Involving Teachers ' College Students and Students of the

In 1997, the English Department of the School of Education at Israel's Achva Academic College opened its preservice teacher education program. In 1998, 15 students of the department responded to a call from the chairperson of the English department to tutor students who needed help to succeed in the English matriculation exams. This paper explains the need for such tutors and describes a pilot study that examined how first-year prospective teachers could, with very little instruction in teaching foreign languages, do the job. Results of a study of the project (mostly anecdotal) indicated that students appreciated the tutors and passed their exams. Tutors believed they gained valuable insights. A questionnaire administered to participants in the second year of the project indicated that tutors gained confidence from the experience, felt prepared for the classroom, and believed it was easier to teach one-on-one than within classrooms. Tutors believed that tutees advanced in their learning, despite problems during the sessions