I'm currently tutoring a student who speaks Chinese. He could do so much more English practice, and make better progress if I could require him to have a laptop. Someday...
Well, that's an interesting and loaded question. It all depends on the learner. Is s/he literate in the home language? Has s/he had any schooling? It's all about student-centered instruction. You can start with the alphabet, or "this is a table" or use a dictionary. Or you can do what I did and bring along a menu from the Chinese take-out place, and start from there. The literacy experts disagree on the need to know any of the learner's language. I think it would be helpful, though. Too bad I never learned any Chinese!
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