0 2 1 U.S.; 1 P.R.C. Law 1 1 0 Taiwan International Trade 1 1 0 Taiwan History; Communication 1 0 1 U.S. (double degree) Computer Science; MBA 1 0 1 U.S. (double degree) Note. Education covers various areas of emphasis in education, including educational technology, secondary education, and education administration, among others. One teacher participant obtained her Master’s in both education administration and secondary education.

A journey of re-finding oneself. In talking about their career choice to be a Chinese

teacher, the descriptions from non-Hanban teachers revealed a journey of re-examining and re-

finding themselves in terms of their identity, strengths, abilities, and interests. For most of them,

being a Chinese teacher defines who they are and is believed to be an appropriate choice based

on their strength as a native speaker and their interests in teaching. Among the 17 non-Hanban

teachers, 10 showed an obvious path of wondering and searching for a new career or focus if

89 they were teachers previously. For example, teacher E used to be a senior engineer and a manager. After being laid off due to a lab merger, she found a new job but of lower position and with frequent travelling, which she was not happy with as she also had two children to take care of. Meanwhile, she had been teaching part-time in Chinese schools, which made her think about taking it as a new career. In the interview, she said that she always loved teaching and was passionate about sharing Chinese language and culture. It was a really hard choice to make, switching from an engineer (for twenty two years) to be a language teacher. Her decision could not be understood or agreed to by her parents who thought that their daughter was wasting her talent being a Chinese teacher. However, she believed that it was the best choice for her and her family. More importantly she felt that Chinese language was part of her and she re-found herself in teaching the language. Teacher G said that she felt ownership in teaching her mother tongue and that she was excited to share the language and culture.

Among the participants, five of them decided to become a teacher after they immigrated to the U.S., so they pursued their Master’s in education which explains a relatively high number of teachers majoring in education. For instance, teacher X was previously an English instructor in a high school in Shanghai, China. She had taught English for about 30 years in China and had her bachelor’s in English language and a degree in educational administration, but after immigrating to the U.S., she found that she could not continue teaching the same subject nor could she find a job with her degrees in education administration and English. Thus, she finally decided to become a Chinese language teacher, after considering the fact that she was a native speaker of the language and that learning to teach Chinese obviously was the easiest way for her to get a license and a job. At the same time, she went to obtain her second Master’s in secondary education, to study teaching practices and American educational culture. Of the other seven

90 participants, four started teaching Chinese after being invited by Chinese schools where they sent their children to study. Starting from there, they then went to teach in public or private schools.

Only two were found to be a Chinese teacher by training. Both of them had a degree in CFL in

China, came to the U.S. to get their Master’s in world languages education, and then found a job teaching Chinese. Maybe because being Chinese language teachers was their second career, most of the non-Hanban teachers tend to be older (above 40) compared to Hanban teachers who were mostly under 30.

Mixed identity, but more Chinese. All of the non-Hanban teachers expressed a view that they lived with a mixed identity, or “a combo identity” as one teacher referred to it, under the influences of both Chinese and American cultures. Living in the American society either for a short or long period of time, their thinking, living, and behaving were affected to some degree.

Some teachers described that their ways of managing work and human relationships were greatly

Americanized. For example, that they had learned to communicate when a difference of opinion arose and to respect privacy. They also found that they became more open-minded, learned to appreciate diversity, and developed more understanding towards choices either made by themselves or others. Even for the six Hanban teachers, although their stay in the U.S. was fairly short compared to the rest of the teachers, they all noticed changes that had taken place in their personal and professional lives.

Six non-Hanban teachers in the study have lived in the U.S. for more than twenty years and one would assume that the longer they stayed, the more likely their identity would change.

However, only two teachers stated that they felt more American, whereas eight believed that they were more Chinese. They kept their dietary habits and preferences, lifestyles, and value systems established from their home countries. Many of them also reported influences of Confucian

91 thinking on their lives as reflected in the stress on education, respect for parents and elders, and the importance of humility and politeness. Another seven teachers did not specify which side their identity had shifted towards, but they were all able to identify aspects of their lives and practices in relation to either American or Chinese cultures. Two teachers believed that they were global citizens who had developed global perspectives because of their experiencing living in both cultures. One teacher explained that she felt at ease with her Chinese-American identity that closely and consistently connected her inner self, characteristics, and the outside world. The following is the remark from teacher A in the interview,

I feel steady with my mixed identity. I know that I am showing and teaching my student

what I have been educated and brought up with. This actually combines tightly my inner

self, my characteristics and qualifications, and the reality of American education and

society.

The positioning of their identity varied, but one thing that was certain was that all of them had a mixed identity of both Chinese and American and such an identity enabled them to understand and absorb positive aspects from both societies.

Encountering Difficulties

Practicing Confucian teaching principles. All of the teachers admitted that their educational experiences and identity affected their teaching and that the influences of

Confucianism were significant. Under the influences of Confucian education, they all stressed the importance of education and respect for teachers (zun shi zhong jiao), a common concept associated with Confucianism. They hoped students would take a serious attitude and put a great deal of effort into studying. Reflecting on her teaching methods, teacher G described it in this way,

92 I have been teaching for several years and all my children grew up in America, so I

understand that American schools have their own rules and ways of practice. Even so, my

teaching reflected aspects of Chinese education and culture. For example, I still expect all

of my students to be well-behaved, to be able to respect what they learned in my classes,

to work a bit harder than their other American peers. I believe that the key to successful

learning is not about if the instructors teach well, if the materials are good, or if students

are interested. The most important matter is if you study it, study it well. I believe this

expectation is due to the influences from my education experience in China.

They all seemed to care about the politeness of language and behaviors of students in communicating with teachers. For example, when being asked how their teaching reflected

Confucianism, most of the teachers talked about how they taught their students to address them by laoshi (senior master/scholar), a term used to refer to teachers. The majority of them also practiced xingli, the Chinese class routine of bowing and greetings at the beginning and the ending of a class. Teachers said that the use of xingli as practiced in Chinese society brought the

Chinese model of teaching into American classrooms, which is central to a Chinese class. Some teachers believed that practicing xingli was an appreciation for the efforts of the teachers in preparing and teaching lessons and for the knowledge imparted to students. Thus, it was an important way to teach and show students Confucian culture. Others thought it was a way to signal the beginning of a class, so that students could calm down and get ready for the lessons.

For example, teacher M described her understanding and practice of Confucian teaching:

One of the good things about Chinese education is its stress on respect for teachers. I

practice xingli before and after my classes. It’s a greeting but also a mutual appreciation.

As a teacher, you are supposed to say “thank you students” in xingli...and a student is

93 supposed to respect his or her teacher because teachers are so dedicated in preparing and

teaching the classes. This becomes a virtuous cycle as each side respects and feels

appreciated to the other, which is a desirable teaching and learning relationship.

Another aspect of the Confucian teaching influences was seen in their perception of teachers’ roles. They saw themselves not only as an instructor who just imparted subject content knowledge but also a mentor responsible for educating and guiding young generations in their personal and professional growth. Most of the teachers said that they held the same responsibility as their counterparts in mainland China and Taiwan, which was to chuandao (impart knowledge/Way), shouye (teach practical skills), jiehuo (solve confusions), exactly what

Confucian teaching advocates. Some teachers shared aspects of their work to illustrate how they represented a Confucian description of a laoshi’s responsibility. For instance, teacher H taught high school seniors and some of her students oftentimes did not have a specific career goal upon graduation. She often discussed educational and career choices with them and suggested they take it as a serious matter to think about. In teaching her classes, teacher L attached importance to the inspiration that students could get from her lessons and to the cultivation of students’ ability in examining real life issues from multiple perspectives.

Introducing Chinese culture through language teaching. All of the teachers claimed that teaching Chinese culture and values, including Confucian philosophies, was an essential part of the Chinese classes. Six of the teachers described explicitly that they taught values advocated by Confucius (e.g., ren–benevolence, li–ritual and propriety, and xiao–filial piety) and other aspects of Confucianism including respecting elders and cherishing the young, emphasizing education, respecting teachers, and valuing harmony. Other aspects of Chinese culture introduced included Chinese food, calligraphy, tai chi, paper cut, Chinese festivals, Chinese

94 music, historical anecdotes, and folk stories. Furthermore, some teachers wanted to present to students a panorama of modern China by showing them current popular TV programs. Teachers also showed students videos about students and schools in China and asked students to compare it with American education.

All of the teachers noted that the purpose of the Chinese class was to introduce students to both the language and the culture. Although the primary focus was for students to learn the language, introducing Chinese culture was a great way to engage students who showed strong interest in learning the culture. Teachers believed that the Chinese culture was extensive and profound and that they wanted to, and some even felt responsible to, share this with their students so that more and more people could get to know the culture. This statement of “pride” and “responsibility” was seen in many of the teachers’ responses. For example, teacher L often told her students to appreciate Chinese characters and the culture:

I told my students that these characters are their friends. Don’t you feel lucky to study

this language and the culture that have gone through thousands of years? It’s not like

Egyptians that only exist in pyramids. They are right here. People are still using it.

Teacher D said: “My major is Chinese music. I want to maintain and promote Chinese cultural heritage and let more people get to know it.” Hanban teachers also added that part of CI and

Hanban’s mission is to promote Chinese culture and so they felt a duty to teach Chinese culture in the host country.

Many teachers said that when introducing Chinese culture, they also explained to students the historical and contextual backgrounds to ensure that students had a proper understanding of it. They hoped that students could understand the reasons behind the existence

95 of certain cultural norms and their development. They also attempted to correct students’ misunderstandings of the Chinese culture. Teacher C shared her thoughts:

When you teach about a culture or any content, you have to explain its background and

reasons for its existence. And you hope that when your students study it, they could

understand at a deeper level–why Chinese people do it in that way, through comparing

and contrasting with other cultures. It would be a pity if they devalue something because

they know nothing about it, which is not really the purpose of education. If students

understand the cultural backgrounds and they will accept it. Whether it be a language or a

culture, once you compare it, you will soon discover that there is not really a big

difference. That’s the most important thing.

Cultural instruction, according to the teachers, was a gradual process just as the teaching and learning of the language itself. A few teachers also said that in addition to Chinese culture, they tried to bring in other cultures to their classrooms because of the diverse ethnic backgrounds of their students and the goal to enhance students’ knowledge and to broaden their global perspectives.

Conflicts in applying the Chinese way of teaching. The application of Chinese ways of teaching, including Confucian principles of education, was not always successful and oftentimes ran into conflicts with American education and culture. Many teacher participants reflected that in the initial phase of their teaching practice, they attempted to teach more to their students through lectures and direct instruction. Compared to their current approach, they created fewer activities and provided less time for students to practice the language in class. Soon they found that the structuring of the classes that focused on lectures oftentimes bored students who then began losing their interest and motivation for learning. Some became resistant to instructions and

96 caused behavioral problems as experienced by many teacher participants in the study. These teachers then became frustrated and struggled to get students back to a focus on learning. For example, teacher Y recalled his first three years teaching in U.S. classrooms of struggles and challenges. He noted that as many other Chinese teachers, he was so used to a teaching style that focused on lectures by teachers and note taking by students that he was not aware of the importance of designing engaging lessons and activities until some of his students became disruptive in class and become less motivated in learning.

Many teachers also noted that initially they were very strict with their students as Chinese teachers would be with their students in Chinese societies. They expected students to focus on and study what they taught, regardless of instructional methods and materials used. Most of them admitted that they had high expectations for students, expecting them to put effort into studying both inside and outside the classes. Thus, they placed a strong emphasis on grades in relation to students’ efforts and also tended to assign daily homework, more than what they do currently in terms of both frequency and quantity. These Chinese teachers’ high expectations of students and demand for their academic achievements did not bring them acknowledgement. Instead it often led to complaints and objections from school administrators and parents. For example, both teachers K and I said that they had complaints from parents who believed doing daily homework was a physical punishment for their children and had to reduce the amount of assignments. The resistance coming from students and parents could lead to frustration for these teachers, especially when they were not fully aware of the differences in educational beliefs and practices.

For instance, teacher P shared an experience of her friend,

I know a teacher who was young and new to his school. On his first day of class,

textbooks were not ready, so he decided to teach students to write characters. He wrote

97 them on the board first and asked his elementary students to copy them and take home to

practice. Next day, he got complaints from parents criticizing him for physically

punishing students who have never done so much homework before. He was frustrated

and bewildered as he regarded himself as a conscientious and dedicated teacher. So I

think the most important thing for the new teachers is to get to know your students. You

cannot simply bring the Chinese ways of teaching into your classroom.

The majority of the teachers in this study explicitly stated that they have encountered various conflicts and struggles when applying the Chinese pedagogical approaches. They all concluded that the Chinese ways of education were too demanding for American students. The application of such a model without considering students’ interests and needs, as well as school cultures did not work in their classrooms.

Some teachers, however, indicated that they did not encounter conflicts or they experienced what they perceived as only minor problems because they already knew how to teach and what to expect in American schools before becoming a Chinese language teacher.

These teachers believed that observing and getting involved with their own children’s education helped them become familiar with American education. In addition, these teachers said that going to graduate schools where they were given opportunities to observe classrooms and did student teaching in local schools enhanced their understanding of American education. Such experiences enabled them to see the differences between the two education systems, which helped reduce the cultural shocks and pedagogical conflicts when they began to teach.

A few teachers also revealed an easy transition from their previous pedagogical approaches to the new teaching methods which they had learned. They said that they were exposed to student-centered teaching concepts when they taught previously in mainland China or

98 Taiwan and went on to use those approaches in their current teaching. For example, teacher X said,

I used to teach in a key high school in Shanghai, which is more up to date and advanced

in various ways compared to some schools in second and third level cities. I have been

reading articles on pedagogies and second language acquisition that were based on new

ideas and developments from abroad. In addition, I have heard a lot from my friends who

taught in private schools. So I already knew what to expect and it was not a big surprise

to me when I began to teach Chinese in the U.S.

Disciplinary issues and classroom management. Many of the teachers never anticipated that they would encounter difficulties in handling disciplinary issues nor did they realize the importance of classroom management until they began to teach in the U.S. classrooms.

A major frustration was that “students do not respect teachers.” They showed nostalgia for school cultures in Chinese society where students were quiet when teachers were talking. They considered it disrespectful if students did not follow instructions or exchanged conversations with one another when the teachers were speaking. However, these expectations and requirements of student behaviors from Chinese teachers could easily cause misunderstandings or even conflicts with students, which enabled teachers to reflect on the cultural differences towards the perceptions of respect and discipline. Teacher D explained:

I told them to show respect but they said that they had never disrespected me and in fact

they quite respect me. I explained to them that if they kept talking when I told them not to

or refused to answer questions when I asked them to, in China that’s considered

disrespect for a teacher and his or her hard work. They insisted that it was not disrespect

and they could choose not to answer questions when they do not feel like to. So we could

99 not really understand each other at the beginning...I became really frustrated once and

yelled to the whole class because I felt they were so disrespectful to me. I remember that

I almost had my tears coming out, so I had to leave the room. I told them to reflect on

their behaviors and if they could not figure out what they had done wrong I would not

come back. Ten minutes later they found me and asked me to come back to the class and

I did, though they really did not say sorry. But from then on, it made me wonder what

was really respect or disrespect and began to learn more about classroom management

strategies.

This account of teacher D’s experience confronting her students revealed the existence of cultural differences in the perceptions of respect and discipline as well as a lack of understanding from both the teacher and her students on the matter. More importantly, the conflicts and confrontations that teacher D experienced provided her an opportunity to engage in reflective practice through which she began examining different perceptions of respect and discipline and adjusting to American school settings by learning and adopting classroom management skills.

In addition to the respect issue, teachers described other factors that might have contributed to their difficulties with classroom management. One was students’ willingness to challenge authority in a society which emphasizes the pursuit of equality and individual rights.

The second was that these students were adolescents and often acted rebellious toward authority and management. The third was the various family backgrounds that the students came from, especially in public schools. Students’ lack of motivation and disruptive behaviors in schools may have had less to do with the lesson and more with their experiences growing up and family situations (e.g., single parent family or low-income). According to some of the teacher participants, students might hold different opinions about education and behave differently in

100 school depending on the family they grow up in, the socio-economic status of their parents, and the support that their parents could provide to their children. Four of the teachers also reflected that they might have been too nice to their students at the beginning which might have caused them to lose their authority. Teacher U said that she was friendly to her students in her first year because she was not familiar with the school culture and American education as a whole. She was afraid that if she criticized her students when they did something wrong, they would dislike her. Teacher C believed that Chinese teachers had troubles disciplining students mostly because they had little experience with classroom management. They focused more on the delivery of instruction and less on maintaining discipline until it became problematic or too late. Recalling her own experience, teacher E said,

I have no experience dealing with mischievous children. My own kids are easy going. So

I have been too nice to my students, but soon I realized that being nice did not work. If

you are too nice, students take advantage of you. They think that there is no discipline in

the class and that you would always say yes to them.

Comparing Two Education Models—the Experiences of Cultural Differences

The teachers attributed their challenges teaching in U.S. classrooms to differences in educational systems and compared American and Chinese education models in detail from particular pedagogies, to teacher-student relationships, and to the large social contexts that shape the different practices. Their comparison also included similarities between American and

Chinese educational concepts.

Student-centered versus teacher-centered instruction. All of the teacher participants considered American pedagogy more student-centered in contrast to the teacher-centeredness in

Chinese pedagogy. According to them, in American education, curriculum design, and

101 instruction delivery are based on students’ interests. Unlike Chinese education, the teachers discovered that the first and foremost task for an American instructor was to stimulate and enhance students’ learning interests and motivation. American education believes that “learning should be fun” and students could learn well while enjoying participating in activities and games.

In instructional activities design, student engagement is an essential aspect to be considered.

American teachers attempt to design lessons that are both fun and educational by incorporating a variety of different activities, technologies, and teaching methods, which will likely ignite students’ interests and motivation to learn. Direct instruction and lectures are usually balanced with activities to enable students to practice new knowledge while sustaining their engagement.

Student-centeredness is also reflected in the recognition and accommodation to different learning abilities, styles, and needs. Teachers indicated that American education valued students’ individual characteristics and paid attention to their diverse abilities and needs. Instructors are able to individualize their teaching to accommodate different learners’ levels, abilities, and learning styles. Many teachers stated that such an approach to education sustained the development of students over a long run. For example, teacher K said,

Student-centered pedagogy focuses on students’ interests and abilities. Teachers could

apply differentiated instruction that helps to achieve students’ learning goals while

encouraging their interests. You could teach more to students of higher levels that would

fit their interests. You need a different method for those who take longer to absorb things

or have difficulties in learning. So there are different expectations of students depending

on their individual characteristics, which I think is a very good aspect of student-centered

pedagogy.

102 In contrast, Chinese education is more teacher-centered, which according to the teachers, neglects students’ individual interests, levels, and learning abilities, among other factors. It is expected that all students, regardless of their levels and abilities should study the same content, use the same method, and only be assessed by the same standard tests. There is no classification of learning disabilities and students of special needs. Teacher Y put it in this way,

Unlike the diversity of American education, Chinese education is more standardized and

singular. When I taught in China, I did not know the existence of special needs, ADHD,

nor was I aware of the differences of diverse cultural backgrounds. Even though there are

students from different provinces and ethnic backgrounds, once they come to study in a

university, they all appear the same to us. The diversity that we see in American

education does not exist in the “single” culture of China.

In addition, teachers said that instructors usually crammed information into the heads of their students. Lessons are mostly given through lectures with little or no time for student activities. In the teachers’ own words, it is a model of “lecturing and note-taking,” one that regards learning as a product rather than process, and the rigidity and goal-orientedness of which deprives students of the opportunity to pursue their interests and enjoy their learning.

Many teachers pointed out that the adoption of teacher-centered pedagogy had to do with the large student population and class size in mainland China which made it impossible for teachers to individualize instruction methods. It is common in mainland China to have 50–70 students per class, especially in high schools. American classrooms, however, have fewer students and higher teacher-student ratios which makes it easier for teachers to pay attention to and cater to the individual needs of the students. Furthermore, they remarked that American classrooms represented a greater cultural and racial diversity among students than most Chinese

103 schools, which required a repertoire of flexible and responsive approaches in dealing with students. Additionally, Chinese students overall demonstrate a high motivation in learning so that teachers do not need to spend much time designing and incorporating activities just to motivate students. Teacher S said, “It might be easier to be a teacher in China where you don’t need to worry too much about teaching performance. Students will work hard with a little stimulation given by a teacher.” According to the teachers, American students are less motivated by academic work, thus, requiring teachers to make learning more interesting and engaging for students. Ensuring students’ interests in learning was reported as a priority for many teacher participants. Furthermore, many teachers pointed out that their understanding of the Chinese education was based on their prior education or experiences that might not represent the current educational practices in Chinese society.

Quality education versus exam-oriented education. Some of the teachers further remarked that the distinction between teacher-and student-centered pedagogies in the two education systems was not absolute. The adoption of different teaching approaches was determined by a country’s specific realities and the objectives and focuses of its education.

According to all of the teacher participants, American education is quality education that focuses on students’ all-round development of personality, knowledge, and various abilities.

Assessment of students’ academic performance includes more than test scores, but also participation in both inside and outside classroom activities. More importantly, they felt that going to colleges or universities was not the only option for students. These teachers believed that in American education, there was more respect for students’ own career choices and academic pursuits in comparison to high schools in Chinese society. This allows American teachers to demand less of students academically by pushing them to a certain level using test

104 scores as the only benchmark. Without the pressure of preparing students only for the college entrance exam, teachers have more freedom to design their lessons in ways that address students’ interests and needs and more time to get to know their students on non-academic matters. As foreign language instructors, they felt that they could really help students speak and use the language for communication rather than focus on training students testing content and skills.

They adopted communicative functional approach to design activities and lessons that immerse students into the pragmatic use of the Chinese language.

Chinese education is exam-oriented. The primary task for Chinese instructors is to help students go into their dream universities by assisting in preparing students for the standard exams and getting good test scores. Curricula are designed to teach exam related knowledge and exam testing skills. “Teachers have to ensure that students master as much knowledge as possible in a given time,” as teacher Z described. As a result, there is no time and room for teachers to focus on developing students’ creativity and critical thinking skills. The foreign language curriculum, for example, concentrates on the teaching of grammar and vocabulary, which is the primary knowledge tested in the college entrance exam. Particularly in high schools, students are asked to practice their grammar and vocabulary knowledge by repeatedly doing exercises based on college entrance exam. Memorizing texts from their textbooks and writing a single word or character for multiple times are typical assignments. Students memorize information, but do not know how to use it in communications as they are not provided the space to practice a language in real circumstances. However, teachers mainly evaluate a student’s academic performance based on his or her test scores and can push students to study harder using the test score as the benchmark. Students also trust their teachers who train them both about the contents and techniques for taking various tests, including college-entrance exams.

105 Therefore, as many teachers reported, teacher-centered pedagogy is really a product of an exam-oriented education system. A few teachers also interpreted how the way in which Chinese teachers designed their lessons and taught students based on exams was designed to cater to students’ needs and interests, therefore, it also belonged to student-centered instruction. In

Chinese high schools, students’ primary goal and learning motivation is to go to their dream universities, so training and preparing students to get good test scores is also catering to students’ needs and interests.

Confucian philosophy of education better implemented in American education. The

Chinese and American models of education do not always conflict but also share similarities.

Many teachers believed that certain aspects of Confucian teaching principles were better represented and implemented in U.S. classrooms than in the Chinese education. For instance, one of the Confucian philosophies of teaching advocates “teaching according to each one’s gifts”

(yin cai shi jiao). According to the teachers, the emphasis on students’ interests and needs, the use of a variety of teaching approaches and assessments, and the caring for students of special needs exemplified this Confucian principle. Teacher D put it in this way,

American education better represents yin cai shi jiao. It focuses on students’ learning

interests, talents, and needs. Students are able to choose courses which are of interest to

them. If they have decided what their career is going to be in the future, they have the

freedom to choose the type of education that would work for them. Nobody is forced to

attend university if he wants to be a firefighter and to get his training in a technical school.

Teacher K felt that the concept of “teaching according to each one’s gifts” equals to

“differentiated instruction” in American education. Drawing on her own teaching experience, she said,

106 The idea of yin cai shi jiao is what Confucius first brought forward ages ago. It is often

mentioned as “differentiated instruction” in American curriculum. So there are some

aspects of Eastern and Western philosophies that can match with each other. I am

working in a public school open to students of various backgrounds. I have seen many

examples in which yin cai shi jiao comes in to play. For example, I have students with

ADHD, ADD, or suicidal ideation, which needs close and careful attention. One has to

mind his or her way of talking to students of suicidal ideation so as not to hurt their

feelings.

Other Confucian concepts of teaching that fit American education mentioned by the teachers include “education regardless of social distinctions” (you jiao wu lei), “teaching as interactive and mutual learning process” (jiao xue xiang zhang), and “benevolence and propriety”

(ren and li). The approaches to students of special needs demonstrate the concept of “education regardless of social distinctions.” “Teaching as interactive and mutual learning process” is seen in the curriculum design that includes interactive activities in which both teachers and students could engage in discussions that help students’ learning of the knowledge and teachers’ understanding and improvement of their instructions. For example, teacher E remarked,

I used to teach college students in China and have also observed Chinese high school

classrooms recently during our visits to high schools in China as part of our exchange

program. American students are a lot more active in class compared to Chinese students.

We have about one third or half of a class period for interactive activities. Unlike Chinese

students who tend to believe in every single word of their teachers, American students do

not always think you are right. So they ask many questions, and some of which I

probably need to give some thoughts to before I can respond to them, but that is how jiao

107 xue xiang zhang (mutual learning) occurs through these kinds of interactions and

reflections.

Benevolence and propriety are two important virtues advocated by Confucius, but in the current market-driven economy in mainland China, teachers believed that those existed mostly in books not in people’s practice. Furthermore, the way they were treated as highly valued virtues that need cultivation and study as a school subject course makes it far from a natural and necessary aspect of people’s lives. In contrast to most teacher participants’ views of American students being disrespectful in classrooms, some teachers felt that the practice of benevolence and propriety was naturally reflected in students’ respect and politeness in communicating and approaching teachers. For example, when asked how Confucianism influenced her teaching practices, teacher A said,

As a matter of fact, I think my students teach me more about benevolence and propriety

than what I can offer to them. They are really good at interpersonal communication, such

as what to say and how to express it appropriately both in terms of wording and tones to a

teacher. I teach my students xing li because I want them to experience the Chinese classes

in mainland China or Taiwan, but respect is more than xing li. It is also represented in the

attitudes and skills of interpersonal communication of the students.

Differences in teacher-student relationships. All of the teachers perceived teacher- student relationships in U.S. classrooms to be more equal compared to the authoritative figure of teachers in Chinese society. They noted that in Confucian culture, teachers were seen more akin to parents and students sometimes were timid to talk to them. In American education, they believed that teachers acted more like facilitators whose role was to assist students in achieving their learning tasks and to provide guidance and support in their academic and personal growth.

108 Compared to Chinese students, they noticed that American students had more autonomy in deciding their learning focus, methods, and time management. In Chinese high schools, teachers usually tell students what to do, what to study, and what things mean. They decide and design all of the assignments and study schedules. Students only need to follow their teachers’ instructions, thus becoming “followers not creators,” as teacher Y put it. Chinese students are seen to be more obedient to teachers and reserved than their American peers. American students, on the other hand, are less restricted in communicating with teachers and more willing to challenge authority.

Teachers noted that American education emphasized the training and development of students’ creative and critical thinking skills by encouraging students to come up with and discuss their own ideas and thus welcoming various viewpoints. American students appear to be more active in asking teachers questions and articulating themselves than their Chinese peers.

Furthermore, students are expected to sit still and follow their teachers’ instructions in

Chinese school settings. Students are not supposed to talk among themselves while the teacher is talking. It is considered disrespectful if students do not follow instructions and talk, eat, or engage in other disruptive behaviors while the teachers are talking. American classrooms are

“more free” as the teacher participants described. Students are allowed to have snacks and sit in a position they feel comfortable with, though teachers sometimes set up their own codes of student conduct.

Respect and involvement of parents. Almost all of the teacher participants indicated that teachers in the U.S. receive less respect than their counterparts in Chinese society. They felt that teaching as a profession enjoyed a high social status in Chinese society where their knowledge and contributions were fully acknowledged and respected. Parents usually believe in what teachers say in regard to their child’s behavior and support teachers’ work. This is most

109 distinctively opposite in American schools where parents can directly comment or criticize a teacher and may even make complaints to school principals if they disagree about an assignment, a teaching method, or if they disbelieve what the teacher said regarding their child’s misbehavior, which many teachers have experienced themselves. In addition, unlike in Chinese societies where parents usually initiated communication with teachers, teachers in America normally reached out to parents first to keep them updated about students’ progress or ask for assistance.

“It makes sense,” as teacher X put it, “because our role as teachers is to provide service to students and parents who are our customers.” Below is what teacher P reported based on her experience,

The most striking experience for me was the relationship between parents and teachers.

When I first became a teacher, I was really surprised that a very large component of

various teacher trainings was about how to build a good relationship with parents. It was

quite shocking to me, you know? Because in China it’s always about “emphasis on

education and respect for teachers” (zun shi zhong jiao). Parents believe in what teachers

say and they support teachers wholeheartedly. But here in America, parents question

teachers all the time. If their child did not perform well, they all come to you asking what

you have done. So as a teacher you need to frequently communicate with parents

reporting your work and requesting assistance from them.

Teachers noted that most parents were cooperative and willing to support and assist teachers, but communicating with some was difficult. They did not believe what teachers said regarding their children whom they thought were perfect. At the same time, there were those parents who did not show much interest in the education of their children. In general, teachers believed that American parents were involved less in students’ education compared to Chinese

110 parents who followed closely their children’ academic performance and urged them to study after school. “Regardless of family situation,” teacher P said, “Chinese parents strived to ensure that their children have the time and environment for studying after school.” Some of the parents that teachers communicated with showed little interest in their children’s performance in Chinese class and even the core subjects. It was noted that they usually would not push students toward more challenging academic work and achievement. Teachers mentioned that parents’ attitudes toward students’ academic performance vary by school types and districts. Those who now work in private schools and good public schools reported that parents cared more about grades and they usually contacted teachers frequently.

More teaching and non-teaching responsibilities. Most of the teacher participants discovered that teachers in the U.S. held more responsibilities compared to their counterparts in

Chinese societies where a teacher’s primary role is teaching. In American education, however, teachers were assigned both teaching and non-teaching tasks, which according to teachers was more complicated than expected. Even for teaching per se, it was considered that teachers had fewer responsibilities in Chinese societies where schools have teaching and research offices that take care of textbook selection and syllabus design. Unlike in the U.S. schools where if teachers initiated their own activities, they had to plan and organize the events by themselves, as well as being financially responsible, the teaching and research office in Chinese schools on the other hand, were responsible for events planning. In addition, there was more paper work to do in

American schools. Most of the full-time Chinese teachers stated that they were assigned many non-teaching tasks ranging from coaching, doing lunch and bus duties, filling in as substitute teachers, to advising student organizations in addition to their tight teaching schedule. As teacher

Q put it, “American schools overuse teachers.” Furthermore, teachers were also expected to

111 participate in community service activities. These tasks for full-time teachers usually do not find their match in Chinese societies.

Pros and cons of work relations. Work relations in American schools were regarded as more straightforward with fewer conflicts of interests and less competition among colleagues compared to that in Chinese societies. Many teachers also expressed their positive attitudes towards the less hierarchical work relations between school principals and teachers in the U.S.

Principals do not act like they are superior to everybody else, which enables teachers to work openly with them. They also liked the transparency in their work from work schedules to salary information of their colleagues, especially those of the principals and directors. A few teachers said that even though they liked the equal work relations with superiors, they tended to regard them the way they did back in China and did not feel comfortable complaining to or disagreeing with them.

