Professoressa Truong is very sweet. This class really emphasizes student learning and is not going to be about hard grading. Do the homework assignments, which are biweekly, and make sure you do them before the class they are to prepare for even though she gives you a buffer of two days. I would say also go through the textbook, which doesn't take too long, because sometimes there will be material on the tests from the textbook that wasn't in class or on the Mindtap homework practices. I made flashcards on Notability which were really helpful!
There were three quizzes (Respondus) and three writing compositions total throughout the quarter. The quizzes were not bad. She opens up practice quizzes which I strongly recommend doing multiple times, until you 100% twice in a row. Then you will be golden for the real thing. I usually got like one wrong on these. There are Oral sections on the quizzes as well, for which you will record yourself speaking. She grades the Oral parts pretty hard too, so make sure you're really using the Italian pronunciations.
The compositions were also not bad. I could start and finish them in the same day. And she has a First draft and Final draft, so the overall grade is a combination, which is nice because if you apply all of her corrections then you're sure to get a 100% on the Final Draft (Stesura finale).
Class attendance is MANDATORY. Even if you are sick, she lets you submit annotations to that day's lecture slides for HALF credit... so you really can't miss class even if it is excused. One time I did ask her if I could make up full points to see my brother's graduation, though, and she said I could via a one-on-one Zoom. So really you can't miss class, especially because participation is so much credit.
Overall this is a great class, and definitely not one to worry about your grade in. I absolutely recommend if you are interested in learning Italian! I am not even taking it for any sort of credit as I have already completed my language requirement; just for fun! When else can you learn a language so intimately for (sort of) free??

This class was awesome! I originally signed up because I couldn't get into Spanish, but honestly it's been a great experience. Italian is a fun language and has lots of interesting culture, which you also get to learn about in this class. Prof Truong is the sweetest lady and really cares about the students and is passionate about the language. You do the Mindtap homework, then come to class and primarily do breakout room activities, which I found to be fun. It's very engaging and is better than having to sit through a lecture. If you're considering trying Italian or just want a fun GE, definitely take this class!

Having no background in Italian, I struggled in this class all quarter. Every class is taught in strictly Italian and at a very fast pace – which is understandable since there's so much to cover in so little time! Professor Truong does a great job of engaging her students with the material while teaching, making learning a new language slightly more enjoyable. She is very helpful and genuinely cares about her students. She goes out of her way to make sure that all of her students are doing well and offers advice/tips throughout the quarter that can boost your grade. & Although the amount of work she assigns for this class is a lot, she forces you to actually practice and learn the material which is something I appreciated.

With little to no background in Italian and Spanish, I took Italian 1 to begin my language requirement thinking it would entail the basics of Italian. For the most part, it was. But Truong is a complete mess. She means well and often extends deadlines if people struggle to complete assignments, but her availability is slim and she disregards students who can't keep up with her pace (which is somewhat fast). She would constantly email random new assignments that are due as early as a few hours before class, so you need to check your emails often. The homework and tests are easy, she just wasn't an enjoyable professor. Would not recommend.

I honestly believe that she is a great teacher for an Intro class.

She's really sweet, at first it seems really intimidating because the first day she speaks ALL IN ITALIAN.

But you'll find that it's not that bad, she'll only ever ask you to repeat her and she gives examples of what she wants to hear from you.
If you don't understand she'll keep asking in different ways, or ask someone else to explain to the whole class and if no one knows what she's saying she'll switch to English.

I really liked her: she really forces you to learn and practice Italian.