I took Ling20 with professor Kennedy in the fall of my 1st year. Overall the lectures were boring, but the professor was good. Online quiz every Tuesday and an online assignment (50% of grade) due every Friday afternoon. Midterm and final weren't super difficult if you study. Easy GE class but don't expect to be wowed by the material.
I liked Kennedy a lot as a person, however the class was a little more difficult than anticipated. But he is very good at answering student questions. 50% of your grade comes from weekly homework assignments that are relatively easy to complete if you understand the concepts. 20% midterm 20% final 10% online quizzes you take on the readings 1x/week
I changed my major and avoided several classes because of this guy. He doesn't care about his students, only enjoys hearing himself speak. Have fun spending hours memorizing useless info that isn't applicable to anything else but his boring class. Terrible.
I'd take a class with Kennedy again, but mainly because it was so easy. Truthfully, I just didn't enjoy his lectures. It's a cool class, but it felt like we didn't start covering real world issues until the last 3 weeks. The first weeks mainly involved him complaining about trivial linguistics issues. He's a nice guy, but the class wasn't for me.
I came in thinking I wouldnt have to try at all and that was a mistake lol. Its not hard but you do have to put in some effort. Theres 4 assignments (40%), 1 midterm (20%), group project (20%), & final (20%). The group project was not that bad it was easy (if your group is cool).
He is one of the easiest teacher in UCSB. Only four super easy assignments for whole quarter and each only takes like an hour or two to finish. Plus, the instructions are clear so students can write it easily even they don't attend the class.
Professor Kennedy is one of the best lecturers I have came across so far! He is funny, he is passionate about the subject making it easier to stay focused. He is also an approachable guy! Very woke. I reeeeaaaally recommend this class!!!!
Great teacher who clearly knows the stuff and is always making such an effort. The classes are interesting and sometimes even funny. His office hours were very helpful and interesting too and the assignments and midterms are easy. You'll get an A if you put a little effort in.
A kind and responsible lecturer. He talks about linguistic topics clearly and makes a great outline. Lecture slacks posted online. Maybe sometimes lectures are boring but that's because of the characteristics of linguistics itself. Heavy homework and heavy reading, but you can learn a lot. Actually, tests are not so hard.
Ling 20 covers a TON of info, but when it came to the midterm and final, we were tested on only a small portion of it. Tests/midterms are reasonable if you UNDERSTAND info; homework is graded very seriously. Although Dr. Kennedy can be a little monotone, he's an interesting and kind professor who cares about linguistics, so lectures are worth it.
I took this class as a GE thinking it would be easy but it was really difficult, not in terms of tests but in terms of content. This class has an excessive amount of material for an introductory class. Homework is 50% of your grade so it's a good idea to go to TA office hours and check your work. Tests are relatively easy.
Honestly, for me, it was an incredibly easy class with a great professor. I never opened a textbook for it and it was more than possible to do very well. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but this class caused very little stress. Rockin professor too. Cool dude.
took him for Ling20 over the summer. Great professor, meh TA, but he was really good at explaining things. Office hours are also really helpful and he's really understanding. It was pretty hard though, so you'd have to use the textbook a bit.
Really easy, to the point tests. Pay attention in lecture and youll get a good grade on the exams. He can get really boring and writing down everything he says is unnecessary. Overall, hes really funny and what he teaches is very interesting.
Took this class to fulfill GE. His lectures were super interesting and often times funny as well. Linguistics as a subject didn't really resonate with me, but he made the class more interesting. Tests were pretty difficult if you didnt read and stay engaged in the material in class. Stay on top of it and you should be okay.
Lots of information is given during lecture. Do the homework and reading and you should be fine. Throws in some jokes to lighten up the mood at times. Unfortunately my learning style clashes with his teaching, but he's still a great professor and very helpful.
Ling 70 with Kennedy was the perfect GE to take. There's four super easy homework assignments and a group project that takes very little effort to complete. Don't buy the textbook--never cracked the book open and still got an A. The tests were really easy too. It wasn't the most exciting class but Kennedy's still a solid choice.
4 assignments throughout the quarter but not too bad. I realized pretty fast if you write more that might not be the top answer thats better than writing less and a better answer. Group project presented week before finals; however, super easy so dont sweat that. Just read slides he posts online and do study guide he gives out.
Prof. Kennedy is the definition of #woke. Although he tries to add in humor, his lectures are generally boring but I learned a lot. Ling70 was an easy A and a super easy class to fulfill the WRT GE. I attended all the lectures, did all my assignments on time, didn't do any of the readings and got an A.
I overall enjoyed taking LING 20. Prof. Kennedy is extremely knowledgeable... but sometimes fails to explain things in a way that a student (who has never taken a LING class) can understand. There are online tests every week. Section helps a lot, but this course is difficult. I studied and attended every lecture and ended with 86.7%.
Kennedy actually cares about what he's teaching and wants to be there. As long as you do the reading and do the homework you'll get an A, the final and midterm combined are only 40% of your grade which makes it easy to pass!
An amazing professor who really does care about his students. He's very knowledgeable about everything and anything linguistics-- if you are lucky enough to have him as a professor then you know he can make anything interesting. Not an easy A, but doable if you put forth the effort
Professor Kennedy is easily of the best overall professors here at UCSB. His class is laid-back and he is straight forward in his teaching. There are usually 2 homework quizzes a week that he assigns based on the textbook. He is well rounded, funny, and a very understanding professor if you communicate with him. Would easily take his class again.
I didn't really enjoy the class since it doesn't have much to do with my major. The professor, however, is funny, interesting, and straightforward with his lectures. There is a lot of memorization.