這項研究的目的是探討居住在台灣高雄的西方外籍人士的適應程度。具體而言，本研究將西方外籍人士與他們個別本國配偶結婚的西方外籍人士進行了比較。隨著台灣英語補習學校的迅速發展，這些見解可以使人事經理對外籍教師的生活有更深入的了解。因此，這些學校可能會調整政策和做法，在他們海外適應過程以更好地支持其員工並指導他們。此外，這項研究不僅旨在更好地了解這些外籍人士本身，而且還旨在了解本地和非本地外籍配偶如何幫助他們的重要其他人適應台灣生活並了解當地台灣文化。
這項研究是使用半結構化訪談進行的，這為研究人員提供了深入探究研究參與者的思想和經驗的機會。為了更深入地了解外籍人士，本質性研究對六種不同婚姻中的九名西方已婚外籍人士的觀點進行了三角剖分（例如，六名西方外籍人士代表三對已婚夫婦，三名西方外籍人士與台灣當地人結婚），以及他們的朋友。研究結果，研究含意，以及未來研究建議在本研究裡討論。

The purpose of this study is to explore adjustment levels of Western expatriates living in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Specifically, this study compares Western expatriates married to host country spouses to Western expatriates married to their respective home country spouses. With the rapid expansion of English cram schools in Taiwan, these insights may equip HR managers with a deeper perspective into the lives of their foreign teachers. In turn, these schools may adjust policies and practices in order to better support their staff and guide them in their adjustment process overseas. Moreover, this research aims to not only better understand these expatriates themselves, but also how expatriate spouses, both local and non-local, serve as guides in helping their significant others adjust to both living in Taiwan and understanding local Taiwanese culture.

This research was conducted using semi-structured interviews, which provided the researcher opportunities to probe deeper into the minds and experiences of the study participants. In order to gain a more in-depth understanding of the expatriates ', this qualitative study triangulated the perspectives of nine married Western expatriates in six different marriages (i.e., six Western expatriates representing three married couple and three Western expatriates married to Taiwanese locals), as well as their friends. Study results, implications, and future research are discussed within.

Table of content
Thesis Validation Letter i

Acknowledgements ii
摘要 iii
Abstract iv
Table of content v
About the Researcher 1
Introduction 1
Literature review 3
Expatriates- Self initiated expatriates and Assigned expatriates 3
Cross Cultural Adjustment 4
Expatriate’s marital status 5
Spousal adjustment and support 7
Expatriates with HCNs and home country spouses 8
Social support 10
Language 12
International Experience 13
Prior research about Taiwan 14
Methodology 15
Thematic analysis 15
Participants 16
Data Collection 19
The First Phase: Familiarizing Yourself with Your Data 19
The Second Phase: Generating Initial Codes 20
The Third Phase: Searching for Themes 21
The Fourth Phase: Reviewing Themes 22
The Fifth Phase: Defining and Naming Themes 24
The Final Phase: Producing the Report 25
Result and Analysis 26
vi
Research Question 1: “Do Western expatriates married with local spouses have higher Chinese language abilities than the Western expatriates married with Western spouses?” 28
Language abilities 28
Research Question 2: “Do adjustment levels differ between these two distinct groups? If they do, what factors affect these adjustment levels?” 34
Factors that affect expatriates’ level of adjustment 36
Personality 46
Social support 50
Sub Factors that Influence Levels of Adjustment 54
Motive of Moving to Taiwan 60
Research Question 3: “Before arriving in Taiwan, did both groups research socio-cultural and historical aspects of their new environmental conditions equally, and to what extent did this help them prepare for this new experience?” 61
Findings 63
Expatriates with Host Country and Home Country Spouses 63
Cross Cultural Adjustment 64
Spouse Adjustment and Support 65
Social Support 65
Language 66
International experience 67
Prior research about Taiwan 68
Work challenges 68
Common denominators of successful expatriate adjustment 69
Conclusion 74
Limitations and Future Research 77
References 80
Appendix 87
Appendix 1 Semi-Structured Interview Questions 87
Appendix 2 Semi-Structured Interview Questions for Friends and Spouses 89
Appendix 3 Consent Form 90
vii
Table of Figures
Figure 1. Coding Process ...................................................................................................... 21
Figure 2. Coding Segments .................................................................................................. 22
Figure 3. Correlations ........................................................................................................... 25
Figure 4. Average Scores of Levels of Adjustment .............................................................. 34
Figure 5. Average Scores of Levels of Adjustment .............................................................. 35
Figure 6. Factors that influence Western expatriates who are married to local spouses ...... 45
Figure 7. Factors that influence Western expatriates who are married to their respective home-country spouses' levels of adjustment ........................................................................ 45
Figure 8. Factors affect expatriates' levels of adjustment ..................................................... 64
Table of Tables
Table 1. Interview information ............................................................................................. 17
Table 2. Participants' information ......................................................................................... 18
Table 3. Finding themes ....................................................................................................... 23
Table 4. Interviewee Demographics ..................................................................................... 26
Table 5. Chinese language abilities in two cohorts .............................................................. 30
Table 6. Factors that influence two cohorts' levels of adjustment ........................................ 36
Table 7. Research about Taiwan ........................................................................................... 62
Table 8. Common denominators of successful expatriate adjustment ................................ 69

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