The Communicative Approach

http://moramodules.com/ALMMethods.htm#Communicative

"Characteristics of the Communicative Classroom 

The classroom is devoted primarily to activities that foster acquisition of L2.  Learning activities involving practice and drill are assigned as homework.
The instructor does not correct speech errors directly.
Students are allowed to respond in the target language, their native language, or a mixture of the two.
The focus of all learning and speaking activities is on the interchange of a message that the acquirer understands and wishes to transmit, i.e. meaningful communication.
The students receive comprehensible input in a low-anxiety environment and are personally involved in class activities. Comprehensible input has the following major components:
            a. a context

            b. gestures and other body language cues

            c. a message to be comprehended

            d. a knowledge of the meaning of key lexical items in the utterance"