Jagdish P. Jain

If you condensed all the actual information imparted onto you in this class, you'd have about an hour of lecture. Professor Jain manages to stretch this incredibly meagre content into a full semester's worth of lecturing. He repeats himself at almost every class meeting, and prefers to talk about politics than linguistics. Even if you agree with his extremely liberal politics (which I do), his constant ripping on Bush, Christians, etc. is totally inappropriate for the classroom. Metaphor is a pretty easy class because you only have to write one paper and nothing else, and frankly you don't need to come to class very often to get an A on the paper (and thus in the class) but it was also an extremely boring and aggravating class. I wouldn't recommend him.

I found this class frustrating, especially because I have grown fond of another professor, Dr. Waksler, who also teaches this class (unfortunately that class was full last semester and I couldn't work it into my schedule this time). Dr. Jain is a terrible communicator, which is obviously one of the most important parts of teaching. He presented the material, but was unclear on a lot of points, would use odd phrasing that made it unclear whether he was using a technical name or just calling something by that name casually, and never understood students' question and thus was unable to answer them. I found his class boring and frustrating, and will avoid taking him in the future.

I took Prof. Jain for 2 classes. And basically his style is simple and straight forward. At first I was a bit taken a back by his gruff manner. But he is willing to give you suggestions direct and to the poin as they may be if you go to his office hours. I spoke up in class and asked direct questions when I didn't understand and that's what his class requires. Also I thought his humorous ways of interjecting his political views in the class were amusing. Although others found it annoying. He only gave three test so the best way to pass the class is to do what he does in class for homework. I struggled but made it. Enjoy the ride this is a required class :) for most who take it

The class was the Structure of English (Linguistics) so why was the bulk of my class time spent listening to him complain and make snide remarks about politics. "Left of the left" is correct, as a previous reviewer put it--far left of the left. But that isn't my problem with him, I just wanted to learn the subject and get out of there. I don't understand where political indoctrination fits into a class that essentially teaches you how to diagram sentences. His lecture style is worse than bad, but everything makes sense if you are consciencious and do the assigned reading beforehand. Lazy or stupid students will probably do poorly in this class unless they join in the Bush bashing fun on a frequent basis. He is not at all sympathetic to personal crisis. I had a perfect score (100%) in his class up until the final (which was simply a re-hash of other tests I'd taken and received 100% on) I did slightly less well on the final due to the 3 times I had to leave the classroom to vomit and the 103 fever I had at the time. This I told him, but he refused to excuse me from the exam or let me reschedule it dispite my obvious "discomfort" and also refused to take my illness into account in the final grade: hence the A-. He is crass and rude and very offensive. He also wore the same pair of pants with a wad of gum stuck to the seat of them for a week straight, and he enjoys leaving his shirt unbuttoned almost to his navel exposing his chest hair. Unprofessional is a huge understatement. Rational students who just want to learn should avoid this teacher at all costs.

I have nothing bad to say about this man. If you fall back it's your own fault. Handle your business, and it's really not bad. He has a very satiric sense of humor and I can't say I ever fell asleep. His left of the left comments kept me awake and laughing. If you don't like to think and learn, then maybe he isn't for you.

If you are coming to class to learn, you will do so with Professor Jain. It is true that he is not the most tactful professor I've had when it comes to fielding student questions. I wonder how much time the student who said that would happen only if a student never came to class actually speant monitoring the attendance of his peers. I never missed a day and was broadly acknowledged as the student who most know what was going on in class. And there were times when I felt that Professor Jain was quick to judge when a question was being asked, whether it was me or another student asking.

Does this mean that his people skills are weak? He manner of answering questions is clearly a people-skills weakness, but overall, I felt that professor Jain was committed to his work and genuinely cared for his students. He was available for office hours whenever I went looking, and I always felt welcomed and appreciated in his office.

So everyone will have to decide for themselves how important his manner of fielding questions is. I got an outstanding education from Dr. Jain. If I had it to do over again, however, I might take the course from Dr. Waksler. She is also brilliant and, additionally creates a friendlier learning environment.

Other comments: It is true that the textbooks are pretty different from what he teaches. Professor Jain makes it clear that these texts are the best available. As a University Professor, perhaps he could do something about that. Homework, when assigned is often helpful, and he does go over it in class. Most of the assignments, however are afterthoughts, and he doesn't seem to make sure that we are prepared for the exercises he gives. There often seems to be a problem or two that we just haven't been given tools to deal with until they come up in class.

Bottom line: Professor Jain, despite his slight shortcomings, is a good professor who gets the job done. I was well-prepared for his final, and I learned a lot during the course of the semester. It would be irresponsible to give him less than a satisfactory grade.

