A Study Of Impact Of Perceived Social Support On Self-efficacy Of Volunteers Teaching Chinese In Spain

Standards for teachers of Chinese to speakers of other languages clearly states that teachers should have "a healthy mind and a positive attitude","a better mental capacity and self-adjustment ability",and a "cooperative spirit".However,how should teachers strive to meet such requirements?How should teachers guide themselves and regulate themselves?How should teachers seek cooperation and support in the workplace?How should teachers solve the difficulties encountered in working life,especially in the cross-cultural background overseas?These issues should not be left to volunteer teachers to think and struggle on their own.In the language teaching classroom,we should not only focus on the students'psychology.As the main body of "teaching",teachers' psychological conditions should not be ignored.Every year,China sends a large number of volunteer teachers to Spain for Chinese teaching and promotion,who are mostly novice teachers.They face the "reality shock" in overseas teaching practice,which is the gap between the idealistic beliefs from teacher training programs and the real classroom.Social support as a buffer can reduce the negative impact of stress on the mental health of novice teachers.This study examines the perceived social support of Chinese volunteer teachers in Spain and its impact on teachers' self-efficacy.First of all,a quantitative study was carried out to measure the overall perceived social support and self-efficacy of Chinese volunteer teachers,to analyze their influencing factors,and to explore their relationship.The main focus is on exploring the impact of perceived social support from different sources(family,friends,leaders,colleagues)on self-efficacy.Then different types of social support(emotional,instrumental,informational support and social companionship)are explored through case studies.The following conclusions were reached:The level of perceived social support of Chinese volunteer teachers has a significant effect on their sense of self-efficacy,and the level of support from all four sources also has a significant effect on the self-efficacy of volunteer teachers.As for the effect size,support from friends is high,support from family and colleagues is medium,and support from leaders is low.Except that the level of leadership support has no significant effect on the self-efficacy of instructional strategies,and the level of family support has no significant effect on the self-efficacy of classroom management,other pairs are significantly correlated.Case studies show that there is something in common about sources and types of perceived social support of the two volunteer teachers,although there are differences in support intensity:family mainly affects the self-efficacy of Chinese volunteer teachers from three aspects:emotional,instrumental support and companionship;friends are an important source of emotional,informational support and companionship;leaders and colleagues mainly provide informational and emotional support.The lack of each category of support will have a great impact on the mental health of volunteer teachers and their work enthusiasm.In this regard,the following suggestions are given from the perspectives of overseas Chinese teacher training,Chinese volunteer teacher personal development and team building,and teacher development research:(1)Establish overseas Chinese teaching case database.Through case study and analysis,make pre-service teachers understand the possible difficulties and feasible solutions while working overseas,and cultivate the ability of "anticipatory reflection".(2)Volunteer teachers should pay attention to their self-efficacy and face up to the negative psychological state while working.Teachers should consciously develop their own social support network and multiple ways of self-guiding and regulating,such as writing reflective teaching diaries and cases,etc.(3)The leaders of the Confucius Institute should shoulder the responsibility of creating a good team working atmosphere,establish a support mechanism for new teachers from top to bottom,and build a teachers' learning and growth community.Hanban can entrust local Confucius Institutes or management teachers to coordinate and organize training and exchange activities,with the purpose of creating convenient conditions for exchanges and support among overseas Chinese teachers.(4)Call for greater attention to research on teacher development.The author call on the majority of first-line Chinese teachers from overseas to actively participate in teacher research,while promoting teachers' own cognitive construction and professional development,and also making innovations and contributions to the research field.