Is there one, single, overarching point that defines the essential nature of language study in a NASILP program?
A. Yes. The student does not have a teacher, and assumes responsibility for making use of a wide range of learning resources which include, among other things, regular small-group tutorials with a native-speaker of the language. Students must have a very clear understanding of what is expected of them. Q. For all practical purposes, aren’t tutors more or less the same as teachers? A. No, tutors are not teachers, although they do provide students with direct, live, oral interaction with a native-speaker. Tutors are the best resource for oral practice and modeling of language use. They also monitor and correct the learner’s speech as only a native-speaker can do. Q. Isn’t that what regular teachers do? A. It’s certainly a part of what classroom teachers do. But, unlike most classroom teachers, tutors will not introduce students to each new lesson, nor will they explain the text as a teacher might. Rather, tutors will assume that the students have already prepared themselves for the day’s
