 Hello! In the following I will introduce you to the content and the requirements of the VLC Online Class Introduction to Linguistics. The class involves four credits that are awarded in accordance with the European Credit Transfer System and the tuition fees amount to 110 euros. With two steps you can access your class. First, login with your personal data. Then click on the class name that you would see on your personal VLC start site right after login. A click on this link leads you to the interactive class start site. On the class start site you have access to various additional options such as information about your class instructor or the class requirements to name just two of them. The links in the class header of this class provide you with a complete list of references, the bibliography, some class related links and a hyperlink to the class related forum, which is open for all registered users of your class. The core of the class are the 13 units where the first one, the class preliminaries, informs you about some general aspects of the class and makes some further suggestions about how to study online. Also, the most basic functions of the program, navigation, buttons etc. are explained here. In addition to this, you will find helpful routines that let you know whether your computer is configured correctly and whether the submission of worksheets is successful. For this reason we recommend to go through the class preliminaries very carefully, especially if you are a first time user of a VLC class. The remaining units exhibit the content of this class and if you wish, you can retrieve an overview of each unit by means of a click on the information symbol. Here is an example associated with the unit categorical analysis, whose information is displayed in a pop-up window. Let us now look at the content of the class traditionally referred to as syllabus. The class is subdivided into three central parts. After an overview of the terms language and linguistics, we will introduce you to the basic concepts of dealing with the sounds of language, phonetics and phonology. These units presuppose some knowledge in articulatory phonetics but provide a number of additional videos to catch up just in case. The structural part discusses the central aspects of word structure, morphology and of the structure of sentences, syntax, before the remaining units deal with meaning, word meaning, sentence meaning and utterance meaning which is referred to as pragmatics. Studying online simply means go through each e-learning unit at your own pace, study the virtual session using the guiding questions, watch the e-lecture video and use the tests in the interactive tutor which is part of the virtual session. And optionally you can fill the blanks in your workbook. And if you want to discuss problems with your classmates, open the class related forum. Well and here is your workbook. Now the workbook has 181 pages and exhibits the plain textual content of the virtual sessions of the class in a non-hypertext format. Furthermore it contains a number of empty slots and boxes which have to be filled with the online content. For this reason our workbooks use a special system of symbols indicating where the online material can be found and what you have to do with it. So the workbook is not a plain reader but rather an instructional book that really makes you work. Ordering the workbook is quite simple. On your class start side you have a link or a workbook which leads you to a list of all the workbooks that are on offer on the Virtual Linguistics Campus and your workbook is of course the one entitled Introduction to Linguistics Part 1. Just click on this button and that's it. The rest is simple just like in any other internet shop it should be self-explanatory. Finally you want to know what you have to do in order to get the class credits. Well this class involves four credits where one credit is the equivalent of about 30 hours workload. A central prerequisite is that you actively participate. In an online class this means go online, study the content and the videos and do the 12 ungraded worksheets as well as the practicals. Your final grade will be calculated on the basis of two graded worksheets that make up 40% of the final grade and one e-exam that makes up 60% of the final grade. How the e-exams work will be explained when required. So we invite you to join us in our online class Introduction to Linguistics. As soon as the class has been activated your class instructor will contact you and then it's up to you. So on behalf of my colleagues let me thank you for your attention and enjoy your class. See you.