Definitely a very challenging class, considering that it is a language class. Quizzes and finals are very difficult as someone who has no Italian background and started learning from Italian 1. Hoang seems to purposely lower the class average on written compositions and I don't get why she purposely does that. Hoang is a great teacher but she needs to understand that not only this is a language class, but that her student's future depends on grades which is a reflection of her teaching ability. There is no cap to how many students gets A so why make it so difficult.

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??

Pros:
*Speaks very well
*One of the few Italian professors who is actually willing to explain something in English

Cons:
*Lots of extra work
*Frequent tests

Overall: Good, not great. Very sweet, and willing to help you.

She definitely knows the language very well, but I often disliked her teaching methods and spent a lot of time studying on my own. I ended up with an A-, but I don't think I learned as much as I could have. She is very concerned about students learning the material, but her class somehow lowered my love of Italian. I wouldn't not take a class because she's teaching it, but if you have the option of taking a different teacher, try to do so.

Hoang is one of the best Italian teachers I have had so far. Although there is quite a jump between Italian 5 and 6, she challenges her students just enough for them to develop a strong understanding of the material without too much stress.

Her teaching style is really laid back; she even allows you to call her by her first name. She's always around and willing to help, but don't go looking for pity when she knows that you've been slacking.

Hoang is ok. She really knows what she is talking about, and is fluent in Italian, Vietnamese, and English, also a little French. Her class is not hard, but honestly, she is my least favorite Italian teacher so far. Maybe this is because I had a really outstanding Italian 1 professor and a really cool Italian 3 professor (Pescatori, who really is Italian, like from Venice) I would never not take Italian because she is teaching it, at all. She makes sure you understand. Just like for any language course, though...GO TO CLASS, especially since most are every day. You don't want to miss too many days, especially in a row, or else you will get really lost really fast.

Professor Truong was just OK. There was definitely a jump in work load between Italian 5 and 6, but it wasn't too difficult. There were five two page compositions and two oral presentations, plus the usual two quizzes, midterm and final.

Truong was a moderately fair grader overall, but I felt like she could get a little nit-pickey especially when grading the compositions. Also, she doesn't explain her assignments very well.

Troung was definitely more strict than the other Italian teachers I've taken--she makes you turn in the homework and other busywork, which made me feel like I was back in high school. But overall, if you're one of those people who has done all of your assignments throughout Italian 1-5, I'd say you'd be fine.

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.

I really liked Truong! She is sweet as can be and is a very good teacher. I was skeptical at first of having a Vietnamese woman teach me Italian, but she is so fluent in English and Italian and really understands both languages very well. She is an interesting person and is fun to talk to after class. She expects everyone to really practice on their own at home and she likes to keep things at a quick pace, but I like it fast like that. She also is extremely generous on extending deadlines and understands compromising situations very well. I think she's a great teacher to take!

FYI: Italian II is way harder than Italian I! That being said, Prof. Truong is very kind and helpful, she's very lenient and goes out of her way to make sure students understand the material. However, I wasn't a big fan of her teaching methods - class just consisted of going over textbook exercises, which got old real fast. I think some of the other professors have more engaging teaching methods, but it's not a big deal. I wouldn't go out of my way to have her again but I also wouldn't go out of my way to not have her.