Good mentors are often good . Active listening means giving the speaker your full , rather than planning what you will say . It includes showing through eye contact and short responses, asking open , and briefly summarizing what you have to check your understanding. Research in counseling that people who feel truly heard are more to share their problems and to the .

When students face a new challenge, such as starting university in another country, advice from someone slightly ahead of them can be especially valuable. Educators call such people near-peer role models: individuals who are similar in age and background but a little further along the same path.

Near-peers have several advantages over distant experts. Because their experiences are recent, their advice tends to be practical and up to date. They also make success seem achievable. A first-year student may find it hard to identify with a famous professor but easy to imagine becoming like a second-year student from a similar background.

Research on language learning supports this idea. In studies conducted in Japan, the applied linguist Tim Murphey found that students who watched videos of slightly more advanced classmates speaking English often became more motivated and confident.

For these reasons, many universities now run peer mentoring programs. Mentors also benefit: explaining what they have learned helps them reflect on their own growth and strengthens their leadership skills.