Yes. There is a feature called "Buddy Box" or "Trainer Cord" where you connect two transmitters together with a cord. Your instructor has full control of the plane and he will take it up to a safe altitude. Once there, he will hold a switch which gives control to your transmitter. If you get in trouble, he just releases the switch and takes over.

This is a wonderful means of learning and it's one of the biggest advantages to having an instructor!

Simulators are the next best tool. There are some excellent ones in the $100 - $200 price range, but there are also some in the $20 - $30 price range that will work every bit as well for teaching the basics, they just don't have the high-end graphics and physics. But for starting out, the main thing you need to learn is just "How to make a proper turn", so high end graphics are not a neccessity.

And while simulators are a great tool, they are only supplimentary to having an instructor, not a substitute. The best way to learn is to have your lesson with your instructor, and then go home and practice what you learned on your simulator.