Furthermore, many teacher participants felt that issues were usually handled based on rules and principles without teacher involvement in American schools. The same was true with teacher performance evaluation. However, in Chinese society, guanxi (relationship), in particular with superiors, plays a very important role and sometimes may have more influences than rules and principles in work relations. Working in American schools, teachers felt that they could focus more on their own work rather than spending time and efforts in building guanxi. However, the downside of rule-based work relations in American society to some teachers was that establishing a close relationship with their colleagues was not easy. They found their American colleagues independent and indifferent. A few teachers also shared negative experiences related to their work relationships. For example, teacher X was questioned about her qualifications as she had never taught in the U.S. before although she had a teaching certificate and had

112 previously taught for 30 years in China. Teacher H’s colleagues had complained to her about her broken English and her qualification as a teacher as well. Regardless, they believed that the most important thing for them is to focus on their teaching and do their job well.

Adapting to American education—Self as a Learner and Constant Adjustment

Experiencing the differences and conflicts between two educational systems, all of the teachers all began to adapt to the American education by adjusting every aspect of their teaching and practice, especially toward the teaching approach and instructional delivery. They had to change both their thinking and doing to accommodate their students rather than waiting for their students to completely understand and accept their teaching methods. The teachers said that adjustment was a necessary step for them to be a successful teacher. If they continued practicing their original ways of teaching, however, they were afraid that they would lose their students and eventually their own jobs too.

The adaptation into American education also includes the understanding of the importance of classroom management and the adjustment of requirements for students’ behaviors and disciplinary issues. All of the teachers reported that they had to learn management skills and to negotiate or compromise with the system and their students by setting up classroom norms that were both acceptable to students and the teachers themselves. They also attempted to lower their expectations towards students’ study attitudes, motivation, and performance in relation with the fact that Chinese was only an elective course among other foreign languages.

Teacher participants understood that students chose Chinese for various reasons–some out of interest and pragmatic needs and others might just be curious because it was different. Many students might not be as highly motivated as anticipated. This was deemed to be in sharp contrast to the status and importance of English as a mandatory school subject and the only foreign

113 language offered in primary and secondary education in China. Teacher Z who was previously a high school English instructor in China shared her experience:

I now praise students a lot more. I cannot teach them based on the same standards and

requirements of English for Chinese students. English as a foreign language is very, very

important in high schools in China. However, foreign languages here do not matter that

much. Chinese as a school subject in America is just like music and fine arts classes in

China. Students study a foreign language just for fun.

All of the teachers considered themselves to be learners who had many things to learn and they expressed strong interests and needs in learning new teaching methods, activity design, technology, and assessment techniques in American education. Most of them attended workshops and conferences to learn this knowledge and information. In addition, teachers learned from their colleagues by observing their classes and communicating with them. However, some teachers have developed habits or strong adherence to certain teaching approaches. Even when they learned a new set of educational concepts and approaches through trainings and workshops, they found that their new learning was not immediately reflected in their actions. In addition, many of the teachers admitted that the influences of Chinese education on their teaching practice were deep. Therefore, they had to constantly remind themselves of the characteristics of American education and be conscious and reflective on their teaching to avoid falling back into Chinese ways of teaching. The adjustment, according to many teachers, would not happen immediately, but rather it was a process that required continuous learning and practice based on their own mistakes. For instance, teacher Y, a Hanban teacher, described his experience of adapting to the American style of teaching,

114 Before teaching Chinese, I had gone through all kinds of pre-service training. Then there

was also in-service training, including training on textbook use and teaching materials.

But honestly, the differences between Chinese and American education was something

that you had to experience yourself. These trainings helped me understand American

education and the trends and developments of some educational concepts, but to really

understand them you have to practice and experience them in your own classrooms...it’s a

constant adjustment through understanding and learning based on your own practice and

experience.

Examining the Outcomes of Adaptation

The teacher participants’ accounts of their experiences also revealed reflections and examinations of their adaptation process and outcomes in American school settings. These included the changes that they noticed in their current teaching practices, reconsideration of their adoption American pedagogical approaches and their effectiveness, and their efforts in synthesizing American and Chinese educational models into their classrooms.

Influences from American education philosophies and practices. All of the teacher participants noted changes that had taken place in their instruction in their adjustment to

American education. Most of them adopted the pragmatic approach of language teaching, focusing on developing students’ communicative competence. In designing lessons, teachers said they considered types of phrases and expressions to teach based on their uses in reality that mostly relate to students’ lives. As the goal of their instruction was to help students use the language, teachers attached great importance to the design and adoption of activities and assignments that would enable students to practice the language. Many implemented project- based instructions which allowed students to practice language use through project activities.

115 Others tried to create an authentic learning environment by speaking more Chinese in classroom instructions, letting students read Chinese news and watch recently released videos and TV programs in China, or even taking students to summer camps in China.

All of the teachers considered that their teaching approaches had become more learner- centered and that their teaching performance had improved. They now became more aware of students’ individual learning styles, needs, as well as their cognitive and cultural characteristics.

They incorporated activities and games to increase student engagement. Many teachers said that they only used one third or less of a class period for lecturing and left the rest of the time for student activities and interactions. As put by teacher E, “teaching is supposed to be appropriately paced, giving enough time for students to breathe after lectures.” They used differentiated instruction according to students’ needs and learning styles and held different expectations towards students’ academic performance, respecting students’ preferences toward certain school subjects and their academic and career pursuits.

Some teachers said that they experienced a reconstruction of their roles from being a teacher with the absolute authority to being a facilitator with more equality with their students.

Instead of lecturing and expecting students to follow exactly what they said, they gave students autonomy in their learning and provided support and guidance in their thinking and learning process. Students were encouraged to ask questions and even argue with teachers. Many teachers reported that their classrooms were becoming more interactive and causal. A few teachers said that they wanted to build a close relationship with their students through sharing their educational experience, their lives, and family stories. “An open communication to students,” as as referred by some teachers, was a great change that had taken place in their teaching.

116 Dilemma in applying American pedagogy. Despite the influences from American education, almost half of the teacher participants raised questions towards the effectiveness of some pedagogical approaches and described what they considered as disadvantages of American education, in particular with the use of activities and projects.

They believed that many classroom activities incorporated to implement “learning while playing” were more for fun than for learning. They discovered that students often became so excited in playing games and activities that they picked little language knowledge or even if they learned and practiced some during activities, they forgot them easily afterwards. Furthermore, with respect to “learning by doing” which was agreed by teachers as a great concept, they stated that it should not be implemented as the only approach in classroom instruction primarily because approaches that practice the concept such as project- and task-based instruction can be very time-consuming. Within a certain time frame, information acquired by students is limited in terms of quantity and depth. The method of Teaching Proficiency through Reading and

Storytelling (TPRS) was deemed unsuitable for students in the Advanced Placement Chinese course that requires systematic and substantial language practice and exposure. Teachers also found that project- and task-based instructions did not work well with students who had no background or previous training in Chinese in terms of language skill development. Though these approaches have become quite popular in language education and have been advocated as if they would work for all occasions, teacher participants suggested that teachers should consider using the approaches after building some foundation for language skills for students. A few teachers expressed their disagreement about the de-emphasis on memorization in American education which they considered to be an important method for language learning. “Students do not learn much by American pedagogy,” said teacher L.

117 The teachers concluded that American education in general put less demand on students’ academic work compared to education in Chinese societies. The level of curriculum content also lags behind those of schools in Chinese societies. Students in the U.S. thus learned less and more slowly than their counterparts in Chinese societies.

Combination and compromise between two educational philosophies and practices.

All of the teacher participants indicated that they attempted to incorporate both Chinese and

American teaching philosophies and practices into their teaching. They believed that there were valuable aspects of each education system and that they should “take the essences from the two,” as several teachers remarked. They pointed out that Confucianism, and in particular the concept of “respect for teachers and emphasis on education,” was what they tried to teach their students.

They wanted students to learn xingli, politeness of behaviors and language, and self-discipline.

As for American education, teachers considered the spirit of individualism as a merit that should be, and had to be, adopted in their classrooms.

With respect to pedagogy, teachers stated that student- and teacher-centered approaches were complementary to each other. Despite the rigidity of Chinese teaching methods, they ensure quantity and depth of knowledge being imparted, which provides students a solid academic foundation. American teaching methods, on the other hand, maintain students’ interest in learning and foster their development of communicative competence. They believed that it was more effective to combine activities and projects with lectures, pattern drill, and homework rather than solely relying on one pedagogical approach. For example, teacher P, in illustrating her synthesis of the two educational approaches, said that she asked students to memorize dialogues and then act them out, the combination of which builds students’ language knowledge and provides them with a strong sense of language while letting them have fun in acting. Almost

118 half of the teacher participants reported that within their combination of the two teaching approaches, their style was more towards student-centered. Teacher Q explained that it was better to be more student-centered because if students had no interest in learning the language, there was no point in teaching it. Others mentioned that their inclination toward the student- centered approach was primarily because of their adaptation to the American educational system.

The achieved balance between the two approaches came through a process of compromise based on their experiences of conflicts in directly applying the Chinese model of education, the realization of shortcomings in relying only on American pedagogy, the understanding of the merits in each educational model, and the negotiation of the synthesis of the two. Teacher K described her teaching style as composed both of American and Chinese pedagogies,

it has always been a compromise for me. The traditional way [Chinese approach] that we

were taught by in school did not work in the U.S because it was regarded as demanding

for American students...but I think there are advantages to Chinese education that I want

to keep.

A few teachers who were in their first year of teaching were still exploring how or what to include from each side. For example, teacher S wished to balance criticism and praise, two extreme strategies for commenting on students’ work. She discovered that Chinese teachers and parents were never satisfied with students and tended to criticize students frequently in Chinese education, whereas in American education students got praise and encouragement even when students deserved criticism. Teacher T wanted to establish herself as an authoritative and caring guide, a mixed figure of Chinese and American educator. Teacher U who was still exploring what to include in her teaching repertoire stated,

119 I do not want to become a completely Americanized educator, turning into someone who

loses the meaning of being a Chinese language teacher. A Chinese class should have

Chinese education characteristics, though I am currently still exploring what and how to

get essences from both education cultures.

Getting better at classroom management. Teachers described that they had become better in classroom management in adjusting to American school settings and shared their strategies based on lessons learned from their experiences. Those who said that they currently did not have issues with classroom management also described what they believed to be good strategies for maintaining discipline. The first was to establish authority by creating classroom rules on the first few days of class and following through on the specified consequences for misbehavior. Although the content of classroom rules was not specified, some teachers did indicate that students were not allowed to talk or eat when the teacher was talking. Teachers learned that they have to be strict with the rules but also give students verbal warnings before a penalty. The basic principle is to be “nice and firm” as teacher E described. The second strategy was to build a positive relationship with their students. Although specific strategies were not further described, teachers believed that they would earn respect from students after building a good relationship with them. The third was to pay attention to students’ self-esteem and personalities. When there were issues with student discipline, teachers also needed to reflect on their lesson plans and to examine the engagement of students in relation to the lesson design. In addition, teachers believed that there were fewer disciplinary and classroom management problems in private schools. Students are usually from families of high socioeconomic status and have higher learning motivation and better self-discipline in general. They also found that

120 Catholic schools in general trained students well in self-discipline, thus enabling teachers to have more time focusing on instructions.

Despite improvements in classroom management, teachers pointed out that they had to be really careful and cautious of student misbehavior and their actions in response. They often consulted with their families and colleagues before taking the next step. Even after they had gained some experience in dealing with disciplinary issues, there were many situations that they did not know how to handle.

Communicating and building relationships with colleagues and parents. Most of the teacher participants said communicating with colleagues and parents had become an important part of their work. According to teacher Y, one of the greatest changes taking place for him was becoming a frequent communicator with his students, parents, as well as colleagues. He remarked in the interview, “I think my mindset has changed substantially. Gradually I begin to communicate more with my students, parents, and colleagues. Being open to communication is definitely the biggest change for me.”

They usually contacted parents regarding students’ academic performance by emails and phone calls. They sent progress reports, summaries of learning content, and newsletters of events, reminded parents of deadlines for projects and exams, and asked parents to monitor or urge students to study at home. They also communicated with parents about student misbehavior and answered their questions about the class. By regularly communicating with parents, the teachers intended to build a good relationship with them and to seek their support and assistance with students’ academic progress. Only three teachers said they seldom communicated with parents.

One of them was at a boarding school with a strong focus on students’ academic achievement.

This teacher said students who were sent there were mostly motivated in learning. Two were

121 Hanban teachers who said that parents never contacted them though they had given out their contact information.

The teachers discovered that communicating with parents had to be strategic as many

Chinese teachers are straightforward and are likely to directly list students’ failings when approaching parents who may take it as insult. An effective way, according to some teachers, was “a sandwich approach” in which they started with the merits of a student, then kindly referred to areas that he or she had room for improvement, and concluded with praise for the student. Learning the language and customs to communicate with parents was considered important for their teaching.

Most of the teacher participants said that they interacted often with their colleagues who taught foreign languages in the school, which they found helpful for their work. They often shared teaching resources and work experiences including teaching and handling students’ behavioral problems. They learned from each other through communication. In general, they had a good relationship with their colleagues. As a work team, they were willing to provide advice and assistance for each other when things occurred.

They made use of chances for their colleagues to get to know them by participating in department and school events, sharing their experiences and expressing their opinions in department meetings, attending trainings and workshops in their schools, and bringing Chinese food and gifts during traditional holidays to the office. They also tried to socialize with their colleagues outside of work. As noted by some of the teachers, relation building takes effort and time and also depends on one’s personality and prior work experience. Nonetheless, it is important for teachers to have a team where they could share teaching resources and practices. A few Hanban teachers indicated that they found their team with other teachers and faculty in

122 Confucius Institutes (CI). However, for non-Hanban teachers who were the only Chinese language teacher in the school or the whole district, their experiences were different. Even though they interacted with their colleagues who were also foreign language instructors, what they could share, collaborate with, and learn from each other was limited as Chinese is very different from Romance languages.

Continuing Challenges

Despite their conscious adjustment to American education, teacher participants still reported pedagogical challenges faced in their current teaching practice. In addition, there were still language difficulties and other challenges identified as unique to the field of CFL in the U.S.

Pedagogical challenges. Eight teachers explicitly stated challenges with developing engaging and effective lessons. Although they have admitted changes in their pedagogy from lecture-based to more interactive classrooms, they considered lesson designing difficult, especially among those teachers who have taught four years or less. According to them, the challenge came from the reality that many students have low motivation. Rather than focusing on language content, teachers thus had to spend more time and effort on the form of instruction by including all kinds of activities and technologies just to stimulate and maintain students’ learning interests. Educated in a lecture-based schooling environment, teachers stated that they had to learn various activities, their design, and implementation in their classrooms. As teacher U said,

“I didn’t get to play activities when I went to school, so I have to learn them first.” For most of them, designing one engaging and interesting lesson was fairly easy, but to do that daily was a daunting task, as it required teachers to constantly acquire new sets of activities and technologies.

As the purpose of the activities was for students to enjoy learning and practicing the language, teachers said it was hard to keep the balance of the two. Several teachers said that the design and

123 the control of activities were difficult for new teachers like themselves. Thus, they hoped to learn more about the design and timing of projects and activities.

A few teachers also discussed the diversity of their classrooms and how that posed challenges to their instruction. With students from diverse backgrounds and of distinctive needs and abilities, it is impossible for teachers to use the same standards or methods of teaching.

Teachers tried to adopt differentiated instruction, which is also a challenge for those teaching large class sizes. As much as they wanted to expand their Chinese programs, they expressed concern over the quantity of levels and sizes of classes that they had to teach. A few teachers hoped that their class size could be reduced to 15 students so that they had more time and attention to devote to individual students. Or as teacher K suggested, to hire a teaching assistant who could help her do small group teaching and provide support for those lagging behind.

There were altogether 13 teachers who indicated a need for pedagogical improvement.

Some wanted to learn more about teaching methods and philosophical concepts behind the teaching methods. Others expressed a great need for acquiring more information about lesson planning, especially activity design and technology application to enhance the engagement and effectiveness of their instructional delivery. When being asked what aspect of their teaching practice that they wanted to make changes to, 11 of these 13 teachers mentioned that they wanted to improve their teaching methods and lesson design by incorporating engaging and interactive activities. Three teachers expressed the need to improve their knowledge and use of technology.

Language difficulty. Despite the increasing teaching experience, language difficulty seemed to be an issue that bothered teachers who considered themselves low in English proficiency. Ten teachers reported disadvantages in using English for their work including instructional delivery, classroom management, and communication with parents and colleagues.

124 In terms of classroom instruction, English became a barrier for them in describing Chinese culture and linguistic knowledge of Chinese. They also pointed out their weakness in pronunciation and the fact that some of their students often laughed at them because of their accents. Understanding foul language and using appropriate words to correct student misbehavior were mentioned as difficulties in using English for classroom management. Both teacher F and W revealed that when facing situations in which they did not know how to respond in English, they asked their family and colleagues, seeking their advice first before taking actions.

For example, teacher F said that she had a student in her class who was known for disciplinary issues in the school. During a class activity, the student first made an offensive joke and then used foul language in writing, both of which she did not comprehend at the moment. Later after school she asked her husband who is a native speaker and came back to deal with the student the next day.

Nonetheless, teachers believed that the English language barrier was less a problem in instruction compared to classroom management and communication with parents. Lack of the ability in using appropriate wording was an issue for teachers in approaching parents. The teachers’ insufficient understanding of American culture and language ability may easily cause misunderstandings with parents who often take the teachers’ straightforwardness as rudeness.

The teachers also reported criticism by parents and colleagues regarding their strong accents.

Teacher H who had more than 10 years’ teaching experience regarded the communication barrier with parents as not just linguistic but also cultural. There were incidents during which she criticized students, trying to help them recognize their shortcomings and areas for further work and improvement, but which were misunderstood by parents as unfair treatment of the students.

“Sometimes there were just communication issues because of the language and cultural

125 differences. The principal after getting the complaints from parents had come to question me several times, which made me very upset considering that I have worked really hard and have done a lot for my students.” Trusting her students who have gotten used to understanding her

English well, she often had her students serve as translators on occasions when she had to communicate with parents. She said during the interview,

Many parents grow up local and have never left the town. They probably do not

understand foreign English. For my students, however, after they hear me say something

multiple times, they know what I mean even though it’s a wrong pronunciation. So they

could explain to their parents what I said or what I really meant. When they do not

understand me or get confused, they will directly ask me. Then I could further explain

myself. So there are both language and cultural barriers.

Heavy workload being a critical language instructor. Nine teachers stated explicitly that Chinese language teachers had a heavy workload compared to non-critical language teachers such as Spanish. The number one reason given was that critical language teachers taught more classes and levels. Fourteen out of the 23 teachers in the study were assigned to teach three to six classes. Each class usually represented one level, so teachers had to spend hours daily on lesson planning, compared to which Spanish teachers only taught one to two levels. Teacher W said that after teaching all day, she barely had enough time for lesson planning so she had to take work home and to use her personal time during nights and weekends. Non-teaching tasks added to teachers’ heavy workload, especially for full-time teachers.

Most of the teachers were the only Chinese language teacher in their school or even the whole school district, which means that they were responsible for all kinds of tasks related to the

Chinese program from teaching, promoting, to recruiting. They were usually on their own in

126 searching for teaching materials and preparing for lessons of various levels. To introduce students to Chinese culture and to attract more students into the Chinese language program, they were responsible for organizing cultural events and advising Chinese clubs. As the only Chinese language teacher in a school or a district, these teachers were pressured to expand their programs and enroll more students. As teacher U described, “one of my biggest challenges is to enroll more students and increase the influence of the Chinese program. Initially I only had three students in a class, so I was really pressured.”

Hanban teachers who are supervised by CI also had the duty of promoting Chinese language and culture by organizing and participating in cultural and social events in collaboration with local Chinese communities. They worked with CI in designing and editing textbooks and teaching materials. Unlike local Chinese language teachers, Hanban teachers had to experience more layers of adjustment including their personal life (e.g., obtaining a driver license and buying a car), new school environment, and teaching materials which also added to their workload. For example, some of them were required to rotate teaching sites every other year. Teacher N shared her opinion:

I really don’t think this is a good idea. If you frequently change the teacher, students have

to get used to the new teacher and vice versa. Teachers also need to adjust into the new

school environment and new colleagues, which is not easy.

Lack of resources and support. Ten teacher participants revealed a lack of school support and inadequate resources for the teaching and learning of Chinese language. One of the major issues reported was that Chinese language teachers did not have their own classrooms, which they found inconvenient for classroom instruction and activities. Teachers said that because they had to share a classroom with other subjects, they could not decorate the class in a

127 way to get students more exposed to the language and culture. They also had to carry with them many teaching materials and equipment from one class to another. Some said that they had to give up certain activities, considering the time spent on moving from one room to another and setting up equipment. Furthermore, some schools did not provide sufficient support for teaching equipment and materials, leaving teachers to purchase them out of their own pockets. Many of the materials were considered by the teachers to be essential to the teaching and learning of

Chinese as well as the growth of the Chinese language program, but schools did not have enough funding to cover these costs. Teacher C shared her experience:

In the past five years, I have literally paid everything for cultural activities in my classes

from food, stationery, to gas. I paid artists to teach students Chinese ink painting and

calligraphy bought students calligraphy brushes and xuan papers [rice papers]. I

purchased all kinds of food and ingredients for Chinese cultural festivals. My school does

not have budget for that, but my students enjoy those activities and that’s why they are

interested in taking the class. So to me it is more like an investment. If students get

interested then they want to take the class. I want to sustain the development of the

Chinese program, so I have to pay for things out of my own pocket.

Teachers believed that the lack of support for Chinese program reflects that schools do not put much weight on the elective subjects. Teacher Q remarked that her school had been putting strong efforts on improving students’ test scores in core subjects that would directly affect the school’s ranking in the district and had not fully supported the Chinese language program as needed. As a Hanban teacher, D felt that her school was not really eager to offer

Chinese language classes. She said:

128 Promoting hanyu [Mandarin Chinese] was our country’s strategy. We are treated as

missionaries. The way it works is that if people are willing to let you teach in their school,

you should feel grateful. Hanban sponsored Chinese language programs and sent teachers,

which actually benefits American schools. However, some schools are like “I did not

want Chinese teachers but you wanted to send them. By accepting the program and the

teachers, I am doing you a favor. So I don’t feel obligated to contribute anything else.”

Teachers also complained about the scarcity of appropriate teaching materials which posed a great challenge to lesson planning. They hoped that textbooks and other materials could be adapted to the local cultural context to enhance the relevance and applicability of the learning content to students’ lives. They also wished that more and more Chinese teachers would be willing to share their teaching resources online and be more engaged in participating in online discussions about teaching materials and experiences. An open access to abundant teaching resources shared by Chinese language teachers themselves will greatly reduce the amount of time each individual teacher must spend on lesson planning. Teachers could learn from one another through referencing and discussions, which will sustain the development of Chinese language education.

Suggestions to New and Future Chinese Language Teachers

The teacher participants were asked to provide suggestions for future teachers based on their own experiences. The analysis of their responses showed that these suggestions mainly fell into three categories, which included pedagogy, curriculum design, and relationship building.

All of them suggested that new teachers should “do as the Romans do” by adapting their teaching practice according to local circumstances. They could not simply apply Chinese pedagogies into American classrooms. Teachers said that one of the things new teachers should

129 avoid doing is lecturing throughout a class. “Teaching should be learner-based,” as teacher E put it. New teachers should try to understand their students first, which was stressed by eight teacher participants in the study. As a new teacher, one needs to find out students’ learning interests, styles, and abilities, according to which one could design and adjust his or her teaching strategy.

For teachers to better adjust to teaching in the U.S. classrooms, they need to be open and humble towards learning new pedagogies, especially if they come directly from a Chinese society or have no prior teaching experience in the U.S. Eight teachers recommended observing classes by experienced teachers, in particular by foreign language teachers. They believed that Chinese as one of the foreign languages had much to learn from other more established foreign languages.

Classroom observations would enable new teachers to learn teaching methods, creation of a communicative classroom environment, and implementation of classroom activities. Seven teacher participants suggested that new teachers should communicate often with colleagues and experienced teachers to learn their experiences. For example, teacher S said, “one should go consult with experienced teachers if he has things that he does not understand. Talking to colleagues is the most effective learning approach for a new teacher.” Participating in both pre- and in-service training was deemed important for teachers to effectively adapt to the new teaching environment, which was recommended by six teacher participants. Through pre-service training, teachers can develop a clear sense of the expectations for the position and obtain a general idea of U.S. classrooms. Similarly, they can look for online resources and read books to understand classroom instruction and students in American schools. In-service training and support from the host agency plays an especially important role for teachers to adjust their teaching approaches and accommodate local needs. They also recommended that pre-service teachers should try student teaching to get themselves familiarized with local classroom practice

130 before doing it on their own. Understanding these strategies, many teacher participants believed, would greatly reduce the conflicts and difficulties in their teaching practice.

In terms of curriculum design, most of the teacher participants stressed the importance of designing interesting and engaging lessons. Teacher D said that new teachers should avoid holding high academic expectations for all students at the beginning of their teaching. Otherwise, they are inclined to push students based on certain academic standards, which may eventually result to losing their students. Rather if they focus on activating students’ interests and gradually increase their expectations and standards, it may yield a better outcome. Students’ interests in the

Chinese language classes are essential in sustaining and developing the Chinese language programs. Chinese is often one of many foreign languages offered in schools and as an elective subject, its attraction to students that mainly lies in its outstanding curriculum determines its enrollment among all the other foreign languages and core subject courses. Teacher M remarked that “Chinese as an elective course has to ensure its quality.” Furthermore, teachers should be specific and detailed in their curriculum design by including both the short-and long-term goals.

According teacher C, some Chinese programs have been shut down because the teachers did not have clear goals or visions set up for their programs. It was the lack of guidance from specific program goals that has led to their failure. Teacher A suggested sharing learning goals with students so they could have a better understanding of the expectations their teachers had for their performance and the goals to work for.

With respect to relationship building, the most frequently discussed was the one with students, which was considered an important factor for the continuation of Chinese language programs and thus the security of teachers’ jobs. Many teacher participants suggested that new teachers devote time to building a trusting relationship with their students by caring and catering

131 to students’ needs. They may learn from American colleagues whom they believe are good at relationship building. One prerequisite for building a good relationship with students is that new teachers, especially those come directly from a Chinese society should change their expectations and understanding of the teachers’ role. As their primary responsibility is to provide assistance and services to students, they should not apply the authoritative role of Chinese teachers to the

U.S. classrooms, assuming they are looked up to and respected highly at every aspect. They also need to learn classroom management skills. In addition, learning about students’ living environments and the social cultural influences they are exposed to, as well as studying psychology could enhance teachers’ understanding of student behaviors. Some of the teacher participants also criticized the way in which many Chinese teachers in the U.S. schools focus only on their teaching, neglecting communication and relationship building with students, parents, and colleagues. They urged all Chinese language teachers to take it seriously and learn how to communicate appropriately with parents by going to workshops.

As some teachers experienced challenges in using English, they stressed the importance of improving English language for newer and future teachers. There were also six teacher participants who suggested that teachers should also have a good command of theoretical knowledge including Chinese linguistics and educational philosophies. Four teachers mentioned getting to know more about American culture which could help with the classroom teaching and development of Chinese programs. They said that newer teachers should try to immerse themselves into American society and learn American cultures through their own experience. As noted by teacher I, “new teachers have to go through a process of adaptation.” According to the teachers, these suggestions and recommendations will help them reduce conflicts and struggles experienced in teaching in American schools.

132 Future of Teaching Chinese in the U.S.

Most of the teacher participants showed positive attitudes towards the future of teaching

Chinese as a foreign language in the U.S., believing that there is going to be a continuous growing interest in the language and the culture. They held the view that Chinese would become increasingly important with the rise of China’s economy and its international status.

Globalization and the economic development of China have increased U.S. economic trade and cultural exchange with China. The increased communication creates a great demand for individuals who can speak Mandarin Chinese. These teachers said that the American government, schools, and parents now recognize the importance of Chinese. “Learning Chinese is becoming an opportunity or necessity,” teacher B remarked. In addition, some teachers pointed out that the history and richness of Chinese culture was valuable to be shared and known by the rest of the world. Most of the teachers indicated their willingness to continue teaching Chinese as their career. They said that they enjoyed teaching Chinese and sharing both the language and the culture.

However, some expressed uncertainty with continuing teaching Chinese themselves and also demonstrated negativity about the future of CFL education in the U.S. One of them was an immigrant teacher who had 12 years’ teaching experience. She felt uneasy about the booming interest and enrollment in the Chinese programs nationwide and expressed concerns about the future of CFL in the U.S. due to the sudden growth that draws various kinds of inexperienced and undertrained people into the field. She said that she began considering alternative career options in case her Chinese program did not go well. Another felt that the number of Chinese programs in the U.S. had reached its maximum. She questioned the successfulness of some

Chinese programs and said she did not know about what the future would be like. The third

133 teacher, though she was confident about prospective CFL education, was thinking of quitting teaching Chinese because her school refused to sponsor her H1B visa, a work authorization for foreign workers in the U.S. She expressed disappointment with the fact that her school would rather hire several inexperienced Hanban teachers instead of renewing her contract. There were also two Hanban teachers who were not positive about the future of CFL or their likelihood of continuing teaching Chinese abroad as assigned by Hanban. They believed that Chinese still had a long way to go based on their discovery that teaching and learning Chinese was not as effective as Spanish and the importance of Chinese was not that highly regarded in the U.S. After they return to China, Hanban will probably send them to other countries to teach Chinese. However, their willingness to teach abroad really depends on their state of mind, age, and family situations.

Currently they are single and young, which allows them to travel and stay abroad for a few years, but they may have to end their contract with Hanban when they eventually get tired of travelling from one place to another or when they get married and have to take care of their families.

Furthermore, it seems that there are unique problems faced by Hanban teachers, which may add to their uncertainty as well as hinder their commitment to CFL education. Hanban teachers are on short-term arrangements from one to three years. Among the six participants, one said she wanted to concentrate on her teaching as she was still in the middle of her three-year contract. The other five either had already terminated their one-to three-year employment by

Hanban or were in the last semester of their contracts during the interview. They either would return to their previous positions in China or pursue their own academic or career paths in the

U.S. The two who returned to China, resumed their jobs as English instructors. Among the three who were going to stay in the U.S. after their contract with Hanban, one has enrolled in a

134 doctoral program in second language studies and the other two were considering obtaining a license or a new degree that would help them find future employment in CFL in the U.S.

The second factor leading to uncertainty was the changing policy requirements. Shortly after teacher N’s arrival in the U.S., she had heard about reports on Hanban teachers being deported due to the policy requirements that disallow exchange scholars on J1 visas to work in the U.S. As all Hanban teachers enter U.S. on a J1 visa, she did not know if similar issues could happen again.

Summary of the Chapter

This chapter presented interview findings related to the teacher participants’ teaching experiences and adaptation process to American school settings. Most of the teacher participants reported pedagogical conflicts, language and communicative difficulties, cultural and disciplinary challenges encountered in their teaching practices. In resolving the conflicts and overcoming the challenges, they showed a trajectory of making changes and adjusting to the

American educational system.

They distinguished the two educational models by categorizing American teaching methods into student-centered instruction and Chinese teaching methods into teacher-centered approach. The emphasis on students’ learning interests and engagement, the use of classroom activities, the pragmatic approach of language teaching, and the accommodation to students’ individual learning needs and abilities in American education were described as characteristics of student-centered instruction. Chinese education was described as an exam-oriented cramming style of teaching that focused on imparting linguist and grammatical knowledge. The rigidity of its classroom instruction, the focus on product, and the standardization in teaching and learning leaves little space for the consideration of students’ individual learning interests and learning

135 enjoyment. In additional to pedagogical differences, teachers also believed that teaching as a profession receives less respect from parents and students in American society. They also compared non-teaching tasks and relationships with colleagues between two educational systems.

Experiencing the differences and conflicts resulting from their tendency to transfer the

Chinese model of education to the American school setting, teachers then began to change their teaching to adapt to the American educational system. However, in learning and adopting

American pedagogy, they became critical about methods being used in student-centered instruction and began to be more selective about the use of teacher-centered instruction. Thus, their adaptation into American education in general, and their pedagogical shifts in particular, became focused on synthesizing and negotiating approaches and values from the two educational systems.

