'''Communicative language teaching''' ('''CLT'''), or the '''communicative approach''' ('''CA'''), is an [[language-teaching approach|approach]] to [[language teaching]] that emphasizes [[Social interaction|interaction]] as both the means and the ultimate goal of study.
Learners in settings which utilise communicative language teachingCLT learn and practice the target language through the following activities: communicating with one another and the instructor in the target language; studying "authentic texts" (those written in the target language for purposes other than language learning); and using the language both in class and outside of class.
LearnersTo promote language skills in all types of situations, learners converse about personal experiences with partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the realm of traditional grammar to promote language skills in all types of situations. That methodCLT also claims to encourage learners to incorporate their personal experiences into their language learning environment and to focus on the learning experience, in addition to the learning of the target language.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nunan|first=David|date=1991-01-01|title=Communicative Tasks and the Language Curriculum|jstor=3587464|journal=TESOL Quarterly|volume=25|issue=2|pages=279–295|doi=10.2307/3587464|citeseerx=10.1.1.466.1153}}</ref>
According to CLT, the goal of language education is the ability to communicate in the target language.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title=Communicative competence : theory and classroom practice : texts and contexts in second language learning|last=J.|first=Savignon, Sandra|date=1997-01-01|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-083736-2|oclc=476481905}}{{pn|date=January 2023}}</ref> This is in contrast to previous views in which [[grammar–translation method|grammatical competence]] was commonly given top priority.<ref name=":7" />
CLT also positions the teacher as a facilitator, rather than an instructor. Furthermore, theThe approach is a non-methodical system that does not use a textbook series to teach the target language but works on developing sound oral and verbal skills prior to reading and writing.
