A Study Of The Development Of Thai Confucius Institute From The Perspective Of Symbolic Interaction Theory

With the steady improvement of China's comprehensive national strength,the“Mandarin fever” has intensified globally.As of December 31,2018,there are 548 Confucius Institutes and 1,193 Confucius Classrooms around the world.As an important channel for Chinese language promotion and Chinese cultural diffusion,the healthy and steady development of Confucius Institutes is of vital importance to Chinese overseas promotion.Different circumstance raises different civilization,each country has a different cultural background,and the Confucius Institutes in different regions will also have their own running models and development conditions.This paper explores the construction of the Confucius Institute in Thailand with the personal experience of the author as a Chinese volunteer teacher in Thailand.At present,there are 16 Confucius Institutes and 20 Confucius Classrooms in Thailand.The academic community has made many achievements in the research of the construction of Thai Confucius Institute,but this thesis innovatively puts the study of the Confucius Institute in Thailand under the framework of the symbolic interaction theory of sociology,making a new theoretical attempt for the development of the Confucius Institute in Thailand.Firstly,this article introduces the symbolic interaction theory,analyzing the relevance of “symbolic interaction”and “the construction of Thai Confucius Institute”,to proof the legality of using symbolic interaction theory as the theoretical basis of this paper.Secondly,based on the theory of symbolic interaction,this paper introduces the subjects from four perspectives,including “civilization”,“nation”,“institution” and “individual”.Specifically,the “civilization” interaction is studied by making comparison between Confucianism and Buddhism,and analyzing the exchange and mutual learning course between them.The “nation” interaction isstudied from political,economic and cultural aspects.As for “institution” interaction,this paper analyses the frequency,forms,elements and objects of Thai Confucius Institutes' outside interaction.Finally,from the perspective of Chinese teachers and Thai teachers,Chinese teachers and Thai students,this paper demonstrates the interaction between individuals.By exploring the interaction status of subjects at all levels,we find some problems in the process of interaction.At the “civilization” level,there is a certain difference between Confucianism and Buddhism,and the exploration of Chinese culture in the course of the external activities of Thai Confucius Institute was insufficient.At the “national” level,there are objective frictions and misunderstandings between China and Thailand.The unstable political dynamics in Thailand also affect the construction of Thai Confucius Institute.At the “institutional”level,the frequency of external interactions of the Confucius Institutes is unbalanced,the interaction forms lack innovation,the interaction elements are relatively simple,and the interaction objects are relatively narrow.At the “individual” level,the interaction between Chinese teachers and Thai teachers is misunderstood due to language barriers and cultural differences.The Chinese teachers' Chinese knowledge is not solid enough,lacking of classroom management experience with limited Thai language.Thai students are active and naughty with weak self-learning awareness also caused the inactive interaction between Chinese teachers and Thai students.At last,this thesis puts forward corresponding suggestions for the above interactive issues,hoping to promote a healthier and stable development of Thai Confucius Institutes.