I am a BA graduate from the Univerity of Reading in Italian and Spanish. I am now fluent in both languages, I lived in Italy for 4 years and experienced Italian society, being the only English speaker around me I was forced to emerge myself fully and therefore I am now able to talk freely in Italian at a very advanced level.
I believe it is very important to learn the basics of the language, but...
I am a BA graduate from the Univerity of Reading in Italian and Spanish. I am now fluent in both languages, I lived in Italy for 4 years and experienced Italian society, being the only English speaker around me I was forced to emerge myself fully and therefore I am now able to talk freely in Italian at a very advanced level.
I believe it is very important to learn the basics of the language, but also talking is a key part of becoming fluent. I would make the tutoring sessions very interactive in order to engage the student and progress their langauge learning effectively.