Rachelle Waksler

Dr. Waksler is not only a skilled linguist, who knows her subject well, but she is also incredibly conscious of her teaching in a way that facilitates the learning of students of all levels. Everything is presented in an extremely clear way, but she never dumbs down material. She teaches in such a way that any student can succeed in her courses as long as they put in some effort of their own. For those who learn best through lecture (rather than reading), she is the ideal teacher. I would strongly recommend her as a professor to any student interested in language/linguistics.

It'll build you up a solid foundaiton in the lingustic area if you take Dr. Waksler's ENG 420. She's the best professor I've met so far in SFSU. She's also very informative and patient in class and during her office hours. No matter how stupid the Qs are, she'll answer me in a very polite and explict way. I guess she'll check this website from time to time, if you're reading this message now, Dr. Waksler, "Thank you very much!"

Professor Waksler did a very good job. Her lectures were clearly organized and outlined. There are 3 midterms and 1 final exam which make up 90% of your grade. The great thing is, she will drop your lowest test grade, PLUS if you've done well on the first three exams, you don't have to take the final at all. The book is useful, but unnecessary to pass the class - all of the exams are based on lectures. There are also 2 projects/papers (5 pages each) that make up the other 10% of your grade. They're really not too bad, they were actually kind of fun. She assigns homework almost every day, but doesn't collect it. Overall I'd say this was a pretty good and informative class. The material can be difficult at times, but Professor Waksler is good about making sure you understand and are able to succeed.

The projects were a little hard for the level of the class but they're not worth too many points, so it wasn't a big deal. Other than that, I have no complaints about this teacher whatever. She's extremely good at her job and I'd take her for every class if I could.

Not much to say that everyone else hasn't noted. Dr. W. gives engaging lectures. When the material is particularly difficult, she finds many different ways to present it so that everyone in class has a chance to get the point. Assignments are approachable, challenging, and productive. She has excellent people skills, and includes for gravy a very helpful approach that broadens our understanding of diversity issues. I recommend Dr. Waksler very highly.

She's so confident, she actually tells us to come here and review her. And it's not just 'cause she's cocky, she's really good, too. The tests are fair, and her lectures are absolutely well organized. My only warning is that she sometimes hops on a soap box, but when a professor is that good, she can afford it.

Rachelle Waksler is a fabulous, entertaining, clear and feminist professor of the highest caliber. She distills the essentials of basic linguistics into an understandable format. This is one of the most important courses I've taken in my college career. In the course I learned the reasons why languages like "Ebonics" are real languages--there really is no valid reason to believe anything else. Also, information about different dialects and speech communities laid to rest a lot of questions I had about the differences among people. This is an essential course for anyone interested in human communication. Dr. Waksler's teaching style should serve as a model for other professors--she makes learning accessible without insulting students' intelligence. You can skip most of the dense, redundant and dry textbook if you attend every class. Her tests are based on lecture only. Don't show up late or ask her about missing assignments. Review your English grammar beforehand. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the first few classes; she shifts gears quickly starting with the unit on syntax.

I took Eng 420:Introduction to Language, an introductory linguistics course, to satisfy segment three requirement and to learn about the basics of language acquisition and production. I feel thoroughly satisfied on all counts. Professor Waksler provided a well organized and cogent syllabus that detailed the course objectives, her expectations, and the schedule of readings, videos and lectures. Both animated and articulate, she was an erudite and stimulating lecturer. Always starting on time and announcing her planned lecture I knew what to expect. Dr. Waksler spoke clearly and loudly enough for everyone to hear and understand what she was saying. She repeated and answered student's questions in the same manner. There was never any confusion about what to expect; she always kept the class up to speed on upcoming tests and projects. Students could count on her to be in class at least five minutes before and five minutes after every class meeting.

Exams were promptly returned and discussed in class as were the two semester projects. All were challenging and required good note taking and listening skills. Dr. Waksler always told the class the most salient aspects of the course material on which she would test--there were no surprises.

If any student is considering taking a class that introduces the principles of linguistics taught by a humorous and thoughtful scholar:TAKE THIS CLASS!

she is a great teacher who knows and loves the subject she teaches. she's got a lot of energy and a wonderful, strong voice that keeps your attention. we had four multiple choice exams, each worth the same amount of points, and she dropped the lowest grade of the four. she welcomes questions and never acts as if you asked a stupid one (as some profs do). although i am a literature major, after i finished her class i seriously considered changing to linguistics (too late). you can tell that she enjoys teaching and wants her students to like language as much as she does.

