Abstract
Imagine that a native-speaker assistant (NSA), a native speaker of the additional language you teach, is coming to work in your Institution for a year. As a local language teacher, how would you feel? Excited? Curious? Challenged? Threatened? Although this kind of situation may seem overwhelming at first, it can be a very rich opportunity for both teachers and students. The roles of NSAs and teachers do not overlap; they complement each other. Investing a bit of time in learning how to use and prepare for your NSA can make the experience one that you and your students will remember for the rest of your lives. This article shares ideas for creative activities that explore the indirectly visible aspects of the target and local cultures in order to support the work of teachers in educational establishments that receive NSAs as cultural ambassadors. It is apparent that the advantages of inviting an NSA to the classroom can far outweigh any obstacles that host institutions and stakeholders may need to overcome. The authenticity of NSAs’ speech, the ability to exchange cultural knowledge, and the chance to form personal relationships in the target language constitute a rare and extremely valuable component of a well-rounded L2/intercultural education.