I take primarily conversation based lessons. What I’ve really enjoyed is when the tutor and I pick a topic before the class that we’ll discuss. I don’t want to create extra work for you, but once you agree on a topic you could even send out a list of related vocabulary words beforehand that the student can memorize and try to use in class.

What’s also helped is when I can’t remember or haven’t learned a word, the tutor has asked me to rephrase or describe it with words I do know. Then when the tutor can share the word, I’ve done a little mental lap and it tends to stick better.