1、 Introduction

As an overseas educational institution for spreading Chinese language and culture, Confucius Institutes have been established globally since 2004 and have become an important platform for cultural exchange between China and foreign countries. Confucius Institutes in Africa have developed rapidly, with 77 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms currently in operation. Over 30 universities have established Chinese departments or majors, and 19 countries have incorporated Chinese into their national education systems. With the deepening of China Africa cooperation, Confucius Institutes in Africa are facing new development opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, the "the Belt and Road" initiative has promoted Chinese enterprises to enter Africa, and there is an urgent need for Chinese compound talents; On the other hand, poverty and unemployment in Africa remain serious issues, and Confucius Institutes need to develop specialized education to support local social development. The Confucius Institute in Africa actively explores the "Chinese+vocational skills" education model to meet local employment needs and serve the "the Belt and Road" construction. This article analyzes the current situation, challenges, and optimization paths of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa through qualitative interviews, providing inspiration for promoting their sustainable development.

2、 Research Methods

The application of qualitative research methods was introduced, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Chinese personnel from Confucius Institutes through WeChat voice calls from October 2022 to March 2023 to explore the current situation, challenges, and development plans of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa. The interviewees include Chinese deans, government-sponsored teachers, and volunteers, covering both macro and micro level issues. All interview recordings were transcribed into text for analysis, with interview durations of 70 minutes for the Chinese dean, 50 minutes for the Chinese teacher, and 40 minutes for the Chinese volunteer. Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 provide interview questions for Chinese deans and teachers/volunteers, respectively. Table 1 lists the basic background information of the interviewees.

3、 Current situation of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa

Analyzed the current situation of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa, involving five aspects: teaching objects, practical models, curriculum design, teaching staff, and teaching resources. The teaching targets include vocational college students, local employees of Chinese funded enterprises, non Chinese major college students, and members of society. The practical modes include additive mode, combined mode, and integrated mode, among which the integrated mode involves cooperation in teaching resources and teams. The curriculum is divided into Chinese as a compulsory credit course, professional compulsory course, and non degree training course. The teaching staff is composed of Confucius Institute appointed teachers and volunteers, as well as local teachers from non partner universities, with support provided by Chinese partner universities. In terms of teaching resources, there is a shortage of textbooks, relying on self written lecture notes or English textbooks. It is necessary to strengthen textbook writing and teaching resource research and development.

4、 The development dilemma of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa

Through qualitative analysis, five major development challenges faced by Confucius Institutes in Africa in terms of "Chinese+vocational skills" education have been revealed. Firstly, the talent cultivation system is not perfect, lacking clear curriculum objectives and a fixed system, resulting in low education quality. Secondly, the education standard system is not sound, the curriculum lacks admission standards, and the teaching implementation and admission standards are missing, which affects the standardization and professionalism of education. Thirdly, the lack of systematic curriculum, unified planning, and poor coherence of courses have an impact on the cultivation of technical and skilled talents. Fourthly, there is a widespread shortage of teaching staff, with insufficient numbers of Chinese language teachers and vocational and technical teachers, and a lack of "dual teacher" teachers. Finally, there is a severe shortage of teaching resources, and textbooks mainly rely on general Chinese and English textbooks. The output of self compiled textbooks is limited, which restricts the in-depth development of education. These challenges collectively affect the healthy development of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa.

5、 Optimization Path of "Chinese+Vocational Skills" Education in Confucius Institutes in Africa

Explored the optimization path of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Confucius Institutes in Africa, aiming to solve the difficulties in the development process and promote its sustainable and healthy development. Five main optimization strategies have been proposed: firstly, to improve the talent training system, clarify training objectives, establish a complete curriculum system and evaluation feedback mechanism; The second is to strengthen the construction of the education standard system, including vocational Chinese proficiency standards, teaching standards, teacher standards, and education admission standards; The third is to improve the construction of the curriculum system, offer courses that meet the needs of Chinese funded enterprises, strengthen practical courses, and offer relevant courses based on market research; Fourthly, we should attach great importance to the cultivation of local teachers, promote Chinese language education, strengthen the training of vocational and technical teachers' Chinese language abilities, and cultivate high-end local Chinese language teachers; The fifth is to accelerate the research and development of teaching resources, including "Chinese+vocational skills" textbooks and digital teaching resources, to improve the standardization, localization, and adaptability of textbooks, and to use modern information technology to provide multimodal and intelligent online learning platforms.

6、 Conclusion

Based on in-depth interviews with Chinese personnel from Confucius Institutes in Africa, the current situation and challenges faced by "Chinese+vocational skills" education were analyzed, including an imperfect talent cultivation system, an incomplete standard system, insufficient curriculum systematicity, a shortage of teaching staff, and a shortage of teaching materials. An optimization path has been proposed, including improving the talent training system, strengthening the construction of the education standard system, attaching importance to local teacher training, enhancing the integration of industry and education, accelerating the research and development of teaching resources, and actively integrating modern educational technology, aiming to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of "Chinese+vocational skills" education in Africa.