I wish I could have enjoyed this class, but the difficulty was exacerbated by it being winter quarter and online. I'm sure it's not that difficult in person and with another professor, but I literally just could not deal. The content itself would have been interesting if I wasn't halfway depressed January thru March. Lectures were boring (I didn't watch anything after week 4), the provided lecture notes were really really long, and section was absolutely worthless because participation wasn't mandatory and nobody ever had their cameras on or asked questions. Allowing students to attend any section ended up backfiring like that. So yeah, I ended up teaching myself through youtube videos, which is definitely possible as I (somehow) got an A. The final and essay weren't that difficult tbh. The homework wasn't bad but you really have to understand the content, otherwise you'll have to spend a couple hours searching for answers in the lecture notes or textbook. The textbook, The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker, was actually really enjoyable, I will say that. But that was the only part of the class I liked.

This class was way more work than I was expecting for a GE. There was a ridiculous amount of content covered and the professor did not care about you or your learning at all. There were 7 homeworks that were worth 45% of your grade, highly recommed going to TA office hours because that's the only way you'll get 100% on them. You absolutely need to get a good grade on the homework because the final is worth 45%. After a lot of emails and petitions, he finally made the final open note. The final wasn't too hard but defintely would not have been doable without having notes available. Sportiche was jsut not a good professor, he was aggressive in his emails and detached from his students. I really think he didn't care about how we did in his class. His lectures were extremely boring and you couldn't ask questions either so there was really no point in going to live lecture. I had Matthew as my TA and he was my saving grace, finding a good TA is imperative to succeeding in this class. All I can say is that I am happy this class is over, don't take it with Sportiche, there's tons of better professors that teach Ling 1.

I know people trash on Sportiche but he's not a bad guy. People are just mad that you have to put in more than minimal effort for a GE. The homework is just reading comprehension and application of what he teaches in lecture from the week before. You just read from the textbook, go to class and go to section. Section attendance was not mandatory and you could also go to whichever TA's section you wanted to. Final paper was breezy and honestly fun and a great way to reflect on what we learned. People said Sportiche is inaccessible, but I would have to disagree–he made our final exam open-note after we asked him to be more accommodating. It's not inspiring, nor particularly interesting to the general population, but you can tell Sportiche really loves it. Not a bad GE.

This class was not the easy A that it's made out to be. The Homeworks are super important for your grade, and it's almost impossible to do well on them without having a good TA. If you can get Katie as your TA, as she was super helpful and understanding. The class was interesting, but I just couldn't engage in lectures. Super good GE if you're Cognitive Science because you get GE credit and don't have to take Chemistry or Physics. Overall not super hard, but the material is dry and you have to really get 100%'s on the homework.

This class was not that hard, but in turn, it was very boring. Maybe if you are interested in linguistics you would love it. I did not. Discussion sections have worksheets that aren't that difficult. Other than that, no midterm. The final was okay, but we took it in the midst of the beginning of COVID-19 so we were allowed to have notes. Lectures are long and you have to go, or you won't get the material needed. Also, read the book, it helps.

If you signed up thinking the course would focus a lot on how language is picked up by humans, this isn't the course for you. The professor focuses a lot on grammar and the actual practicalities as to how we use words and conjugate them, categorize them, and so on.
It was a somewhat interesting course at times, but overall seemed monotonous and repetitive. If it wasn't repetitive, it was because we were bombarded with a lot of new terms and concepts at once. If it weren't for my TA (shoutout Katie) or my PLF, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have even passed the course.
The professor is not really engaging; he can be funny at times and overall he's a very sweet man. Most people in class were online shopping, texting, or doing some other thing during lecture because it was pretty boring.
The professor doesn't doesn't take attendance, but because of that he doesn't upload the slides or bruin cast (which is a huge pain; I rather him take attendance and post the material). He posts weekly lecture reviews, and I highly recommend you stay on top of those for this course if you take it.
I would recommend also buying the textbook (there's free PDF versions online) because a lot of what's in it is on the homework assignments and even on the test.

Prof Sportiche is very knowledgeable. Apparently he knows what he's talking about and he is very good at explaining concepts. At first I found his lectures a little bit boring, but when I start paying attention, I found what he said is very useful and fun. He covers all the materials you would need for exams. There are 2 films in class, which are boring and useless. He will post his lecture notes on ccle, but those are pretty concise, so go to his lectures and take notes.

I went into this class thinking it was going to be an easy GE. Boy, was I wrong. Class isn't mandatory but you should go bc he doesn't post the slides; though, half the time the lecture doesn't make any sense (I missed my fair share and I regret it because it made things so hard). The lecture notes he posts were not that clear to me. The lectures are not very interesting for the most part so it was hard to pay attention. The weekly homework (which is worth a lot of your grade) was insanely hard and I had to go to so many office hours to get good grades on them and to actually comprehend what it was asking for. Not once could I sit down by myself to do the homework and finish it without the help of a TA. The assigned readings were alright, not very engaging for me but important for the final. The paper was doable in a few hours and was not hard to complete BUT only because I am a native speaker of a second language. The final (which is the only exam you have in this class) was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I would not take this class again if given the chance; way too much work for a GE class. I managed to do well only because I crammed so hard for the exam.

I took Ling 1 as an "easy" GE, but I shouldn't have done that. This GE is a bit trickier than say Labor 10. If you pay attention, read the books, attend office hours, and put your absolute best into the class, you will probably get an "A." I studied like three days before the final exam and got a "B+." As far as the lectures go, Sportiche cares about the subject, but isn't the most interesting to listen to. Try to pay attention to lecture, because they are probably helpful if you pay attention. The homework assignments are doable. Try to start early. I did them the night before. Anyway, I neglected this class way too much, because it was just a GE, but if you try your best, you will definitely be fine.

This class had a doable course load. There were weekly HW packets that really help with learning the concepts and studying for the final (there was no midterm). Do the extra credit when you can, because they definitely help you get those extra points for the HW (the EC points don't count if you already have a perfect score though). The paper was pretty fair and just makes you compare another language with English. Definitely go to class even if he posts lecture notes, because the lecture notes are pretty lengthy to read by itself. Sometimes Sportiche has some funny bits in his lectures that make up for the boring/lengthy parts. Going to TA office hours or collaborating with classmates for the HW helped a lot too.
I wouldn't say it was the most interesting subject for me, but it was cool to apply the concepts when writing the essay. By the end, I would take the class again because it was a fair GE.