She is the best. She is an artist full of passion and knowhow. She knows the subject inside and out, and knows how to deliver it to you. She has a gift for keeping the class awake and excited on a subject that would send most people to sleep. But she won't be able to make up for all those years in which you didn't learn how to tell apart a subject and a verb.

Do you yourself a favor and take Prof. Waksler's class. Prof. Waksler has an unbelievable grasp on the subject she is lecturing on. She has the best lecture voice I've ever heard. Her voice is clear, upbeat, and it keeps you wide awake(even after an all night study session).Prof. Waksler is by far the best the Linguistics department has to offer and they have some good teachers. That's all I can say.

Prof Waksler is a very brilliant person. She is energetic and engaged with her materials and students and genuinely enjoys teaching. Her class was arduous but she did manage to imapart much practical knoweldge to the large auditorium of students- not an easy task. My only hesitation in giving her an 'A' rating (and it may be due more to the intimidating class size than anything) is that it was fairly easy to get lost in her class and she really couldn't take the time to go over things in class- even when it seemed most people were not understanding what she was teaching enough to continue without having a few things (like vowel and consonnant sounds and other audial distinctions that one couldn't pick up at home with one's notes ) clarified or repeated. She's got a strong New York (no bullshit) sensibility and while she wears this well generally, at times it can steamroll over you to the point where you just permit certain audio information to be lost rather than risk her losing her momentum. Unfortunately, because of her strong accent, I sometimes found it difficult to get certain sounds down correctly even once I spoke with her after class during office hours. Basically, though, this woman really does know her stuff.

The teacher is knowledgeable about, and full of energy for, the subject matter. She provides and grades homework frequently. She grades tests and homework generously. There was no required text for the course. Be prepared to diagram sentences for the entire semester with little variation.

Rachelle Waksler was my advisor when I was working on my BA in English (concentration in Language Studies). Although I finished the program in 1995, I still remember her as the very model of what a caring and effective professor should be.

She has the unique ability of illustrating technical linguistic concepts with easily-understood, common examples from real life.

Put it this way - although I am no longer studying linguistics, I still occasionally look through my ENG 420 textbooks and I can remember her lectures on each section vividly. I can say this about no other professor at SFSU.

I am grateful to her for the insruction and guidance she provided as I made my way through my undergraduate degree.

Waksler is the best teacher I have had at S.F.S.U. If you like linguistics, take classes with Waksler. Her expertise in her feild is impecable; her teaching style is what she calls "socratic" but it also is enhanced by her acting experiences. She has a rare combination of rigor and humor. homework is mostly non-credit, but always graded, the workload is not overbearing, but she always grades with honesty and impatiality. She has always been helpful durring office hours and gone out of her way to provide additional office time. I worked hard for an "A" in 421, in 420 I received an "A" with moderate effort, because my intrest in linguistics had already provided some backround knowledge. Her tests in 420 are multiple choice, and certain answers are arguable. some questions were ambiguos. In 421, all tests and homework are exercises in sentence diagraming. It is imposible to bullshit Waksler, but she is fair in grading and relevant in testing.

Intro to Language sounds like a boring topic, but Waksler made it totally interesting. She incorporated anecdotes from her experiences in different countries and schools and gave the material a more "human" side. She had a few tests and discarded the lowest score at the end of the semester. Her tests were not extremely difficult, but not easy either. They all required attendance in her classes and attentiveness to her lectures, but that is what tests should be about. Usually in classes, I write letters when I'm bored, but I was never bored in her class. All her information was interesting and kept my interest. I took the class because I had planned to minor in English, but I changed my mind. But even then, I did not consider it a waste to take this class.

Waksler is an incredible teacher with an astounding breadth of knowledge and a gift for translating advanced knowledge into a form that beginners can understand. Although some students are "put off" at first by her powerful presence, she is actually extremely patient and very approachable; I should know -- I spent a lot of time w/her during office hours trying to make sense of phonological techniques. Workloads for her classes are reasonable and are clearly articulated at the beginning of the semester. Waksler's expectations for students are high (I think this is good) and her grading is fair-to-slightly tough. As previous reviewers have noted, her performing arts background is also a plus -- she is one of the more entertaining lecturers around!