LOVE ALESSIA! She's all over the place but hilariously entertaining. She recognizes when the class is struggling and makes easy quizzes accordingly. She will also give lots of extra credit opportunities and will bump up your grade if you're borderline. She just wants everyone to pass.

She's great. She's Italian, so her accent can be hard to understand, but she'll repeat herself if you ask. She also doesn't want to see you fail, and will work with you to ensure that you pass. Show up to class, though. This is a language and you'll fall behind if you're not there.

An excellent professor. Probably the best professor to take for Italian. People who previously gave her bad reviews just didn't study. We had students in our class who did not participate and then showed up for the last class. It's a great course. Just as long as you do practice you will be fine.

Alessia(goes by her middle name)is the most caring professor I have had yet. She will go the extra mile for her students and spend plenty of one on one time. She answers all questions quickly so email her! Only complaint is that she is a little scatterbrained and forgets things easily, but that just means that you, an adult, have to be responsible.

Alessia is fantastic in every way. She is kind and charming and a joy to have. She understands every student is at different levels in the Italian language and that learning another language can just be hard in general. She mixes in projects, participation and lots of vocab to make sure you can keep your grade up, even if you struggle.

I loved taking class with Alessia! I previously took an online Italian course where I only met the professor face-to-face once. Alessia is different because she meets with all of her students individually at least once a week in addition to class time. This is great when needing a better understanding on topics and homework. She is great!!

Claudia was the best! She is a great teacher who made learning Italian very easy and accessible. She is a very sweet and warm-hearted woman who made learning Italian fun!

I'm so glad I took Prof. Defraia! I had some extenuating circumstances through the semester and she was so understanding and willing to work with me to make sure I got everything I needed to out of the course! Also, going to the weekly lectures that she gave online were amazing! She helped me finally understand Italian! 11/10 :)

Claudia Defraia is absolutely a gem of a teacher. I took a Skype class with her and she worked exactly at the pace I needed to learn as much as possible in a limited amount of time. She gave just the right amount of homework to keep me progressing but not overwhelmed. Plus, she cares about her students as individuals, and is hilarious!

Incredibly kind! She is a wonderful professor and she really wants to see her students succeed. As long as you put in good effort to learn the material youll do well!

Professor Defraia is one of the most caring professors at Loyola. She understands that we all have busy lives and really makes the class fun and easy and wants everybody to be successful.

Claudia is an amazing Professor. She really helps all the students succeed. She is funny and engaging in class. I would highly recommend her class!

She's awesome. Take her. Do the homework. Easy A.

Seriously amazing, I requested to take her class next semester.

Claudia is amazing. She is by far my favorite professor at Loyola. She cares about every single student and as long as you want to learn you will do really well. She is the funniest person ever and I looked forward to going to class and never missed a class because it was so fun. TAKE HER!! Amazing human and the class is so fun.

I love Professor Defraia. I took Spanish throughout High School, so that made it easier to take Italian 101. Still, she makes the class very engaging and fun. You can tell she really cares about her students and understands our busy schedules. As long as you ask questions and communicate with her with problems, you will be set.

ITAL 101 is a great class with tons of information packed in a very short amount of time. Alessia makes it enjoyable and easy to understand.

very nurturing and has an excellent sense of humor. makes the students feel welcomed which increases inspiration for learning. cares about her students and is a fair grader. thoroughly enjoyed this class

Claudia is a great professor. I very much enjoyed her 101 class, and I am taking 102 with her next semester. She is a little scatterbrained, but overall a great person who really cares about her students.

Really great teacher, participation and class attendance matter. good class

Claudia is an amazing teacher which is honestly self explanatory but Im writing this because no one talks about how awesome she is on this website. She helps outside of class and prepares you for the future. Its pretty epic.

Alessia (as her students call her) cares deeply about everything we and especially the effort we put into just being in class. Though she is a bit unorganized she is overall pretty good at giving the class the necessary tools to do well. Make sure you are in class more often than not, and to ask questions because that is the key to an A.

Prof. Defraia is funny, kind, and above all a great teacher! Highly recommend!!!

Always making everyone laugh. Show that you care about the class, and youll get a good grade.

A queen!!! She is the absolute sweetest and funniest woman ever. Im terrible at languages and she supported me the whole way and gave me great grades for putting in effort and being honest. If you show her you care about your grade, youll do fine. Shes the best and I couldnt recommend her more. So sweet and funny.

