The Year 1 Programme at CELE

Preliminary Programme 1

The overall aim of the Year 1 Programme is to help first year UNNC students succeed in their future studies at the University and beyond.

The Year 1 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 academic literacy 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.

  BALEAP 2425 RVC - Validated programme Jul 27 

Module List

Semester 1

 

Module Title

Code

Credits

School / Degree

Reading and Writing in Academic Contexts (RWAC)

CELEN048

20

For all UG students

Oral Communication Skills A

(OCSa)

CELEN069

10

For all UG students

Critical, Creative, and Reflective Thinking

(CCRT)

CELEN121

10

For IC, IS, ES, EIB, ECO, Arch students

Semester 2

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 NUBS China and FHSS students

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

(ESACb)

CELEN052

20

For FoSE students

3: Oral Communication Skills B

(OCSb)

CELEN082

 10 

For all UG students

Reading and Vocabulary Enhancement

(RAVE)

CELEN091

10

For IC, IS students
 Critical Academic Literacy with AI

CELEN126

10

For IB, FAM, ES students
 

Our Year 1 Modules

Semester One

All UG students will study:

  • 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.

IC, IS, ES, EIB, ECO, Arch students will study:

  • 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.

Semester Two

NUBS China and FHSS students will study:

  • 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.

FoSE students will study:

  • 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.

All UG students will study:

  • 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.

IC, IS students will study:

  • 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.

IB, FAM, ES students will study:

  • Critical Academic Literacy with AI (CALA) aims toempower students to critically engage with artificial intelligence in their academic and professional journeys. By blending critical analysis with hands-on practice, students learn to ethically harness AI for research, writing, and creative tasks across disciplines like international business, literature, and linguistics. They emerge not only skilled at using AI tools to analyze texts, translate sources, and visualize complex ideas, but also equipped to interrogate AI's biases, geopolitical implications, and cultural limitations.