However, despite their conscious adjustment into American education, teacher participants still reported facing pedagogical challenges in their current teaching practice. In addition, there were still language difficulties and other challenges identified as unique to the field of CFL in the U.S. In general, teachers’ experiences described in this chapter can be summarized into a process of, (a) encountering difficulties, (b) attributing difficulties to cultural and educational differences, (c) adapting and coping with conflicts and differences, and (d) examining the outcomes of adaptation.

Furthermore, the findings also revealed aspects of their teaching unaffected by the adaptation. They valued the practice of Confucian educational principles and attached great importance to the teaching of Chinese culture, including Confucian values in their classrooms.

Their perceptions of cultural instruction revealed both the influences from and attachment to their cultural tradition.

136 Chapter V Case Studies Findings

This chapter presents findings based on observation of teaching practices by five teacher participants, analysis of casual conversations and interviews conducted with them, and an examination of artifacts collected from their classrooms. The purpose of the fieldwork including observations, casual conversations, and artifacts is to connect teachers’ perceptions of their teaching with their practice and to complement the general teacher experiences as presented in the interview findings with specific classroom practice. In addition to provide supplementary data to the research questions associated with interview findings, the observational data addresses the research question regarding how language and culture are taught in the classroom.

Case Study 1: Teacher Q

During the time of the observation, teacher Q was teaching full time in a public high school in a suburb. Her students were mainly from grade 10 and grade 11. She taught three classes in the fall quarter 2013, two of which were level one and one level three with approximately 20 students in each class. In the Spring quarter, she taught three other classes, one at level two and two at level four. There were over 20 students for level two, and over 20 students altogether for level four. She had three periods daily and each lasted for an hour and half. There were no heritage speakers (students who are exposed to a language other than English at home) in all of her classes. All of her students were Caucasian, except one whose parents were from Vietnam.

It was her fourth year teaching Chinese after she graduated from her Master’s program in education from a university in Ohio. Prior to her employment in the current school, she taught two years of Chinese in an urban school where she found herself frustrated with student misbehavior and what she identified later in the interview as conflicts between American and

137 Chinese educational cultures. She chose to quit there and took a job in the current school hoping it was a better school environment.

She has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years. She and her husband first lived in

California when he was attending school, but then moved to Ohio for job offers first in

Cleveland and then Mason. Before she came to the U.S., she worked as a librarian for a university library. She initially wanted to find a job as a librarian in the U.S. but she soon realized that she was not qualified as the posts she applied for usually required double Master’s degrees and a good command of English, neither of which she possessed. She decided to be a teacher because she saw teaching as a valuable and honorable profession and also because of influence from her family members—almost all of whom are educators.

I observed four of teacher Q’s classes for three hours weekly (level one and level three in

Fall and level two and level four in Winter and Spring) for 22 weeks. Two formal interviews were scheduled with her in April and June 2013 respectively with each lasting about one hour.

On the first day of the observation, I arrived approximately 10 minutes before teacher Q’s first class period which started at 9:05. She waited for me in the lobby of the school building and took me to her classroom which is located on the second floor, at the very end of the hallway. It was a rainy day, but the room looked bright, with windows facing directly at the door. There were white boards on both the right and left sides of the wall next to the door. It was a big classroom with about 26 chairs in the middle (I counted later after I sat down) all facing the white board on the right side of the door. Between the door and the white board was a smaller board with signs, a poster of Ohio foreign language standards, learning objectives of the day, and block schedules.

At the back of the room were cabinets, pictures of students, and posters of students’ projects.

Teacher Q seated me at her desk at the back corner of the classroom on the left side of the door

138 entrance and briefed me on her schedules for the fall quarter. After the bell for the first period rang, she went to greet students at the door, which I later found out was a school rule. The principal wanted students to feel they are wanted and welcomed. For the following observations, every time I came in during the five minutes before her class, I saw teachers standing by their door smiling and greeting their students as they went in. In a later conversation with teacher Q, she revealed that such a rule made her feel less about respect for teachers from students, but more about service to students who are customers in the school.

Teaching accurate and modern cultural knowledge. Teacher Q saw the teaching of cultural knowledge as a big component of her class. She designed activities for students to learn

Chinese culture, knowing that her students were interested in learning the culture and, at the same time, fulfilling Ohio’s foreign language requirements for the teaching of cultural knowledge. Her lessons covered a variety of cultural topics from festival celebrations to language taboos in Chinese societies. She often used project-based instruction for students to explore Chinese culture because she believed it was a good approach for students to learn about the culture on their own. At the end of each chapter, she assigned students a project on a particular cultural topic or let students select a topic of their own interests. For example, after finishing a food chapter, she grouped students to research on Chinese cuisine, cook their own food, and bring the food to class to present how they were made and to share with the rest of the class (Field notes-4, level 3, 10/18/2013). She tended to ask students to compare and discuss similarities and differences between American and Chinese societies in class (e.g., medical system or family traditions). In addition, there was occasional teaching of culture that came from her spontaneity in informing her students about specific cultural knowledge or responding to students’ questions. Furthermore, she took advantage of extracurricular activities to help students

139 get more exposed to the culture and the people. For example, she encouraged students to participate in a singing contest organized by CI at Miami University and had her students communicate with Chinese delegates who were visiting her school from its sister city, Liuzhou,

China.

Her remarks in a few conversations she had with me during lunch breaks suggested that she wanted to show students the “modern” and “accurate” China. She was conscious of her comments about China in class, which might be outdated due to the fact that she left the country about 20 years ago. In her class, she sometimes did share with students her memories of being with her family in China back in the day and she often used a developmental perspective to talk about China in general. For example, in one lesson where she was teaching vocabulary on sickness and treatment, she brought up the fact that people in China did not have insurance before. When she moved to teach the word for refrigerator, she then said: “30 years ago, we didn’t have bing xiang (fridge). My family had one, but it was not popular. Now everybody has a bing xiang” (Observation transcripts-10, level 3, 12/03/2013). She said in a conversation with me almost at the end of the fall quarter, “China might have changed a lot especially after the 1990s, so maybe I should not bring out my perceptions of it randomly in my teaching because my understanding and experiences of it came from long ago” (Field notes-8, level 1,11/15/2013).

Thus she was irritated with the fact that the other instructor showed outdated videos of China to the classes that presented only the backwardness and the negative aspects of the country. To teacher Q it was an inaccurate and even misleading depiction of the real and modern China, which may discourage students from going to visit the country.

Like the interviews with many other teacher participants, teacher Q explained the origin of some customs to ensure that students could have a proper understanding of the culture and she

140 also tried to clarify some misunderstandings about China during her teaching. For instance, in the chapter on family, during the discussion about family and marriage traditions in the U.S. and

China, students from level one raised questions about the one child policy. Teacher Q first explained to students why such a policy was introduced back in 1970s and she went on to tell the students not to trust the media all the time. “All of the things on the media reported here in

America are not really saying the correct things about China.” She took the example of a news report on “abandoning children” and said, “maybe it happens, but it is not the general case”

(Observation transcripts-2, level 1, 9/24/2013).

Although the teaching of cultural knowledge is important, teacher Q believed as a language class, the primary focus was still on language development. She strongly disagreed with her colleague (the other Chinese language instructor) who taught mostly about Chinese culture during the conversations with her between classes. In her own words, the class was taught as “a social studies class, not a language class” (Field notes-8, level 1,11/15/2013). The instruction of culture is in part to enhance students’ cultural knowledge but at the same time to keep students engaged and interested in the lesson. As revealed during one lesson for level four students, she talked about the culture and shared her experiences in China when teaching vocabulary, with the purpose of helping students better memorize a certain phrase or word.

Learning to be more student-centered. As was the case with many beginning teachers in the study, teacher Q said that she initially used Chinese methods of teaching in her classroom, treating her students the same way as Chinese teachers would with their students who usually have high motivation for learning. She used to set high standards for students, focus on delivering what she believed as important information, and expect students to listen to what she said. She understood that the application of Chinese methods of teaching would not work in

141 American classrooms, especially after her unsuccessful experience with her first job in an urban school. She quit the job in the first school because she could not deal with the troublesome students who never wanted to learn, but later as she reflected, she believed it was partly her fault as well for applying the standards that Chinese teachers usually hold for their students in Chinese societies.

In both the interviews and casual conversations with her, teacher Q revealed that she was learning to be more student-centered. She said that she often reminded herself not to talk too much or students might get bored listening to her. When she taught new vocabulary, she attempted to get students engaged by asking questions (e.g., asking students to do translation or pose dialogical questions in Chinese that students need to respond in Chinese). She directed questions to the whole class, or posed a question and elicited a student response, or nominated a specific student to provide a response when no one volunteered. She also used games and activities to teach a new lesson. To help students better recognize and memorize characters, she encouraged all of them to share their ideas and strategies in class. In each bell, she usually had between three and six instructional activities from review practice, instructions of new lessons, practice of new language, covering the training for all four language skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Based on the observation, the instruction time for teaching vocabulary or a dialogue ranged from 20 minutes to one hour.

She said during a lunch break in December 2013, halfway through the observation, “I am still learning and exploring ways to let students do more in the learning process” (Field notes-11, level 1, 12/12/2013). Reflecting her teaching in the past three and a half years, she said that she had made progress. She described how exhausted she was during previous Chinese New Year celebrations when she had to get up at 4 am to cook just to let her students taste the traditional

142 New Year food. This time during the holiday she decided to bring ingredients and utensils to teach students how to cook the food themselves. She sometimes let students teach new vocabulary and reminded them to make good use of the opportunity to express their viewpoints and to learn from each other if they did not want to listen to her talking all the time. For each chapter, she assigned students projects so they could enjoy “learning by doing.”

Teacher Q, as she described in the interview, was “trying to cater for students’ interests and needs.” According to her, one of the changes was to allocate more time for students studying and exploring certain topics (e.g., sports and food) over others because students demonstrated strong interests. The other was the attempt to design and use more classroom activities, an area in which she said that she still needed to improve. As she explained in the interview, her education experience did not involve many activities and games. Thus, she has been learning and exploring games and activities that she could use in her class from websites, colleagues, or conferences she attended. In one of the lessons, she taught level one students to sing a song of question words, which she found from a website originally designed for elementary students. She shared with me after class about the effectiveness of the approach to teach question words and showed her delight at the success. She also tried to design her own games and activities and use them for her teaching. At the end of the quarters, she conducted surveys asking students for feedback and suggestions. During one observation, she encouraged level four students to provide suggestions for activities and games that she could incorporate into the class. As she put it in the interview, “I am teaching in America. I should change myself to adapt to the needs of my students.”

However, the best teaching approach, according to teacher Q was the combination of teacher-and student-centered methods. The teacher-centered approach as represented by the

Chinese way of teaching emphasizes hard work and concentration on knowledge acquisition and

143 thus provides students a solid academic foundation. The student-centered approach as seen in

American pedagogy considers stimulating students’ interests and motivation by allowing students to have fun in learning. Her goal was to have the flexibility of implementing both teaching approaches to help students obtain the knowledge they need.

Mediating between learning as a serious matter and learning with fun. Although teacher Q was consciously learning to adopt student-centered teaching in her classrooms, she sometimes faced dilemmas in using American pedagogy. She thought some of the current educational philosophy and practices conflicted with her educational experiences in China.

Educated in mainland China where learning is considered as a serious matter, teacher Q said that she could not quite accept American pedagogy that emphasizes fun learning, especially the use of activities. Most of the activities to her are “just a waste of time,” though she admitted that well designed activities are beneficial for students’ learning. She found that students like particular activities because they had fun and once they got involved, they forgot about the real purpose of the activities and went out of control. She acknowledged it had to do with her lack of experience in activity design as a novice teacher, which was the reason why she was still learning about activities and their design. Nonetheless, her concerns toward American pedagogy, in particular about activities, were obvious.

She made it clear to her students that learning and having fun were two separate things, and that the class should focus more on learning. For instance, in talking about the end-of-quarter survey with level four students (Observation transcripts-1, level 4, 01/24/2014), she remarked,

I know the papers I gave you most of you said hands-on activities. Some said more

activities and games. I agree learning Chinese we need a lot of activities, but the main

purpose is still to learn this language… I planned some activities, but for your age if you

144 have activities and games that you are interested in, just let me know. I’ll try to teach you

and meet your needs, but we still need to learn this language.

Project work was also deemed as a fun activity. In a conversation following a class project, she described that her students got excited with projects, though project work was not what Chinese students and teachers in China like to do. However, she let students do a project for every chapter because she could find evidence of students’ learning. “As long as they can learn, it is good,” she said (Field notes-3, level 3, 10-08-2013).

Her classroom teaching showed mediation between “learning” and “having fun.” There were two incidents during the observation when a dozen of students were absent. One was due to field trip and the other was because of practice for a Chinese singing contest organized by CI at

Miami University. She suggested that students work on the assignments and she would tutor those who need help, as she could not teach the new chapter with half of the students missing.

Students, however, wanted to watch Chinese movies instead. Eventually for both of the classes, students experienced what teacher Q called Chinese culture by learning and playing activities and games in Chinese. There were also a few times for project work in class where she asked students to complete them their own, but students wanted to do team work. Through a negotiation process, they reached a compromise that the projects stayed as individual work but students could sit in groups and discuss. Letting students “have fun” seemed to become a reward for learning. For example, in one lesson where teacher Q played a music video for an exercise, students wanted her to keep playing the video when she was about to stop it. Teacher Q told the students she would resume the video only if they answer her questions first (Field notes-8, level

1, 11/14/2013).

Classroom management skill or students’ lack of learning motivation? According to

145 teacher Q, classroom management was her greatest weakness. She had read many books on classroom management, but often times when it came to the application of the strategies in practice, she found it was a different story. Understanding that teenagers at this age range usually had a strong desire for group acceptance and recognition, afraid of being isolated or humiliated in front of their peers, she tried not to single out disruptive students or to reprimand them in the class. However, she discovered that students often took advantage of her silence and behaved even worse. Sometimes she had to yell at students so they would pay attention to her, though the books she read said a teacher should never yell.

During lunch breaks teacher Q often talked about student misbehavior and revealed her concern in addressing them, especially in the fall quarter. Her biggest challenge came from students at level one, which was evidenced by the high frequency of correcting student misbehavior–usually around 10 times in each bell based on the observation. She said that there were a few students who were not doing well academically engaging in disruptive behaviors, but even the high achievers who behaved most of the time would periodically behave poorly as well.

In the interview, she showed a photograph of a whole class placing their heads down onto the desk while she was writing characters on the board. She attributed it to peer pressure in which students who were misbehaving could have an adverse effect on the rest of the group. In addition, she believed that the lunch schedule for the group might also play a role in their disruptive behaviors. The one-hour and a half session for level one was broken into two by lunch time in the middle. Students had one hour in class before lunch and the other half an hour after lunch. Based on the observation, students did become less focused before lunch. For example, in one lesson where they were supposed to work on a written practice individually, a few of them stood up and wandered around the classroom. There were incidents that teacher Q asked them to

146 go back to their seats, which all happened within the five minutes before lunch.

At the beginning of the quarters, she established classroom rules and consequences for breaking them, which were stated on a piece of paper that students read and signed. Based on her references to the rules during the observation, these requirements included “when the teacher is talking you should listen; when your classmate is presenting you should listen; when you work on an exercise or take a test, you should not talk unless required to; do not make fun of each other” and more. In the first few weeks of fall quarter, her management of student discipline mainly revolved around specifying and correcting violations of rules and stopping students when they got engaged in off-task conversations. Students often got carried away by topics brought up by teacher Q, so she had to ask them to stop talking and concentrate on learning. For example, when teaching new vocabulary, she sometimes shared her personal experiences or stories to help students have a better understanding or memory of a word or to build a closer relationship with them, which students always liked to comment about.

Q: Wo bu xi huan chi (I don't like to eat) pumpkin pie.

Ss: You don't like pumpkin pie? It’s delicious.

(Then they started talking about their own food preference among themselves)

Q: Ting (stop). Next time I should not use food. You get excited talking about food.

(Observation transcripts-6, level 1, 10/31/2013).

Throughout the quarter, there was frequent reference to classroom rules and the use of explicit authority (e.g., be quiet, listen, go back to your seat, and sit down). Teacher Q also often called the disruptive students’ names and let them receive punishment if their misconduct kept occurring after warnings. In a 30-minutes lesson on new words in December, there were eight times that teacher Q addressed student misbehavior with direct statements, reference to the rules,

147 threat of consequences, and punishment. She caught two students who had been holding disruptive conversations and speaking foul language when she was explaining vocabulary and another student having his head down on the desk (not feeling well which was found out later).

The two students not only did not change their behaviors after several warnings but one of them also argued with the teacher. She sent the student to the back of the class and made the following remarks to the whole class:

I’ll say one more time. You have the contract. Everybody already understands that, right?

You agreed that the consequences will be either to call your parent, or you have the

detention. For some of you, each time I gave you participation grades, I also marked your

behavior. If you got five marks in a week, you got detention. I’ll say one more time. Five

marks in a week, you get detention…I already said that when I talk, I want you to be

respectful, but I don't see the respect. If you don't feel comfortable, let me know. If you

stay, lay down there, sleep there, that’s not like in class. I don’t see any other teacher who

can stand this. (Observation transcripts-10, level 1, 12/03/2013).

The same student who was separated from the rest of the class later on teased a classmate.

Teacher Q eventually asked him to get out of the room and said, “You should feel sad that you are wasting time for learning.”

These remarks, though they served the purpose of restating classroom rules and justifying the punishments for misbehavior, revealed at a deeper level her expectation towards students’ sincere learning attitudes and behaviors, as well as frustration over students’ lack of sincerity and motivation in learning. Her management of disturbing behaviors throughout the observation further supported this mindset. For instance, each time after the bell rang, she would restate that the class has begun in Chinese and told students to stop talking: Shang ke le. Ting! She often

148 emphasized to students that they should not waste their time for learning in class. In a lesson about Halloween, students talked aloud among themselves about ghosts when transitioning between activities. Teacher Q raised her voice and said to the class, “Okay, at this time I want everybody to be quiet. We are still in class. We are still learning” (Observation transcripts-6, level 1, 10/31/2013). In the later session of the class, one student kept making disruptive comments when teacher Q was explaining vocabulary, so she separated the student from the group. Hearing giggles among some students, teacher Q said in an angry tone, “it’s not funny, okay. Some people just wait for fun things and laugh. You don’t want to learn. You waste your time and you waste everybody’s time.” In one conversation with her during lunch break, she described her frustration over students’ lack of motivation. She said that she was burnt out at the beginning of her teaching career because she found that students did not want to study. She expected them to take school and education seriously and could not help becoming worried when students did not learn. When she found that a student in her class decided to drop out, she went to talk to him, trying to persuade him to finish school. She felt it was a pity that the student could not understand the long-term benefits of education, but rather chose to give up on education and make money by playing online games (Field notes-11, level 13, 12/12/2013).

English language difficulty. Another challenge to teacher Q was the use of English language for instruction. During the interview, she said,

My English is not as good as the students’ so some of them would pick on my

pronunciation in class or laugh at me. But I am very comfortable with students correcting

me and I told every class I teach that they should feel free to correct me, so I can be better

next time.

In the observation, there were times when some students laughed at teacher Q’s

149 pronunciation when she was giving instructional content, some of which if she heard she would give a smile indicating that it was her mistake. Students also corrected teacher Q during the interactions between teacher Q and the whole class either based on her specific request or a spontaneous offer of help. As said in the interview, teacher Q told each of her classes, “You guys have good English. You correct me.”

The observation of her teaching revealed her self-awareness of her English language weakness as well as the lack of confidence in using the language. When going through grammar knowledge in the textbook, she always asked student volunteers to read the English texts because

“their English is good and better (than hers).” In giving directions for activities, she often repeated herself to make sure that her meaning and requirements were adequately understood.

During instruction delivery if she was uncertain or did not know about a particular word or grammar, she would directly ask students for help. When there were mispronunciations that she noticed she would correct herself right away and in other cases if she did not realize herself but her students demonstrated confusion, she would first admit that she might have pronounced it wrong and then try to clarify herself using a different wording. For example, once she was explaining the tone differences between mǎi ( , third tone, buy) and mài (,fourth tone, sell), she told her students that she heard someone saying mái (, second tone, bury).

Students laughed and asked her: do you mean berry that you eat or buried?

Q: No, maybe I did not pronounce right English. You put something and use the…

Students: bury not berry!

Q: Hahahah. Sorry. I did it wrong, see? You teach me English, so that’s better.

Students: hahaha.

Q: Now read one more time mǎi ( ), mài (). (Observation transcripts-8, level 2,

150 04/08/2014)

A dilemma about teaching Chinese characters. Classroom observations of teacher Q also revealed another dilemma, which was about the teaching and learning of Chinese characters.

There seemed to be a constant “battle” between her and her students over the learning and practice of characters and the use of pinyin which is the sound system of Mandarin Chinese.

Most of the students in her classes showed no interest in learning and practicing Chinese characters. Although teacher Q had been encouraging them to do their assignments and tests in characters, students still relied primarily on pinyin. Oftentimes during the teaching of new characters when she tried to engage students by asking them to come up with memorization strategies for the characters (association of the characters with images or objects), students became quiet. The following is an example from a lesson for level three students in September,

2013 (Observation transcripts-2, level 1, 9/24/2013, 2013):

Q: Now hui (). How do you memorize that wordto return back?

(waited for students’ response for about four seconds)

Any ideas?

(another two seconds approximately)

Hmmm, I know some of you don’t like to tell to the class, right? You need to share,

please (with a smile on her face).

If you don’t share, I’ll call your names. I want everybody to think about this

(waited for at least another 5 seconds).

Anybody?

(waited for 10 seconds approximately).

Now let’s start to call.

151 She then called four students who all said they did not know the answer. The fifth student whom she nominated talked about her thoughts, after which teacher Q explained to students the associations of the character with images and objects.

In spite of students’ lack of response, teacher Q saw Chinese characters as the essence of the language. She believed that if students were serious about studying the language, they had to learn the characters. For each new lesson, she taught only five characters in one class period and used a variety of methods to motivate and train students to recognize and write the characters.

For example, she would demonstrate to students strokes for writing the characters, explain to them about associating characters with images or tangible objects, or have students to teach the characters by presenting their memory strategies. She sometimes gave students exercise sheets with stroke orders listed for students to practice the writing of characters in class. She gave students time to study the characters after teaching and engaged them in character recognition activities, during which students usually participated actively. In this section, teacher Q kept only the characters on the board and erased the meanings and pinyin that were originally written beside the characters. Students were supposed to point to the right characters and say the meanings when she pronounced the word. The next day during vocabulary review, she would mix the newly learned characters with some old ones on the board and had students in different groups compete with each other for character recognition.

Most of her handouts, exercise sheets, and tests were written in Chinese characters with pinyin next to them so as to help students put together the pinyin with the character. For instance, in all of the tests given to students, she prepared both characters and pinyin for vocabulary and sentences for students to provide English translations. For the writing section, she always put

“you can write in pinyin but use as many characters as you can” as a recommendation and

152 reinstated that several times before the tests (e.g., Artifacts-3, level 3, 10/18/2013). She had never assigned students homework, but only suggested studying vocabulary on a daily basis, especially after learning new words so that students can prepare for a vocabulary quiz the next day.

Teacher Q indicated that there had been some progress with level three students who when she first took over from the other instructor, were not willing to learn characters at all. This was the group who complained about the absence of pinyin in their tests and quizzes and requested teacher Q to put pinyin next to characters. Teacher Q said that at least the students had become used to reading characters. She was glad to see a few students start using characters in the writing section of the tests. In a lesson in the spring quarter, when teacher Q was walking around checking students’ progress with sentence making (most of the students had turned in their work), she saw one level four student who was previously at level three in the fall writing characters for an assignment in class, she said in a pleasant tone to the student, “oh, wow, you are writing characters. Take your time” (Observation transcripts-8, level 4, 04/08/2014).

For level one students, she tried to have students get used to characters from the beginning of the quarter. Many of the vocabulary quizzes and reading comprehension of texts she gave to level one students were written only in characters. However, she was also afraid that characters alone might be too challenging for the students, so during the quizzes she would read aloud the characters or the texts to help students better recognize them. She wanted students to learn and use more characters but at the same time was afraid of boring her students.

The challenge that teacher Q faced about the teaching and learning of Chinese characters came not only from her students, but also her colleague. As the instructors of the program, teacher Q understood that they needed to collaborate and to have a shared understanding and goal for the program. However, her colleague did not want to focus on teaching characters. As her colleague

153 is a non-native speaker of Chinese and only teaches novice levels, this added to teacher Q’s teaching tasks when she had to take over students at the higher levels from her colleague. It was also impossible for them to reach an agreement on designing tests about character evaluation, often during which teacher Q had to compromise. When asked why she chose to compromise, teacher Q indicated that the program was established before she came in and she had to respect and appreciate the many efforts made by her colleague. In addition, she was concerned that if she increased the standards for her classes on her own, she would lose her students. This explained why she often suggested students use as many characters as possible but did not count them toward grades, as well as her balance of character instruction. She wanted to expose students to characters only but had to minimize the challenge by reading the quizzes or providing pinyin.

Teacher Q brought up the dilemma about five times during the observation. In the latter half of the observation, she said that she “felt guilty for not teaching enough characters” (Field notes-14,

01/13/2014). At the end of the study, she was still trying to fight for teaching characters in the school and considered approaching the principal to discuss the issue.

Summary of teacher case 1 findings. Teacher Q was learning to be more student- centered by trying to engage her students more in her lessons, to reduce lecture time, and to use project and activities to meet students’ interests and needs. After realizing the mistakes she made in directly transferring the Chinese model of education at her first job, she tried to improve her current teaching practice by adopting American pedagogy. However, the best teaching model, according to her, was a combination of both American and Chinese methods. Thus, her goal was to synthesize the two so as to have the flexibility of implementing both teaching approaches to help students obtain the knowledge they need. As many other novice Chinese language teachers in this study, teacher Q also experienced difficulties managing student discipline. Throughout the

154 observation, she frequently referred to the classroom rules created at the beginning of each

quarter and used explicit requests to restore her authority. Some of her remarks and warnings to

students in correcting their behaviors revealed at a deeper level her expectation towards students’

sincere learning attitudes and behaviors, as well as frustration over students’ lack of sincerity and

motivation in learning. The same thinking was revealed in her negotiation with her students as

she attempted to use Chinese pedagogy in her classroom. Other challenges facing teacher Q

included the use of English language in classroom instruction and the teaching of Chinese

characters. However, during the time of the study, she was working to overcome these challenges

by making a trade with her students to correct and teach her English, encouraging and rewarding

her students to use Chinese characters, and even considering to approach the principal to discuss

the use of Chinese characters as part of the Chinese curriculum.

Case Study 2: Teacher M

Teacher M taught full time in a public school. It is one of the most diverse schools in Ohio, with students coming from more than 40 birth countries. More than 30 languages are spoken at this school. Chinese is offered along French, Latin, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

Teacher M received her Bachelor’s degree in Mainland China. After immigrating to the

U.S., she obtained a Master’s degree in math education from a university in Ohio. She gained her certification to teach math upon graduation. In spring semester 2014, half way through the observation, she was admitted to a doctoral program in Educational Studies. Since then, she has been taking online courses while teaching full time.

During the time of this study, teacher M already had ten years of experience in the public school system. At the time, it was her sixth year teaching Chinese. She originally was a math teacher but later switched to Chinese. Her school needed a Chinese language instructor and she

155 was the only native speaker in the school. The principal talked to her and persuaded her to teach

Chinese instead. During the observation, she taught five levels of Chinese from novice level all the way up to advanced placement. Altogether, she taught 100 students. The first two classes for novice level one and level two were held on the Junior High campus. The more advanced levels were taught at the Senior High campus. Due to teaching on two campuses, she had to drive from the junior high to the high school every school day.

Observations took place during the last three classes, which included Chinese Intermediate three, Chinese Intermediate four, and AP Chinese Language and Culture. Each of the classes lasted for 50 minutes. The observations were conducted on a weekly basis in the fall and spring semesters of the 2012–13 academic year. There were a total of 19 classroom visits. During the study, I observed her teaching on different weekdays in order to capture the variety of her instructional activities. Her Intermediate three began at 10:10 a.m. in the morning and her last class, the AP course, ended at 2:20 p.m. I came in around 10:00 a.m. and left at 2:40 p.m. We were able to exchange casual conversations during the lunch break and after school regarding her teaching that day. In addition to the classroom visits, the observation also included one field trip to an art museum when the museum focused on Taoism arts and philosophies. Also during this time two Chinese club events were held. The formal interviews were conducted on two separate occasions. One took place in spring semester and lasted half an hour. The other interview took place in summer break after the observations and lasted an hour.

Teacher serves as a guide in classroom. Teacher M said her guideline was to get students involved in learning with herself acting as a guide. She used many hands-on and student led- activities to assist them in learning through the process of doing, and by peer teaching. For instance, in a lesson for a Chinese New Year celebration, students experienced making ethnic

156 dishes and crafted decorations for the celebration. They worked with their group members on making dumplings, practicing calligraphy, and designing lanterns for the class. The groups were led by those students with prior knowledge and experience.

She usually started a new chapter with a project assignment. The project assignment was tailored to the vocabulary they needed to learn for that unit to be complete. New vocabulary and phrases were often introduced in an interactive manner followed by activities and exercises. In a

50-minute class, she usually planned for four to five instructional activities ranging from language practice to cultural discussion. The following is an example of her instructional delivery for intermediate level three students (Artifacts-1, level 3, 10/31/2013).

Table 5

Instructional Activities of Teacher M

Instructional Activities Times Tasks #1 Going Through 10:10–10:17 • Teacher M asked questions (e.g., define the Homework meaning of a sentence and reply in (Previous topic on weekend Chinese) about the homework plans) • Students volunteered to answer #2 Game –“Guess Who is it?” 10:17–10:30 • Teacher M described in Chinese colors and (Vocabulary Review) types of clothes that students wore that day o The students had to determine which student she was describing • From there, students took turns describing a classmate and let the rest of the class guess • Teacher M put on her pajamas and asked students to describe what she was wearing using new and old vocabulary (e.g., color and pieces) o Students described their pajamas they wore at home #3 Learning a New Dialogue 10:31–10:46 • Students were assigned roles to on shopping read\translate a dialogue in their textbook o Teacher M provided corrective feedback when needed, by moving around the room to provide more

157 individualized attention to students. • Chose students to translate phrases pulled out from the dialogue #4 Watching a Video on 10:46–10:51 • Watched a video on shopping Shopping • Teacher M posed questions in Chinese and selected students to reply #5 Discussing Chinese 10:51–10:58 • Played China’s national anthem and Anthem and Military Parade showed a military parade during national day • Went through the lyrics and the background to give historical context and background • Asked students to discuss the differences with American anthem and parade in order to provide a cultural analysis # 6 Summary and 10:58–11:00 • Summarized the lesson Assignment • Assigned homework for the following class. The topic of the week for this observation dealt with clothes. Students were informed on the first day of the week about a project focusing on their clothing choices and style preferences. In this particular lesson, teacher M mainly focused on helping students acquire and practice the language needed for the project. In order to review vocabulary, she played a game that engaged students by making them describe their classmates based on new vocabulary. The students guessed which student was being described. Rather than focusing on direct lecture, she involved students in reading and translating the text themselves and answering her questions, allowing the students to work in pairs with the material. Because the lesson was on October 1st, which was China’s

National Day, she also exposed students to the culture by showing a video that allowed students to hear the Chinese National Anthem and raising students’ awareness of the historical background for

China’s National Anthem.

During instructional delivery, students were asked to figure out solutions before they were told the answer. In one lesson, a student asked about the difference between two verbs. Rather than

158 explaining it directly to the student, teacher M asked students to identify the distinctions by finding and comparing all of the phrases using the verbs in a text. This way they could identify the vocabulary within the written context and see how sentence structure was formed using that term.

