This class was the trifecta: easy, interesting, and not time consuming. I took it as an online class in spring 2019. It's a standard online format, with lectures and homework on CCLE. He also gives the option for you to buy a textbook, which I suggest not to do, because it's the exact same information in the lectures but in a more systematic format. The textbook is not required.
Torrence's video lectures are very well organized but are quite long. I fixed this by putting them on either 1.5x or 2x speed. He also gives summaries periodically throughout and at the end of the lectures to make sure you're registering what you're supposed to be learning. Study the homework questions! They're honestly harder than the exam questions. Both exam were so easy that I was able to point out errors in the questions to Torrence and his TA's. As long as you take minimal notes on lectures and do homework you'll be set for the exams

Professor Torrence's lecture is really clear and interesting. I personally like this topic so I found the lectures very engaging even though they are recorded videos. However, like other reviews said, the course is impacted and heavy in workload if you take it during summer. 8 hours of videos every week and lots of materials to learn and remember. You have to actually spend time understanding and memorizing some of the concepts to do well in exam.
All in all, I recommend this course if you are interested in linguistics and willing to work hard.

I wouldn't take this as an online SUMMER class. Since the videos are edited, he can fit in so much information into one video.
My friend who took this in class in Spring 2019 showed me the work he had to do. Come to find, the 6 week summer course and 10 week regular course have the exact same content. So they shoved 10 weeks of stuff into 6. It can be demanding (4-8 videos a week, each over 1 hour) but if you're good with your time, you can do it. I was taking another class along side this one and found problems juggling it all.
Online summer class has a final paper, final exam (cumulative), discussion sessions and homework. The class can be difficult in certain sections and it's hard to ask questions in discussion since it's online. There will be hundreds online at the same time with like 80 questions and they only have their allotted time to answer while also covering the lectures. I'm sure this class is fine in person. Professor Torrence is very charming and engaging. But as an online class, it can be just too much at times. Plus you have to pay to take the test online or go in person, which isn't ideal as a Summer course since many students are away and don't have $40 to dish out on a final. Overall not bad, would take it again but not over the summer.

The class was really interesting and easy. I came into this class not knowing anything about Linguistics and I thought it would be boring. But Torrence was engaging, funny and made me really like the material. The first midterm was a little disorganized but the second midterm and final were fine. He does listen to students and does care about student learning. He gave a couple REALLY easy pop quizzes during lecture to reward those who showed up and every time there was an actual quiz, he told us exactly what we needed to know and gave us more than enough time to learn it. People complained that he didn't give them enough time but he literally gave us two weeks to learn one sheet. Those people weren't paying attention/didn't show up to class. Even then though, he did push the quiz back so he really does listen to students and is concerned about student learning. Likewise, with the exams, he literally went through the slides and told us exactly what we needed to know and that was accurate. He didn't put anything on the test he didn't tell us to know. The homework was fine and was actually really helpful in preparing for the exams as the exams mimic the homework structure.

So overall it was a really fun and interesting class and I would definitely take Torrence again. It was a little more work than I was expecting but if you go in knowing that you're going to have homework and you'll have to study a bit, then it's actually pretty easy material.

I absolutely loved this class! I honestly find myself using the concepts I've learned almost every day in multiple different areas of my life. The first midterm was super straightforward, and I got a 98% from taking detailed notes (which was relatively easy because of the online lectures) and just a few hours of review the night before. The final was a bit more challenging because the material was a little tougher. There's also a 5 page paper due at the end of the quarter where you apply the concepts you've learned to your own personal experience with language, and you have to participate in a Psych study for 2% of your grade (don't wait til week 10 like me lol). Overall, the professor is extremely thorough and I'm happy I took the course!

This class was a terrible experience. Torrance was extremely unclear in his lectures and his homework was confusing. In addition, his TA's grading was inconsistent and homeworks that had the same answers as other classmates often scored differently. Finally, his tests were all unfairly scored and worded in a way that sought to confuse the students. I would NOT take another class with Torrance.

This class was more difficult than expected. However, if you put in time , you will get an A. The course was online and pre recorded lectures which were easy to follow.

I was so nervous to take this class because everyone told me I would regret it. They were so wrong. Prof Torrence is such a brilliant lecturer. Linguistics made seem boring from an outside perspective but Torrence explores the societal and neurological aspects of language in a very engaging way. The class consisted of 5 multiple choice homeworks, asynchronous lectures, 2 3-5 pg analysis papers (which were really easy and interesting), 1 multiple choice midterm (with lockdown browser), and 1 multiple choice final (w/ lockdown). The hardest part of this class would be learning phonetics and syntax structures but practice really does help. (I highly suggest enrolling in a PLF session if you're part of AAP). I took this class as a science GE (as a non-STEM major) and I didn't find it too difficult :)

I took this class during remote learning and it was very interesting. Most of the reviews on here stress that you cannot slack off, but honestly I started learning the material a few days before the exams and wrote the papers the day they were due and have done well above average. Professor Torrence's lectures are GREAT, interesting, and thorough. This class was a lot more work than it needed to be, though, as lectures were pretty redundant and the material could have been conveyed effectively with half the amount of work required. I would recommend this class ONLY to those looking for a easy, interesting GE that requires a little bit of work. It definitely is more work than some of the other GE's out there.

The content was super interesting and the professor was very engaging making the lectures easy to follow even though it was a virtual platform. The content was very heavy, however, and I remember spending a long time creating a midterm and final study guide as the professor used a lockdown browser for our test. Not the easiest class you can take, but fairly interesting and a medium workload.