The most widely used and widely accepted approach to teach a language is the

communicative approach, which is in many ways a culmination of other

approaches and methodologies, like the direct method, audio-lingual method, total
physical response method and immersion method. However, nowadays with so
much information readily and audibly available to the students 21 st century skills
focus more on making sense of that information, sharing, and using it in smart
ways.
The four skills that are identified by the coalition P21 (Partnership for 21st Century
Learning) for today are creativity, critical thinking, communication, and
collaboration. These four topics should be seen as concepts that should be overlay
over all curriculum mapping and strategic planning, not as units or even topics.
They, like literacy and numeracy, should be a component of every instruction.
Creativity is defined as the ability to think about knowledge in new ways, to make
new connections, and to come up with novel solutions to problems. Analyzing
information and criticizing claims is what critical thinking entails. Understanding
things well enough to share them clearly with others is the definition of
communication. Collaboration is all about working together as a team and
harnessing the collective genius of a group that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The communicative method of teaching emphasizes the learner's capacity to
convey numerous functions, such as asking and answering questions, making
requests, describing, narrating, and comparing. Also, the communicative approach
operates through task assignment and issue resolution, both of which are important
components of critical thinking.
Furthermore, Grammar isn't taught in isolation, unlike the direct technique. Detail
error correction is de-emphasized in favor of the notion that students will develop
accurate speech organically as a result of frequent use. rather than analyzing the
language students develop fluency through communicating in the language itself.
A communicative classroom involves exercises in which students use narrative or
negotiation to solve a problem or situation, demonstrating communicative skills.
Thus, some activities might include composing a conversation in which individuals
negotiate when and where they will have dinner, developing a scenario based on a
sequence of photos, or examining similarities and differences between two
photographs.
While there are always those programs that insist upon a mandatory methodology,
doing great disservice to students and teachers alike, teachers should always try to
choose those methodologies and approaches that are most effective for their
students, specially that in the 21st century there are a lot of challenges to face in
order to achieve the goals we plan, but on the other hand there are a lot of
opportunities that help us to achieve the goal faster and in no time, that is when the
technology involves in teaching methods, for example the use of new educational
technology allows students to be much more creative and participative in the
classroom. In addition, it allows students to be much better prepared for class and
provides teachers with attractive resources to make their classes much more human
and sociable, where all students have the opportunity to participate regardless of
their level.