A Study On Cross-Cultural Adaptation Of Central Asian Students In China

With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative,economic and cultural exchanges between Central Asian countries and China have become increasingly frequent,and the number of international students from Central Asia studying in China has increased year by year.Our university’s international exchange and cooperation projects with countries along the Belt and Road have attracted a large number of Central Asian students to study in Hangzhou Dianzi University.International students from Central Asia studying in China face the new living environment,learning environment and Chinese cultural atmosphere,inevitably deal with the problems of cross-cultural communication and cultural adaptation.In the study of cross-cultural adaptation,the theoretical research and empirical research of cross-cultural adaptation have achieved fruitful results.However,empirical studies are still relatively few which are based on the stage theory of cross-cultural adaptation,regard international students from Central Asia as the typical cases and research subjects and are carried out from the dimensions of psychological adaptation,sociocultural adaptation and learning adaptation.This thesis is based on the four-stage theory of Oberg’s cross-cultural adaptation as the theoretical research foundation.It takes the international students from Central Asia at Hangzhou Dianzi University as the research subjects,adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods,and conducts questionnaire survey and interview.The study investigates 180 Central Asian international students from Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan at Hangzhou Dianzi University and researches the overall situation of the cross-cultural adaptation and the characteristics of the cross-cultural adaptation stages of international students from Central Asia.Studies have shown that the process of cross-cultural adaptation of students from Central Asia in China is full consistent with the four stages of crosscultural adaptation proposed by Oberg,namely the honeymoon stage,the crisis stage,the recovery stage and the full adjustment stage.During the honeymoon stage,the Central Asian international students adapt to psychological adaptation well,but they are not adapted to the life in China such as language,food,shopping,transportation,weather,and population density,etc.They are active in learning but are not used to the teaching style of Chinese teachers and cannot understand teaching content.In the crisis stage,the Central Asian international students are depressed due to difficulties in life and study,and realize cultural differences,and their enthusiasm for learning decline.During the recovery stage,the international students from Central Asia gradually stabilize their emotions and gradually accept their study and life in China.The situation of cross-cultural adaptation at all aspects improves a lot.At the stage of full adjustment,the Central Asian students are more adapted to the life of studying in China,perceive the local culture,integrate into their study and life and complete their studies.Based on the analysis of the theory and empirical research results,the author makes suggestions for the cross-cultural adaptation of Central Asian students in China.International student management staffs should improve the cross-cultural capability of communication and management according to the characteristics of the cross-cultural adaptation stage of international students,provide cross-cultural psychology counseling,create cross-cultural exchange environment and optimize cross-cultural teaching model;international students from Central Asia should pay attention to their physical and mental health,reduce negative emotions,adapt to the new environment actively,improve their Chinese proficiency,and enhance their understanding of Chinese culture.At the same time,the thesis also proposes the deficiencies of the study and suggestions for further studies.