I have to disagree with the negative review. Sure he could give more homework, but if you are genuinely interested in learning Italian open up your book and read some more or do extra exercises. He's extremely nice, and often disrespected. Half the class doesn't show up, but he'll continue teaching just the same even if only 3 students arrive. It is up to the student to decide how much they will get from this class. If you go every day (and clearly, you should) then you will learn something even if you are lazy. Do the homework, practice on your own, and you will do fine. It's fun, he's nice, it's not overwhelming, and remember...it is a ten week introductory italian class...and learning it from someone who actually speaks italian is beneficial.

If you're a slacker and don't really care about learning Italian, this is the professor for you. Daniele Pennacchia is a slacker too. You will have about five minutes worth of homework a day and maybe one or two compositions during the quarter that have nothing to do with material covered in the chapter you're currently on. Homework will not be collected because Pennacchia doesn't seem to want to do any grading. He doesn't seem to want to prepare for class either. He just picks exercises at random out of the textbook and fills the time until class is over. Sure, he knows Italian because he's from Italy and that seems to be his only qualification for teaching the language. But if you don't understand something, don't ask about it because he just gets frustrated.