OVERALL: This was an interesting topic to learn about, and I enjoyed the class. I'd recommend taking it as long as you know that linguistics is more of a science than anything else; it gets technical when you learn about syntax and word structure. Once you get past syntax trees, everything else is easy.

LECTURES: Although lectures are 2 hours long, Professor Ranero always gives us a break halfway through, and he does a great job of facilitating discussions in class; he likes interacting with students and is very open to new ideas. He posts all his slides on Canvas too.

TESTS: One of the best parts of this class is that there are only two exams and the second one is not cumulative. Both are online, open-note/open-book, and you can take them at any point in a 24-hour period. There are homework assignments that are due every other week or so, plus extra credit assignments, so it's very easy to get an A.

Grading Scheme:
Midterm: 25%
Final: 25%
(Exams both non-cumulative, online, open notes, and take home)
Homework: 45%
Participation: 5%
Extra credit: 2% to overall grade

This class is pretty similar to ling 20 except it goes on some interesting tangents and explores some theories and real life impacts, and explains introductory linguistics through the lens of Spanish and Portuguese. You don't need to know anything about a language other than English to pass this class, and those who are fluent in Spanish and Portuguese won't have much of an advantage anyway, as all the homework and exam questions ask about linguistic concepts and never something about a language. You get all you need for the homework from the lecture slides, and the exams are essentially timed homework. The prof and TAs accept regrade requests through gradescope, so its easy to learn what your mistakes are or have an attempt to argue them.

The professor himself is incredibly knowledgable about the field of linguistics to the point that he can recognize all the linguists who wrote the papers I brought up to him after class. He loves it when students ask questions in class and even more when someone can challenge one of his views. Shoutout to Jenny for being an awesome TA too.

i loved this class so much ! professor ranero was so nice and explained things so clearly, even when we got into the more hefty topics like trees and ipa. even though this class might get a bit confusing at times in terms of the content, the professor and TAs help out so much and offer SO many office hours where they help you step by step with the homework. professor ranero was also very accommodating with everything that happened around the encampment and the protests, to the point where he delayed our midterm and gave us a time extension on both the midterm and final by one hour. overall, i would say take this class (knowledge of spanish and/or portuguese would be helpful, but it's not mandatory)

Professor Ranero has been an excellent instructor this past quarter, demonstrating a high mastery on the coursework and a deep interest in our learning & well-being students. His lectures were always highly engaging, he consistently expanded on topics that were a bit confusing, and was always offering his support & assistance during the course. He has been accommodating all quarter, given the unique circumstances we found ourselves in, and has made the class an overall very welcoming & engaging environment. Lectures were twice a week for 2 hours each, not recorded, and attendance is required (but he & the TAs were very understanding about attendance issues). There were 6 homework assignments that were sometimes a bit long, but he did provide ample time to complete the assignments and him (& the TAs) provided many opportunities for office hours/further assistance. There are two exams, both online, and he provides ample time to complete them, too. Overall, I highly recommend this course!