Once the students reported their findings, she then commented and clarified the differences highlighting the correct answers that were given by students (Field notes-18, level 3, 03/03/2014).

However, she also stressed during the interviews that teaching should be a combination of pedagogical approaches. She considered student-led activities, project work, and student-to- student interactions as a learner-centered approach. Whereas, direct instructions were seen as teacher-centered approach. In her opinion, the student-centered approach was more time consuming. While it is important that the students have a sense of ownership over their education, it is also necessary that there is time for direct instruction from the teacher in order to ensure that the students fully comprehend the information and the exercises.

According to teacher M, her teaching practice was greatly influenced by John Dewey. In particular, teacher M referred to Dewey’s notion of pragmatism and the concepts of “learning by doing” and “learning through plays and games.” In addition, she studied the differences between

American pedagogical beliefs and teaching methods and Chinese methods of teaching. She was able to do so by watching her own children go to school in the U.S. Through observations of her children’s education, she determined appropriate expectations with regard to teaching within the

American school system.

Overall, teacher M was content with her students’ academic motivation, parental support, and the availability of additional school resources that enabled her to construct several curricula for the different levels she instructed. Disciplinary issues were rare during the time of the observations, and were minor infractions. However, she said that it took a gradual process of

159 adjustment to come to her current level of teaching. During the beginning years teaching at the first school, she faced challenges with managing student disciplinary issues. As she gained experience, her classroom management skills grew and now influence the strategies used in her current classes. However, she was not satisfied with her professional knowledge. One goal she set for herself was to learn more research on current and previously existing studies regarding second language acquisition and learning strategies. She wanted to learn more research to better her practice and to better the overall student experience.

“Students are my customers.” Teacher M noted a few times during our conversations and in the interview that her students were her customers and yi shi fu mu (food and clothes provider; a metaphor used to describe the importance of her students). A teacher’s job is to understand the individuality of each student, including their likes and dislikes and cater to each student’s diverse needs in order to provide a perfect product. To ensure that she was keeping up with her “customers,” she made sure to record the specifics for each individual student. She kept a portfolio for each student that included their assignments, projects, tests, and reports to monitor their learning progress throughout the year. This system of records also allowed her to look back over previous assignments in order to understand how to best assist a struggling learner. At the beginning of each academic year, she conducted a survey to collect students’ information about their personal interests, academic strengths, and their goals of learning Chinese, among others. She then referred back to these interest surveys, along with the student’s performance level, and grouped them based on interests and abilities.

“As a teacher, you have to please students,” she said in a conversation during a lunch break

(Field notes-10, level 3, 12/05/2013). By using a variety of activities and games in class, she was able to keep students interested. However, the activities were not just for entertainment, but rather

160 they were designed appropriately to help students learn the language while doing something interactive. In her words, “there is a principle to please students,” which she noted in interview.

She discarded activities that she believed were only for entertainment purposes. While she did aim to please her customers, or students, she also made sure that they understood that there were rules to follow. She was strict with deadlines and had very specific expectations that her students were to meet within her classroom. One time during the observation, a few students complained to her about the quantity of homework. They tried to negotiate with her about the deadline. Teacher M said firmly, “no more argument. It is due tomorrow. If you cannot submit it on time, you just get late assignment grades” (Observation transcripts-10, level 1, 12/05/2013). So in order to help the students become more productive, she provided them with methods to improve their work ethic.

She suggested that they work on the assignment package on a daily basis so that they got into a routine and could finish the homework in a timely fashion. “If I didn’t use this [project based] approach, they probably would get bored with the class” and in a way she would not be providing her students with a product they would find meaningful (Field notes-10, level 3, 12/05/2013).

According to her, a class had to be taught in a way that students would enjoy it, given the fact that there were many foreign language options for students to choose in her school. Gaining students’ interests was essential for the continuous development of the Chinese language program. In addition to the instructional activities, she advised a Chinese language club that held events every other week. Through the club events and activities, she hoped to attract prospective students. She also made use of other opportunities. For example, she took her current students to elementary schools in the district to promote the Chinese language program.

She established a positive teacher-student relationship, because she considered it as one of the most essential tools used in establishing a successful program. A positive teacher-student

161 relationship is a virtuous circle characterized with “mutual respect,” “mutual pleasing,” and

“mutual gratitude.” She further explained in the interview that when a teacher cared for her students, respected them, and catered to their needs and interests, students would develop the trust and respect for the teacher. All of her students in her intermediate and advanced levels have followed her since their first year in high school. She believed that it was not just about the teacher pleasing students, “students try to please the teacher.” Teachers also need to express their expectations and reward their students with gratitude. It is students who make it possible for teachers to keep their job. Students should also feel thankful for their teacher, because teachers put so much effort into designing and teaching the lesson. The practice of xingli at the beginning and the end of the class was a way for her and her students to express gratitude to each (Field notes-9, level 4, 11/26/2013).

Heavy workload. The greatest challenge for teacher M was her heavy teaching load. This was primarily due to the various levels and classes that she had to teach by herself. Compared to the four Spanish teachers, each of whom only taught one level of two or three classes, she spent more time on lesson planning, teaching, test designing, and assignment grading. She thought that the school should hire a second Chinese language teacher, but she hesitated bringing up the issue to the school. Previously there was a Japanese language teacher who was in the same situation as hers, commuting between two campuses and teaching six levels. After the Japanese language teacher talked to the school, the school did not appreciate her suggestion, and made her retire.

Another drawback of having only one instructor was that she could not enroll all of the students who demonstrated interests in taking the course because she did not have extra time and energy to accommodate students’ needs and abilities, especially those students with serious learning difficulties. The following were her remarks regarding the issue in the interview:

162 It’s not like I am not willing to teach students with special needs. It’s just because there is

only me in the program. It was impossible for me to deal with different types of special

education or learning disabilities. I love to teach anyone, but I don’t have the energy. If

we have two or more Chinese language teachers in the program, I would welcome

anyone just like the Spanish program. Anybody interested can take the course.

Being the only teacher of a program also meant that she had a whole range of program duties to fulfill. Duties included, but were not limited to recruiting, commuting, developing a curriculum, designing a program, and running additional programs such as the Chinese club.

Creating a balance between parent/teacher communication. Teacher M, noted in the interview that compared to her previous school, parents were much more involved in their students’ academic performance. She noticed an increase in email exchanges and phone calls concerning students’ grades, especially towards the end of a semester. Responses from parents could be productive, while others were not. “Some of them are really rude,” she said in the interview, regarding contact with certain parents. They would not care about what their children learned, but only their grades and how to get extra credit. They often asked for make-up assignments if the grade was not satisfactory. Once, she got a phone call from a rude parent when she was about to go grocery shopping. She asked if she could talk to the parent later, as she just put her baby into the car, but the parent insisted that it would only take five minutes of her time. In the end, the phone call lasted for more than ten minutes, during which her baby was crying in the car. She informed parents that she preferred emails, or they could leave their phone number for her so that she could call them back. As a mother of three children, she said that she was busy at school and at home too. She found it really irritating that some parents could not distinguish between her scheduled work hours and her personal time.

163 Another problem was that parents and students tended to lack respect when it came to honoring specific work hours. She contacted parents regularly, inviting them to the club events and parents’ meetings. She regularly communicated with parents about students’ performance.

Communicating with parents was not a challenge but it could be a hassle if parents did not believe in the teachers’ comments about their children. Some parents tended to defend their children, as if they were flawless, even when they made obvious mistakes. Or, parents have become quick to blame the teachers for the children’s poor academic performance. As parents were the customers, teacher M said that she would not argue with them, but oftentimes she would compromise in order to make them feel comfortable. The only time this differed was with serious behavioral issues against school policy.

Simultaneous learning of the language and the culture. In teacher M’s approach, culture was taught alongside the language. During the observation, students were exposed to the historical and artistic heritage of Chinese society as well as the modern culture that characterizes present-day

China. Cultural topics covered products (e.g., movies, songs, arts, and literature), practices (e.g., greetings, ways of cooking and eating, and festival celebrations), and perspectives (e.g., Confucian philosophy, Taoism, attitudes towards health, and family values) of Chinese societies.

Lessons were designed for students’ language acquisition as well as cultural exposure. In one chapter about illness and treatment, for example, level three students examined Chinese herbal medicine and treatments. In two lessons during the observation, students were introduced to the history, principles, and applications of herbal medicine. They also practiced Chinese writing and speaking. They were asked to write a short essay in Chinese regarding what they knew or had learned about traditional treatments after the first lesson and discuss their writings in class in the second lesson. Teacher M also taught students different types of treatments in Chinese. In addition,

164 students were led to compare herbal medicines with current medicines, through which their awareness was raised of cultural differences in clinical practices and misunderstandings surrounding the traditional Chinese medicines (Artfacts-17, level 3, 03/06/2014). The simultaneous language and cultural acquisition was most apparent in the AP course where lesson topics and activities were solely based on the language, history, culture, and practices in China.

She would introduce Chinese movies, classical Chinese literature, typical Chinese houses and schools, and explain a traditional day in the life of a Chinese student, and discuss how cuisine differs from region to region as standalone cultural lessons. In addition, she taught culture through proverbs and idioms. Other methods of cultural teaching involved were field trips (e.g., museum visits and contests held by the local CI), club events, and guest speaker presentations. Heritage speakers in the classes sometimes served as cultural resources for her other students. Despite her heavy workload, teacher M considered it important to hold Chinese club events regularly. She said during a conversation before a club event that her purpose in running the club was not only to help the Chinese language learners learn more about the culture and to attract prospective students, but also to provide opportunities for the growing Chinese ESL students on campus to make friends with American students and get socialized into American high school life. The two club events observed had high turnouts, between 20 and 30 students approximately. Students participated in the club events included those from her classes, heritage speakers who were not enrolled in

Chinese class, and Chinese ESL students. Teacher M also wanted the Chinese club to serve as a comfort zone for the ESL students who are away from home studying on their own in the U.S.

Teacher M said in the interview that she had tried to incorporate the strengths of Chinese and American education into her teaching. One of the most valuable aspects within Chinese education is Confucian philosophy, which she frequently referred to in class. Just like the concepts

165 of democracy and freedom, she believed that the traditional Chinese values such as benevolence and filial piety in Confucianism were equally significant and thus should be promoted. As to ideas that were biased and unacceptable to the modern world (i.e., the “three obediences and four virtues for women” that require women to obey their father before marriage, their husband after marriage, and son in widowhood, to practice morality, make proper speeches, act in a modest manner, and work diligently), she would just briefly note it and leave it to students to judge.

Furthermore, teacher M corrected students’ misunderstandings and instead tried to present a modern and prosperous image of China. For example, during the observation, she oftentimes said to students, “China is developing fast.” In one lesson, when the level four class was going through a homework exercise on recognition of radicals, a student after seeing the character for shell, asked her if people in China still used shells for trading. Teacher M asked the student to reflect on the following questions, “What do you think? You think they still use shells?” She then told the class, “A lot of people still think that Chinese people live a very primitive life. It’s wrong ”

(Observation transcripts-16, level 4 ,02/24/2014). In a different lesson for level three where the class was reviewing the names of different fruits, teacher M associated apple with iPhone.

Students raised questions about if people in China have access to iPhone. Teacher M explained to students that there were many brands and choices for people to choose from in China, and some work better than iPhone. “Apple stores in China are huge, usually of several floors and much bigger than what we have here.” When one student asked if Apple products were released later in

China, she told the class that international technology products and movies were usually released earlier in China, if not at the same time (Field notes-3, level 3 ,10/15/2013).

Summary of teacher case 2 findings. Teacher M showed great flexibility in implementing different instructional strategies that she considered as both student-and teacher-centered

166 approaches. She blended student-led activities, project work, and peer learning with direct instruction to ensure that students could lead their own learning and develop a sense of ownership over their education with her acting as a guide to provide necessary assistance and instructions in their learning process. However, she was not satisfied with her professional knowledge. One goal she set for herself was to learn more research on current and previously existing studies regarding second language acquisition and learning strategies to inform her teaching practice. She saw her students as her customers and really attempted to understand the individuality of her students and to meet their needs in her teaching. She was able to establish and maintain a positive relationship with her students in a both strict and friendly manner. Her design of Chinese lessons focused on development of both students’ language skills and cultural knowledge. Similar to teacher Q, teacher M corrected students’ misunderstandings of Chinese culture and tried to present a modern and prosperous image of China to her students. The greatest challenge noted by teacher M was her heavy teaching load because of the various levels and classes that she had to teach by herself.

Another challenge came from communication with student parents who tended to lack respect when it came to honoring specific work hours or tended to defend their children and blame the teachers for the children’s poor academic performance. However, overall teacher M was content with her teaching experience and grateful for working with her students.

Case Study 3: Teacher L

During the time of observation, teacher L was teaching part-time in a private high school.

She had been working in the current school for four years, teaching level three and advanced

placement (AP) Chinese. Thirteen students were enrolled at level three and five students enrolled

in the AP course. She shared the teaching load with a part-time colleague who taught Level one

and two. She had 13 years of experience teaching Chinese in the U.S. In addition to her part-time

167 job in the high school, she taught three levels of Chinese courses at a university. After teaching the morning bells in the high school, she then drove for 20 minutes to the university campus to teach the other three bells in the afternoon.

Teacher L was originally from Taiwan, majoring in law for her undergraduate study. She moved to the U.S. with her husband more than 20 years ago and had stayed home taking care of her children in the first few years. She began her career in the field at the current university after an opportunity arose to teach Chinese for employees in a company.

She woke up at 5:30 a.m. during weekdays to be on time for her first class at 8:00. After the first bell, she had one preparation bell before her next class. When she first started working in the school, there were two Chinese classes and later on it increased to four. Because of the scheduling conflicts with her college courses, she talked to the school and suggested that they hire a second instructor. The school first offered her a full-time position when they decided to change their schedule for full rotation, which teacher L did not take given the schedule demands.

Instead she suggested promoting the other part-time teacher to a full-time instructor. During the interview, teacher L expressed her interests in continuing her teaching at the college level, but indicated that she would leave the high school the next academic year. She wanted to focus only on her teaching in the university which she found had a more flexible schedule and needed her more for the further development of the program.

Due to scheduling conflicts and the school permission process, classroom observation of teacher L did not happen until spring semester 2014. The observations included five classroom visits on a weekly basis in April and May, 2014, which yielded 10 hours of video recording.

Interviews were conducted on three separate occasions, the first two prior to the observation and the last one on the last day of the observation. The first two was each about an hour long for each

168 and the last one was 30 minutes.

On the first day of the observation, April 3rd, 2014, I came in at 8:00 a.m. and met teacher

L in the hallway just before she entered the classroom. After giving me an overview of the first class, she directed me to a seat across the door at the back of the room. There were five students in this AP class who all sat in the first two rows. The room had no decorations related to Chinese language but only a clock and the Periodic Table of Elements and Chemistry hanging on the right side of the white board. The desk that I sat next to had piles of chemistry handouts and in the open cabinet behind me were books and papers stacked haphazardly. After the first period, teacher L took me to her office which was shared with other foreign language instructors in the school. There were approximately 12 teachers in this office whose desks were set against the wall and also in the center of the room. Teacher L had a table by a window with her back facing the door. This is where she usually spent the preparation bell after her first class and before the next one. Her level three class was held in a different classroom shared with a science instructor.

In the level three class, I sat at the teacher’s desk in the right corner of the classroom facing the door. It was a smaller room than the AP class, but it had a big TV screen on the right side of the white board and windows on left side of the wall.

“Push learning.” Teacher L’s instructional delivery demonstrated “push learning,” in which she pushed students to learn beyond textbook content by expanding students’ vocabulary knowledge and created extra materials and exercises for students to learn and practice. She believed that students have the potential to achieve more than expected. In a lesson for level three, she created a one-page text in Chinese characters for students to read aloud in class. Unlike the textbook materials that were mostly in short dialogues, this text that teacher L created was composed of four paragraphs with approximately 490 words, which seemed to be above the level

169 of the textbook content. After seeing many students stumble and struggle with word recognition, she questioned if they had reviewed the vocabulary the day before and decided to review the vocabulary by letting students do oral translations in turn for a list of 43 words for two rounds.

Prior to the review, she said: “Let’s take a look at this. More review the better for you. If I let you go, the school will let me go. I have responsibility for you no matter if you dislike it. I have to push it ” (Observation transcripts-3, level 3, 04/27/2014).

She was not satisfied with teaching textbook content that she believed to be too basic for her students. For her, the textbook only served as one of her teaching materials. The following was what she said in the interview:

I never followed exactly with textbook. What I taught to them was more than textbook

content-the extension of the grammar, the application of words and phrases in various

contexts, and the reading practice. By the time when our lesson was over and when they

looked back at their textbook, they would find it simple because what they learned was

way over that.

She not only did so for her level three and AP course, but also made the other Chinese instructor teach beyond textbook level. She said that she had seen many college students who could only say a few phrases in Chinese though they claimed that they had learned the language for three to four years in high school. They were only able to use certain textbook phrases, but lacked the ability to use them in conjunction with others or apply them to other real life situations. What she wanted the students to achieve was the ability to use the language flexibly, applying what they learned in one situation to another. Adhering only to the textbook would greatly limit the development of students’ flexibility in language use.

In addition to her concern with textbook learning, another factor that affected teacher L’s

170 effort in pushing students beyond their comfort zone was the language proficiency test. Ever since she started teaching in the high school, she began to study the AP test and used it as a guideline for her curriculum design. Unlike other schools that usually offer four levels of

Chinese before the AP course, her school only offered three levels of foreign languages prior to

AP courses. In order to have her students meet the proficiency requirement, she trained AP students based on the test contents and set up learning goals and designed lessons for the lower levels accordingly (Field notes-1, level 3, 04/03/2014). To her understanding, reading and writing proficiency of students in the AP course was almost equal to that of middle school graduates in China. Thus, she emphasized more on the development of students’ reading and writing skills by letting students do reading comprehension, and translation exercises both inside and outside the classrooms. She taught students the use of language in various situations, believing that could gradually build up students’ comprehension competence, in particular in reading, and prepare them for proficiency tests. These tests also served as benchmarks for student assessment. She remarked the following in the interview,

I teach them to think outside of their textbook. It’s no big deal if they got full score in a

test based on the information from the textbook. If they could get a full score on a HSK

(another hanyu proficiency test), then they have learned the language. When they learned

something, either a single word or a syntactical structure, they need to have the

knowledge of using it flexibly in different situations. They should be able to understand it

no matter where it is applied. If they could not comprehend, then it means that they have

issues and need further instruction and practice.

Teacher L’s perceived importance of proficiency tests was clearly revealed in this quote. Such a thinking of hers explained her emphasis on the development of students’ reading and writing

171 skills and her instructional activities (e.g., reading comprehension and translation exercises) designed to train students those skills in class.

Students’ lack of trust. Teacher L understood the importance of a positive teacher- student relationship and wanted to build one in which her students would study hard to please the teacher. When students finished certain tasks or made progress, she praised and rewarded them with snacks and other prizes. She sometimes adjusted her lesson plan and slowed down the teaching process, when hearing students’ complaints about the difficulty of the lessons. She disliked the teacher-student relationship where the teacher was held as the rigid authoritative figure. She used humor and sometimes talked about life and philosophy with students to create a relaxed classroom environment.

She saw herself acting the role of a mother in the relationship with her students, caring about how well they learned and how to improve their learning. When teaching grammar knowledge, for example, she tried to make it comprehensible and easy to remember by using fewer linguistic terms and creating grammar formulas. She designed assignments following the order of vocabulary exercises, sentence translations, and reading comprehension, a “pyramid design,” in her own words. She believed this would psychologically make it less overwhelming for students. She designed her lessons based on what she thought that students would need to know in reality. For example, when planning a lesson on food, she said in the interview that she listed dish names and phrases that students may use to place an order in a Chinese restaurant so that they would have the repertoire to use the appropriate language and could also comprehend the meanings during conversations or if taking a test.

However, her efforts in thinking for her students did not really translate into the expected results and students’ acknowledgement. Students left her negative evaluations on teacher review

172 forms at the end of the spring semester, over which she expressed her great disappointment and frustration. She could not believe that some students selected “strongly disagree” on all of the evaluation items, which even included one about the teacher’s understanding of curriculum. She revealed in a conversation that she was just trying to help them improve their language skills because the current level three students in general were weaker than her previous students at the same level. Some of them wanted to take the AP course next year, so she did push them by assigning more difficult tasks, which she hoped would help them enhance their skills. She was disappointed that her students did not understand her intention and efforts. The following is paraphrased from teacher L’s remarks about the lack of trust from students during a conversation between classes (Field notes-3, level 3, 4/10/2014).

There should a trust between the teacher and the students. I trust you to do the work that I

assign you to do too. If you don’t like it or think it too hard and that you need help, let me

know we can negotiate. You don’t stab me in the back. You need to trust me who is your

teacher and follow my instructions if you want to learn the language well.

Concerns about student-centered teaching. Teacher L raised doubts towards the effectiveness of some student-centered methods, in particular about flipped classrooms and project-based instruction. In her opinion, letting students lead the classroom in learning and teaching, especially young children who only wanted to have fun, was a waste of time. It was more effective for the teacher to lead the class and students’ learning direction as they have more experience and knowledge. Flipped classrooms required careful design and creative instruction, but in reality some instructors, just for the sake of doing student-centered teaching, gave away their instructional time to students’ activities without careful planning by blending activities with tasks that were geared towards students’ language development. Having watched her own

173 children attending schools, she doubted how much academic knowledge students really learned in play activities. She thought that American pedagogy neglected the importance of memorization, especially in the elementary education as it was the essential period for obtaining a considerable body of knowledge which would benefit students in later phases of their lives.

“Project- and problem-based instruction (PBIs) is a good idea, but only when you get the basics done,” she remarked in the interview. She did not think that her students could benefit much from PBIs in terms of language development if they had not acquired some basic language skills, nor could they develop a solid language foundation through PBIs. As revealed in the interview, she assigned her students projects and tasks for preview or review of a lesson, that is, only as supplementary tasks to her teaching. For example, in one of her AP classes, prior to a lesson, she asked students to find the names of Chinese ethnic minorities from the internet, which she considered as simple and basic information. What she would teach to her class afterwards, as she claimed, was based on her accumulated knowledge and experiences that students could not find anywhere else. She put it in this way in the interview, “We have been learning for so long, so we’ve got knowledge engrained in our head. Whenever we teach something, we can easily and extensively refer to all kinds of knowledge. I can spread out and connect different things that students cannot find on the internet.”

She defined the key to student-centered teaching in contrast to teacher-centered instruction as the consideration of how well students could master what was being taught to them. In teacher-centered teaching, instructors focused on finishing the instructional content, without caring about if students have mastered the knowledge. She noted that she was educated in a teacher-centered education, but the current trend was toward student-centered approaches.

She first stated that her teaching was more student-centered because she usually assigned

174 students exercises followed by her instruction to assess their learning and would follow up with

more practice based on their demonstrated weakness. Later in the third interview, she indicated

that maybe her teaching had more teacher-centeredness given the types of instructional activities

and the time she spent on teaching. Based on the observation, she usually had two to three

instructional activities in each class period of 50 minutes, including reviewing vocabulary,

reading and translation of texts, and going over homework or quizzes. The following is an

example of her instructional delivery for students at the advanced level (Artifacts-6, AP course,

04/17/2014).

Table 6

Instructional Activities by Teacher L

Instructional Activities Times Tasks #1 Vocabulary Review 8:00–8:10 • Teacher L projected vocabulary one by one on a website • Students read aloud the characters and provided meanings #2 Reading 8:10–8:30 • Teacher L asked students to read a text on a Comprehension handout given by her • Students took turns to read the text sentence by sentence and gave translations • Teacher L jumped in when students did not recognize characters in the text #3 Going through an 8:31–8:50 • Teacher L read the questions on the assignment Assignment (multiple choices based on reading comprehension) • Students provided their choice and translation of their answer • Teacher L translated and explained the meanings of each choices when students could not comprehend

She wanted to have more time for students to speak Chinese and to interact with her in

class, but she felt that there was too much to teach in the courses and there had never been

175 enough time in class. She was very cautious in using activities and games, though she sometimes used them to liven up the classroom atmosphere. During one of the observations, she created a jeopardy game in which they worked in teams to figure out words or phrases based on the descriptions given in Chinese. She used the game because she knew that students thought it was fun and enjoyed playing it, but she questioned how much it could really benefit their language learning. In the conversation with her after class, she said,

For those who were able to answer the questions, the game served as a review for them as

they have already known the expressions. But for those who did not even understand the

questions, they were basically being “dragged” all the way and probably did not get

anything in the end. (Field notes-2, level 3, 04/10/2017)

The same concern about “fun not learning” was expressed regarding the teaching of cultures. In providing suggestions for future teachers in the interview, she suggested teachers create a flexible and interesting curriculum, but also warned them not to spend too much time teaching cultures and crafts (e.g., paper cut, calligraphy, kite) just to pique students’ interests. “If you spend too much time teaching culture, then it is only a class for fun. Students cannot learn much about the language.” During the observation, there was one standalone cultural lesson for the AP course, which was taught after their AP test. In the lesson she presented and explained a variety of Chinese cultural activities on PPT slides, suggesting students pick and practice one of their interests to keep their language competence after graduation. There was not much intentional emphasis on providing an informative introduction of a cultural topic, or clarification of a particular cultural phenomenon based on student-raised questions identified in the observation. However, students did obtain cultural information from learning and reading textbook texts (Field notes-2, AP course, 04/10/2014). During the observation, the AP class

176 studied life patterns and customs of Chinese ethnic groups, whereas level three had one lesson on learning provinces in China during which teacher L briefly pointed out to students the hometown of Confucius. Other observable sporadic cultural exposure included the practices of xingli at the beginning of each class period, a reading from All Works of Mencius as a Chinese prayer afterwards (classes start with prayers in this private school), and addressing of the teacher by laoshi. She illustrated in the interview that although her teaching approach had become more flexible and Americanized, she still cared about courtesy and how students talked to her in class.

A learning and adapting process. Teacher L’s teaching experiences suggested a process of continuous learning to become acquainted with the field of CFL and a process of adapting to new changes and meeting students’ interests. Noting that she had no formal training in education, she taught herself, attended workshops, and took college courses to study Chinese linguistics, pedagogy, and technology use. In her own words, “it was her learning and integration of the knowledge obtained that made her teaching become systematic.” In the interview, she indicated changes of her focuses and interests in professional development over the years. She initially was interested in looking for instructional materials and learning pedagogy and technology applications as she had limited knowledge and experiences with those. As her teaching experiences and knowledge increased, however, she began to develop an interest in delivering inspirational lessons in recent years. She described,

I am currently at the stage of hoping to teach the lesson in a way that could inspire or

provide suggestions for students for their life and future, rather than just teach them the

language word by word. What is the purpose of being a teacher? You need to inspire

students to think, but how you design the curriculum to achieve that is my current pursuit.

She related her experiences of how her teachers made her memorize Chinese poems when she

177 was young and how she felt enlightened when the meanings of those poems became clear to her later in her life. She hoped that her students would find the same with her teaching and remarks in class. She said in the interview, “What really matters is if your mind got enlightened, which is normally what you could not acquire from a textbook. Maybe the joke I made today did not make sense, but maybe one day it could bring you something good.”

Although searching for new textbooks was not a focal interest for her at the present, she developed a routine of changing textbooks every three to four years. The benefit was that she could always obtain new information from different textbooks, which helped to build her repertoire of teaching materials that she could select to teach or use for different student exercises. She was also afraid of being stuck with repeating the same teaching content year after year, which would not only bore her but also affect students’ learning interests. Thus, she was trying to avoid particular teaching strategies that could possibly bore her students, which was the experience she felt with learning Chinese when she was in school.

Her experiences with incorporating technology into her teaching revealed how she kept learning and adapting to new changes. At her initial stage of teaching practice, she attempted to teach her students according to the method by which she was taught Chinese in Taiwan, asking students to copy a character for 30 to 40 times. Soon she realized it did not work as it was a tedious task and students had no interest in doing it. Hence she started looking for alternatives and discovered typing characters on computers. However, the input method evolved itself, so she had to keep an eye on what would be released in the market. “With every development of the

Chinese characters input methods” she said, “I tried to apply it to the classroom in order to make typing an easier experience for my students.” To encourage students to practice speaking, for example, she tried various methods including letting students talk to her individually and having

178 them leave voice messages to her phone, but neither strategy worked well. Eventually she found online tools from workshops that she attended and began to use them in her classes.

In the transition from asking students to practice characters with the traditional pen and paper to the later employment of computers and tablets, she was convinced of the important role that technology played in present-day education and the new learning characteristics of students in the digital world“the younger generation, unlike hers, liked learning with visuals.” Thus, she continued to learn and explore new technologies to apply in her classroom. She further commented that this adaption of her teaching by incorporating and learning technology is not due to cross-cultural difference but global change.

Summary of teacher case 3 findings. Teacher L taught students beyond textbook level to develop their flexibility in language use and also to prepare them for AP Chinese and language proficiency tests. She emphasized strongly students’ development of reading and writing skills and let students practice with vocabulary recognition, reading comprehension, and translation exercises. However, her “push learning” did not translate into the expected results and students’ acknowledgement, but rather their resistance. She often had to adjust her lesson plans by adding activities and games and slowing down her pace of instruction. However, at the same time teacher L expressed serious concerns about the effectiveness of activities and games because she considered them to be more entertaining than educational. Project-and problem-based instruction and flipped classroom were also considered too fun to benefit students’ learning. In her opinion, a more effective approach to language learning was one that allowed the teacher to lead and teach students what they need to know because teachers usually have more experiences and knowledge. Thus, she often listed extra vocabulary and phrases related to a particular chapter and gave them to students to study rather than let students explore and come up with what they

179 wanted to learn. Even when she assigned students projects and tasks, she only asked them to find simple and basic information instead of fully relying on students to do research and present their knowledge. The same concern about “fun not learning” was expressed regarding the teaching of cultures. As the teacher case who had the longest years of teaching experience in the U.S., her experiences showed a path of continuous learning and improvement to adapt to new changes and to meet students’ interests. She first illustrated in the interview that her teaching approach had become more Americanized and student-centered because she usually assigned students exercises followed by her instruction to assess their learning and would follow up with more practice based on their demonstrated weakness. Later in the interview after the conclusion of the observation, she indicated that her teaching might had more teacher-centeredness given the types of instructional activities and the time she spent on teaching.

Case Study 4: Teacher W

Teacher W taught in the same school as teacher L. It was her fourth year teaching

Chinese in the U.S. and the second year working in the current school at the time of the study.

Previously she had worked for Hanban for two years, teaching Chinese in several schools covering elementary to high school levels in Kentucky. In the current school, she taught two bells a day, which included level one and level two Chinese. There were a total of 30 students enrolled at the two levels with level one having 18 and level two with 12.

Prior to her employment with Hanban, she was a college lecturer of music theory in a normal university in Mainland China. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music

Education and History in Chinese universities. In 2009, Hanban was recruiting volunteers among college instructors nationwide to teach Chinese in the U.S. She signed up and was selected among 100 candidates who were then trained and sent to Confucius Institutes across the U.S.

180 During her time teaching Chinese, she met and married her husband. After her two-year service to Hanban, she then resigned her lecturer position in China and decided to stay in the U.S., teaching Chinese.

The classroom observation consisted of five visits, which were spread out over two months from April 3rd to June 2nd of 2014. Each visit included two-hour observation of her two classes, which yielded a total of 10-hour video recording. Interviews with teacher W were conducted in the middle of the academic year before the observation and at the end of the academic year after the observation. Other data sources included casual conversations held after school and artifacts collected.

Teacher W’s first class of the day (level one) started at 10:00am followed by the second class for level two at 11:00 a.m. Both of her classes were held in the same chemistry room as teacher L. She usually came in one hour earlier before her first class for lesson planning and stayed in school until 3 or 4 in the afternoon for a lab duty and lesson planning for the next day.

She had to share an office table with a German instructor when she was first hired in 2013.

