The Communicative Language Teaching is a set of principles about teaching including recommendations about method and syllabus where the focus is not on meaningingful communication structure.

The Communicative Language Teaching is based on behaviourism. Error correction is considered important to prevent bad habits. As well, a structural syllabus is used in class. As a result grammatical structures are brought to the forefront with meaning being neglected.

The Communicative Language Teaching is based on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate unreal meaning. When learners are not involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.

The Communicative Language Teaching, also called Communicative Approach or Functional Approach was the British version of the movement in the early 60s in reaction to the structuralism and behaviorism embodied in the audiolingualism then predominant.