Amazing professor, she really cares about the success of her students, makes everyone feel special, & gives everyone the tools for success. She will work with you if you don't not understand something & is willing to meet with you whenever. Her class is set up so that if you put in the work you will get a good grade, she likes to see us learning!

I absolutely LOVE Professor Defraia, she is one of the most amazing professors. Her passion for students and working hard is so apparent in everything she does. She doesn't baby us, and she expects us to work hard for a good grade. She everyone to come to class, and you would be lost if you didn't come, considering it is a language class.

awesome teacher, and I learned a lot. Made class fun and interesting

Easily one of my most favorite professors I have ever taken. My only regret was that I didn't meet her earlier during my college career. She is super duper helpful outside of class with both Class material and life in general. I fully intend to keep in touch with Alessia after I graduate. Words aren't enough to describe how great she is.

Alessia has been one of my favorite professors to have at Loyola. She is kind and caring and very knowledgeable. She's absolutely hilarious and fun to be around both in and outside of class.

Great professor, very understanding, and overall a great introduction to Italian. This is my second semester with Alessia and I wish I could take her again. Homework is light but be prepared to work in class and study for quizzes. Overall fantastic and would highly recommend.

Alessia is one of the most caring and passionate professors that I have ever had. She made learning Italian fun and entertaining. She was always helpful and willing to help if you ask! Definitely take her if you can!!

Alessia was an amazing Professor. She definitely cares about her students and their learning. If you need anything she is always available. There are quizzes, midterm, and final exam alongside a presentation on anything Italian. Taking this class with Alessia will make learning Italian really fun and a great learning experience.

SHE IS A QUEEN!!!!!! Take this woman if you can!! I am horrible at Italian and she was so kind to me and so helpful and if she sees that you are trying your best she will give you a good grade. She is so flexible and understanding and just an amazing person and professor. She is hilarious and so sweet and is literally willing to do anything for you

I would highly recommend this class. The professor truly cares about the topic and all her students.

Claudias online class is similar to an in-person lectureyou MUST read the syllabus and complete the assignments and quizzes. She is very direct & caring, and will tell you EVERYTHING you need to do in order to pass her class! If you dont follow these directions, dont expect an A! Put in the work, reach out if youre stuck, and youre golden.

Do your assignments, look at the materials she posts online, and just do what it is she asks and you will do fine. Basically just do the work and you won't have an issue, because the way the class is structured it is designed to help people like myself(terrible at language courses) learn the structure of the language.

one of my favorite professors ever! if you struggle with languages it might be hard bc she moves quickly to cover all the material necessary but i had taken spanish before so it wasnt hard to grasp. she is SO FUNNY and kind i talk to her outside of class for help all the time! she wants you to do well. makes classroom comfortable and never boring!

Absolutely loved her! She is so kind and flexible. Her lectures were understandable and organized. It's rare to say this, but she was fair. Nothing unexpected and nothing heavily weighing on your grade. Do the work and show you are putting in the effort, even if you struggle with the language she will do her best with the grading.

I wish I had taken her 101 class in person! she's awesome/funny. for an online class, it was the most interactive one i've had with an online professor. it was more engaging than others. watch her lectures. she records them fresh each week. do your online hw. difficult 3. do YOUR work, reach out, and study. she cares and she will help you!

Professor Defraia was very helpful. I came into the class with a background in Italian, but badly needed grammatical framework. Her lectures and the homework gave me the framework I needed to improve. She was willing to help via email when requested, and gave extensions on homework when requested. I hope to have her again!

I would 100% recommend taking her online 102 class. It was very easy if you followed the syllabus and watched her lectures. Midterm and final are 20 min skype sessions with her and she is VERY helpful and wants you to succeed. If you watch the sessions and do the work (which is minimal) you will do well! Highly recommend, she is great!!!

Love this professor. She cares about teaching and her students, and wants everyone to learn. She posts a clear syllabus at the beginning of class, and reminds us verbally about important dates, quizzes, etc. She is always available for questions. I have traveled to Italy since taking her class and she was a tremendous help in basic communication.

Alessia is one of the best profs I have had so far at Loyola. She has made learning Italian so enjoyable and I always look forward to going to her class. She is definitely one of the funniest and most caring professor I have had, and I wish I could take her again. Highly recommend!