During the observation in spring semester, she had her own table but it was in the middle of the office along with another instructor’s. Her table was full of papers and books piled up with only the middle section clear for a laptop. There was also a cardboard box laying to the right of her chair stacked with books and papers as well. She often took with her a laptop bag and the cardboard box to the class.

Managing disciplinary problems. Teacher W considered classroom management an essential skill to master and one that held equal weight as a teacher’s knowledge of subject content. As many of the teacher participants in the interviews revealed, she came to realize the importance of classroom management when she started teaching in the U.S. She had no training

181 in classroom management either in her education or in her teaching experience in China.

However, unlike the major concern with students’ disrespect reported by others in the interview findings, teacher W indicated that hers was primarily about managing students’ participation and keeping them under control, especially her level one group who turned out to be very active in class. In contrast to her teaching strategy in China where she tried to arouse students’ enthusiasm and liven up the classroom environment, she attempted to cool her students down in her current teaching. She said in the interview, “I can let them play activities and games, but I have to think about how to control their participation so it won’t be as messy as a circus show.” During the observation, teacher W usually told students bie shuo hua (stop talking) when they talked among themselves, which oftentimes occurred in transitions between instructional activities, in the middle of a student activity, or while she was giving directions for a task. For example, in one lesson right after she clarified requirements for an assignment, students began to laugh and converse regarding the content of the assignment. The following was an excerpt of those interactions (Observation transcripts-7, level 1, 02/06/2014):

W: You are going to count how many Chinese people you talked to in the summer. Be

honest. Don’t say you talked to 100.

Students began to comment: Yeah. I’m going to Taiwan this summer to meet relatives...;

so we have to go to Asia!

W clarified: Listen, listen (raised her voice). Chinese people you talk to in the U.S.

Students: Oh, hahaha. (Laughed and looked at the one who is going to Taiwan)

One student: Chinese people have to sign their names in Chinese.

The rest of the class: Haha (a lot of them were talking at the same time)

W: Don’t make it complicated (her voice was buried by students’)

182 One students: shh

W further clarified: You can ask them to teach you characters or maybe have a long

conversation in Chinese. Chinese people like to take pictures with you. They like to take

pictures of everything. You can ask them can I take picture with you? Then they will be

like, xiexie (smiling while talking)!

Students (laughed and talked about their own experiences interacting with native

speakers simultaneously): I’ve met someone this Sunday, I mean it’s three hours talk… I

mean Chinese are remarkable.

A student raised his hand.

W to the rest of the class: Bie shuo hua, bie shuo hua (stop talking). Ok listen! I am now

saying bie shuo hua and you are gonna bu shuo hua (no talking).

(She then let the student who raised his hand speak)

At the beginning of this interaction, teacher W tried to raise her voice so that students could hear her clarifying the instructions for the assignment. She also raised her voice to stop students from talking so as to let the student who raised his hand ask questions. When she raised her voice, she also changed to a serious tone. It seemed that she was annoyed with students’ random conversations that interrupted her instructional activities. By raising her voice and changing her attitudes, she intended to attract students’ attention and restore her authority. Her explicit request happened once or twice in each bell during the observation. In the interview, she said that her school as a Catholic school had an established punishment procedure to manage student behavior and stressed the importance and enforcement of discipline. Students in general were well-behaved.

However, during the first half of the observation, teacher W was frustrated with dealing

183 with rude student attitudes outside of classroom. She received emails from students who wanted to increase their grades, including one student who even sent a link telling her how to curve his grade. This student also contacted W for the spring break assignment weeks prior to the break.

When teacher W told him it was not ready yet, he responded in both Chinese and English, saying

“I would like to have it soon.” Later during a test appointment with teacher W, when teacher W was a few minutes late due to a delayed previous appointment, the student emailed her after just three minutes, questioning where she was. Teacher W said that she did not like his rude attitude and emailed her colleagues, asking for their advice in dealing with the student. She restated in the conversation, “Although I have teaching experience, I don’t have the experience dealing with misbehavior” (Field notes-2, level 1, 04/17/2014). One of her colleagues who was a native speaker of English helped teacher W write a long email, listing all of the student’s misconduct, stating that he had been disrespectful, and requesting him to see a school counselor. Teacher W was very thankful for her colleague’s help with which the issue was brought to closure as the student came to her to apologize and promised to correct his behavior in the future.

In the interview, teacher W revealed that her greatest challenge with discipline was her limited English proficiency. Oftentimes she did not know how to respond in English because she lacked the knowledge of appropriate wording. She said,

I always find it difficult to find the appropriate word to warn my students or to convince

and persuade them to follow classroom rules when they misbehave. I cannot grasp the

intensity of a word. Is it too light that students do not care or is it too strong that makes

them feel hurt? So it is really an obstacle to me in communicating with them in

disciplinary problems. I understand what they say most of the time, but do not know how

184 to respond as a teacher and what would be consequences of my responses. I know how to

speak to them in Chinese, but not in English.

Although she said her English was less an issue in her instruction, the observation did capture several incidents during which she asked her students to repeat or rephrase their questions.

Sometimes when she was not clear about students’ questions, she asked for student volunteers to answer it for her.

In addition to language difficulty, she was faced with the challenge of not knowing how to handle misbehavior appropriately in unfamiliar situations as shown in the incident above where a student emailed her for an upward adjustment of his grade. At those times she would not take actions until she consulted with her colleagues. In the interview, she said:

I am learning the management skills. When I am not certain about how to handle a certain

behavioral issue in class, I would let it be in that way during that class. I would then go

talk with my colleague, asking their experiences before I respond.

Turning to school or letting it go? In dealing with students’ parents, teacher W manifested the same strategy as she did in managing student discipline, that is, she consulted her colleagues and family about her language and response, afraid of saying or doing inappropriate things that may upset parents. In the interview, teacher W described her experience witnessing an

American colleague apologizing to a parent as a shocking one. “Unlike me she is a local and an experienced teacher,” she said, “yet she still got criticism from parents.” Thus, teacher W was cautious in her communication with parents. “Every action I take, I would first talk to my family who could help me think in parents’ shoes and consider possible reactions from parents.”

However, unlike the certainty she had in taking her American colleague’s suggestions and help with handling student misconduct, she was bewildered and was reluctant to choose between

185 conflicting advice given to her from her Chinese colleague and her American colleague. In one incident, for example, teacher W dealt with a student’s angry parent who blamed her for not giving a student the grade promised. Teacher W told her students that if they took the HSK test, they would get a 3% increase in their final grade. However, due to a system failure, the points she added adjusted to a lower weight by the system before she noticed. One of the student parents got angry and emailed her for not keeping her words with the grade. “Do what you say,” quoted by teacher W from the email. She apologized for her mistake to the parent and corrected the grade, but she could not help but cry when she first saw the email because she was startled and upset with the parent’s rude attitude and the lack of respect. “It would not be like this in

China. You could at least get respect from parents,” she said in a conversation (Field notes-2, level 1, 04/17/2014). When a similar issue with the grading system occurred the second time, the parent became furious again, sending another email to question her ability as a teacher. “This parent is mean,” remarked teacher W when she recalled the experience.

The same American colleague who helped her write an email to the student described above, accidently saw the email messages from the parent. This colleague shared with teacher W her own experience of being insulted by a parent and her approach in handling the issue by taking it to the principal. She suggested teacher W inform the school so they could help her deal with it together, which was the same suggestion that she obtained from her husband. However, earlier when she consulted the other Chinese instructor, teacher L who was more experienced and knowledgeable about teaching in the school, she told teacher W that she had and still experiences similar issues and suggested that she should calm down and just let it go. Teacher W understood that the non-action strategy by teacher L was partly due to the concern of the parent being unreasonable and complaining about her to the school, which may cause her to lose her job.

186 During the time of the observation, teacher W did not indicate which method she was going to take though it had been months since the first angry email from the parent. However, she did mention her satisfaction with the school’s intervention handling another issue that involved a student with special needs. In that incident, the student’s parent contacted her for advice and help rather than an accusation. Teacher W was apparently in a dilemma, stressed to handle it on her own but at the same time reluctant to report it to the school level. In a later conversation with her after the observation, she revealed that she finally reported the issue to her school before the end of the spring semester. The dean of the foreign language department and her American colleague met the parent in person. It turned out that the student had been falling behind in several other subjects. His parent eventually decided to transfer the student to a different school. Nonetheless, she found that in general most of the parents were supportive of her work.

Understanding professional relationships and school rules. Teacher W was very content with the work relations with other foreign language teachers who were willing to share their teaching experiences and resources and who offered help when asked. She said that it was unlike her previous experience as a college lecturer in China and as a Hanban instructor working in Confucius Institutes where the Chinese instructors had a weaker sense of sharing teaching experiences and resources. Working in the current school environment, teacher W noted that she felt responsible to share her teaching materials and tools. In addition, she tried to build a closer relationship with her colleagues beyond the professional level by engaging in casual conversations about personal life and family. The following is an interview excerpt regarding her experience of building relationships with her colleagues:

I was told that Americans do not like talking about their personal lives, but I feel like in

187 addition to work, I could show my caring about their family, children, and their own well-

being. Talking about non-work stuff sometimes brings our relationship closer.

The positive relationship with colleagues had helped her substantially in transitioning to teaching in the new educational environment. In the interview, she indicated how her colleagues had been a great support and resource for her in her professional development.

Working with them had also helped her form a better understanding of professional relationships and rules in the U.S. school, as well as develop more awareness of cultural variation in human relationships and structural differences in schools. For example, in one incident, she left students unsupervised to fetch handouts left in her office at the beginning of a class. She said in the interview that when she discovered she had forgotten the handouts, her first reaction was to go get them as that was what she would do in China. Her colleague, who also served as a mentor, discovered her absence and reproached her for leaving students unattended.

According to teacher W, this colleague of hers was a helpful mentor and friend. Thinking it was just a careless mistake at the moment, she was very upset with the unexpected attitude change of her colleague. She said in the interview,

I still had my Chinese mindset back then. All I thought was that we had worked closely

and he had been so nice to me, but how come all of sudden he acted as a stranger? Even

if I have done things wrong, I didn’t think it was necessary to be that harsh.

However, when teacher W later discovered that her colleague was still the nice and caring friend to her, she realized that it was a type of professional relationship that focused more on dealing with issues that occur than worrying about the feelings of the individuals involved. It was through observation and her own experiences including mistakes she made that she became more aware of the structural differences and the strict enforcement of school rules. This led her to

188 reinterpret her colleague’s response to her obliviousness and carelessness to school rules rather than see it as undermining their positive professional or personal relationships.

Student-centered teaching and Chinese influences. Consistent with the interview findings, Teacher W also indicated changes that had taken place in her conception of teaching, in particular with students’ individual learning abilities and a pragmatic approach to language teaching. She noted in the interview that the greatest distinction between American and Chinese education was that the former stressed the acknowledgement and development of individual learning abilities. She understood that the cramming style of teaching would not work with her

American students. In her own teaching, she employed project-based instruction for her level two students who possessed higher language proficiency to research and present their project work in the target language. Based on the observation, she usually used four to five instructional activities ranging from learning new dialogues to playing games within an hour class. Her instructional activities were usually interactive. The following is an example of a lesson that focused on reviewing color phrases, which took place on April 17th, 2014 (Artifacts-2, level 1,

04/17/2014).

Table 7

An Example of Instructional Activities by Teacher W

Instructional Activities Time Tasks (1) Collecting Teacher W asked students to turn in their homework/filling out a 10:50–11:03 assignments; instructed students to fill out a form for field trip form in class Teacher W drew pictures on the board; students raised their hands and provided Chinese expressions (2) Vocabulary review 11:03–11:18 Teacher W also expanded vocabulary reviewed by asking students colors of each object she drew

189 Students were divided into two big groups to compete to see which group was faster in providing and recognizing Chinese (written on the board) for English expressions given (3) Game 11:18–11:35 by teacher W. One representative from each group volunteered at a time. Teacher W summarized by asking students to read all the Chinese phrases on the board. (4) Reading Students were asked to read aloud a text of comprehension of a 11:35–11:40 lyrics about colors in a handout given by text teacher W (5) Xingli 11:40 Bowed and said goodbye

Unlike teacher L, teacher W stressed the development of speaking and listening skills before reading and writing. She believed that the primary goal to learn a language was first to be able to speak it. Therefore, she was selective with the language listed in the textbook and taught only those words and phrases that she considered of real world application. She also created her own dialogues and texts based on real life situations for students to learn. However, teacher W pointed out that she sometimes fell back onto teacher-centered teaching due to the influences from her Chinese education background. She explained in the interview,

Because I’m Chinese, my teaching sometimes unconsciously turns into a teacher-centered

way. I lecture and lecture till I find that students are bored or even sleepy. So I have to

remind myself of keeping students engaged so as to achieve a better teaching and learning

result.

Thus, she considered the design and teaching of instructional activities to be in great need for improvement. She hoped to teach the class in a way that was both entertaining and educational for her students.

During the observation, she also expressed her frustration with random questions raised by students. In one lesson, when she was teaching new vocabulary after giving instructions for

190 an assignment, some students still asked her questions about the assignment. After addressing a few, including one about the usage of a phrase that appeared on the assignment, she then walked to the front of the class and said: “I realized if we are doing this here… If you have questions like this, hold until the last minute. Do not cut in here, okay. Now, xia yi ge (next one. She meant to learn the next word)” (Observation transcripts-1, level 1, 04/03/2014). In saying this, teacher W indicated to the students that the arbitrariness and trivialness of questions disrupted her teaching flow. Furthermore, students constantly asked questions when learning new vocabulary and texts in class, to some of which teacher W often gave a short “no” without further explanation. For example, in teaching the word kuai (almost) in a lesson, teacher W taught students to say wo kuai si le as a translation for “I almost died.”

One student asked: would you say, mei sheng huo—have no life as died?

W: Bu ke yi (cannot)

Another student: Wo shi kuai si le. I almost died.

W: Bu keyi. (cannot). Xia yige (next phrase). (Observation transcripts-1, level 1,

04/03/2014).

In another lesson, when a student responded to her question about translating “blue sky” into

Chinese, the student said lan se tian kong (a typical word for word translation as blue is lan se and sky is tian kong), teacher W corrected him and said it should be “lan tian (a shorter version of the phrase).” When the student asked her, “can I say lan se tian kong though?” She answered firmly, “no, it has to be lan tian. That’s how we say it” (Observation transcripts-2, level 1,

04/17/2014). These reactions of teacher W and the frustrations that she expressed may have to do with the fact that she had not become used to answering students’ questions in class. It may also be related to her knowledge of Chinese linguistics because of her background in music theory, as

191 indicated by herself. Knowing her weakness, she has been participating frequently in both local and national professional development programs to further improve her knowledge of CFL instruction.

In addition, the practice of xingli and the teaching of Chinese culture were noted as

Chinese influences. She stressed that as a Chinese language class, xingli had to be implemented.

During the observation, she occasionally introduced cultural knowledge in class, invited guest speakers to talk about their experiences living in China, and let students explore culture via project work. She was also planning a summer trip with teacher L to take their students for a cultural exchange program in Taiwan. As discovered from other teacher participants, teacher W believed that when teaching culture, it was necessary to introduce students to the origins and rationale of certain customs such as food choices and cuisines. Although initially, she would expect students to understand and accept the cultural practices she introduced, she now was less concerned with students’ perspectives of Chinese culture as she became more aware of the multiculturalism and diversity of American society. She remarked in the interview,

In the past, I would want my students to accept and think the culture was as good as I see

it. It is like an instinct that I could not accept students thinking it weird. But now, after I

explained them to the reasons for a particular cultural phenomenon, however they are

going to think about it, it is up to them. I find that America is diverse. People have various

perspectives toward an issue and “weird” is one of them. So I am not that concerned with

what students think about Chinese culture.

This, according to teacher W, is a great change that she has made after teaching in U.S. classrooms.

Summary of teacher case 4 findings. Teacher W attempted to teach her students in a

192 way that was both entertaining and educational. She adopted American educational concepts and practices such as addressing differing learning abilities and needs and using a pragmatic approach to language teaching. She implemented project-based instruction and tried various activities and games to engage students, though sometimes she would habitually fall back onto lecturing. She considered the reversion an influence from her teaching experiences and education in China. Additionally, teacher W’s teaching practices showed difficulties she experienced that might have to do with Chinese educational influences and cultural differences between American and Chinese educational systems. One was with students’ random questions raised during her instruction and the other was with students’ side conversations, both of which teacher W expressed frustration or annoyance in her teaching practice as these two situations disrupted the flow of her instructional activities and more importantly, challenged her authority. Managing student discipline and participation, as described by teacher W herself was an aspect in which she lacked experience. As a relatively new teacher of Chinese language in U.S. classrooms, teacher W apparently still had many to learn to successfully adapt to American education. As a novice teacher, she also experienced dilemma in handling issues that American and Chinese cultural practices diverge as shown in the case of handling an angry parent. Nonetheless, her colleagues were reported being a great support and resource in her transition to American educational system in terms of pedagogical practices, classroom management, understanding of school rules, and communication with student parents.

Case Study 5: Teacher Z

During the time of the study, teacher Z taught part-time in a private school and a community college. It was her first year teaching Chinese in the U.S. after her graduation from a

Master’s program in education in the U.S. She had taught English as a foreign language in China

193 for 13 years before she came to the U.S. to pursue her Master’s degree in education. The school where this study took place was a Catholic high school and had 400 students from grades 9 through 12. In the school, teacher Z taught one class of students at level one with a total enrollment of six students. It was the only Chinese language course offered among other foreign languages that included French, Latin, and Spanish.

The observations involved five classroom visits each lasting an hour. They were conducted across two weeks in April 2014. The formal interviews were conducted on two separate occasions. One took place prior to the observations and lasted for an hour. The other interview took place after the observations and lasted for half an hour. Other data sources also included casual conversations and artifacts collected during the observation.

I usually came in before 1:00 p.m. and met teacher Z in the hallway just outside of her classroom waiting for students from a previous class to come out. The classroom was on the third floor of a three-story building, shared between teacher Z and a math instructor. It was a bright room with two big windows on one side of the wall facing the door. On the other side of wall was a large corkboard with Chinese decorations on top and math handouts pinned on the bottom. On the wall to the right side of the door was a white board and a projector screen.

Teacher Z usually sat at the table before the screen, working on the computer to set up for the class before it began.

Bringing in the Chinese teaching model. Teacher Z said that she brought the Chinese model of teaching into her classroom. She trained students for xingli and rotated classroom jobs

(e.g., erases board and leads prayers and xingli) for them. She started doing both on her first day of class when she asked students if they wanted to try the Chinese high school model and they all showed great interest. Her teaching methods also demonstrated the foreign language pedagogy

194 typical in Chinese high schools. During the observation, teacher Z followed a rigid structure of teaching that focused on memorization and translation practice. For example, in one lesson, after routine xingli, prayer, and a brief interaction about time and dates in Chinese in the format of teacher-student Q and A; Teacher Z reviewed with the students more than 40 vocabulary words and phrases about food and weather that were learned from the previous class (see Table 6;

Artifacts-2, 04/10/2014). Students were asked to provide Chinese equivalents of English expressions presented on PPT slides and then English translations of Chinese characters. She then taught students how to talk about weather in Chinese using pattern drills. The next task was to learn a new set of supplementary vocabulary from the textbook, after which Teacher Z gave students several minutes to memorize the new vocabulary and tested them orally. Lastly, students were asked to practice writing several characters followed by dictation on a whiteboard in front of class.

Table 8

An Example of Teacher Z’s Instruction

Instructional Activities Time Tasks (1) Xingli and prayer 1:10–1:14 Led by a class monitor of the week Four questions that teacher Z asked and students responded in Chinese (2) Dates/weekdays Dialogue 1:15 e.g. jin tian shi ji yue ji hao (what day is today) Students provided Chinese expressions based on English showed (3) Food & weather vocabulary 1:16–1:23 on PPT slides and then English review translations of Chinese phrases and vocabulary Teacher Z taught a set of questions (4) Weather question and and responses about the weather; 1:23–1:30 response pattern drill Students practiced the pattern based on weather info on PPT slides

195 Students read aloud the vocabulary; (5) Supplementary vocabulary Teacher Z corrected and repeated 1:30–1:37 of the chapter pronunciations, as well as explained the meaning of single characters (6) Memorizing/translating Students studied the new vocabulary; 1:37–1:46 supplementary words Teacher Z orally tested them Students were asked to practice writing five characters; (7) Practice writing characters 1:46–1:59 Then they did dictation of the characters on white board (8) Xingli 2:00 Bowed and said goodbye

All of the five observations revealed teacher Z’s emphasis on language practice and an application of the traditional language teaching approach. However, teacher Z claimed in the interview that she used games and activities to increase students’ enjoyment in learning and had lowered her academic expectations. She recognized the perceptions of Chinese as a foreign language in schools and the differences from the strong emphasis on English in China. She did praise students frequently during the observation, almost after each correct response from students and welcomed students to ask questions during her instructional delivery. She said in the interview, “I appreciate some of their (American) models, one of which is the encouragement and praise of students, which teachers here do frequently.”

She did not believe in an absolute distinction between student-and teacher-centered approaches in her teaching practice, but rather a mixture of the two. Depending on the nature of the lesson, there would be a difference in time spent on instructional and student activities. She pointed out that she taught more in the lessons being observed because the language and grammar knowledge were new to her students. However, she also allowed time for students to make sentences and practice the language in class, which in her words was to “let students feel more engaged and active in the learning process” (Field notes-5, 04/15/2014).

“They need to learn from us.” With regard to teaching culture, teacher Z was more

196 explicit about the benefit of promoting Chinese cultural heritage than the other four teachers being observed. In the interview, she remarked, “Chinese cultures and philosophies are extensive and profound. Although America leads the development in science and technology, they cannot compete against us with the richness of cultural heritage and philosophies. They need to learn from us.” Promoting Chinese culture was a meaningful endeavor to her, for which she felt a need to further enhance her knowledge of Chinese classics. Unlike other teachers who demonstrated a need to improve their teaching strategies, teacher Z believed that an increased knowledge of

Chinese classics would be more beneficial to her teaching practice.

When asked about how she taught culture in class, teacher Z replied that she exposed students to cultural norms and values which were embedded in her lessons. She explained in the interview that she trained her students to do xingli appropriately at the end of the class period.

She told them that it was considered disrespectful if they dashed out of the classroom, or bowed to her while packing their backpacks, or moving around. Students now stood up still, bowed to her, and waited until her dismissal signal. She also noted cultural differences in what was considered polite behavior and corrected her students who pointed at her when referring to her in class conversations. During her instruction, she sometimes noted the differences between

American and Chinese societies and answered students’ questions about China. She added cultural knowledge, as she said in the interview, also to increase students’ enjoyment in learning.

Insecurity and worry as an international. During the time of the study, teacher Z was on optional practical training, a period during which international students who have completed their degrees in the U.S. are allowed to work for at most one year on a student visa. Her legal work status would end at the end of April, which was a month and half away from the conclusion of Spring semester. It was made clear to her when she began her employment that the school

197 would not sponsor her for the work visa. She talked to the principal and told him that she was willing to work unpaid for the rest of the academic year once her OPT expired, so they could use the time to find a replacement.

She applied for a doctoral program at a local university in December and had been expecting the notice since the beginning of April. During the observation, she talked a lot about her uncertain future and expressed her anxiety about hearing from the Ph.D. program. She had called the department several times, eager to know the result. However, she was only informed that they were not certain at that point given their tight budget. If she got the offer, she could work legally again with her new student status. Otherwise, if she was not admitted, then she should get prepared to leave the country within 60 days of the grace period after the expiration of her OPT. She remarked in the casual conversations after school that all she could do at that moment was to wait for the admission decision (Field notes-3,04/11/2014).

Summary of teacher case 5 findings. Teacher Z’s teaching practices demonstrated both the conscious transference of the Chinese teaching model (e.g., xingli and rotated classroom jobs) to her classroom and the subconscious adherence to Chinese pedagogy commonly used in

Chinese high school English language classrooms (e.g., repeated translation practice and memorization tests). While bringing in the Chinese model of education, she also acknowledged the importance of American pedagogy by adopting games and activities to increase students’ enjoyment and praising students frequently to encourage their participation. She understood the status of Chinese as a foreign language in American school settings and attempted to lower her academic expectations toward her students. With respect to cultural instruction, she was proud and confident in teaching her students the Chinese culture. As a newly graduate international student who had limited permit to work or stay legally in the U.S., she was more concerned and

198 insecure with her status and future compared to all the other four teacher participants.

Themes from Cross-Case Analysis

The cross-case analysis identified the following themes that showed both similarities and variations in the experiences and teaching practices of the five Chinese teachers (see Table 9).

Culture instruction. Consistent with the interview findings, all of the teacher participants’ classroom instructions indicated that culture was an important constituent of

Chinese language class, though there were slight variations of its emphases among the cases.

Most of them designed specific projects and activities for students to learn Chinese culture. They also taught cultural knowledge occasionally throughout a class either out of spontaneity to inform students or in response to students’ questions. Teacher participants not only explained and clarified some cultural practices to ensure that students have a proper understanding of the culture, but also defended their culture and home country in classroom instruction (i.e., teacher Q and M’s posture with presenting students a view of a modern and prosperous China). Teacher Z also showed more explicitness about the benefits of promoting Chinese cultural heritage than the other four teachers. Furthermore, students obtained cultural information from learning and reading their textbooks.

Table 9

Common and Unique Experiences by the Five Focal Teacher Cases

Common experiences (all) Unique experiences (individual) Culture Instruction Different phase of adaptation • Accurate & modern cultural knowledge • Learning to be more student-centered (Case-1 Q) (Case-1 Q & Case-4 W) • Simultaneous learning of the language & • Flexibility in blending two educational the culture (Case-2 M) models (Case-2 M) • Balance in culture instruction (Case-3 L) • A continuous learning and adapting • Chinese influences (Case-4 W) process (Case-3 L) • “They need to learn from us.” (Case-5 Z) • Content with the focus on language training and exercises (Case-5 Z)

199 Negotiating and combining two educational Unique experiences or challenges models • A dilemma about teaching Chinese • Mediating between serious & fun characters (Case-1 Q) learning (Case-1 Q) • Heavy workload (Case-2 M) • Teacher as a guide (Case-2 M) • Push Learning and reflections on • Concerns about student-centered instructional strategies (Case-3 L) teaching (Case-3 L) • Understanding professional relationships • Student-centered teaching and Chinese and school rules (Case-4 W) influences (Case-4 W) • Insecurity and worry as an international • Bringing in the Chinese teaching model (Case-5 Z) (Case-5 Z) English language difficulties • Low confidence (Case-1 Q; Case-4 W) • Asked students to correct them (all) • A barrier to classroom management (Case-4 W) Managing relationship and student discipline • Classroom management skill or students’ lack of learning motivation? (Case-1 Q) • “Students are my customers” (Case-2 M) • Students’ lack of trust (Case-3 L) • Managing disciplinary problems (Case-4 W) Note. Case-1 Q stands for case-2 teacher Q. Case-2 M means case-2 teacher M. Case-3 L refers to case-3 teacher L. Case-4 W represents case-4 teacher W. Case-5 Z is case-5 teacher Z.

English language difficulties. All of the five teacher participants showed English language difficulties in some way during their teaching. They all asked students to repeat or rephrase their questions when they were not certain about the questions and let students correct their English. However, depending on their proficiency and confidence, they may or may not consider English as a challenge in their delivery of instruction. For example, teacher L never considered English an issue to her teaching in the interviews (to the contrary, she regarded herself as an eloquent and competent English speaker) until the classroom observation. In one of the lessons, she used “bake the brain,” meaning to ask students to use their brains often so as to improve their intelligence and memory skills. Students explained to her that the phrase “baked brains” was used to refer to people on drug. Realizing the cultural differences and language

200 barriers, teacher L asked students to correct her whenever her English was not appropriate.

Similarly, teacher Z who was an English instructor in China was confident about her English, though as observed in the teaching, she sometimes had students explain to her certain phrases and words that she came across on school calendar and emails. Both teachers Q and W showed more self-awareness of their levels of English and exhibited low confidence. Teacher Q considered it a weakness that her English was not as good as her students’ and often asked students to read English when there were English texts involved. Teacher W saw her limited

English proficiency as a barrier to classroom management. Oftentimes she did not know how to correct students’ behaviors because she lacked the appropriate words.

Managing relationship and student discipline. All of the five teacher cases showed their emphasis and efforts in building a positive relationship with their students during the observation. For example, after experiencing the struggles at her first teaching job, teacher Q became reflective and careful about her lesson plan and tried to use instructional activities that motivated and interested her students. This is teacher Q’s instructional strategy, as well as her approach for relationship-building, by which she tried to let students like her class and then her as an instructor. Noticing the differences on student-teacher relationship from her American colleagues, she also attempted to build a closer relationship with her students by sharing her own stories with her students. However, students often became excited and got carried away by her stories, during which she then requested students to focus on learning. She admired the good relationships that her American colleagues had with their students, but she did not want to get too close with her student that she lost her authority as a teacher. Teacher M was very explicit about her and her students’ roles in their relationship. Positioning students as her customers, she designed and instructed her lessons to “please” her students and try to cater to their individual

201 needs. According to teacher M, her way of “pleasing” studying was based on principles. She was strict with deadlines and had very specific expectations that her students were to meet within her classroom. Thus, she managed to establish and maintain a positive relationship with her students in a both strict and friendly manner. Teacher L also noted the importance of a positive teacher- student relationship and wanted to build a one in which her students would study hard to please her. She used humor and sometimes talked about life and philosophy with students to create a relaxed classroom environment and praised and rewarded students when they finished certain tasks. She disliked the teacher-student relationship where the teacher was held as the rigid authoritative figure. However, she also expressed disappointment that her students did not trust her and understand her intention when she tried to push them in their learning.

Teachers Q and W were observed having challenges with managing student discipline.

Teacher M reported difficulties with classroom management at the former school where she worked. They all realized the importance of classroom management when they started teaching in the U.S. However, teachers L and Z who were working in private schools found that their students behaved well in general. Both teachers Q and W stressed the importance for students not to engage in disruptive behaviors (e.g., talking) while the teacher was lecturing or when other students were speaking. All of the teachers have used the remarks shang ke le (class has began), bie shuo hua(stop talking) if students were still talking after the ring or xing li. Teacher Q followed a set of classroom rules and consequences that she created to correct disruptive behaviors. Throughout the quarter, there were frequent referral to classroom rules and the use of explicit justification of authority (e.g., stop talking, be quiet, and listen). Her discipline style revealed her expectation for students to have sincere learning attitudes and behaviors and her disappointment at students’ lack of sincerity and motivation in learning. Teacher W was also

202 faced with the challenge of not understanding how to handle misbehavior appropriately in unfamiliar situations, which led her to consult with her colleagues.

Negotiating and combining two educational forces. All of the teacher participants’ classroom instruction demonstrated influences from or adoption of educational philosophies and practices prevalent in American school settings. These included student-centered teaching, frequent praise of students, classroom management skills, teacher as facilitator, and a business perspective of seeing parents and students as customers, among others. At the same time, they adhered to some Chinese educational traditions such as the Confucian practices of xingli and an authoritative role in discipline management, emphasis on intense language exercises (i.e., pattern drill), and “push learning.” They all attempted to incorporate the strengths of Chinese and

American education into their teaching, which was deemed as the ideal way of teaching.

The teachers’ delivery of instruction sometimes manifested a constant mediation between two educational forces, notably between “learning as entertainment” and “serious learning” or

“push learning.” All of them showed concerns about the entertaining aspects of activities and projects. Teacher L was also concerned about cultural teaching being entertaining. They all constantly negotiated with their students about how much time was given for fun activities and how much time for serious learning, in particular teachers Q and L. Teacher W showed mediation and negotiation between the conflicting advice given to her by her Chinese colleague and her American colleague, regarding dealing with a student’s rude parent.

