Exploring Chinese Language Teachers' Beliefs About The Combination Between Teaching And Research In Vietnam Universities

In the twenty-first century,under the background of globalization,the Chinese economic development and its international status have improved.Therefore,the Chinese language is attracting more and more attention all over the world and the number of people learning Chinese is increasing sharply in recent years,a new round of "Chinese language craze" began booming in the world.Vietnam has a long history of Chinese education reform since 1986.Chinese language teaching in colleges and universities has played a leading role in Chinese language education in Vietnam.In fact,there are only a few studies focused on teaching Chinese as second language at various universities,and there is almost a gap in Chinese language teacher research in Vietnam.From the perspective of the Chinese language teachers' beliefs,this study attempts to explore the Chinese teachers' professional development in Vietnam universities.The present study aims to investigate the connotations of teachers' beliefs and its possible influencing factors,to explore the combination of Chinese language teachers' in-depth knowledge about teaching and research,to understand the academic environment and social-cultural environment in Vietnam universities.Three Chinese language teachers from different universities in Vietnam were chosen as the participants of this study.The study mainly adopts the qualitative research method.Firstly,it conducted several interviews to get their understanding about the combination of research and teaching beliefs,then observed the Chinese classroom teaching practice and collected their academic activities diary.Based on the theoretical framework of constructivism theory and cultural ecology theory,this study explored different levels of the combination between teaching and research and its components,as well as the factors which affect the relationship between beliefs and practices.It is found that the belief connotation of Chinese language teachers' combination between teaching and research in Vietnam universities revolves around the diversified and interactive relationship between Chinese teaching and research,so its connotation is extremely rich and complex.This study holds that the concept of teacher teaching and research is a dynamic belief group.In practice,the beliefs of teachers' teaching and research are mainly reflected in three aspects: teachers' involvement in scientific research activities,the effects of scientific research activities on teaching activities,and teaching practice inspiring scientific research activities.In the study,the data also shows that teachers' beliefs have strong individualized characteristics.Besides,the more the process of teachers' self-study and reflection on practice changes,the more the concept of teachers' teaching and research reshapes.The results show that the changing process is influenced by many factors,which can be concluded from individual factors,teaching and academic environment factors,and Vietnamese cultural and social factors.The above conclusions and results confirm the primary connotation of Chinese teachers' beliefs in Vietnam universities.This research confirms the dimensions of the combination between teaching and research.It provides empirical data for effective Chinese teachers' professional development research and teacher education.Further,it also provides new research ideas and vision for the study of teacher beliefs.