A pilot tutor training project, the Student-Tutor Orientation (STO), was designed to meet the need for making whole-language concepts of reading and writing instruction accessible to tutors as well as students through hands-on experience and for establishing a collaborative tutoring relationship in which students share in decision making. Together, tutors and students at a literacy program in a large Northeastern city learned the new concepts and strategies such as the language experience method. Use of materials relating to student goals and interests was emphasized, with instruction on how to make difficult but interesting texts accessible through such strategies as student listening and duet reading. Writing was stressed from the beginning, using invented spelling if necessary. After a year's use, in which 11 STOs were given and 97 tutor-student pairs trained, the approach seems to be superior to the agency's former training methods in several respects. Retention of tutors after training and hours of service surpassed those of a comparable series of the Center for Literacy's training a year ago. Tutors expressed increased confidence, and tutors and students reported more goal-related materials used and more writing done. Staff members requested STOs for their areas, stating that they felt the STOs produced better tutoring. Students were enthusiastic about their progress and their gains in self-esteem. (Author/KC)