Contrary to what a few people have said below, this was a fantastic GE. Sportiche is a nice guy and a funny lecturer. There is one homework packet per week, and if you put in the effort to do it all correctly then you will ace this class. I attended most of the lectures, did some of the reading, studied for the final for an hour or so the night before, and got an easy A. The class was interesting and I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of elementary linguistics now. If you try, you'll do fine!

Took Ling 1 for my last GE as a transfer in the comm department. A little tougher than I wanted. Going to discussion helps quite a bit because his lectures can be confusing to take notes on. Having a buddy in this class is a must to do the homework worth 45% of the grade. No MT, only Final. The paper is super easy, lecture not necessary. Don't know how this compares to other GE's but I guess it wasn't too bad.

The professor was very passionate about linguistics and concerned about student learning but I would certainly never take this GE and I do not recommend it to anyone. I went to every lecture, some office hours, and the review sessions and the level of material is much too high for a GE, which makes sense since this is the first time he has taught a lower division class. If you want an easy GE (which you should because there are some out there) do NOT take this class.

I took prof sportiche this fall for ling 1. He was not a good lecturer, contrary to what has been said below. Granted, it was his first time teaching a lower division linguistics class. Often times, I found his lecture notes online a lot more useful than his actual lectures. He definitely tries hard, and inadvertently puts a lot of emphasis on syntax throughout the course. After week 3, I did not attend a single lecture, and managed an A- in the course. Take the course if you enjoy having your time off and reading lecture notes online. It is not a fun class, but a reasonable GE.