Adaptation phases, teaching styles, and student body differences. The teaching practices of these teachers show a learning and adapting process, though each of them was in a different phase of their transition process. Teachers Q and W, both in their fourth year of teaching, were learning to adopt more American pedagogy, or in their own words, “to be more

203 student-centered.” Their teaching practice showed a relatively balanced planning for lectures and language practice (“serious learning”) and fun, interactive activities with and by students

(“entertainment”). Teacher M who had six years of experience teaching Chinese in the U.S. demonstrated a more stable stage and flexibility of blending American and Chinese educational philosophies and practices than all the other four teacher participants. Teacher L recalled her past

13 years of practice as a process of continuous learning to become acquainted with the field of

CFL and of adapting to new changes and meeting students’ interests. Her teaching style was more on the scale of what she termed as “serious learning,” as shown in the major focus on language practice (e.g., vocabulary memorization and recognition) in the class. Teacher Z who was in her first year of teaching was content with her current teaching style that focused mainly on language training and exercises.

Although all of the five teachers indicated challenges in transferring the Chinese model of education, some teachers exhibited more tensions with their students than other teachers. For example, though both teachers L and Z had more activities for language practice than the other three teacher participants, there were no tensions observed between teacher Z and her students.

Teacher L who also taught in a Catholic school, on the other hand, experienced resistance from her students who showed unwillingness in following teacher L in class and rated her poorly for her teaching evaluation. Another case is teachers Q and W whose teaching styles and years of teaching in the U.S. were close, but they experienced different issues in classroom management because of the distinctions between the student bodies of their two schools.

Unique Experiences. There were also issues or experiences particular to each of the teacher participants. For example, teacher Z was going to lose her job status as an international graduate because the school she was working at was not willing to sponsor her for a work visa.

204 The greatest challenge for teacher M was her heavy teaching load. This was primarily due to the various levels and classes that she had to teach by herself. She wanted a second Chinese language teacher for her program, but she hesitated bringing up the issue to the school. Teacher

W’s experiences indicated how her colleagues had been a great support and resource for her in her professional development and her transitioning to teaching in a new environment. Teacher Q experienced disagreement with the other Chinese language instructor in her school in terms of the teaching of Chinese characters. “Push learning” stood out in teacher L’s teaching practices, which is related to her understanding of teacher-centered instruction. Unlike the other four teacher participants whose definitions of student-centered teaching were consistent with those of the interview informants (e.g., cater to students’ learning interests by using interactive activities and games), teacher L understood student-centered instruction as an approach that designs and teaches lessons based on what a teacher thinks that the students need to know rather than what students are interested in learning. These unique issues and experiences demonstrated by each teacher participant are deeply connected with both the large social and local contexts of education and teachers’ own beliefs derived from their own teaching and learning experiences.

This chapter presented the case study findings based on the observations and interviews with five teacher participants. The teaching experiences and practices of each teacher case was reported first followed by common and unique experiences from the cross-case analysis. These experiences and practices ranged from mediation and negotiation of different educational practices inside and outside classrooms, to learning English from students, and to classroom management as justification of authority and a fight against students’ low learning motivation.

The observational findings provided evidence for and against teachers’ perceptions of their own experiences (e.g., the definition of student-centered instruction) in the interviews.

205

Chapter VI Discussion

This chapter interprets both the interview and observational findings in light of the existing literature and the theoretical frameworks to speculate on the key themes regarding the experiences and classroom practices of the teacher participants. While discussing their overall experiences and their adaptation process in American school settings, I will also address the research question regarding how sociocultural and individual factors contribute to teachers’ classroom instruction and their teaching experiences and how teachers’ teaching practices affect the sociocultural context.

Not Merely Differences but Capital Mismatch and Devaluation

Most of the teacher participants in the study experienced pedagogical conflicts, cultural and disciplinary challenges, and language and communicative difficulties, especially at the beginning of their teaching practice. Many of these challenges, as indicated by the literature and suggested by the teachers themselves, have to do with the differences that exist between the

American and Chinese educational systems. For example, the “lecturing and note-taking” method would not work in American classrooms where the engagement of students and their learning interests are essential components of their learning process. Focusing on teaching grammar and vocabulary with a purpose of training students to obtain good test scores could not fit the American reality in which language learning is about pragmatic language knowledge and communicative skills. As CHAT describes, conflicts appear when new elements are adopted and clash with old elements in a system. In this study, it was the introduction and implementation of

Chinese educational concepts and values that contradicted with those in American educational system due to differences of educational realities and traditions in the two regions. Thus, the difficulties and challenges experienced by the teachers can no longer be understood as conflicts

206 that arose within the individual American educational system, but the clash that occurred during the interaction of two educational systems. Although American and Chinese educational systems are two separate activity systems, the presence of Chinese language teachers made their interaction possible. The interaction of the two and the conflicts that occurred during the process constituted the experiences of the Chinese language teachers in their cross-cultural teaching practice.

However, in confronting these differences, the teachers experienced struggles and frustration over the fact that their pedagogical practices were not recognized and even resisted by their students and parents. For instance, the new teacher who was a friend of teacher E was frustrated and bewildered when receiving complaints from parents for asking elementary school students to copy and practice Chinese characters after school. He experienced devaluation of his teaching method and criticism of him as a teacher that contrasted sharply with his perception of himself as a conscientious and dedicated teacher who, no matter what method he used, meant to benefit students’ learning. Other struggles were exemplified by teachers I, K, L, and P who experienced disappointment and frustration when they applied typical methods from the Chinese education (e.g., daily assignments and push learning), but which were objected to strongly in the

American education. The frustrations experienced by many of the teacher participants indicate what they encountered were not merely differences but a mismatch of capital that came with attached, differentiated values and power associated with a particular educational field. Field is a structured social space with its own values and capital that is either accumulated material or symbolic assets (Bourdieu,1977). As certain cultural capital is valued more highly than others in a field, it gives some individuals more power and advantages over others. Both American education and Chinese education systems are such fields that operate based on their own

207 mechanisms of power differentiation and distribution. When the two fields interact, that is, when the teacher participants transferred the Chinese model of education to the American education field, it became the confrontation between the foreign and local practices, but eventually the conflicts of capital and habitus between the dominant mainstream and minority that are valued or possessed by the students and the teachers respectively. The conflicts of capital during the interaction led to resistance and objection to the Chinese model of education adopted by the teacher participants. Therefore, the difficulties and challenges facing the teachers were not simply due to differences between American and Chinese educational concepts and practices as the CHAT perspective suggested. Bourdieu’s concepts of capital and fields revealed that there was a power hierarchy and struggle in the interaction of the two fields.

In these educational values and approaches that the teacher participants brought with them included the teachers’ work and educational experiences (capital) gained from their culture of origin as well as the taken-for-granted, tacit aspects of their culture that have been engrained in their minds (habitus). Newcomers to a field would naturally bring in forms of capital and habitus that are valued and esteemed in their previous field, but which may be less valued in the new field (Suderman, 2014). In this sense, the teacher participants’ high expectations for students’ academic performance and correspondingly demanding teaching methods, which were valued capital in Confucian education, were clearly not the desired capital in the field of American education. The complaints from parents who regarded daily assignments as physical punishments and the resistance from students who engaged in disruptive behaviors when they were bored with lectures and repetitive language practices disclose such a mismatch. For those who encountered serious conflicts and struggles, there was the possibility that these teachers possessed high capital value or strong habitus developed from the previous field. As Bourdieu posited, people who

208 possess high capital value in the previous field are less likely to adapt to a new field. Holding onto their previous capital forms and habitus when teaching in a new environment will increase teachers’ chances for experiencing contradictions.

The tendency to transfer their previous educational practices has been observed in previous studies on novice or immigrant teachers who taught in a novel environment in the absence of sufficient knowledge of educational practices in the host country (Arends, 1991; Duff,

2008). It may be difficult for beginning teachers to discover “cultural and social nuances with which they are unfamiliar” (Haley & Ferro, 2011, p. 303). Lacking the understanding of the valued capital practiced in American education, the teachers in the current study kept challenging the new field with their previous established habitus until it reached a point where they struggled to reach the academic standards they set according to the habitus established in the previous field.

Examples include the teachers’ expectations of student behavior and learning attitudes. The teachers described the beginning phase of their teaching as struggling because “students do not respect teachers” or they did not follow their instructions. That was another type of frustration for teachers who habitually regulated their teaching and student performance based on Chinese education standards but failed. When struggles and frustrations intensified, it led to severe consequences—in the case of teacher Q who chose to quit her job because she could not withstand the clash of between her educational habitus and that of her students in American school settings. A similar issue has been observed by Wang (2002) who found that the Chinese teachers in her study tended to judge students’ behaviors based on the standards in Chinese schools, experiencing constant struggles between their inclination and a rational understanding and implementation of Canadian school standards.

The conflicts teachers experienced in transferring the Chinese model of education

209 demonstrate the mismatch of capital and habitus between two educational systems and the devaluation of certain aspects of Confucian educational capital and habitus in the field of

American education. The frustrations, bewilderment, and struggles derived from the clash of capital and habitus of two educational fields do suggest many teacher participants’ inadequate knowledge of mainstream educational values and approaches in American education in the beginning phase of their teaching practice and of the differences that existed between American and Chinese educational systems. It further reveals a lack of preparation and support for these teacher practitioners both before and during their services (Finney, Torres, & Jurs, 2002; Haley &

Ferro, 2011; Xu, 2012). However, more importantly, it discloses an inability of the host society and educational system to understand and recognize different educational philosophies and practices. Thus, I argue that rather than consider the challenges and difficulties facing international and immigrant teachers in cross-cultural settings as their deficiency, attention should be directed to entities in the host country by examining their roles and responsibilities in supporting a smooth transition of foreign-trained teachers to American school settings.

Disadvantaged Sojourners

Due to the lack of the desired capital or the understanding of the “rules of the game,” newcomers to a field or sojourners cannot play expertly and thus often found themselves at a distinct disadvantage as they did not have the appropriate tools to mediate their teaching practice in the new educational system (Bochener, 1986). Student-centered pedagogical knowledge is certainly one of the essential desired forms of capital in the American educational system, but one which many new Chinese teachers do not possess. Educated in an environment where there is a heavy emphasis on textual learning (Beckett & Zhao, in press), the frequent use of classroom activities to create engaging and interesting lessons is new to them. In applying the Chinese ways

210 of teaching, they found that their students lost interest and motivation and even engaged in disruptive behavior. Even when they attempted to improve their instruction with using activities learned, they still ran into the challenge of not knowing enough activities to sustain the engagement of all of their lessons and had on-going trouble with the design and implementation of the activities due to the lack of experience in the area. This shows exactly how instructional activity is deeply interconnected with other activities in the network of teachers’ tasks.

Another absent capital that impeded the participants’ teaching was classroom management skills. Even for those who had prior teaching experiences in mainland China or

Taiwan, they had no experiences and training on classroom management. As many teachers have never anticipated that there would be disciplinary issues nor did they have the skill to handle them, some of the teachers (e.g., teachers F, U, and W) in the study avoided confronting students or correcting student misbehavior when those happened, particularly in their first year of teaching. This clearly did not help the teachers with establishing their authority, but might even undercut their authority, which affected both their teaching and students’ learning in classrooms.

The result was, as teacher E observed, that students could think that there was no discipline in the class and that they could do whatever they want, which eventually caused more disruptive behavior that would interfere with the instructional activities. Many of the teachers in the study were also inclined to judge student behavior based on their Chinese habitus of discipline, resulting in frustrations and conflicts with students. They had to spend a large amount of time managing disciplinary issues, which took up their instruction time (Wang, 2002). Thus, regardless of the approaches that the teachers chose to use, that is, either avoiding confrontation or correcting student behavior based on Chinese disciplinary standards, one thing that is certain is that lacking classroom management skills disrupted their instructional delivery and their

211 energy channeled for helping students complete academic tasks (Hutchison, 2005; Xu, 2012).

Domestically trained teachers even if they do not possess the capital (if they are novice teachers), would at least already understand the importance of the skill and know about the strategies, though not necessarily applied in practice. However, none of the teachers who had taught in

Chinese society before had been trained on the subject. Compared to their domestic colleagues, they encountered more difficulties in their teaching including encountering conflicts in their teaching practice, making sense of the conflicts, and acquiring new desired capital from pedagogy to communication skills. Hanban teachers were positioned at an even greater disadvantage because of their double socialization of personal and professional lives. Unlike

Chinese language teachers hired locally who had either settled down or lived for a while in the

U.S., Hanban teachers had to experience an extra layer of adjustment in their new life. Thus, rather than question teacher participants’ skills and qualifications to teach in the U.S. (e.g., Dunn,

2011; Horwitz, 2005), perhaps educators and schools should first think about if they have provided necessary support and space for these teachers to acquire this new capital for their successful transition to American schools.

Linguistic Capital and “Sojourner” Social Class

Participants’ language difficulties give evidence to another form of capital that they are lacking—linguistic capital. Specifically, they lacked the adequate competence to use appropriate expressions in communicating with students, colleagues, and parents or even to understand students’ utterances in classroom. They also transferred their previous linguistic habitus (e.g., straightforwardness) in approaching parents, which could easily cause misunderstandings. As teacher H noted that it was not just the language itself, but cultural differences too that posed barriers in communicating with parents. This further indicates that their lack of English linguistic

212 capital, which disadvantaged them in communicating in a manner that was acceptable to parents.

In addition, teacher participants reported being laughed at for their accents and mispronunciations by both students and colleagues. The discrimination against their accents could marginalize and “other” the teachers (Cho, 2010) who were already in a disadvantaged position. As Sethi (1998) argued, discrimination based on accent can become a severe and pervasive form of racism. Although most of the teachers did not take the discrimination as an offense, they had taken it as a low evaluation of their English proficiency, which then became internalized and perpetuated their perceived deficit linguistic capital and low confidence.

Bourdieu (1991) argued that the more capital an individual possessed, the more opportunities one would have to exercise his power and to achieve his goal. The lack of linguistic capital can undermine teacher participants’ efforts in establishing authority in interpersonal relationships, notably with students. On the one hand, teachers strived to establish an authoritative role in disciplinary issues by creating and adhering strictly to classroom rules and thus to keep their classroom under control (Wang, 2002). However, on the other hand, when it came to English language, they wanted to learn from students and chose not to take immediate actions for students’ misconduct if there were language issues involved. For example, both teachers W and F waited for consultation with their family members and colleagues before responding to students’ misconduct in class. They even encouraged students to correct and teach them English, entering a trade with students for exchange of Chinese linguistic capital. Because of the native speaker fallacy (Canagarajah,1999), a belief that native speakers have linguistic authority, teachers subconsciously treated students as their cultural and linguistic mediator by asking them to serve as translators for their parents (in the case of teacher H) and obtaining cultural and linguistic information from them. In the observation for all of the five cases, for

213 example, participants had asked their students meanings of English words and accepted students’ correction of their English language and interpretation of a particular American cultural phenomenon during teaching. Their lack of desired linguistic capital and the subconscious subordinate positioning of themselves to students who are native speakers, might counteract their efforts in establishing an authoritative role in classroom management.

Some teacher participants, as shown in the case studies, were self-conscious of their lack of proficiency, which reflects their sojourner identity. As Bourdieu (1991) stated,

The sense of the value of one’s own linguistic products is a fundamental dimension of the

sense of knowing the place which one occupies in the social space…that sense of one’s

own social worth which governs the practical relation to different markets (shyness,

confidence, etc.) and, more generally, one’s whole physical posture in the social world.

(p.82)

Their social identity as a sojourner came both from their self-perception based on the value of their linguistic product and an outside label put on them by native speakers who judged their

English in accordance with the linguistic capital of native speakers. This confirms Walsh and

Brigham (2007)’s two layers of language difficulties in terms of “both personal concerns about proficiency and discrimination on the basis of accent regardless of proficiency” (p. 2). Echoing

Guo and Singh (2009), I support their call that the international teachers should have sufficient

English competence to support their teaching in the host country. However, it should also be noted that as long as they are non-English native speakers, the power conflicts and struggles will continue to exist, as they will be constantly evaluated and devalued in all forms of capital possession by the host country habitus. Their sojourner identity constituted of self-position and outside label will be unlikely to disappear too in a society where certain accents are privileged as

214 standards. Thus, it calls for both teacher participants’ improvement of language proficiency and confidence, as well as host-country-subjects’ tolerance toward various global forms of English.

Changing Capital, Unique Experiences, and Contextual Factors

It is important to note that not all of the educational values and practices between the two fields mismatch; and not all of the teachers were confronted with challenges and contradictions of their established habitus with that of their students in their application of the Chinese model of education. The teachers found a great match between some of the Confucius’ educational principles and the current educational practices in American schools. These teachers presented their understandings and applications of these principles in American classrooms. The connections made by the teacher participants between Confucius’ principles of education and

American educational concepts and approaches helped them get more connected to the culture of

American education, which might have also supported their smooth transition and adaptation to

American school settings. Thus, this study does not support the previous claims made against international teachers about their lack of understanding and connection to the culture of

American schools because those studies were based only on assumed cultural differences in educational traditions. Furthermore, the teachers believed that some Confucian educational principles were better implemented in the American education than in Chinese society. This suggests capital changes within the field of Chinese education, which concurs with the development of Confucian educational ideology itself that has linkages to Confucius’ ideas about education. The principles originally proposed and advocated by Confucius were not necessarily practiced in present-day Chinese society, but these were the principles valued by the teacher participants as evidenced by their implementation in class. The lack of emphasis on these concepts in current Chinese education system certainly has its historical and contextual reasons.

215 However, the fact that they were found applicable and even better practiced in a distinctive society, indicates the values and re-applicability of these principles to modern education. This has implications to Chinese education, especially Confucius Institutes and Classrooms that use

Confucius as a brand to promote Chinese language and culture. It would certainly make more sense if the teaching and learning of CFL were more connected to Confucius’ principles of education, considering the connections with the educational practices in American schools.

Some of the teachers reported that they experienced an easy transition or only minor issues as they already knew how to teach and what to expect in American schools before becoming a Chinese language teacher. Their experiences of observing and participating in their children’s education and doing student teaching in American classrooms, as well as the opportunities of learning and using student-centered instruction in certain regions and schools in their home country provided them an advantage in understanding and obtaining desired capital in the field of American education. This further suggests the importance of appropriate pre-service support and training for foreign-trained teachers to reduce their cultural shock and alleviate their struggles and frustrations, especially during their initial transition to American school settings.

In addition, student body and school types are contextual factors in the host country that play an important role in shaping the teachers’ cross-cultural teaching experiences. Among the five teacher cases, for example, some teachers’ classroom teachings exhibited more tensions with the students than other teachers’. Teacher Q who was the only one teaching in a public school experienced more conflicts and challenges than all the other four teachers, either in terms of instructional strategies or classroom management. Both teachers L and Z followed a rigid structure of teaching that focused on memorization, reading comprehension, and translation practices, which resembles a typical Chinese foreign language classroom. However, there was no

216 obvious tension between teacher Z and her students identified during the observation, whereas the unwillingness to participate from teacher L’s students were overt. Facing the resistance from her students, teacher L had to include more activities and games. Compared to teacher L, teacher

Z seemed to be content with her current teaching practice and expressed no concerns or needs to improve her teaching strategies other than the knowledge of Chinese classics. These distinct reactions from students greatly affected the participants’ teaching styles and their perceptions of their own teaching approaches. Thus, the differences in student body and school types, in particular the students’ ability in accepting different capital would greatly affect the experiences of foreign-trained teachers and their understanding and implementation of different teaching practices.

This suggests that the difficulties and frustrations experienced by international and immigrant teachers in cross-cultural teaching are not necessarily due to their deficiency, but rather a lack of acceptance from the host society and educational system to understand and recognize different educational philosophies and practices. Thus, rather than question foreign- trained teachers’ understanding of and connection to the culture of American schools, attention should be paid to examining entities in the American education system and their abilities in understanding and accepting different forms of capital.

Qualities and Strengths of the Chinese Language Teachers

However, despite the challenges and disadvantages faced by the teacher participants in teaching in U.S. classrooms, their experiences and teaching practices in the study exhibited qualities and strengths of the Chinese language teachers in global perspectives, culturally responsive and flexible pedagogy, and a passion for teaching and continuing self-improvement

(Arun, 2008; Carrison, 2007; Lee, 2010).

217 Both the interview and case study findings show that the teacher participants integrated cultural instruction into the Chinese language classroom, though there were variations of emphases on cultural instruction among the participants. Some teachers considered language and culture of equal weight and taught language alongside the culture. Other teachers used culture as a supplementary tool to engage students in the language learning. Regardless, the teachers attempted to expose students to both the historical heritage of Chinese society and the modern culture that characterizes present-day China by covering various cultural products, practices, and perspectives in their teaching. Contrary to the deficit perspective—looking at only challenges faced by international and immigrant teachers in U.S. classrooms, pervasive in the existing literature, the Chinese language teachers in the study exhibited the wealth of cultural knowledge that they possessed and brought to their students. There were specific projects and activities devoted to cultural learning, textbooks and learning materials based on certain cultural contexts, as well as language teaching that integrated cultural instruction. This finding disagrees with the conclusion drawn by Zhu and Li (2014) who, based on short-term observations of several

Chinese classrooms by Hanban teachers in the U.K., stated that the Chinese language teaching in

Confucius Institutes and Classrooms were confined to only basic, traditional, and stereotypical

Chinese customs. Part of the reason that the authors suspected was that there was little expectation to teach and learn the culture from both the teachers and the students. They also thought that the teachers had very little knowledge of Chinese culture themselves and often avoided engaging in deep discussions with their students. To the contrary, both the teacher participants and students observed in the study were highly interested in teaching and learning the Chinese culture. The non-Hanban teachers, in fact, were committed to the instruction and promotion of the culture even when they were not expected to. As observed and confirmed by

218 the teacher cases (i.e., teachers L and Q), they avoided engaging in further discussion of a cultural topic with students in class because they did not want students to be carried away by the

“fun” cultural learning when they were supposed to focus on “serious” language practice.

In addition, the presence of the Chinese language teachers in school, especially those who ran Chinese clubs provided them with unique advantages in responding to the learning needs of their students and in facilitating the socialization of Chinese ESL students (Wang, 2002). Some of the teachers such as teacher M used Chinese clubs not only to introduce students to Chinese culture and to attract future students to the program, but also to help Chinese ESL students make friends and adapt to high school life. The teachers also showed culturally responsive teaching by introducing other cultures related to students’ ethnic backgrounds to the classroom and demonstrated their efforts in enriching students’ cultural knowledge and global perspectives. The integration of the Chinese model of education in the U.S. school systems and adoption of

American pedagogy, though often exhibiting conflicts and constant negotiation indicates a flexibility of pedagogy in helping students obtain language knowledge.

Furthermore, the teacher participants in the study showed a strong passion for teaching, learning, and continuing self-development as seen in their career choice after immigrating to the

U.S. and their adaptation process in order to become more successful teachers in U.S. classrooms

(Hutchison, 2006). They seemed to be reflective teachers, knowing their weakness and seeing themselves as learners who had many things to learn about American education from instructional strategies, to activity design, to technology applications, and to assessment techniques. These qualities and strengths exhibited by the teacher participants further call for an alternative perspective to understand the experiences of international and immigrant teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms. The cultural resources brought by these teachers in the form of

219 knowledge, attitudes, and alternative ways of knowing to American schools should be considered as a resource rather than a deficit (Cho, 2010; Luxon & Peelo, 2009). Their range of experience, cultural perspectives, culturally responsive teaching, and a flexible implementation of blended pedagogy are important for the development of multicultural education (Hartsuyker, 2007).

Dynamic Process of Change in A Network of Interactions

Findings on the teacher participants’ teaching experiences show a dynamic process of change in their teaching practices, which can be displayed in the diagram below (Figure 2). In the initial phase of their teaching practice, teacher participants transferred the Chinese model of education into their classrooms and other practices based on their dispositional inclination due to the influences of their previous educational experiences and a lack of sufficient training and experiences within American school settings. They all encountered difficulties and conflicts when simply transferring their prior knowledge to American school settings. When realizing that the simple transfer did not work, they constantly compared the educational practices in the

American school settings with those in schools in Chinese society, trying to make sense of all the difficulties and conflicts they encountered. These comparisons and sense-making activities helped the teachers initiate adjustments accordingly (Wang, 2002). In adapting to American education by learning and adopting American pedagogy as a “transformative solution” (Smith,

2009, p.117), they began questioning the effectiveness of the American pedagogy in students’ language development and believed that an ideal model was based on the synthesis of American and Chinese educational models. Synthesizing two educational forces was an on-going negotiation process, a process in which participants might revert to the Chinese methods of teaching and go through another round of assessment of the approach and adjustment (the

220 outside circle) or adopt American pedagogy and discover new dilemmas (the inside circle). Thus, they went back to modify and work around their repertoire of teaching methods.

Figure 2. Adaptation Process for Teacher Participants

Note. Outside circle: Transfer: Transfer Chinese model of education Conflicts: Encounter conflicts in American school settings Compare: Compare two educational models Adapt: Adapt into American education by learning new methods Negotiate and Synthesize: Negotiate and synthesize different educational practices Inside circle: Adopt: Adopt American pedagogy Dilemma: Dilemma in applying only American pedagogy

221 The presence of the Chinese educational tradition and its interaction with the American education seem to be present throughout the teachers’ dynamic process of adaptation and change, including their synthesis and negotiation of the two educational forces. This further shows that the experiences and practices of the Chinese language teachers in U.S. classrooms were based on a network of interactions between the American and Chinese educational systems. These interactions created both contradistinctions and consistencies because of differences and similarities between the two systems. Thus, in the training and education of international and immigrant teachers, it is important for teacher educators to have the knowledge of educational practices in the teachers’ home and host countries and the capacity to draw on resources from different cultures to better support the transition of the teachers to the educational system in their host country(Bochner, 1986).

The network of interactions also includes relations and interactions between different activity systems that involve instructional, institutional, collaborative, learning, and relational tasks (Valli & Buese, 2007; see Figure 3). A large component of the teachers’ experiences is about their adaptation and choices of pedagogical approaches which can be seen as tools in the instructional activity system. Many of the teacher participants tended to transfer the Chinese model of education in the beginning phase of their teaching practices, leading to objections and complaints by students and parents. This suggests that instructional activity can affect the teachers’ relations with their students and parents (relational activity). In addition, relational activity has impacts on instructional activity. In adapting to the American education, many teachers became to understand the importance of communicating with parents and building a good relationship with them to seek their support and assistance with students’’ academic progress. All of the five focal teacher cases attempted to establish a positive and trusting

222 relationships with their students to draw students into the process of learning. It is obvious that relational activity and instructional activity systems are interconnected.

Furthermore, all the other activity systems and tasks of the teachers as displayed in

Figure 3 are deeply connected. For example, English language skills was noted by many teachers as their disadvantages in instructional delivery, classroom management, and communication with parents and colleagues. Thus, English language as a communicative tool is shared among instructional activity, relational activity, as well as collaborative activity that involves communication and collaboration with colleagues. As shown on the focal teacher cases, some of them demonstrated a desire and efforts in improving their English language skills. Thus, English language skills is also a goal in the teachers’ learning activity system. Valli and Buese (2007) defined institutional activity as tasks involved for teachers to deal with external governing authorities such as school district, state or federal government which attempted to create uniformity or standardization of practice across schools. In this study, instructional tasks were used to include also teachers’ non-teaching duties and actions to cope with external policies such as those on immigration and work authorization. These were issues reported (e.g., non-teaching tasks and work permit) that had either direct impacts on the teachers’ instructional activity, or their overall experiences.

Thus, it is the network of activity systems and tasks that constituted the overall experiences and practices of the teachers. The interactions and interconnectedness of these major activity systems and tasks have implications to the education and training for international and immigrant teachers. That is, a full support and training of these teachers need to focus on all aspects of their teaching experiences for teachers to better adapt to the American educational system, in particular at the beginning of their adaptation process.

223

Instructional Activity

Relational Institutional Activity Activity Teachers

Learning Collaborative Activity Activty

Figure 3. A Network of Interacting Activity Systems

Note. As this is a network of activity systems that constitute the overall experiences of teachers, interactions and relations exist among all of them not only between the two adjacent to each other. These activity systems were drawn in dashed circles, overlapping with one another because as noted above, they are open systems that may share or exchange entities among each other.

Teachers as Reflective Transformers

The dynamic process of change observed on the teacher participants shows that teachers are active agents who are able to diagnose the sources of their challenges and initiate actions to remedy their disadvantages in a new field. In the study, when the teacher participants experienced conflicts and resistance in transferring their original capital forms, they questioned and reflected on their own practices and their taken-for-granted beliefs and expectations. Just as described in CHAT (Engeström, 1999), contradictions act as a source for change–adjustment, but the change is mediated through internalization or reflection (see Figure 1-internalization).

224 Through reflective practice, teacher participants came to realize the differences in educational philosophies and practices, known as mismatch of capital in this study. For instance, the confrontation of teacher D with her students regarding respect made her reflect on the understandings of the concept and discover the cultural differences in its perceptions.

The teacher participants engaged in reflective practice to make sense of their difficulties and identify their weak skills before transforming their teaching practices by learning and adopting new skills. Previous studies on transnational teaching also suggest the important role of reflection in engendering prospective transformation or new perspectives (Carew, Lefoe, Bell, &

Armour, 2008; Cranton & Carusetta, 2002). In connecting their difficulties to the differences existing in the two systems, they also identified areas that needed further improvement or revision. If it were similarities between the two systems (e.g., some of Confucius’s educational principles were observed in American schools), they would retain their teaching approaches. In this sense, internalization in CHAT is similar to reflection in action research, which “involves thinking about and critically analyzing one’s actions with the goal of improving professional practice” (Zhao, 2013, p.19).

Reflection not only occurred in their initial phase of teaching practice but also throughout their teaching practice as an internal processing of external difficulties before actions during conflicts and dilemmas. During their implementation of American pedagogy, the teachers intuitively engaged in analyzing the new acquired capital in relation to the old capital when discovering that teaching outcomes based on American pedagogy were not what they expected.

By making sense of advantages and disadvantages in each educational model, they became certain about what to include in their teaching practice. This finding contradicts that of Dunn’s

(2011) who based on challenges faced by international teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms,

225 argued that international teachers and their global perspectives could not really benefit K–12 education in the U.S. Dunn’s interpretation lacks awareness of teachers’ consciousness and ability as a social agent in navigating challenges and transforming their teaching practices. The importance of reflection in the transformation of teaching practice has implications for teacher education and professional development.

Adjustment as a Recursive Learning and Practicing Process

In these studies, when teacher participants discovered resistance or poor learning outcomes from students, they sought new instructional methods to enhance students’ engagement by actively and reflectively learning American pedagogy. As sojourners who were placed in a disadvantaged position in a new environment, they actively engaged in learning new knowledge to equip themselves with the desired capital in American school settings (Bochner, 1986). Some of the teachers relied on their colleagues—new social capital to develop a better understanding of structural differences in American schools, professional relationships, classroom management, and communication with parents. Similar trajectories of cultural or teaching adaptation were found in previous studies (e.g., Hutchison, 2006; Zhao, 2014). “Despite the many challenges, these teachers are resilient; open to change, use self-initiative to learn about their classrooms, foster quality work and behavior, and show professional growth” (Oriaro, 2007, p. II). However, unlike the findings in previous studies, the current study suggests that the adaptation process in a foreign environment is far more complex.

The teacher participants’ experiences and teaching practices show that the adjustment process is not simply linear, transforming from point A to B, but rather it is a recursive one with constant consciousness raising, negotiation, and validation (Beckett & Zhao, in press). In this study, teachers had the tendency to fall back on the Chinese ways of teaching (see figure 1-

226 transfer), so they had to constantly remind themselves of the educational differences and stay conscious and reflective toward their teaching practice. This supports the power that habitus holds in regulating individuals’ practice, which also explains previous studies that indicate how teachers’ personal educational experiences turn out to be more influential in their pedagogical decisions than knowledge obtained later from lectures during professional development or teacher education (Haley & Ferro, 2011; Zhan, 2008). The teacher participants have already developed “a mental image of what teaching and learning will look like in their language classrooms based upon the culture of education where those experiences occurred” (Haley &

Ferro, 2011, p. 292). However, this does not mean that teachers in cross-cultural settings are unable to acquire new capital in a novel environment. In the current study, while learning new skills, teacher participants practiced and attempted to learn from their own mistakes so as to guide and modify their future teaching practice. Because of the recursive nature of the adjustment process alongside learning and trial with the desired capital, it may just take a while for any changes of their teaching practice to take place. This is reflected in many teachers’ accounts of their adaptation as a process that required continuous learning and practice based on their own mistakes.

