Database-based Research On Confucius Institutes In Arab Countries

In recent years,some Arab countries have gradually incorporated Chinese into their educational systems,and the "Chinese fever" has continued to heat up in the region.As a platform for language teaching and cultural exchange between China and foreign countries,Confucius Institutes have become more and more important,and will undertake more and more important tasks of Chinese teaching and cultural communication.Taking 12 Confucius Institutes in 7 Arab countries as the research objects,this paper explores the status quo and characteristics of their establishment,distribution,Chinese language teaching and cultural exchange activities,finds out their achievements and challenges in the process of development,and puts forward targeted suggestions based on this,with a view to promoting the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries.Based on the 2018 database of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries,this paper adopts a combination of quantitative research and qualitative research,and comprehensively uses literature research,database research and case study methods to make a comprehensive analysis of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries.This paper first explores the external factors that influence the development of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries.It is found that the diplomatic and economic cooperation between China and Arab countries and the Arab investment in education will promote the development of Confucius Institutes,while the proportion of politics,ethnicity,religion,language and ethnic Chinese will limit the development of Confucius Institutes to some extent.It is found that Confucius Institutes in Arab countries have experienced two periods of rapid development and steady growth in history.In terms of geographical distribution,the coverage rate of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries is low,and the distribution density of Confucius Institutes in various countries is uneven.Generally,Confucius Institutes tend to cluster in the capital,coastal areas and the largest cities.Confucius Institutes in Arab countries are jointly built by Chinese and foreign universities for mutual benefit and mutual learning,laying a good foundation for the operation and teaching of Confucius Institutes.Most of the courses are non-credit courses.Some Confucius Institutes adapt their courses to local conditions by closely combining their courses with local needs and striving to highlight their own characteristics.In terms of teachers,there are great differences in the number of teachers in Confucius Institutes.On the whole,most of them are Chinese teachers sent abroad,while the lack of local Chinese teachers is not conducive to the stability and long-term development of teaching.The teaching materials used in Confucius Institutes are varied,covering various types such as comprehensive,oral,listening,cultural and specialized teaching materials.The use rate of general teaching materials is high,while the homegrown teaching materials are insufficient.The Confucius Institute promotes learning through examinations,steadily advances the work of Chinese Proficiency Test,and expands the teaching scale of Confucius Institutes through the establishment of teaching sites.In terms of cultural exchange activities,the Confucius Institute has cooperated with multiple platforms to hold rich and diversified cultural exchange activities.Overall,there are a large number of participants and many media reports.However,the content of the activities mainly focuses on traditional Chinese culture and material culture,while modern and contemporary culture and spiritual culture are rarely touched.This paper selects the Confucius Institute of Cairo University as a typical case,and finds that the Confucius Institute has outstanding characteristics in two aspects:"focusing on collaborative development and the cultivation of Chinese talents".Based on the study of the current situation,this paper summarizes the overall characteristics of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries:actively increasing teaching points,expanding the radiating area;becoming a strong push for Chinese teaching in Arab countries;at present,the mode of running Confucius Institutes is still based on the training courses of non-academic education;playing the role of a bridge in the exchanges between Chinese and Arab civilizations.It is also found that Confucius Institutes in Arab countries lack regional cultural characteristics and lack of localization construction.Finally,in view of the above deficiencies,the author puts forward some suggestions to promote the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries:deeply integrate into the main business of foreign universities,promote the differentiation of Chinese curriculum,build a high-level team of local teachers,and strengthen the top-level design;expand the educational path of Confucius Institutes,strengthen exchanges and cooperation with various institutions,build "Chinese+" featured courses or projects,maintain and operate multiple Internet platforms to strengthen publicity,and promote the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes in Arab countries.