Alessia is a gem of a professor. Not only is she fair but she is also a classic Italian professor at Loyola. If you get the chance you MUST take her. Her class is a gift of jokes, learning the material, and her whole-hearted care for her students. She's not your cup of tea if you don't appreciate a class that you can look forward to every week.

If you do the work, you'll get an A. She's very understanding and makes accommodations for people who need more help and are struggling. She makes up for any disorganization with flexibility. I had her in both in-class and online classes and I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and ended up with good grades! Take her if you can! 10/10 would recommend

Alessia is one of the kindest professors at Loyola, and is willing to help anyone with anything from not understanding material to family issues, etc. She is knowledgeable in Italian and hilarious and is your typical Italian professor that everyone wishes they could have. I have taken her twice now and gotten As both times, she is the best!

I know a lot of people have issues with professors that don't live and die by their syllabus, but honestly- when you're a teacher who is juggling a pandemic, I think she did a great job. The teaching style IS different from in class vs. online, but YOU'LL be FINE!! Prof Claudia is caring and nice, just TALK to her. She doesn't expect perfection!!

She is a wonderful and kind professor! She is really willing to help you and answer your questions, and you can tell that she really wants her students to succeed. As long as you put in the effort and show her you studied, you will do great in the class!

Alessia is by far one of the most caring professors I have had. I had her for ITAL 101 online and ITAL 102 in person - online was harder than in person but she gave me many chances to get more points so I didn't fail the class. She wants every student to do well and keeps class entertaining - TAKE HER IF YOU CAN!! 11/10 she's the best! funny too :)

I LOVE her! She is so kind and hilarious. She reminds me of my Italian grandmother. I can not rate her highly enough. I had her for an online course, yet she still makes a connection with her students. I also have a learning disability so I usually dread foreign language classes, but I loved her class and it was completely doable.

Alessia is hilarious. She also tells you what to expect for the midterm/final which is nice. She really cares about her students. I would especially recommend taking her if you are not a language major because she doesn't make things too complicated. She can be a tad disorganized but makes up for it with humor.

Best Italian professor at LUC! She allows students to earn extra points and also considers your attitude and willingness to learn into account when determining your final grade. She assigns a reasonable amount of homework and gives you Friday-Sunday to complete it. I messed up on the midterm and she let me make up the points in a meeting! TAKE HER!

I love her! She is so kind and really cares about her students. I had to take this course online and I still made a personal connection with her. I have a learning disability and she was SUPER accommodating! The bad reviews are just from people who were caught cheating and are looking for someone to blame or are mad that they weren't handed an "A".

One of the BEST professors I've had yet. Professor Defraia is great at teaching Italian, is organized, cares for her students, is full of life, humorously creative, and overall made a foreign language class such a rewarding joy. I highly recommend taking this professor as you'll regret it if you don't.

Prof. Defraia was easily one of the best professors that I've had at Loyola. She is kind, optimistic, and very caring towards her students in that she is extremely understanding. Ultimately, she wants her students to not only excel in the topics that she is teaching, but in life beyond the classroom. She is personable and a GREAT educator.

Alessia is very personable and cares a lot about getting to know the students in her class. As long as you work hard, show her respect, and don't cheat you'll do well.

Alessia is very caring and goes out her way to make a deeper connection with her students. Usually, we had homework and quizzes on Avanti every week. The assignments are easy but the quizzes can be harder. However, Alessia gives you plenty of chances to make up points you missed on Avanti. There is a midterm, a final exam and a presentation too.

Professor Defraia is an amazing teacher and one of the best I've had at Loyola. She cares about her students and how they do in her class and as long as you put in the work and show effort, she is super fair with grading. There was online homework and quizzes through Avanti and the quizzes could be a little tough at times but were doable.

Such a great person! I respect her and appreciate everything she did in class. However, if you don't speak/ understand Italian, Spanish, or anything close, good luck because she just goes through the book and really doesn't explain much. I learned the most from the homework that she assigns.

Alessia (what everyone calls her) was the best professor I've had at Loyola. She had us meet with her privately outside of class several times throughout the semester and deeply cared about the health, wellbeing, and learning style of each of her students. She has tons of personality which makes class fun and entertaining. Couldn't recommend more!

This class was wonderful and I highly recommend. It was easy to tell she has a passion for teaching and cared about our success in the class. We met individually multiple times and it was very helpful to get individual feedback. It was a great class all around!

one of the best professors I've ever had!!

