ITAL 1020

Took this Spring 2024!
Grade breakdown: Participation and Preparation: 15%, Homework: 15%, Diario italiano: 15%, Quizzes: 20%, Cultural Competency: 10%, Improvisation: 10%, Final Project: 15%

I definitely felt like I learned the most Italian taking this class with Prof. Bonino. There was a lot of busy work with this class with the homework (graded for completion) and the Italian diaries which were due like every week or every two weeks. The homework was on an online platform with the textbook you had to purchase. Italian diaries were pretty easy because she told you exactly what she was looking for and never graded too harshly on them. The quizzes were okay, but you definitely needed to study to do well on them. Near the end of the semester was stressful because you had the cultural competency speaking assignment, the 4-5minute improvisation, and the final project all due in a two week span (all 3 were group projects). In class she also expected you to participate and speak at least once to get your participation points. Overall, you will learn the most Italian with Prof. Bonino but definitely be ready to do some work to get the grade you want.

ITAL 1020 is very similar to ITAL 1010 in terms of structure (quizzes, chapter homework, participation and final project). The class is taught fully in Italian and somewhere between 1010 and 1020 I fell behind. 1020 has a flipped classroom approach (which I struggled with) as you were expected to have taught yourself and then in class we would briefly go over what we learned. There was a much larger emphasis on speaking during class. 1010 did not require as much work outside of class and I was not as prepared for 1020. I did terribly on the first four quizzes (C's and D's) but after putting in a lot of time outside of class I was able to finish with an A-. Many others in my class were doing much better than I at grasping the concepts so if you put in the effort you will finish with an A. You have to buy the textbook because it grants access to the online homework and is how you teach yourself. The exercises in the textbook were great for extra practice but there was no way to check your answers as there was no answer key and we rarely used the book in class (though I heard other classes went over the textbook in class so they may have been able to check their answers). Definitely take your Italian classes with Prof. Bonino. She is extremely understanding, grades generously, and is funny. She puts an emphasis on learning and doesn't want your grades to take away from the experience. #tCFS24