Lecture isn't mandatory but strongly recommended. He posts all the lecture slides online but the context given in class is whats on the midterm/final. He's a great lecturer and really helpful in office hours and this is an easy GE course for Area C.

Professor Kennedy is a nice human being, but an awful professor. I took ling 15 assuming it would be an easy GE based on the course description; it was not. His lecture slides are incredibly unhelpful, and his explanations of them are usually not much better. Useless readings, unclear content, overall more difficult than necessary if taken for a GE

I loved this class and Kennedy! I don't really like linguistics but Kennedy was such a good lecturer that I really enjoyed the class. Kennedy is down to earth and really enthusiastic about what he teaches. Also the unit on digital media and the internet was really interesting, especially seeing him teaching us about memes.

Professor Kennedy was a great lecturer. If you want to do well listen and take notes on what he says versus what is on the screen. There was 5 homework assignments which counted for 50% of your grade. The TAs take long to grade though. The midterm and final are multiple choice, long-answer and short-answer but if you pay attention it is fine.

Professor Kennedy is a nice man, but the class itself is disorganized and tedious. His lectures skip back and forth and is filled with jargon, making it unnecessarily difficult to comprehend simple concepts that could be explained in a second. Make sure you listen and take notes on his speaking, as the PowerPoints are often confusing and pointless.

Bob is one hell of a professor. His subtle comedic genius makes class entertaining and engaging. His wording makes the material very approachable & understandable and his Hawaiian shirts make everything that much better. 10/10 recommend, Bob is great!

Very disorganized and monotone. He seems like such a nice guy but the class is unbearable :( Jumps from one topic to another. Assigns too much reading.

Kennedy is a fun professor that can make linguistics pretty interesting. Attendance is not necessary if you're just trying to pass because he posts all slides online but to get an A you need to be in lecture. Midterm and Final aren't too bad but definitely require some studying.

First time this class is being taught. No required reading for the class and the lectures are posted online. 5 assignments due throughout the quarter that are pretty easy. However, the midterm and final required a good amount of studying.

Great professor, fair and clear. He's the nerdy and kinda goofy type, but really funny and really helpful. I wasn't looking forward to the class at all, but he made it totally enjoyable and one of my favorite classes at UCSB. I would definitely take another class from him.

Informational lectures, one of the nicest professors I've had, clear grading requirements. One of the best GEs.

Prof. Kennedy explained concepts really well in lecture, but the readings for this class were pretty dense and there were weekly quizzes on them. However, we were allowed to attempt the homework as many times as we needed which was really nice. Tests weren't worth that much of our grade so it was easier to do well in the class.

He's pretty funny and engaging during lectures, but the material itself felt pretty dry -- a lot of memorization without as much explanation as to why these things were interesting and important. Overall, though, he's a pretty solid prof and not a very tough grader.

Professor Kennedy was not a terrible professor but he wasn't amazing either. The lectures are extremely dense with confusing slides and I often found it challenging to keep up with the content The midterm and final were mildly difficult. I'd take him again if I had to, but wouldn't actively choose to.

Dense lectures, however clear expectations and tests do not impact grade too heavily

Very nice professor and funny too. It's not a hard class and you can pass even if you fail both the midterm and final. However, the book is very boring and has many terms to memorize. You also have to take reading quizzes every week but are allowed to retake them until you get 100%. It was a cool topic but got confusing quickly.

Weekly quizzes you could retake until you get 100%. Midterm and Final aren't a big portion of your grade so even if you fail both you'll pass by doing all the small assignments. Professor is nice and funny but the class is just confusing if you don't really care about linguistics. Definitely read the assigned textbook (which you can find online).

As someone uninterested in linguistics, this class managed to hold my attention. Shout out to Noam Chomsky. Unfortunately, the textbook was a dry, protracted, loathsome work. Some of the chapters were void of information like pragmatics and discourse. Others were a jumbled mess of crucial definitions and concepts. Cool professor. Lame book.

Manageable workload, just get a head start on studying for midterm/final because there are a lot of concepts to learn. Very nice professor and interesting material in the lectures...recommend attending because he doesn't post full slides and his explanations are very helpful.

While this class is not difficult in terms of course material, this prof just makes his content and concepts so boring and unmotivating to learn. I cannot understate just how boring and underwhelming this class was. If you take this class beware that you will not find the concepts interesting one bit, but you will pass! So....

Prof. Kennedy is great. The workload is manageable and the lectures are engaging (mostly, there are a few boring parts). My only complaint is that there are no practice tests available and there seemed to be a bit of miscommunication b/w him and the TAs about what to prioritize reviewing for the tests.

Kennedy is a nice guy, this is a fine class. Boring if you don't care about ling as a subject, but easy homework. His exams are no longer online though, which means u have to pay attention. Relatively easy, but ur TA can skew that the other way if ur unlucky. Nice Area C requirement, but nothing extraordinary. He's funny n pretty sassy too.

his final is cumulative, which sucks. the material isn't super difficult just takes a while to grasp an understanding of. he doesn't post lectures unless you directly email him for them, so you do have to attend those. overall, the course isn't super difficult but you have to pay attention in class.

Prof Kennedy is an awesome guy! His lectures are really interesting and he has a great sense of humor. SUPER understanding and really does care about his students. Tests are reasonable if you attend the lectures. Most of the test content comes from lectures. Eli review assignment is easy points if you do all parts. 100% would recommend this class.