Just started her J-term class! She is the best. The class is very organized. I know exactly what I have to complete every day from the weekly breakdown. She is also funny as hell! She makes little jokes throughout the lecture that make my day. We have three hours of class a day and they are never boring.

Alessia is one of the best professors I've taken! She's ridiculously funny & truly cares about the well-being of her students. If you participate in class & finish HW on time (mostly completion grades) I think it's an easy A. You study with her in class which really helped! Would recommend her to anyone who wants to learn Italian/Italian culture!

Not an easy A class, makes you work for it. Great professor, very funny. You will learn a lot from her, def take her if you really want to learn Italian.

Professor Defraia is one of the most caring professors Ive had at Loyola. She is not only the best teaching but she takes the time to be available out of class and to get to know her students personally which is awesome. She is so hardworking and does everything for her students to learn, practice, and have all of the resources to get a good grade

I love Alessia!! I had her for ITAL102 J term online and it was one of my favorite classes through LUC so far. Although I took this strictly for the lang req, I would honestly continue in Italian classes if they were taught by her. Given that it's a J term, participation is a must(duh). Alessia really truly cares about her students and the subject!

She's a great language teacher. I took the 6 week intensive Italian 102 course this summer and I honestly learned more in the 6 weeks than I did in a semester of 101. She's the textbook Italian woman: loud, funny, and in your face. If you're uncomfortable with teachers poking fun at you or making jokes sometimes at people's expense, don't take her.

I cannot recommend taking a class with Alesia more! She is so kind, funny and caring when it comes to her students. The structure of class is laid out clearly at the start of the term and she will answer your questions and go over anything you may not understand with no problem. She wants you to succeed! If you put in the work you will pass!

Alessia is extremely funny and engaging as a professor! Overall, she genuinely loves teaching and her students, but it's sort of obvious she has a lot on her plate. If you like a set schedule, then this class may not be for you. The homework due dates and quizzes are hardly consistent, but still overall easy.

Claudia is by far one of the best professors I have ever had at Loyola. I wish she taught more levels because I would definitely take her. She also answers whatever you need help with and is engaging. A true gem!

Definitely the best Italian professor I have had. Alecia is very understanding and helpful both in class and out of class! Most classes are spent going over material and practicing with fellow classmates. As someone who really struggles at learning a language, this class was actually very enjoyable!

If you have the opportunity to take an Italian course at LUC, take Prof. Defraia. She's an amazing instructor that cares deeply about her students. She'll always take extra time to help you if you struggle with the language. You won't want to miss a class because she makes it engaging and very informative. I highly recommend taking her.

Alessia is a great professor and she was always real with us. She wants you to do well and if you put enough effort you will do great. She is also very funny and always made us smile.

Prof Defraia is a really fun teacher! Even though this was an online class, participation didn't feel forced or weird. She tells a lot of fun stories, and I feel like I learned a lot of Italian. The midterm and final are a little hard, but there's a lot that goes into our grade and she clearly cares about her students and wants them to pass.

She's super encouraging, funny, and passionate about Italian! Her zoom lectures were fun and engaging with participation. Besides attendance points, there's hw and quizzes on Avanti, a big project, and two exams. She provides so many opportunities to practice Italian on Sakai, so take advantage of those because they will prepare you for the exams.

Loved this class! I felt like I learned applicable aspects culture as well as how to speak the language. Alessia is super kind and always open to helping out students. Would definitely recommend the class!

This class is an example of what an online language course should be. While of course it is a condensed timeframe (I had the summer session(six weeks)) Claudia makes everyone feel comfortable with the material and coming to class. As long as you keep up with homework and have a good attitude in class you will get a great grade and learn Italian!

Dr. Defraia is the best professor ever! I had been self studying Italian for over a year, and learned more from her class in a few weeks than I had in months studying on my own. She was super understanding and truly cares about each of her students. If you are looking for a professor passionate about Italian who has the biggest heart, take Defraia!

I absolutely 1000% recommend her!!! She meets everybody one-on-one & made me feel like my success in her course was something she truly cared about. I genuinely felt as though everyone in class was recognized for their efforts. Her positive energy & appreciation for Italian culture taught me far more than I could've fathomed in only six weeks time.