I had Jain for both 421 and 424 and I found him to be an excellent teacher. Many people complain about his bedside manner. If it is pampering you want go see your mother. He is thorough and explains the subject matter so that you are able to understand the material. The classes were required. They would not be classes I would have taken but he makes them as painless as possible and informative at the same time.

Like many of the reviewers, I found Jain's class very difficult at first. The material, while interesting, seemed fairly advanced for an introductory course. I question why this class is a requirement for Literature majors while the History of English is not, but that's a different issue. It was obvious to me that he loved the subject, and wanted us to love it too. He is by far the most educated and informed professor I had at SFSU, but seems to have a difficult time relaying his knowledge to the students. He can be quite snippy and rude at times, and like many extremely intelligent people has little patience for the intellectually less fortunate. He's certainly entitled to his opinions, but I don't think that kind of attitude is appropriate for the classroom. Jain is a bundle of contradictions, best illustrated by his two favorite phrases: "There are no stupid questions" and "How can you ask that?" He does have a sense of humor, and suprised my class with it a few times, but it's buried under a mountain of cynicism. He does teach by repitition, which is helpful to solidify new knowledge, but is maddening if you didn't grasp it the first time around. (Sort of akin to shouting a phrase at someone over and over in a language they don't speak) He doesn't like to answer questions about things he's already discussed, regardless of whether the class understood it originally. Overall, he's a brilliant man with people skills that can be described (as nicely as possible) as extremely lacking. If you don't mind being belittled and confused from time to time, he is the last word in linguistics.

When I think of this professor, I think of everything that is wrong with tenure. Give power and security to someone who is condescending, unresponsive, unconcerned about fairness, and who doesn't like to work and is a mediocre teacher, and there you have it: A college-level frustration directly arrived from your elementary school nightmare.

I think Prof. Jain is a nice teacher. He might look cool at the first meeting or two, but he actually really cares for his students. He has a repetition teaching method, which is good for students, so they can have strong basic principles for the subject. Just show up to class everytime and more importantly, pay attention to what he says, then you'll get it. 2 exams- midterm and final. They both contain 5-6 sentences and you need to draw tree diagrams.

The 2 texts did not support the lectures, tests, or homework. They are written in an unclear, wordy, academic style which is painfully boring to read. The instructor did not grade homework. There were only two homework assignments. The instructor did not always answer questions in class clearly or willingly. Lectures were never varied with any media, group work, or visual presentations besides writing on the chalkboard and occasional handouts. One practice mid-term exam was the only preparation for the final exam: the entire grade. The instructor does know the material well.

If you're going to take any class from Prof.Jain, this is the one to take. The class focuses on theories of cognitive linguistics, a subject that is very near and dear to his heart, and most of the lectures are interesting and even engaging. As in 421 and 424, his style is still quite repetitious, and the final project is 100% of the grade. I had taken him for one of those classes earlier and intensely disliked his style, but by the end of 723 I found myself actually becoming fond of him despite it. Unfortunately, this class is usually taught only in the mornings three times a week; it can be hard to motivate yourself to get there when you know that 45 out of the 50 minutes is going to be repetitious. What the heck -- as an earlier reviewer said, this prof. is not for everyone. Check it out yourself.

Trust me that those of who hasn't taken his class yet, he'll be your most outstanding, most influential instructor of life. Remember when your grandpa was telling you old stories and you finding yourself just listening without a doubt? That's exactly how I feel when I'm in his classroom, because he's alway accurate, confident, and even considerate of what he says.

If you want a college level of intellectual experience, take Dr.Jain's class. It is almost scary to think how much he knows things about from language study to the field of science. He is alway absolute, but never be arrogant. I do understand why some students can't appreciate his class and I really feel sorry for those. But just be in the classroom and listen carefully what point he's trying to make. You'll truly be satisfied by knowing where the tuition went.

I truly enjoyed the classes I took with Professor Jain. It is definitely an adult experience--his classes are intellectually engaging, and he does not baby students in any way. I know that Jain is somewhat controversial, and I feel sorry for the students who didn't get the same thing out of the class that I did. My advice to those taking his classes is just to show up -- there are no tricks with Jain; he will test you on class content. I also think students should be aware of cultural differences; I think many mistake his Indian speech patterns for brusqeness.

I JUST SIMPLY HAVE TO TELL YOU ALL NUMB HEADS THAT HE'S THE BEST INSTRUCTOR ON CAMPUS! HE KCLEARLY KNOWS WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT AND HE'S ALWAY READY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. SOME NUTS DON'T LIKE HIS TEACHING METHOD THAT'S ONLY BECUASE OF THEIR LAZINESS. IF YOU WANNA LEARN SOMETHING, YOU GOTTA COME TO CLASS AND TAKE NOTES, DICKHEADS. HE CARES ABOUT HIS STUDENTS SO MUCH AND HE CERTAINLY DOES LOVE HIS JOB. AN AMAZING INSTRUCTOR. HE'S BOTH INCREDIBLY INTELLIGENT, ALSO INSIGHTFUL.

