Overall - this is an easier class to achieve an A. The papers were time consuming however there isn't much work other than that. Exams were conceptual and followed from lectures - I struggled a bit with the IPA/phonetics unit with translating audio to IPA and vice versa, but practicing problems in discussion and lecture helped a lot for this.

This class was extremely easy and was completely asynchronous. The analysis papers were a little annoying, but I think my TA just graded harsher than everyone else. Overall, this class is a really easy GE.

the class wasn't too bad, the final had difficult questions but u could prolly get away w forgetting abt this class all quarter and studying two weeks before the final/midterm. the homeworks r alr and the extra credit opportunities r nice. it kinda j depends on ur ta and how they grade ur essays cuz some r chill but ik some ppl got strict tas and their grades tanked cuz of their essay grades.

the class wasn't too bad, the final had difficult questions but u could prolly get away w forgetting abt this class all quarter and studying two weeks before the final/midterm. the homeworks r alr and the extra credit opportunities r nice. it kinda j depends on ur ta and how they grade ur essays cuz some r chill but ik some ppl got strict tas and their grades tanked cuz of their essay grades.

Everyone wants to take Ling 1 because it's a pre-req for a lot of majors and counts as a science GE, so humanities majors are all over it. In terms of Silvestri herself, I couldn't tell you if she's good or not because I never interacted with her. She uses pre-recorded lectures of Professor Torrence, and her TAs lead the discussion and grade the papers. The midterm and final are online with a lockdown browser and webcam. I understand that this is a huge lecture course (500), but I wish there was a bit more flexibility, especially considering Silvestri is not super engaged with the content. For example, I had a near 100% in the class, but I got a really bad grade on the first analysis paper. Totally understand that this is entirely my fault, but when I went to the TA and asked if I could even get 5 points back, she said Silvestri would never allow it, and she discouraged me from even asking. There are lots of extra credit opportunities, and I'm not trying to avoid taking accountability, but I wish that if there was no involvement from the professor, she would be more accommodating to students who are trying to go above and beyond. I fear this is probably a departmental concern rather than a personal one. Regardless, this is one of the better professors to take this class, and I'm glad I took it.

PROS
-Straightforward
-Online

CONS
-Lots of busywork
-Not that interesting

I think this class was good. I expected to have my socks blown off, but hard to do that asynchronously. At the end of the day, I learned some interesting language facts and got to know the Ling field in a way I had no knowledge of previously. I just wish they weren't so repetitive in lectures, because there was a lot of fluff and repetition that made it difficult to sit through all the material. Elisa Migliaretti was a great TA, make sure you can attend her section. I would be still struggling with IPA had it not been for her.

the class just used pre-recorded lectures by howard torrence, and he's a great lecturer. its easy to get behind on work in this class, but as long as you just sit down and make yourself watch the videos once a week then you'll be fine. The tests aren't setup to be tricky or convoluted. Overall a really nice introduction to linguistics and I would take it again if I could!

I would definitely recommend taking this class if you want a fairly easy GE that you can do on your own time. It was taught asynchronously when I took it so I could watch and take notes on the lectures whenever I wanted. There are usually 2-3 lectures to watch each week between 30 mins to 1 hour long, along with a textbook reading and possibly an extra article or video. There was homework once a week which was a quiz on canvas about the previous module. The midterm and final exam had to be taken on a lockdown browser with a camera and audio. There were also two analysis papers we had to write but Silvestri provided a clear layout for everything she was looking for in the essays so they weren't too difficult. The topics itself are pretty easy to learn - the section most people struggled with was the phonetics section but it's not too bad if you practice it. Silvestri also offers a few easy extra credit opportunities! I would 100% take this class again.

Best part about this class was that the amount of extra credit offered means you really don’t have to worry too much about the midterm and final, which are without a doubt the only parts of the class that are at all difficult.

I took this class while it was async so I didn't really interact with the prof much. A lot of the recorded lectures were by someone else and it could be tedious and boring at times (especially with having to memorize the phonetic alphabet). However, the midterm and finals were relatively easy and the two papers were graded very leniently and were pretty fun to write. Do the extra credit she offers, it really boosts your grade. Overall, not a bad GE and a relatively easy A