DC
Sep 23, 2017
Extremely informational, well presented, with questions that stimulate reflection. The optional reading material is food for thought. I hope to see more courses from the same professor and University.
NI
Mar 10, 2021
The course was well-organised and very interesting. It covered the different aspects of linguistics wonderfully and prompted me to delve further into specific fields of linguistics such as phonetics.
By Ryan P
•Jul 29, 2024
It has been quite a learning experience! I was completely new to anything related to linguistics and now I have learnt so much about the fascinating world of the human-language relation. Special mention to Professor Marc, through whom I have been able to learn so much. Congratulations on such a fantastic and certainly recommendable course!
By Huber M
•May 26, 2019
¡Buenas tardes! Tomé el curso a manera de repaso de temas que tuve en la universidad en la materia de lingüística y terminó sorprendiéndome con temas que no había tratado antes. Me parece un curso excelente que te ofrece una visión general de las distintas ramas de la lingüística, con videos, ejemplos y ejercicios de reflexión y lectura.
By Daria S
•Nov 6, 2016
The course is itself a miracle. The topic has been presented in a very interesting way thanks to the Professor, his motivating way of teaching and his discussions with students. It was a challenge for me, it demanded a lot of own studying but I feel I have learned a lot about the topic and also got a motivation to learn more. Thank you.
By Катерина Б
•Oct 26, 2023
Even though I have a bachelor degree in Linguistics, it was an amazingly interesting course! Somehow it included the information I never came across during my studies, and I am deeply grateful to all the wonderfull people who created this course! There were mistakes or bugs sometimes, but I enjoyed it immensely, thank you very much!
By Chiun H Y
•Nov 14, 2020
Highly recommend for those who like to learn languages as their hobby but also want to know how languages work, in a scientific but playful way. All the videos, discussion, quizes are very helpful and inspiring. Although it's a short course, it gave me lots of insights and encouraged me to explore more about linguistics on my own.
By Cecilia C L R
•Nov 12, 2017
A wonderful course for those of us who love language and question ourselves about its acquisition, the disciplines that study it and the many factors that can modify it. Professor Marc van Oostendorp explains everything in a clear and simple way and makes one get involved in the course and wants to deepen the study of Linguistics.
By Ishtar J D J
•Mar 15, 2021
I loved this course! I was loston what I liked and this made me realize of how much I love linguistics. If I lived anywhere close Europe I would definetely go study the full Linguistic degree at Leiden University. I learned great things, enjoyed every quiz and assignment, just the best thing you could study if you love languages.
By Eve M
•Mar 2, 2018
This course is challenging, which is good. I was familiar with some of the material as my educational background is in psychology, but I learned a lot here and want to consolidate what I've learned. I didn't have time to do the peer graded assignments, but I might even retake the course to do so. The video lectures are great.
By SHEHR B Z
•Oct 28, 2021
Hi, as an introductory course to linguistics I found it quite interesting, informative and beneficial for my future endeavors in this field. All the videos, reading material, visit to lab, interviews were really superb. I appreciate the effort done by all the people involved especially Prof Marc, Marten and Igne. Thanks a lot
By Erin S
•Jun 27, 2017
A really excellent intro to linguistics! I found the lectures straightforward and engaging. The assigned readings were really high quality, and they included a nice variety of styles and formats. The quizzes were difficult (maybe sometimes unnecessarily so) but I think this makes enrollees really pay attention to the content.
By Leen A A
•Apr 9, 2022
As Martin said: "Everyone wants to study Linguistics after this course."
Well-prepared and explained. Effort is obvious, especially in the lastly added module 'Language in the Brain.'
Topics are nicely simplified to everyone interested in the field regardless of their level of knowledge.
Really appreciated and recommended.
By Daria Z
•Oct 25, 2020
The course is very concise, but informative. The professor structures his lectures in a very enthusiastic way, providing a lot of examples, illustrations and reading materials. I really liked the idea of combining lectures with discussions, mini quizzes and interviews with specialists from various fields of linguistics.
By Alison S
•Jan 2, 2018
Great variety of topics, perfect if you have no background in linguistics. Very impressed with the explanations of theory which were balanced with plenty of relevant examples. Some assignments seemed daunting at first, but the reading material provided was usually enough to pass the quizzes. Thanks for this course!
By firdaus
•Mar 31, 2018
In everyday life we don't even think about our privilege in communicating with each other as human beings and what a complex mechanism it is. From finite quantity of words we can build infinite number of meaningful sentences. Isn't that a miracle? The course was very interesting and useful. I am very thankful.
By Felipe S
•Jun 11, 2020
Quite complete, you can study many fields of linguistics and go deep into them by the readings and the special guests the course include within your weeks. It really helped me to decide what to study now and become a specialist in the field. I would recommend it completely. I'd love to see the second part of it.
By Arina R
•Jul 2, 2017
Great course, very interesting. The level is quite high compared to other courses. The quizzes really do test you knowledge very thoroughly. The teacher's enthusiasm is contagious, and the video's with the two students are a nice change of pace from watching just one person talk. All in all an excellent course.
By Annick K
•Oct 24, 2022
This course was very insightful and a great introduction to linguistics. When I signed up for it six weeks ago, I didn't know what to expect, and now I'm fascinated by the subject and want to explore more language related courses. Truly one of the miracles! Thank you for offering such in-depth studies online.
By Mari C
•Mar 22, 2021
Extremely interesting subject. The discussions were somewhat helpful as was the recommended/required reading. The professor presented the material in an easy to understand format. I am very happy to have taken this course. Looking forward to learning more about language acquisition, social language, etc.
By Alfonso H M
•May 20, 2019
I just simply loved this course. The best MOOC I have ever taken. Very well and easily explained with extremely engaging topics.
The only thing I would change would be to lower the percentage pass of the exams. Some of them are very difficult, especially the questions about the informants.
Thank you so much!
By Gracie C
•Jan 30, 2021
This was an absolutely stellar course. It was a nice overview of linguistics, and you guys even talked about different opinions in the field. I really hope you guys make more linguistics courses! Perhaps consider making ones that go into more depth about certain subfields, like phonology or morphology.
By Laura C
•Sep 6, 2017
This was my first course on Coursera! Really enjoyable and challenging as well. It reactivated my thirst for knowledge and made me feel like taking more courses. Many thanks to the professors and the students who participated in the videos and helped putting together such a wonderful series of lessons.
By Smira D
•Jun 26, 2020
The Course has been extremely helpful for my introduction to linguistics. As an ameture, I was reluctant if i'll be able to understand the course, but Prof and his students Marten and Inge made everything so easy and fun to learn. I have gained a lot of knowledge and it has been an amazing experience!
By Colleen S
•Jul 17, 2017
Highly recommended! This was my first Coursera course and I will never forget it. I took it before taking Linguistics at UMass. It helped me immensely and really got me interested in the subject. Now I am taking a TESOL certification course. To say this course opened doors for me is an understatement.
By Шушарина Д Ю
•Feb 10, 2021
Loved it. The course helped me understand what the science of languages is about a bit deeper. Which has helped me a lot to gain more knowledge at my own University. Thank you for the most interesting representation of such a difficult material. And special thanks for the interview with Noam Chomsky!
By Apoorva R B
•Oct 11, 2020
This course covers a lot of topics in Linguistics. The level of detail is just enough such that it remains continuously challenging and interesting, but not so deep that one can get lost in the details. I highly recommend taking this course if you're looking for a broad introduction to the subject.