Preliminary Year Programme

Preliminary Programme 1

The overall aim of the Preliminary Year Programme is to help first year UNNC students succeed in their future studies at the University and beyond.

The Preliminary Year Programme aims to help our students make the transition from high school to university, and from their previous learning contexts to an international learning environment with English as the medium of instruction. The programme equips students with the language and study skills needed to meet the demands of future academic study.

To achieve this aim, students study both English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses and introductory content courses related to their majors.

For full details of which modules are required for each department/major, please consult the tables and descriptions below.

 

Accreditation

We are very proud at CELE that our courses are validated by the UK Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and our core Preliminary Year courses are accredited by BALEAP (the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes). We are one of only two institutions in Mainland China, and four outside of the UK, to have achieved this prestigious BALEAP accreditation.

  CIOL-2526            BALEAP 2425

 

Module List

Semester 1

 

Module Title

Module Code

Credits

School / Degree

Reading and Writing in Academic Contexts (RWAC)

CELEN048

20

For IB, ECO, IC, IS, ES, EG, CS, MAM, EnS, EIB and Arch students

Oral Communication Skills A (OCSa)

CELEN069

10

For IB, ECO, IC, IS, ES, EG, CS, MAM, EnS, EIB and Arch students

Critical, Creative, and Reflective Thinking (CCRT)

CELEN121

10

For IB, IB Intl, IC, IS, ES, EIB, Arch, ECO and EnS students

Introduction to Academic Skills (IAS)

CELEF008

10

For IB Intl, EG Intl, CS Intl and MAM Intl students

Semester 2

Undergraduate students will study either 1 or 2 and 3:  

Module Title

Module Code

Credits

School / Degree

1: English in Specific Academic Contexts A: Arts and Social Sciences (ESACa)

CELEN051

20

For IB, ECO, IC, IS, ES and EIB students

2: English in Specific Academic Contexts B: Engineering; Comp Sci; Env'mental Sci and Architecture (ESACb)

CELEN052

20

For EG, CS, MAM, EnS, Arch, EG Intl, CS Intl and MAM Intl students

3: Oral Communication Skills B (OCSb)

CELEN082

 10 

For IB, ECO, IC, IS, ES, EG, CS, MAM, EnS, EIB, Arch, EG Intl, CS Intl and MAM Intl students

Reading and Vocabulary Enhancement (RAVE)

CELEN091

10

For IC, IS, ES and EnS students

English for Specific Academic Purposes: Business and Economics (ESAP)

CELEF007

10

For IB Intl

 

Our Preliminary Year Modules

Semester One

  • Undergraduate Reading and Writing in Academic Contexts (RWAC)  develops the language, core strategies and skills that will enable you to read and write within a range of undergraduate-level academic contexts. 
  • Oral Communication Skills A (OCSa)  focuses on the development of appropriate language, strategies and skills for understanding academic lectures, taking effective notes and participating in seminar discussions and presentations at an undergraduate level.

  • Critical, Creative, and Reflective Thinking (CCRT) introduces students to critical and creative thinking to help them think flexibly and fairly about issues and problems connected to their lives and their areas of study, considering issues from different points of view to reach provisional conclusions and plans of action. Additionally, students will be asked to reflect on their experiences in and around their lectures and seminars for this module, and to consider how they can apply what they learn to their future studies and approaches to study.

    • For students in International Communications, International Studies, English, Architecture, Economics, Environmental Science and Business

  • Introduction to Academic Skills (IAS) develops the academic literacy skills necessary for the successful processing and production of written and spoken academic discourse.

    • For international students in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics or Business

Semester Two

  • English in Specific Academic Contexts A: Arts and Social Sciences (ESACa) focuses on the development of language and skills for reading, writing, listening and speaking, with specific reference to undergraduate Arts & Social Science academic contexts.
    • For students in International Business, International Economics and Trade, International Communications, International Studies and English.
  • English in Specific Academic Contexts B: Science and Engineering (ESACb) focuses on the development of discipline-specific EAP reading, writing, listening and speaking skills within a range of Science and Engineering academic contexts.
    • For students in Architecture; Computer Science; Engineering, Environmental Science and Mathematics
  • Oral Communication Skills B (OCSb) builds on the work done on OCSa in the first semester, with further focus on the development of the appropriate language, strategies and skills for the effective delivery of individual oral presentations in undergraduate academic contexts.
  • Reading and Vocabulary Enhancement (RAVE) aims to develop academic vocabulary and reading skills. The course exposes students to a variety of genres and develops an awareness of the common structural textual features at both paragraph and whole text level. There is also a focus on the discourse elements used to convey author stance, and on the metatext (such as anaphora and cataphora) used to effect coherence and cohesion.

    The course also aims to systematically build up students’ academic vocabulary through repeated exposure to key words, lexical bundles, and collocations.

    • For students in International Communications, International Studies, English and Environmental Science
  • English for Specific Academic Purposes: Business and Economics (ESAP) focuses on the development of appropriate academic English language skills for the effective undertaking of written assessment and academic oral presentation in Business. 
    • For international students in Business