I honestly love her and would love to take her again if I could. She can be a little harsh at times but other than that she is one of my fav professors here. For it being an online class, I do enjoy it, and she makes sure we understand the material we are learning.

Uses connect but does not grade solely off of it. She gives a good amount of work, I took her class online and she still was fairly accessible outside of class, she may ignore you for a few days but you will get a response. Midterm and Final are the two major tests the rest are small quizzes in between about presentations, she is also very funny.

She is by far the most caring professor I have, learning a language is difficult but she is a great teacher and does everything she can to make learning as easy as possible. If you just reach out to her I'm 100% sure she can help you with any situation. She cares so much about student's well-being as well, she has check-ins once a month to help you

Alessia is one of the best professors at Loyola! She cares a lot about her students and she takes the time to talk to each of us individually to go over grades. I took her this fall for Italian 101 and I will definitely be taking her class for 102. I have learned so much in just one semester through taking her class! Definitely recommend!!

Alessia was a kind, caring professor. The class was entirely structured online, but she kept it engaging. The workload was very manageable. She genuinely does care about her students and will do her best to accommodate/help students out. You just have to be patient and trust that she has her students' best interests in mind.

Professor Defraia was by far the best Italian teacher I've ever had! If you struggle with language this is the class for you. She cares about her students and does everything to help them get a good grade. She's hilarious, fun, engaging, and an overall great teacher. You're missing out if you don't get a chance to have a class with Prof Defraia!

Alessia is an amazing professor and the BEST choice for Italian. I had her for two semesters for Italian 101 &102 and I loved her class!! She gives extra credit opportunities and everything that is assigned is very clear. Once a month we schedule a 5 min zoom with her where we talk about grades and ask any question we might have! SHE IS THE BEST!

Honestly she was one of the best professors I've had so far at Loyola. I highly recommend her for ITAL 101 or 102! I took her over the summer so it was all virtual, yet I learned more this summer than I did in an entire semester of ITAL 101 with a different prof. She's extremely caring and understanding and overall hilarious. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

I took this course over the summer and loved it! She was an amazing, compassionate teacher that was very understanding when it came to other commitments. I learned so much more from her than the did in all of my ITAL 101 course. If you have the opportunity to take her course do it!

Alessia was the best Italian professor anyone can take!!! She is so funny and makes Italian fun to learn. I took her class online and you can only miss one class (department rules not hers). She calls on you to answer so participation is a must. Would recommend her to anyone.

I took Alessia for Italian 101 + 102--super funny and positive prof. Will call on all students to make sure they are paying attention/just quizzes+hmwrk on Avanti (all online) that "kill your grade," but quizzes on student presentations--it all works out in the end! 12/10 highly recommended if you want to learn Italian with a very cool, hip prof.

i usually dont do well in language classes, but i loved this class! She is so funny, is always open to help students, and most of the assignments you do are pretty easy. I honestly learned a lot in this class!! Def recommend

I took both Ital 101+102 with Professoressa Alessia and she is beyond amazing! She was always so caring and funny, and felt like a friend to us all. She also explains the grammar thoroughly and makes her expectations clear. She is always willing to help no matter what. I would definitely recommend her because you will enjoy the class+learn Italian!

Great teacher, and also always ready to help when you have any doubts regarding pronunciation, she also is pretty accessible outside class and gives you many tips when it comes to the presentations overall I would take her classes again.

Alessia is the best Italian prof! Super funny and engaging, makes learning the language fun. The workload is manageable, and she's very understanding. unstuck ai was a huge help for studying. Highly recommend taking her class!

Professor Defraia is seriously one of the best professors. She cares so much about her students and wants to help students succeed and understand her class. Her online courses are so well organized and create an excellent environment for learning which can be difficult when teaching online. Take her class! she is the best

She is so funny and loves her students. A little bit all over the place but she allocates that to being Italian. Lots of jokes, makes learning the language fun and she wants you to succeed in her class. Mandatory presentations and the homework is on McGraw Connect which is terrible but doable. She will call you out and make you answer questions.

LOVE ALESSIA!!! I was scared to take ital but she made it so enjoyable. she def has expectations on you doing well and participating, but she genuinely wants to help you learn. i absolutely loved having her and would take her again in a heartbeat!!!

Alessia is one of the funniest professors I've ever had. She can be disorganized sometimes but it really adds to the charm of the class. She cares deeply and wants every single student to succeed. For an intro language class, I would highly recommend.