People are just pissed because a foreigner knows more about their language than they do. Xenophobes!!! If you want an A, take Jain. I cannot imagine people not being able to get this class. 100% of your grade coming from the final is sweet. Saves me the time of having to constantly reread and redo shit over and over. I'm an adult in his class. Nice change. If I, a Liberal Studies Major, can understand this class, than anyone can.

Whatever you do, do not listen to the negative reviews. One thing that I need to clarify quickly is this: if you ask questions, YOU WILL NOT BE RIDICULED. I was always raising my hand, and never once was Dr. Jain rude to me. Now, if you ask a stupid question about something that was covered twenty days ago, then expect him to be exxasperated - especially if you DITCHED THE CLASS FOR A MONTH - which is what a lot of these reviewers did. Oh, trust me; a lot of people thought they would ace this class, and got too comfortable with themselves too early on in the semester. They ditched many classes, and when they returned towards finals, they were very surprised to find out they were very behind, and completely lost. Dr. Jain loves students who ask INTELLIGENT questions, and welcomes people in his office hour to ask them in further detail. Some say he is impersonal. What do they want? Do these people get invites for dates with other instructors? He is very professional - a nice change for SOME of the English instructors at SFSU. He doesn't test you every two seconds to see if you are doing your work because you are an ADULT; that is why your final will be 100% of your grade. If you are going to class, listening to the lectures, and doing your work, then what is the problem here? Dr. Jain makes a difficult subject easy. The book is hard to read, but he lectures on the material you've read the next class meeting. Like I said, if you ditch the class, you will FAIL THE CLASS. Don't listen to these "pinche pendejos." Do your work, and you will be fine. I did, and I am. =)

I gather from some of these comments that Dr. Jain is not for everybody; but he is certainly for me. If you are a student who is used to coming to class each time and paying attention to lectures, then he is for you too. Yes, Dr. Jain did kid with people in English 421 and 424 who asked questions, but this kidding was never vindictive or angry (indeed it was charming and humorous), and generally the kidding came on questions whose answers students had missed just a few minutes earlier. Otherwise, I found Dr. Jain's organization and clarity of presentation on quite complex subjects excellent, and thought his well-placed reiteration of important points useful in determining what I would need to focus on in exam revision. The midterms were mock midterms, to see how we were doing -- he certainly fed back well on that; the final was not difficult, and a direct result of precisely everything we had covered in class. If anything, I found the classes a little easier than I had expected, and I attribute this partly to the clarity in which Dr. Jain presented the material. I learned a great deal in these classes that I have thought about ever since.

Professor Jain makes a complicated subject very easy. He offers plenty of repetition and exercises so that if you don't understand something the first time, you will certainly understand it the second or third. There is one student in my class who shows up only once or twice a week, if at all, and then takes offense when Prof. Jain becomes annoyed with her for asking questions on material that we've already covered several times over. If you ask me, he shouldn't answer her questions at all, but rather drop her from the class so she doesn't continue to annoy the rest of us. If you are someone like this student who thinks you can show-up as seldom as you please, don't take this class! However, if you are someone who doesn't mind going to every single class or making-up a missed one during office hours, then you will find this class very, very easy and you will certainly be rewarded with a much better understanding of the English language as well as a big "A" for your transcripts. I spend virtually no time studying and only a few minutes per week on homework. Don't be discouraged by the fact that the final is 100% of your grade. It makes sense since this course covers one specific theory which can only be understood in its entirety. I would definitely take Prof. Jain again if I could.

Professor Jain's teaching methods do not work for me. His lectures are very repetitious and mind-numbingly boring. (I have heard foreign students with shaky knowledge of English say that they prefer his lectures because they find the extensive repetition helpful. Personally, I found this method a waste and a bore.) The final exam was 100% of the grade. He did not assign exercises along the way to test students' developing knowledge and give them feedback about their progress. He did not welcome questions -- he ridiculed questioners. Then he would return to class after break, assuring us that "there are no stupid questions," but when someone dared to ask a question again, he would continue his insults. He is the only professor I've had whose classes I resented paying for. A total burn out case, if you ask me.

Dr. Jain is very organize and he has this amazing ability to make everything so easy. He will explain everything clearly and make sure that everybody understands. I admire his knowledge of English language.

He also has a very special sense of humor. I really have learnt a lot in this class.