This finding provides an alternative perspective to Bochner’s (1986) social skills-culture learning model which proposed that difficulties for sojourners can be remedied by learning new social skills in the second culture. This learning model, as the “rucksack approach” criticized by

Erel (2010), oversimplifies migration as packing and unpacking of capital from the country of origin to the country of migration. It overlooks, thus, the dynamics of interaction between fields and capital and the recursive feature of adaptation in a novel environment, as well as a modification of the previous capital or habitus by sojourners. What is revealed in the current

227 study is that the teacher participants attempted to modify their previous capital by lowering their expectations towards students’ learning motivation, attitudes, and academic performance to fit into the reality of American school settings. Thus, in addition to learning new capital, the teachers examined and adapted their own habitual expectations and requirements to meet local needs.

A Dialectical Integration through Negotiation and Pragmatic Compromise

Although the teacher participants acknowledged the benefits of a student-centered approach, they experienced dilemmas in applying only American pedagogy, notably activities and projects. They believed that many classroom activities incorporated to implement “learning while playing” were more for entertainment than for learning (Rao, 1996). Although “learning by doing” was also a great concept, they thought approaches that adopted the concept such as project-and task-based instruction could be time-consuming. The best model, according to them, was to combine advantages from the two educational systems.

The teacher participants’ beliefs in the strengths in both cultures and their synthesis of the two educational models demonstrate a dialectical approach to conflict resolution in cross-cultural teaching. In adapting to American school settings, they reconciled contradictions and transformed their teaching practice into a flexible implementation of blended philosophies and practices through enriching their cultural and social capital. A similar pattern has been identified in studies that involve teaching in a novel environment or changes to domestic education due to introduction of outside methods or practices (e.g., Beckett & Zhao, in press; Lee, 2010; Yin, Lee,

& Wang, 2014). Yin, Lee, and Wang (2014) called it a hybridization process in which reform leaders facing dilemmas of different cultural and educational values, made fusions and modifications to fit both globalization and local needs. Rather than taking sides with one of the

228 binary oppositions that are represented in the dichotomy between tradition and modernity, East and West, local and global, teacher participants in this study took a complementary approach by integrating strengths from both sides.

However, the complementary integration was only achieved through processes of compromise and negotiation that were sometimes seen in the cycles of adjustment, reapplication, and reassessment, as shown in the dynamic process of change in the teachers’ practice. Some of the teachers still faced pedagogical challenges even after their conscious adjustment from a lecture-based into a more interactive classroom. Because of the opposing nature of the educational practices, it is hard to achieve agreement between the two as what is valued in one field is not necessarily desired in the other. The teachers constantly wrestled with ideas and reconciled contradictions as they arose. They might have leaned towards one particular instructional method, but as soon as they were confronted with doubts and concerns, they renegotiated with their students and tried to balance different approaches (see Figure 2-inside circle). In the case studies, for example, teacher L was content with teaching students beyond textbook level until she encountered resistance from her current group of students whom she identified with low language competence. To balance challenges and students’ motivation, she added games in her instructional delivery, though at the same time she questioned the real learning benefits of them.

Dialectic defines relations between subject and object, individual and society in CHAT and habitus/capital and practice. Despite what appears in the study as a confrontation between two geographically and historically accumulated form of capital, the teacher participants mediated the complementary status by internalizing different educational values and externalizing then into their teaching practice as an integrated unity. In this case, it is also a

229 dialectical relation between subject and object, individual and society. However, the teacher sojourners, rather than produce teaching practices that penetrate the social structure with them being the disadvantaged sojourners as Bourdieu’s habitus posits, created themselves as cultural mediators who have the knowledge and capacity to draw on resources from different cultures

(Bochner, 1986). Therefore, this study shows not only the influences of sociocultural and ideological forces on teachers’ experiences and teaching practices, but also the power of teachers themselves as social agents in changing their social context. In spite of the challenges due to the mismatch of cultural capital, the teachers saw the advantages of their educational values and approaches and themselves as bearers of the source (Lee & Bang, 2011). The flexible implementation of various capital, if recognized, will be a significant resource to teacher education programs and educational reforms worldwide.

In addition, the reflective transformation seen on the teachers, the dialectical synthesis of different educational values and practices, their recursive adjustment, and a constant negotiation with the American educational system further expose the limitations of many existing studies that focused only on a static examination of challenges facing foreign-trained teachers or the adaptation as simply learning and adopting new capital to conform to the target cultural and educational practices. These studies lack a historical understanding of cross-cultural teaching based on the dynamics of educational values and classroom practices that happen when one culture comes into continuous contact with another. Thus, rather than focus on the deficiencies of international and immigrant teachers and propose a simplified remedy for coping with difficulties based on training teachers in mainstream educational approaches in the target culture, attention and efforts should be made on how to learn from teachers from distinct cultural and educational backgrounds.

230 Continuing Challenges and Negotiation as Efforts for Capital Recognition

In their synthesis of the two educational models, most of the teachers had abandoned or adjusted some of the typical methods used in the Chinese education system. These strategies included decreasing lecture time, lowering the sole emphasis on grades and students’ academic performance, changing the overemphasis on reading and writing, and reducing the amount of homework and assignments. However, some of their constant challenges after their conscious adjustment are exhibited in continuous “battles” and negotiation between the teachers and their students, which reveal certain beliefs or aspects of the Chinese education that they strongly held onto. These negotiations, though indicated in the teachers’ accounts of their experiences in the interviews, presented themselves vividly in the instructional delivery seen in the teacher cases.

For example, teacher Q wanted students to learn Chinese characters whereas her students tended to rely on the phonetic system—pinyin which were in the Roman alphabet. Seeing

Chinese characters as the essence that constituted the language, she wanted students to develop the ability to recognize and use them, a capital that would eventually benefit the students. In addition to her students, she faced another challenge posed by her colleague who also could not recognize the importance of Chinese characters and refused to teach them in class. During the time of the study, she was fighting for teaching characters in the school and considering approaching the principal to discuss the issue. This challenge facing teacher Q can be understood as a battle in which she wanted her students to see the value of Chinese characters and possess the linguistic capital, but neither the students nor her colleague could recognize its importance.

The emphasis on “learning as a serious matter” and the negotiation with students between serious and fun learning as observed in both teachers L and Q, was another such fight for students’ recognition of the value of their belief. For example, when receiving students’ feedback about

231 adding more activities to the class, teacher Q made it clear to her students that learning and having fun were two separate things, and that the class should focus more on learning. Similarly, teacher L showed a strong belief in the importance of textual learning and intensive language practice. Their continuous adherence to the Chinese model of education despite students’ questions and disagreements demonstrate their efforts in trying to get their capital recognized

(Hilgers & Mangez, 2014). A field has its own dominant values and mechanisms for maintaining its status quo. The instructional approaches practiced by the teacher participants can be seen as new elements and capital introduced to the field of American education, which generated disturbance and conflicts with the old elements and capital in the field (Engeström, 2009a).

All specific capital in a field, whether religious, artistic, political or scientific, is in reality

a capital of recognition…the struggle in a field is thus a struggle to impose a definition of

legitimate recognition, in which victory leads to more or less monopolistic control of the

definition of the forms of legitimacy prevailing in the field. (Hilgers & Mangez, 2014, P.

Chinese language teachers’ continuing struggles and challenges after their conscious adaptation to the American educational system was, in essence a fight to legitimize their own capital obtained from their prior education or work.

The same pattern has been observed in the management of student discipline, towards which these teachers have adapted their expectations to accept what they used to consider as disrespectful behavior (e.g., not sitting still), reexamined different understandings of respect

(e.g., in the case of teacher D), and learned to consider students’ self-esteem and personalities and to reflect on their lesson plans when there were disciplinary issues. Nonetheless, in setting classroom norms, they tended to negotiate with students and school systems to exclude what they

232 have been educated and believed as inappropriate student behaviors (e.g., no talking or eating during class). When they said that their classroom management skills have improved, it did not mean that they had become more tolerant toward student behavior, but they became better at executing classroom rules. They actually used acquired management skills to practice their belief—students should respect teachers and reflect their respect in classroom behavior. Thus, in addition to adapting to the new field, the teacher participants were also trying to negotiate with the school system to validate their previous cultural capital (Erel, 2010).

The continuing conflicts and struggles seen in the Chinese language teachers once again suggest that the challenges facing international and immigrant teachers in cross-cultural teaching are not necessarily due to their deficiency, but to a lack of recognition of their educational values and approaches. The policies and procedures schools value and choose to use reflect the interests and values of the dominant agents (Cho, 2010; Gao & Singh, 2009). The efforts made by the

Chinese language teachers in negotiating with the dominant capital in the field of American education can “advance…at least formal recognition of the interests of the dominated”

(Bourdieu, 1997, as cited in Hilgers & Mangez, 2014, p. 15), if their efforts can be supported and their knowledge and experiences can be recognized as a form of diversity capital. This will provide “the dominant group the opportunity to see things otherwise; potentially what might be”

(Cho, 2010, p.5).

Confucian Habitus in Action

The question is, what made these teachers so persistent in negotiating with their students and schools to validate their capital even after all the challenges and even contradictions with the

American education system?

First of all, it has to be admitted that the influences of their established habitus, in

233 particular the Confucian tradition of education on their teaching practices, were substantial. In fact, Confucian educational values were internalized as a collective disposition of the Chinese people that regulate their daily practices. Many of the teacher participants’ attitudes and behaviors demonstrate taken-for-granted, tacit aspects of their teaching practices that are constituents of Confucian education, though the teachers did not overtly make the connection.

In work relations, for instance, although the teacher participants enjoyed the less hierarchical structures of schools in comparison with those in Confucian society, they still retained their stance towards authority during conflicts. Teacher P did not like to disagree or challenge her superiors, but wanted to maintain a harmonious relation with them. Teacher M in the observation hesitated about bringing up the request for hiring a second language instructor because of the incident with the Japanese teacher who was forced to retire. Teacher L suggested her colleague who was irritated in dealing with a rude parent avoid troubles by letting things go.

These postures, in particular of teachers P and M, indicate a Confucian harmonious interaction based on perseverance and compliance of the inferior to authorities that are common elements of

Chinese society (Li, 2014). These behaviors also all show teacher participants’ tendency toward conflict avoidance (Leung, Koch, & Lu, 2002), trying to maintain superficial harmony but not being willing to confront the conflicts underneath either by challenging the authority or putting their jobs at risk.

Both the interview and the case study findings show that the they attached great importance to the authoritative role of teachers in classroom management (Hu, 2002), stressed strict discipline (Hue, 2007), and cared about the politeness of language and behaviors of students both in the initial phase of their teaching as well as during their adaptation to the

American education. These are all Confucian values that are practiced in modern Chinese

234 society. All of the teachers considered it disrespectful if students did not follow instructions or exchanged conversations with one another when the teachers were giving instructions (Wang,

2002; Xu, 2012). During the observation, teacher Q laid out specific rules, mostly about establishing classroom order and consequences for breaking them. She frequently referred to those rules and used explicit authority to correct and stop students from being engaged in off-task behavior. Both teachers Q and W attempted to manage students’ participation and to keep students under control when they became too active in classroom activities. All of these show how the teachers tried to establish order and control over their students (Zhang & Liu, 2014), which further confirms the value of authority and strict discipline that Confucian educators placed on teacher-student relationships (Haley & Ferro, 2011; Hutchison, 2005; Wang, 2002).

Under the influences of Confucian education, the teacher participants saw learning as a serious undertaking that required strong commitment and stringent efforts (Hu, 2002). As such, it was less likely to be associated with light-hearted attitudes and behaviors. This also explains why the teachers in the study tended to “associate games and communicative activities in class with entertainment exclusively and are skeptical of their use as learning tools” (Rao, 1996, p. 467).

When students lacked the sincerity and motivation in learning, teachers such as L and Q became worried and frustrated as they considered it their fundamental responsibility to ensure students make progress in learning (Hu, 2002). When students failed to learn what was taught or lost interest in learning, teacher Q considered it her failure to motivate or supervise students. She also attempted to persuade a student who wanted to withdraw from school to finish his education.

These attitudes and behaviors match exactly with the image of Confucian educators described in the literature (e.g., Higginbotham, 2013; Hue, 2007).

Cultural Identity, Cultural Superiority, and Patriotism

235 In addition to Confucian habitus which acted as a “mental program” (Hofstede, 2001, p.

4) guiding teachers’ teaching practices, the teacher participants’ attitudes and practices also show their internalization of Confucian tradition as part of their cultural identity that both defined their thinking and at the same time drove them to maintain their identity (Adams, 2006; Bottero,

2010).

While teaching in accordance with Confucian values, the teacher participants strived to maintain their Confucian cultural identity. Their insistence on the teaching of the Chinese language class with Chinese characteristics is such a manifestation. As indicated in the interviews, these teachers did not want to be completely Americanized, but instead they wanted to teach Chinese classes with Chinese characteristics. They attributed Chinese characteristics to

Confucian values and educational principles which are represented in their practice of xingli, the expectation that students address them by laoshi, the notion of the importance of education and respect for teachers (zun shi zhong jiao), and their perceived notion of themselves as a Confucian educator that is seen in the roles of imparting knowledge/Way(chuan dao), teaching practical skills(shou ye), and solving confusions (jie huo). Some teacher participants also explicitly attributed their Confucian teaching practices to the influence of being Chinese in the interview.

They were apparently “equating Chineseness with behaving in accord with a tradition shaped by millennia of Confucian scholarship and practice” (Silver, 2003, p. 51). This Confucian

Chineseness has also been observed by De Barry (2000) who stated,

Many Chinese have professed themselves to be Taoists, Buddhists, and even Christians,

but seldom have they ceased to be Confucianists. For Confucianism since the time of its

general acceptance has been more than a creed to be professed or rejected; it has become

an inseparable part of the society and thought of the nation as a whole, of what it means

236 to be a Chinese, as the Confucian Classics are not the canon of a particular sect but the

literary heritage of a whole people (p.15)

Furthermore, they considered these Confucian values and practices as the strength of

Chinese education, which were valuable to the development of their students. This viewpoint was expressed in all of the teacher participants’ justification for synthesizing the American and

Chinese educational practices. These attitudes, in a way, indicate “the importance of Confucian tradition in education and people’s belief that the wealth of Chinese education model can be made known to the rest of the world” (Beckett & Zhao, in press, Future trends, para. 1). This perceived value of one’s tradition is an essential construct of neo-patriotism ideology. This finding concurs with Oriaro’s (2007) study of Kenyan immigrant teachers’ attitudes toward classroom management in American schools. Though the new teachers were advised to learn classroom management skills, they still held onto their Kenyan cultural values. They realized the differences between American and Kenyan educational cultures, but they tended to glamorize their own culture and practices with respect to disciplinary issues. Just like teacher participants in this study, they understood the need to learn new rules to be effective and successful teachers in

American schools, but “they cannot totally shed the ways into which they were born and raised in their country of origin” (Bischoff, 2002, p.179) because of the important values they saw in their inherited culture.

The teacher participants’ doubts and concerns about the effectiveness of American pedagogy further expose their deep attachment to the Confucian educational tradition. In justifying the effectiveness of and their reliance on the Chinese teaching approaches, some of the remarks such as “a waste of time” and “for entertainment not learning” made against American pedagogy are harsh and to some degree may even appear disdainful. This tendency is a clear

237 mark of their nationalistic sentiment—protecting oneself through downplaying others

(Druckman, 1993). Behind these attitudes, as Beckett and Zhao (in press) contended, might be the confidence that came with China’s growing economic and political power. This explains most of the teacher participants’ optimistic attitudes towards the future of CFL in the U.S. and their related job security in the field. They were quite confident that with China’s future economic development and increasing global importance, CFL would be expanded.

Furthermore, the behavior in upholding one’s educational model while downplaying others discloses a value judgment based on the teacher participants’ own values and practices.

This is a cultural superiority inherent in all subjects who, as members of a cultural group growing up absorbing certain values of the culture, develop a mindset that considers only their ways of doing and thinking to be the norm (Seidner, 1982). Cultural superiority adds to the concept of mismatch of capital when the teachers tried to transfer their previous beliefs and approaches to American classrooms but encountered resistance and conflicts. The field of

American education has its established dominant forms of capital, but also an ethnocentric value that intuitively leads to an assumption of superiority of its own and contempt of outside practices. Likewise, the Chinese language teachers who were proud and confident about the significance of certain Chinese educational concepts and practices would not give away their approaches in education, but persistently attempted to provide the American educational system with “a view of the social world that breaks with the dominant view” (Bourdieu, 1985, p. 736).

In summary, these teachers’ adaptation processes show that no matter how much they attempted to adopt American pedagogy, or assimilate into the American educational culture, there were certain aspects of the Chinese model of education, in particular Confucian tradition that they held onto tightly. This suggests the importance of Confucian values to the Chinese

238 teachers as an inscribed and internalized collective disposition (habitus) and cultural identity marker. While thinking and acting under the influences of Confucian tradition, the teacher participants also showed explicit identity awareness and maintenance by carrying out the traditions overseas in a novel environment. Furthermore, their modes of thinking towards the

Chinese model of education and actions in validating their educational beliefs and approaches exhibit a patriotic attachment to and a cultural superiority in Confucian tradition of education. A compound of these sentiments and value judgments along with their cultural identity and habitual disposition, whether the teachers themselves were aware of this or not, justified their actions in transferring the Chinese model of education in the initial phase of their teaching practice, the tendency of falling back onto the Chinese educational practices during their adaptation to the American education, and their continuing negotiation with American school systems to legitimatize certain aspects of the Confucian tradition of education. The influences of these internal psychological sentiments and external, sociocultural factors on different stages of the teachers’ adaptation process can be shown in the diagram below (Figure 4). In each phase of their adaptation process as well as their negotiation with the American educational system, there were aspects of the sociocultural framework that came into play.

239

Figure 4. A Dynamic Process of Change with Internal and External Influences

Cultural Instruction and Neo-Patriotism

Another area unaffected by the adaptation to the American education was the teaching of

Chinese culture. The teacher participants attached great importance to the teaching of Chinese culture, including Confucian values in their classroom. Their attitudes and approaches to cultural teaching in the study manifest the following traits that are key constructs of neo-patriotism. They taught culture to students in part because they were proud of their cultural and linguistic heritage and they deemed it beneficial for the rest of the world. As educators, they hoped that students

240 taking the Chinese classes could recognize and learn from the values of such historically accumulated and developed cultural heritage. The remarks about “Chinese culture is extensive and profound,” and “they need to learn from us” are explicit statements of the neo-patriotism ideology (Beckett & Zhao, in press).

Although most of them had no assigned duty to the mission of promoting Chinese culture, which is designated for CIs and Hanban teachers, their sense of duty and responsibility to cultural teaching revealed in the study is overt. This finding is consistent with that of Silver

(2003) who found that teacher participants in his study expressed a strong sense of duty and commitment to teaching Chinese language and culture. In the current study, teachers played the role of cultural liaison and representative by introducing and explaining to students the historical origins of and contextual factors shaping particular cultural practices and thinking. These behaviors can be understood as genuine efforts that are derived from their pride in their cultural heritage as well as national loyalty (Druckman, 1993). Influenced by loyalty, they also tended to correct students’ misunderstandings about the culture and defend their nation when students raised doubts. They appeared to take the stereotypes and criticism against the country personally and in defending their nation, they engaged in self-defense as they considered themselves representatives of their nation (Terhune, 1964).

In performing their self-assigned representative role, teacher participants also sought students’ understanding and recognition of China’s current development. For instance, in the interviews, some teacher participants reported that they wanted to present to their students the image of modern China by showing them current popular TV programs rather than the traditional customs. Many of the teachers encouraged students to go and see China in person either on their own or with teachers for summer programs. During the observation, both teachers Q and M were

241 committed to presenting students a modern and prosperous image of China. Teacher Q thought her colleague who showed outdated videos about China was presenting inaccurate and even misleading information about the nation. Teacher M pointed out to her students that they were wrong for thinking China underdeveloped and “primitive” and used examples to demonstrate the prosperity of the Chinese society.

Their efforts and eagerness to show students an economically developed China have to do with their patriotic attachment to the country, including pride and loyalty. They sensed the existing impression of China as backward and underdeveloped in the U.S., and thus instinctively attempted to correct students by using examples and persuading them to visit China themselves.

Their behaviors also relate to patriotism that accompanies the neoliberal market economy, that is, their national pride in presenting a positive image of modern China is based on China’s economic development and competitiveness in global markets in recent decades. According to

Harvey (2005), neoliberalism advocates a free market and economy, which enhances competition between individuals and nations that further fosters the development of nationalistic sentiment among their citizens. The recent economic development of China and competitiveness in global markets might have helped increase the national pride in both the domestic and overseas

Chinese, which informed the teacher participants’ behaviors as demonstrated in this study. This pride then can be further traced to the patriotic nationalism peculiar to “the rise of China” sentiment (Callahan, 2004). All of the teacher participants who were educated in mainland China had been brought up and educated in the discourse of national humiliation. The discourse of humiliation is an integral part of the Chinese nationalism that served as a reminder for its citizens of the weak past and as an encouragement for its people’s efforts in contributing to the rise of

China (Callahan, 2004). The teacher participants, especially those from mainland China may

242 subconsciously adopt a historical perspective in looking at and presenting China, as observed in teachers Q and M who often implied or remarked in their teaching that “China is developing fast.” Sharing with students the development of their homeland could further foster their sense of self-esteem and pride as economic development is often associated with the power and prestige of a country. This may also explain these teachers’ efforts and intentions to raise students’ awareness of modern day China.

Although the learning outcomes for the students are unknown, teacher participants have shown their attempts in increasing students’ cultural knowledge. Their efforts in introducing, clarifying, and defending the culture were made with the underlying notion that learning and understanding a culture could help reduce bias and prejudice against it. This echoes the soft power strategy of China that uses culture as a means to “quench misunderstanding and hostility between people of different races” (China Daily, 2006, as cited in Starr, 2009, p. 66). The individual attitudes and behaviors observed in the classroom teaching, thus, resemble the actions and approaches taken by their home country. These patriotic attitudes and efforts of the teacher participants in teaching and defending their home culture can be understood as both an influence from the national patriotic ideology as well as the consciousness and sentiment derived from inside the teachers. The mutual relationship between the individual and the larger social ideology of patriotism demonstrates how the macro, ideological, and sociocultural world operates in the micro teaching activities both in terms of how external social forces act upon instructional practices and teachers’ perceptions and of how individuals’ group activities constitute the social ideology. It also illuminates how individuals’ conscious teaching activities intend to shape the outside world—students’ understanding and knowledge of Chinese culture in this sense. This dialectical relation between the individual and the social dimensions of patriotic ideology

243 exemplifies Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and practice. The teachers’ senses of duty, pride, and loyalty inherent in their patriotic attachment to their home culture were the habitus that acted as the internal rule and a collective disposition of the teachers, guiding their teaching practices which are represented in the actions of introducing, clarifying, and defending the Chinese culture. These behaviors by the teacher participants (practice) at the same time reproduced their patriotic habitus.

Effects of Xenophobia and Neoliberalism to Foreign Language Education

The findings on the limited support and resources for the teaching and learning of

Chinese suggest that, although there has been an increasing interest and enrollment in the language nationwide, “the inadequacy of the entire Chinese language teaching field in the U.S. in responding to this demand is simultaneously exposed” (Wang, 2007, p. 27). Many schools established Chinese programs following a global trend of Chinese fever. However, based on the experiences of teacher participants in the study, schools seem to be very restricted on budget allocations to Chinese programs—employing only one part-time or full time instructor when they apparently need more and providing limited financial support for teaching supplies. The teachers observed that the schools had been putting strong efforts into improving students’ test scores in core subjects that would directly affect the school’s ranking in the district and had not fully supported the Chinese language program as needed. This lack of support for Chinese language and world languages in general can be a result of schools’ budget allocation and funding on the subjects, which is then associated with the state and even national education policies and economy. There have been drastic cuts to education budgets in the U.S. ever since the economic recession, which directly affect non-core electives including foreign languages, arts, physical education, civics, and many more subjects that are not on standardized tests. The effects of

244 economic situations on education are undeniable, but the question is why these subjects are the ones that are chosen to be less important than others? In the global context of neoliberal economic competition, education has been redefined in terms of its contribution to the economy

(Hursh, 2001). It is forced to prioritize certain subjects based on its current capital value in the market and benefits to the economy (Bourdieu, 1977). Core subjects are deemed crucial to rectify economic stagnation and ensure competitive advantage of a nation. Many countries used international achievement tests as a benchmark to develop policies and reforms in order to reach what other, more successful nations, are achieving (Davies & Guppy, 1997), which dictates the curricular focus of schools. This helps explain the dilemma faced by school administrators in terms of understanding the value of modern languages, but being reluctant to provide adequate support for their development. Thus, it is easy to understand why teacher S’s school refused to sponsor her H1B, but chose rather to replace her with inexperienced Hanban teachers with no expense. Similarly, in the case of teacher Z who taught part-time on her CPT, but at the time of losing her work status her school had no intention to sponsor her a work permit. Then there were schools that did not initiate Chinese language programs, but when Confucius Institutes approached them with free teachers, they accepted them anyway, though unwilling to provide further support. This led to the teachers’ feeling of being missionaries who as volunteering teachers were proud to contribute to China’s global efforts of promoting Chinese language and culture, but experienced a sharp contrast facing the indifferent attitudes by the local schools.

Xenophobia toward other languages and cultures is also a negative nationalism that comes with neoliberalism (Kubota, 2015). Especially during economic downturn, hostility to other languages and cultures can easily emerge as indicated in Kubota’s study. In fact, there has also been a historical ideological resistance to foreign/world languages in the U.S. (Lantolf &

245 Sunderman, 2001; Wang, 2007). Languages other than English used to be considered problems hindering assimilation of language minority groups, to a point where languages other than

English were eradicated in schools (Ruiz, 1984). Although the public discourse has shifted to see language as a resource and asset in recent decades, there has never been adequate support for foreign language education (Lantolf & Sunderman, 2001). The U.S. has always held “some level of xenophobia and maintained ‘a love-hate relationship’ with foreign languages (Wang, 2007, p.

47). Examining the barriers to bilingual education for language minorities in the U.S., Darder

(2011) remarked,

Even in the light of research that specifically speaks to the cognitive advantages of

bilingualism in sharpening intelligence and the capacity to engage more expansively

within the world, education in the United States has been and continues to be firmly

grounded upon chauvinistic traditions of linguistic domination upheld by the colonizers

who “culturally invaded,” to use Paulo Freire’s (1970) words, the Western hemisphere (p.

231).

The restrictive practice of languages other than English in the U.S., she further argued, would only ensure dominion that would eventually result in “linguistic genocide and cultural erosion” (p. 231). However, many studies that looked at the neoliberal linguistic imaginary, according to (Kubota, 2015), often overlooked “the humanistic and dispositional aspects of language learning that creates neoliberal contradictions” (p. 3). The prevalence of xenophobic nationalism calls for serious attention because it can “problematize not only neoliberal ideology that drives language teaching and learning in today’s world but also xenophobia that harmfully affects human communication” (p. 12).

Summary of the Discussion Chapter

246 This chapter presented a discussion of the findings, which were addressed in Chapters 4 and 5. During the initial phase of their teaching practices, the teacher participants tended to transfer the Chinese model of education due to a lack of understanding and possession of the desired capital in the field of American education. The conflicts that the teachers experienced in transferring the Chinese model of education to the American educational system demonstrate the mismatch of capital and habitus between the two educational systems and the devaluation of their previous capital and habitus in the field of American education. Due to the lack of the desired capital or the understanding of the “rules of the game,” newcomers to a field could not play expertly and thus often found themselves in a distinct disadvantage. Hanban teachers were positioned at an even greater disadvantage because of their double socialization of personal and professional lives.

When teacher participants experienced conflicts and resistance in transferring their original forms of capital, they questioned and reflected on their own practices and their taken- for-granted beliefs and expectations, through which they also came to realize the differences in educational philosophies and practices. Their comparisons between American and Chinese educational systems was a sense making of their struggling experiences in teaching in a foreign environment, through which they initiated adjustment accordingly. The participants actively engaged themselves in learning new teaching approaches, classroom management skills, communication strategies with parents and colleagues, and English language so as to equip themselves with the kinds of capital that are valued in American school settings. However, they also had the tendency to fall back on the Chinese ways of teaching, so they had to constantly remind themselves of the educational differences and stay conscious and reflective toward their teaching practice. The adjustment behaviors indicate a recursive learning process with constant

247 consciousness raising and negotiation.

Although the teacher participants acknowledged the benefits of a student-centered approach, they found it a dilemma in applying only American pedagogy, notably activities and projects. The best model, according to them, was to combine advantages from two educational systems. The teacher participants’ beliefs in the strengths in both cultures and their synthesis of two educational models demonstrate a dialectical approach to conflict resolution in cross-cultural teaching. In adapting to American school settings, they reconciled contradictions and transformed their teaching practice into a flexible implementation of blended philosophies and practices by enriching their cultural and social capital. The complementary integration was achieved through a process of negotiation and compromise and sometimes cycles of adjustment, reapplication, and reassessment. Their consciousness and ability as social agents in transforming their teaching practice by synthesizing different forms of capital bridge the disjuncture between the neoliberal discourse that preaches the benefits of hiring international teachers and the real K–

12 educational practices.

Furthermore, some of the constant challenges faced by the teacher participants in their synthesis of the two educational models reveal certain beliefs or aspects of the Chinese educational model that they strongly held onto. They valued the practice of Confucian educational principles and attached great importance to the teaching of Chinese culture, including Confucian values in their classrooms. In adapting to the American educational system, they also attempted to adapt their habitus and negotiate with the school system to validate their previous cultural capital. Their attitudes toward cultural instruction and Confucian tradition reveal habitual and identity influences from their culture, neo-patriotic attachment to and a cultural superiority in their cultural traditions.

248 Finally, the teachers also faced the challenge of limited support and resources and a heavy workload. Although there has been an increasing interest and enrollment in Chinese language programs in the U.S., the inadequacy of the Chinese language teaching field in responding to the demand is an issue. This limited support for foreign language education in general is connected to a historical ideological resistance to foreign/world language in the U.S. and the effects of neoliberal push.

249 Chapter VII Conclusion

This chapter provides some concluding remarks based on the findings and discussions presented in chapters four, five, and six. It also discusses the implications of the study for sociocultural theories, policy and practice, and future research.

Concluding Remarks

This study focused on exploring and understanding the teaching experiences and classroom practices of Chinese language teachers in U.S. secondary schools from a sociocultural perspective. Through the examination of the teachers’ adaptation experiences and the dynamics of their classroom practices, this study offers the following substantive conclusions.

The experiences and teaching practices of the teacher participants demonstrated that their adaptation to a novel environment is far more complex than what is often presented in the literature as a learning model of acquiring new skills for newcomers to function effectively in the target culture. For the Chinese language teachers who teach in American schools, there was both the need to learn and adopt American pedagogy to be effective teachers and the desire to maintain their cultural identity and to practice the Chinese ways of teaching in their classrooms.

While these teachers had abandoned or adjusted some of the typical methods used in the Chinese educational system, they persistently negotiated with their students and schools, trying to make students accept the values that they adhered to. As both reported in the interview and observed in their classroom teaching, the teacher participants encountered constant challenges and difficulties in applying the Chinese model of education, in particular the Confucian educational principles, but they did not plan to give away their tradition. This leads to the conclusion that cross-cultural teaching is about power struggles in which different educational values and practices try to seek legitimate recognition or maintain their dominant role during their interaction.

