It aims to put students in a variety of real-life situations so that they can learn to use their language skills to communicate in the real world. We therefore focus on communication fluency, and the teaching is more practical than theoretical.

TBLT instruction focuses exclusively on completing a detailed task that interests and engages students. Students use the language skills they already have to complete the task and work in three different phases - pre-task, on-task and post-task. Research suggests that students in TBLT classes are stronger and more motivated because they "own" the language and are in control of their task.

Cooperative Language Learning (CLL) is part of a broader approach to learning known as Collaborative or Community Learning (CL). CLL seeks to make maximum use of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups. It is therefore a learner-centred, rather than teacher-centred, approach to language learning. All language learning activities are deliberately designed to maximize opportunities for social interaction.

In this method of teaching, all instruction takes place in the target language, which encourages the student to think and speak in that language. The student does not use their mother tongue at all! As a result, students acquire key grammatical phenomena by practicing the language and extending it. Standard techniques for this approach in the classroom include question and answer, conversation, reading aloud, writing, and student self-correction.