250 In this respect, the synthesis and integration of different educational values—what the study’s participants intended to achieve in their teaching practice—is not a static goal but a dynamic one full of tensions and negotiations which characterizes the whole adaptation process for the Chinese language teachers in American school settings. These teachers experienced resistance from students and parents when they transferred the Chinese model of education during their initial phase of the teaching practice. These conflicts provided the teachers an opportunity to reflect on their practices and beliefs and to initiate transformative actions that came from a better understanding of American education based on comparing the two systems.

While learning and adopting American pedagogy to adapt to American school settings, the teachers underwent tensions again between what they perceived as effective teaching and learning approaches and the entertaining aspect of the American pedagogy. Rather than relying only on the American form of pedagogy, the teachers believed that an ideal model should be based on the synthesis of American and Chinese educational models, thus trying to blend in practices of Chinese education in their classrooms. In this dynamic process of change, the teachers demonstrated a dialectical approach to conflict resolution in cross-cultural teaching.

During their adaptation process, they also intuitively fell back on the previous Chinese ways of teaching, which led them to go through another round of assessment of the approaches and adjustment or adopt American pedagogy and discover new dilemmas. The adaptation process is recursive and cyclical, requiring the teacher participants’ constant consciousness raising, negotiation, and validation of their teaching practices. This dynamic and recursive adaptation process once again shows that cross-cultural teaching is complex in nature as it is deeply intertwined with the sociocultural context and traditions of education, the attitudes and value judgments of the individuals that emanate from a particular society and bears the mark of its

251 traditions, and the interaction between the individuals and the social context.

It is fair to say that the teachers’ tendency of transferring and reverting to the Chinese model of education has to do with the teachers’ insufficient understanding of and connection to the culture of American education. However, the inability of the entities in the American educational system to appreciate different educational philosophies and practices also contributed to the teachers’ challenges, especially the continuing difficulties in blending in the

Chinese educational values and practices. For Chinese language teachers, their efforts of synthesizing the two educational models were based on their cross-cultural experience and understanding that each of the two educational models has benefits for the teaching and learning of their students and that the two are complementary to each other. This is something yet to be understood and recognized by the target educational system. Furthermore, the teacher participants attached great importance to the teaching of Chinese culture and aimed to expose students to both the historical heritage of the Chinese society and the modern culture that characterizes present-day China by covering various cultural products, practices, and perspectives in their teaching. Through cultural instruction, they demonstrated the wealth of cultural knowledge that they possessed and brought to their students. Furthermore, the teachers exhibited qualities and strengths in global perspectives, culturally responsive and flexible pedagogy, and a passion for teaching and continuing self-improvement. These also call for an alternative perspective to understand the experiences of international and immigrant teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms.

The experiences and teaching practices of the Chinese language teachers were also affected by the differences in student body and school types, in particular the students’ ability in accepting different educational philosophies and approaches. The teachers had fewer conflicts

252 and challenges and no intention to modify their classroom teaching in cases where students accepted the way the class was instructed, whereas the teachers experienced more tensions and a stronger need to adjust their teaching approaches when students showed objection and resistance.

This showed the importance of external, contextual factors in shaping the teachers’ experiences and practices. In addition, prior education and work experiences played an important role in affecting some of the teachers’ transition to the American education, which suggested the necessity of placing appropriate pre-service support and training for foreign-trained teachers to reduce their cultural shock and alleviate their struggles and frustrations.

Theoretical Conclusions and Implications

The sociocultural framework adopted in this study helped extend the understanding of the experiences and teaching practices of the participants against the larger backdrop of sociocultural and ideological dimensions of language education. The Confucian educational tradition, the neo- patriotic ideology, the historical xenophobia to languages other than English, and the neoliberal agenda of education have constituted the broader sociocultural and ideological landscape within which the teaching practices of the Chinese language teachers are enacted and within which their experiences are situated. Bourdieu’s conception of the relationship between habitus and field offered a way of relating the experiences and teaching practices of the Chinese language teachers to the larger sociocultural and ideological dimension of education. Habitus is dispositional, formed based on rules, thoughts, and values of a given field, and actualized in practice. These sociocultural and ideological forces act upon individuals, through internalized habitus, shaping their views of educational values and approaches and impinging upon their practices in education.

The Confucian habitus has a tremendous influence on the teacher participants, acting as a

“mental program” guiding their attitudes and behaviors throughout their adaptation to the

253 American educational system. In addition, the teacher participants’ attitudes and practices revealed their internalization of Confucian tradition as part of their cultural identity that defined their thoughts and behaviors. Furthermore, their modes of thinking towards the Chinese model of education and actions in validating their educational beliefs and approaches exhibited a patriotic attachment to and belief in a cultural superiority of the Confucian tradition of education.

Likewise, under the influences of neo-patriotic ideology, the teacher participants showed senses of duty, pride, and loyalty in introducing, clarifying, and defending Chinese culture.

The American educational system, however, displayed its strong adherence to and belief in the cultural superiority of their cultural capital as seen in the objection and resistance to the

Chinese language teachers’ instructional strategies and classroom management approaches. This explained why the teachers encountered constant struggles in negotiation with American school systems to legitimatize certain aspects of the Confucian tradition of education. Furthermore, due to a neoliberal push that prioritizes subjects based on their contribution to the economy and a certain level of xenophobic nationalism in the American society, foreign language education, including the teaching and learning of CFL has suffered from limited support and resources.

Theoretically, it is reasonable to predict that a synthesis and integration of different models of education are sure to happen in any cross-cultural teaching setting where educational values and practices differ because of underlying power struggles during the interaction of fields.

With the increasing number of exchange and foreign-trained teachers in the age of neoliberal globalization, the dominant capital of a given educational system will continue to be questioned and constantly challenged.

Bourdieu’s concepts thus help look at the power of habitus derived from social structures in shaping the teachers’ minds and guiding their actions, the dialectical relations between the

254 teachers’ habitus and practice, as well as the struggles for power among forms of capital during the interaction of the fields—the Chinese and American educational systems. The power dynamics thus supplemented the CHAT (cultural historical activity theory) on sources of contradictions between interacting activity systems (the Chinese and American education activity systems).

However, the power of habitus derived from the larger sociocultural and ideological dimensions of education is not deterministic, especially in terms of the position of Chinese language teachers as sojourners in a novel environment. The teachers demonstrated to be reflective agents who were able to diagnose the sources of their challenges and initiate actions to remedy their disadvantages in a new field. When they experienced conflicts and resistance in their instruction, they engaged in reflective practice to make sense of their difficulties and identify their weakness before transforming their teaching practices. They actively learned and adopted new skills by attending workshops, professional development programs, observing their colleagues’ classrooms, and discussing and seeking advice from their colleagues and family members. While thinking and acting under the influences of Confucian tradition, the teacher participants also showed explicit identity awareness and maintenance by teaching their classes with Chinese characteristics. The bilateral identity influences and maintenance displayed the sociocultural forces on human behaviors and the abilities of the individuals to transform the social world. In navigating the challenges throughout their adaptation process and synthesizing different education models, the teachers manifested their abilities in reconciling contradictions and transforming their circumstances based on a dialectical approach to conflict resolution in cross-cultural teaching. Their patriotic attitudes and efforts of the teacher participants in teaching and defending their home culture are the consciousness and sentiments derived from inside the

255 teachers, in addition to being an influence from the neo-patriotic ideology. These showed the importance of subjectivity and reflexivity in modifying habitus, guiding the teachers’ practices, and shaping the outside world that impacted them, which Bourdieu’s concepts tend to underplay.

This is when CHAT (cultural historical activity theory) came to fill in, as it placed reflexive consciousness as a crucial aspect in activity, though it did not take into account the role of internal dimensions such as sentiments and motivation in human activities. These also proved to

CHAT that subjectivity should also be fully considered in analyzing people’s actions.

The CHAT framework also informed the model of the dynamic teaching trajectory as represented in the diagrams in the discussion. One of the essential features of CHAT is the examination of human activities in the process of change and development. This historical lens sees separate incidents in teacher participants’ teaching practices as connected and interrelated experiences. In talking about their experiences, participants in the study attributed the difficulties they encountered to the differences existing in the two educational systems. This connection served as a starting point for the author to examine the triggers of their difficulties or conflicts and their actions taken to navigate the differences.

The finding on this dynamic and recursive process of change provided an alternative perspective to Bochner’s (1986) social skills-culture learning model which proposed that difficulties for sojourners can be remedied by learning new social skills in the second culture.

This learning model oversimplifies migration as packing and unpacking of capital from the country of origin to the country of migration as it overlooks the dynamics of interaction between fields and capital and the recursive feature of adaptation in a novel environment, as well as a modification of the previous capital or habitus by sojourners. What is revealed in the current study is that the teacher participants attempted to modify their previous capital by lowering their

256 expectations towards students’ learning motivation, attitudes, and academic performance to fit into the reality of American school settings.

In summary, the sociocultural framework of mind, activity, and culture adopted in this study proved to be helpful in offering ways of looking at the Chinese language teachers’ experiences and practices in U.S. classrooms from macro-and micro-levels of language teaching and education and the confluence of the two dimensions. However, the findings of the study also suggested several ways that this framework could be further strengthened, especially when such a model is being applied in cross-cultural situations. One is to acknowledge that adaptation in cross-cultural teaching contexts and improvement of teaching practices is a recursive and cyclical process of adjustment and negotiation. Although CHAT predicted the existence of conflicts and struggles and the inevitability of transformation, it lacked a full consideration of power dynamics that involved constant consciousness raising, negotiation, and validation.

Second, sojourners’ learning models in an unfamiliar environment can be improved by considering the modification of previous skills and value adjustments in addition to the acquisition of new skills. The third is to add space for subjectivity in the sociocultural framework to fully consider the internal dimension of people’s actions.

Implications for Policy and Practice

What practical implications does this study draw to international and immigrant teachers, teacher educators, and the fields of CFL and modern foreign language education in the U.S.?

Smooth Transition for International and Immigrant Teachers. For international and immigrant teachers to smoothly transition to teaching in U.S. classrooms, especially those who come from a teacher-centered or exam-oriented educational environment such as the Chinese language teachers in the study, they need to learn and understand the educational philosophies

257 and practices in the American educational system and the differences with those in their home country. This will help them develop a clear sense of expected teaching approaches and obtain a general idea of the U.S. classrooms, which can greatly reduce their frustrations, bewilderment, and struggles in the beginning phase of their teaching practice.

Suggestions made by the teacher participants on instructional strategies for future

Chinese language teachers have valuable implications to other international and immigrant teachers who are going to teach or are already teaching in U.S. classrooms. For example, it is recommended that beginning teachers should observe classes by experienced teachers.

Classroom observations can enable new teachers to learn teaching methods, create a communicative classroom environment, and implement classroom activities. Some of the continuing challenges that the teachers experienced indicate the importance for teachers to learn how to design interesting and engaging lessons, in particular about creating of activities. The easy transition that some of the teacher participants experienced suggests that observing and participating in their children’s education in American classrooms can be a useful way to understand educational approaches in the American educational system. The teacher participants also noted that new teachers should communicate often with colleagues and experienced teachers to learn about their experiences. In addition, the teacher participants suggested that prospective or new teachers participate in both pre-and in-service training to support their effective adaptation to the new teaching environment. Furthermore, prospective or new teachers can look for online resources and read books to understand classroom instruction and students in

American schools. They can also try student teaching to get themselves familiarized with local classroom practice before doing it on their own, if circumstances permit.

The disadvantage that the Chinese language teachers experienced suggest that the

258 importance for new international and immigrant teachers of improving their English language proficiency and to learn how to communicate appropriately with parents and colleagues. For future teachers who have not previously lived in the U.S., it is also important for them to immerse themselves into American society and learn about American culture, which can also enhance their English language and communication skills. In addition, they need to learn classroom management approaches and devote time to building a trusting relationship with their students by caring and catering to students’ needs. As suggested by the study’s participants, new and future teachers can learn about students’ living environments and the social culture and influences they are exposed to, as well as studying psychology, which can enhance teachers’ understanding of student behaviors.

Appreciation of Foreign-Trained Teachers. As revealed in the study, the Chinese language teachers exhibited many qualities and strengths in their teaching practice that included global perspectives, culturally responsive and flexible pedagogy, and a passion for teaching and continuing self-improvement. These strengths of the teachers along with the cultural resources that they brought in the form of knowledge, attitudes, and alternative ways of knowing to

American schools should be considered as a resource rather than a deficit (Cho, 2010; Luxon &

Peelo, 2009). In addition, foreign-trained teachers may possess significant cultural capital in their home context, but which when transplanted is not readily accepted or even rejected by the target context (Cho, 2010; Gao & Singh, 2009). The frustrations that many of the teachers experienced at the beginning of their teaching practice and the continuing conflicts and struggles in their adaptation suggest that the challenges facing international and immigrant teachers in cross- cultural teaching are not necessarily due to their deficiencies, but to a lack of recognition of their educational values and approaches.

259

As Bochner (1986) argued, insensitivity, indifferences to cultural differences or devaluation of alternative cultural practices was a major source of discrimination and hostility to minority groups, which hindered the establishment of a pluralistic society. In the American educational system, educators and agencies have long been emphasizing a global perspective of multicultural education, in an effort to develop its citizens’ respect and appreciation of all existing cultural groups and to create a healthy state of cultural pluralism (Ameny-Dixon, 2004).

The same global perspective should be applied to promote respect and appreciation of teachers of diverse backgrounds and their teaching practices and philosophies and create pluralism in education. The claimed benefit for including foreign-trained teacher educators is to enhance students’ skills in cross-cultural communication by bringing in global perspectives (Cook, 2000).

To achieve the benefit, school administrators in the American educational system should learn to adopt an open and flexible attitude towards alternative educational philosophies and practices brought by immigrant teachers themselves. Furthermore, rather than restraining the recruitment of international teachers, more international and ethnic minority teacher should be included in

American schools to challenge the status quo of the educational system and to better serve the cultural and linguistically diverse student groups in American schools.

This is not to urge, however, to accept everything brought by international teachers, but an alternative perspective and knowledge that may challenge our understanding of the status quo in everyday classroom instruction. The hybridity of the classroom instructions and practices presented by these teacher participants may offer policy makers and educators such a perspective.

Educational development and reflexive practice in teacher training. In addition to

260 adopting an open and flexible attitude towards alternative practices, schools, districts, and teacher education programs should provide on-going professional developments and training opportunities for foreign-trained teachers. This can reduce their culture shock and alleviate their struggles and frustrations during their transition to American school settings and help them become effective instructors in U.S. classrooms. Specifically, educational development programs and trainings can help prospective teachers understand the sociocultural education expectations and institutional practices in the U.S. (Wang, 2007), as suggested by many teacher participants in the study. In addition, they should help teachers develop full awareness of differences in cross- cultural educational practices and provide support for reflection and synthesis of American and

Chinese educational models. Teacher education programs need to take into account the educational values and approaches that the immigrant or international teachers may bring by

“positioning non-mainstream teachers in ways that empowers the funds of knowledge and experiences that they bring with them” (Lee & Bang, 2011, p. 393). It is worth stressing that the purpose of these trainings and education programs is not to replace teachers’ set of capital by letting them undergo “a basic shift in values and conform to a new set of norms” (Bochner, 1986, p. 351), but rather to help them create a flexible teaching repertoire that includes both the skills of their own ethnic or cultural group and the newly added ones from the target culture, enabling teachers to respond appropriately to various situations in their teaching practice. This is basically to support the goals that the teacher participants in the study tried to achieve.

The importance of reflection in the transformation of teaching practice suggests that reflective practice should be supported in their teaching practice and included in teacher training programs. As indicated in the study, transitioning into a new teaching environment can be a struggling and frustrating experience especially when they had to learn by trial and error. If

261 reflective practice is supported in the new environment, it may greatly enhance the transitioning experiences of teachers. Based on a synthesis of literature on transnational teaching, Smith

(2009) identified that supported reflection with colleagues and students could improve teaching practice both in the transnational context and back home. She argued, “reflection on transnational teaching experiences… should be fostered and supported through educational development activity in order to harness transformation and educational change” (p.114). However, in most of the cases, reflection is done in isolation (Kreber, 2004), as shown in the present study.

Educational development opportunities that engage reflexive practice for transnational teaching are limited (Smith, 2009). In the current study, even those who received their degrees and certificates in educational studies or language education in the U.S had to undergo challenges and make sense of their instructional difficulties and adapt their teaching. Supporting Smith’s

(2009) argument, I propose that that reflexive practice of Chinese language teachers should be supported by schools and be incorporated in educational development programs including both in-service training and graduate certificate programs to help international teachers make sense of cultural differences in education and support their negotiation and synthesis of educational practices.

In addition, it is important to attend to the individual needs of international and immigrant teachers because they may have unique experiences due to context-specific factors and their prior work or educational experiences, as indicated in this study. Bochner (1986) proposed a social skill and cultural training model, similar to educational action research (Pine,

2009), that may be useful for both teacher educators and practitioners themselves. It involves diagnosis (of culturally related social skills of the target group), planning (by both trainers and trainees to establish aims of the training/program), training (by imparting or improving specific

262 cultural skills), and evaluation (against the established goals to see if participants become better mediators between various cultures). Teacher educators may add an action phase for teacher participants to implement acquired skills and then let teachers evaluate and reflect on their own practices.

Foreign language education as a capital investment. With respect to the inadequate support for CFL, I argue that foreign language education is an investment not an expense.

According to Bourdieu’s concept of capital (1970), language is “human, cultural, and social capital for individuals, groups, and the society-at-large” (Wang, 2007, p. 29). The limited financial support and resources allocated for Chinese as well as other critical languages are far from enough to support their full development. This is evidenced by a decrease of numbers of elementary and middle schools offering foreign language instruction (Rhodes & Pufahl, 2009).

However, if the U.S. is serious about building its human, cultural, and social capital and ensuring its citizens’ competitiveness on a global stage, it should try to get rid of its xenophobia and engage in comprehensive and meaningful language planning for all languages (Wang, 2007).

Despite the economic situation and its impact on schools’ budgets, Rhodes and Pufahl (2009) stressed that the change in attitude is the necessary first step in moving the country toward parity with other nations in terms of educating students to speak multiple languages. They believed that

“when legislators, administrators, and other education policy makers recognize the need to incorporate foreign languages into the core curriculum, the necessary funding and other resources will follow” (p. 7).

Comprehensive and systematic language planning involves all stakeholders, from the government to school districts to support the teaching and learning of Chinese language and other languages at all levels and from all sectors (Wang, 2007). According to Wang (2007),

263 among the many areas that need urgent and collective actions, increasing the supply of qualified and certified teachers of Chinese, expanding and increasing teacher education programs and trainers, and enhancing research and development in the teaching and learning of CFL are critical. With respect to teacher candidates, for example, visa issues and work restrictions for international graduates and guest teachers certainly demand a national solution from the government.

Cultural consciousness and strategic approaches by Hanban and CIs. This study is set in the global context of a growing interest in learning CFL with the economic rise of mainland China and an active promotion of Mandarin Chinese language and culture by the

Beijing government to exert its international influence driven by neoliberal globalization. These factors have led to an increasing enrollment in CFL in the U.S. and an influx of teachers who are native speakers of the language into U.S. classrooms. However, some of the experiences reported by the teacher participants indicate that there is still substantial work for Hanban to do in order to sustain its efforts in promoting Chinese language and culture.

Unlike Chinese language teachers hired locally who had either settled down or lived for a while in the U.S., Hanban teachers had to experience an extra layer of adjustment in their new life. The double socialization facing Hanban teachers, in addition to their short-term arrangement and uncertainty about their job security and future career path, may affect their efforts to be effective instructors in U.S. classrooms. The six Hanban teachers in this study were all under the age of 35 and were either newly graduated Master’s students or college or high school English instructors with less than two years of teaching experience in China. Starr (2009) speculated that it might become “increasingly difficult to persuade experienced teachers of Chinese to leave their families for one or two years to go abroad on a low salary” (p. 78). Thus, Hanban and CI should

264 be aware of the existence of an overseas force that is becoming increasingly important for the development of CFL and could be a great aid for their global agenda in spreading the influences of Chinese language and culture. They are the Chinese graduate students who are trained in second/foreign education or related fields in the U.S. and a group of highly educated native speakers who would like to pursue their career in CFL (Wang, 2007). However, with the expansion of CIs and the appeal of free Hanban teachers, some schools (e.g., teacher S’s school) tend to replace their employees with Hanban teachers, which has put the locally trained graduate students at a great disadvantage (i.e., teacher S). These locally educated teachers usually possess more desired capital and a flexible teaching repertoire compared to Hanban teachers who had to go through double socialization. However, rather than let volunteer teachers pose a threat to locally educated educators, Hanban and CIs should consider how to support the highly educated and qualified educators and mobilize all the teaching forces and resources to better achieve its goal.

To resolve the shortage of teacher trainers, CIs and teacher certification or education programs may consider immigrant Chinese scholars and educators who were educated in the

U.S. and who have teaching experiences in both American and Chinese school settings. They are qualified to be, what Bochner (1986) called, mediating persons who have knowledge of educational practices and philosophies in both American and Chinese societies. A mediating role is important in the design and implementation of education training programs because of the consonance with international teachers’ goal of synthesizing educational practices.

Furthermore, in promoting Chinese language and culture, Hanban and CIs should be more culturally sensitive and conscious in cross-cultural teaching by indigenizing their textbooks, teaching resources, and institute programming. Teacher participants found that

265 textbooks assigned by CIs do not meet the needs of students who study CFL, which call for adaptation of textbook and teaching materials to the cultural context within which the teachers are teaching. One of the essential skills that CIs need in successfully collaborating with local agencies and mobilizing resources is appropriate communication strategies, especially when conflicts occur. As shown in the study, Hanban teachers’ insufficient understanding of American culture sometimes causes misunderstandings by parents who often take teachers’ straightforwardness as rudeness. Similar mistakes of miscommunication due to a lack of appropriate understanding of local practices can be made at an institutional level, as well. More importantly, there have been practical concerns reported about funding, long-term program plans, and claimed benefits for partnering universities (Starr, 2009). Although the number of CIs continues to grow worldwide, the practical concerns may also pressure partnering universities to withdraw from Hanban at the end of the five years’ initial funding. Instead of reaching for temporary quantity, Hanban perhaps should pay more attention to the quality development of

Chinese language programs.

Implications for Future Research

This study was originally designed with a component that included surveying students regarding their experiences and viewpoints on learning Chinese with the purpose of further illuminating the teaching experiences and practices of Chinese language teachers. However, due to school restrictions on conducting research with students, I was not able to proceed with the plan. If the original plan worked out, the study would have been even more fascinating.

However, such studies that gather information from both teachers and students and compare the two sources of data to identify both consonances and dissonances of teaching and learning approaches perceived by the two parties can be conducted in the future. Specifically, further

266 studies can examine students’ experiences of learning Chinese language and culture, including their perceptions of alternative teaching and learning approaches in taking Chinese, observed changes in their understanding of Chinese culture, and influences of the changes on their school experience and academic pursuits.

Further research on this topic is needed by including more Hanban teachers to provide a better understanding of their teaching experiences and practices in U.S. classrooms in comparison to immigrant Chinese language teachers. The knowledge generated will inform

Hanban and CIs in their language planning and institute programming. Furthermore, it would be valuable to conduct follow-up studies of Hanban teachers and find out if and how their teaching experiences in the U.S. can impact their teaching practices back home. Action research in the areas of teacher education and the professional adaptation processes of international or immigrant teachers is also needed. More site-based and case studies of immigrant/international teachers in general will help us better understand the experiences and practices of the group and how a particular school environment and context can affect these adaptation processes.

Finally, future research might also explore the applicability of the sociocultural theoretical model developed in the study in other cross-cultural educational settings and populations outside U.S. contexts.

Dialectic Integration of Educational Practices in Global Education

This study has presented the experiences and teaching practices of Chinese language teachers in U.S. classrooms as a dynamic, recursive adaptation process with a goal of synthesizing different educational values and approaches. The dialectic integration demonstrated by teacher participants has great practical implications to both American and Chinese educations, as well as countries worldwide that attempt to introduce foreign educational policies and

267 practices or import foreign-trained teachers. In the context of neoliberal globalization, countries worldwide are committing themselves to improving education quality through reforms and policies that are designed to adopt educational concepts and practices of other countries (Beckett

& Zhao, 2015). The purpose is to reach what successful nations are achieving, even when such efforts may result in a fundamental change to their educational systems. These countries usually face dilemmas between the implementation of new educational policies and their local traditions.

In the case of China, for example, the most recent curriculum reform that became effective in 2004 introduced American pedagogies and practices that include cooperative and inquiry-based learning and developmental evaluation and portfolio assessment, among others. It is believed to be one of the most ambitious, radical, wide-reaching, and complex reforms in the world for its attempts to make a fundamental change in its educational philosophies and practices

(Carson, 2009; Wang, 2012). The “Common Core of State Standards Initiative” taking place in the U.S. is believed to emulate educational practices in China (Gray, 2013; Zhao, 2010). The attempts from both sides have encountered various challenges and resistance in the implementation process due to the sharp contrast between the newly introduced ideas and the existing practices in each country’s educational traditions. Especially, at the level of classroom practice, teacher practitioners are experiencing dilemmas and encountering huge pressure toboth satisfy policy requirements and meet the practical educational needs (e.g., college entrance exam and students of special needs; Beckett & Zhao, 2015). Policy makers pay little attention to these complicated issues that teacher educators have to deal with in reality, thus often embarking on theory-driven reforms that intend to replace its current practices or tradition.

However, the teacher participants in the study exhibited a great model of integrating two educational practices. The dynamic process of adjustment and the dialectic approach shed light

268 on the possibilities of combining different educational practices that allow the implementation of both local traditions and outside educational practices. This can inform policy makers in both countries of what aspects of educational philosophies and practices can be borrowed.

Furthermore, their conflict resolution strategy might also be of significant value for school leaders or countries that are committed to reforms but facing dilemmas due to opposition between local and foreign, national and international values and practices. “Rather than hiding these contradictory forces, change leaders who seek the improvement of schools should concern themselves with transforming existing contradictions into learning opportunities and using dilemmas as a positive leverage for change” (Yin, Lee, & Wang, 2013, p. 16). As CHAT described, contradictions act as a source for change but only through internalization. As the

Chinese language teachers demonstrated in this study, educators and leaders facing similar situations should take dilemmas and conflicts as an opportunity to examine both domestic and foreign educational values and practices, as well as their own expectations and beliefs to make sense of the dilemmas and conflicts and to identify places for further improvement.

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292 Appendix A

Interview Guide

Demographic Information

1. Years of teaching Chinese in US: ______2. Previous job before teaching Chinese: ______3. Name of the school and district in which you teach, and what is the estimated population of your school and school district? School name and population size: ______District name and population size: ______

4. How many classes of Chinese do you teach, what levels of Chinese do you teach, what grades do you teach, and how many students are in your classes? Grade(s) taught: ______Level(s) taught: ______Number of class(es)taught: ______Number of students in classes: ______

5. Do you currently hold a teaching license? Yes ⃝ No ⃝

6. Are you currently working on your teaching license requirement? Yes ⃝ No ⃝

7. Do you have an education degree in US? Yes ⃝ No ⃝ If yes, what is your degree? ______

Interview One The first interview focused on gathering general information about what brought the participants to the field of teaching CFL and their experiences of classroom instruction.

Interviewer: ______Date: ______Time: ______Place: ______

1. Can you tell me your educational background and your work experiences? 2. How do you decide to become a Chinese language teacher? 3. How do you identify yourself? Do you think you are more Chinese or American and why? 4. How does your identity affect your teaching? 5. What influence do you think Confucianism have on your life? 6. What influence do you think Confucianism have on your teaching? 7. What other kinds of philosophies that influence your way of teaching? 8. Before you started your job, what were your expectations of teaching in American

293 school? How does it differ from the reality of teaching? 9. What do you think would be the major differences between teaching in America and teaching in your home country? 10. How would you define American ways of teaching and what do you think of them? a. How American teaching methods differ from the styles in your home country? b. Which way/method do you think is more effective and why? c. In your own teaching, do you think you use most of the American pedagogies or ways adopted in your home country and why? d. Can you describe your experiences of adapting to American ways of teaching? e. What are the challenges for you in negotiating teaching pedagogies? 11. What are the differences that you see in terms of tools/ways/techniques for teaching? (prepare for class & teach in class) a. Can you describe your experiences with that? 12. Can you describe your experience teaching American students? a. What do you find most challenging about teaching American students (e.g. teacher-student relationship, classroom management and discipline, expectations towards students)? b. Compared with students in your home country, what kinds of differences do you see in student body? c. What do you think of your relationship with them? 13. Compared with teachers in China/Taiwan, how do you see your roles in classroom? 14. What do you think of the rules that teachers and students need to follow for a successful Chinese teaching and learning? 15. What the roles that students and teachers should play for a successful Chinese teaching and learning? Interview Two The second interview emphasized experiences of the teachers working with fellow teachers, administrators, and student parents, their experiences with non-teaching tasks and teacher evaluation.

Interviewer: ______Date: ______Time: ______Place: ______

1. In our last conversation, we discussed about experiences and differences in American education and the education in your home country such as teaching approaches and styles, students, relationship with students, and classroom management. Anything else you think of that you want to add to our last conversation?

294

2. Can you describe your experiences working with student parents? a. How does it differ from working with student parents in your home country? b. What are the challenges you face in working with students’ parents? c. What are the things that you like working with parents? d. What are the general purposes of contacting parents? e. What are the ways that you get connected with parents? f. What is a good or beneficial parent - teacher relationship like? 3. What do you think of your experience working with other teachers in your school? a. What kind of cultural differences you see there? b. What kind of difficulties do you have working with other teachers in your school? c. What do you like about working with fellow teachers? d. What usually brings you to work with other fellow teachers? e. What are the tools that you use when working with teachers? f. What kind of responsibility teachers need to take in order to work well with other teachers? 4. What do you think of your experience working with the principal and school administrators? a. How does that differ from your home country? b. Can you name one or two things that you think is difficult for you when working with your principal and other school administrators? c. What do you like most when working with the principal and school administrators? d. What part of your work involves working with the principal and school administrators? e. In working with the principal and school administrators, how do you see your role and responsibility with that of the principal and school administrators? 5. What are the other tasks and duties for you besides what we have discussed? a. What do you think of the non-teaching related tasks and duties? b. In what ways does it differ from teachers in your home country? c. How do these tasks and non-teaching duties affect your work experience? i. How do you balance between your teaching tasks and other non-teaching duties? Interview Three The last interview focused on their experiences and perceptions of teacher education and professional development, teachers’ suggestions to improve their experiences teaching in American schools, and their advice for future Chinese language teachers in the field.

Interviewer: ______Date: ______

295 Time: ______Place: ______

1. In most of Chinese schools, teachers are evaluated by factors such as their ability to control a class, the ability to fulfill lesson plans, student exam results and sometimes even overtime work at school. How different in terms of the evaluation criteria for a teacher in American schools? 2. Do you think teachers are respected more highly in Chinese society than in American society or reverse and WHY? 3. Are there other aspects of teaching that you find different? Are there other aspects of teaching that you find challenging? Are there other aspects of teaching that you find rewarding? 4. Have you attended professional development programs? How do they benefit your teaching practice? a. What are the reasons for you to participate in professional development programs? b. What are the structures of these programs? c. How do you perceive your role in professional development? 5. What is your experience attending education programs? a. How does your education experience help you grow in your teaching career? 6. What you wish to learn in order to improve your teaching effectiveness and outcomes? 7. What do you think that teacher educators or professional development program can do better in help teachers prepare for teaching in U.S. classrooms? 8. What kind of resources and support do you need but are not there in teaching Chinese? 9. If you have to name one thing or two that you want to change in your classrooms or your teaching, what that would be? 10. In what ways the school, administrators, fellow teachers can do better to support Chinese language teachers? 11. What are you suggestions for novice teachers in order to prepare them better for American schools and classrooms?

296 Appendix B

Observation Protocol

Course: Instructor: Date & Time: Number of students attended: Observed by: Artifacts collected: Community (set-up &environment): Time Activities Subjects Division Tools Goal Outcome Rules Conversations My Reflections Notes of Labor

297