The relation of communicative skills to language syllabus planning is discussed. The most important part of the foreign language syllabus is course content. Foreign language teaching is primarily a matter of starting with the world of everyday knowledge which the learner already possesses. The foreign language syllabus should be designed to take advantage of the learner's native language concepts and experience. Awareness of the different ways in which the target language and culture refer to facts, values, events and communicative situations should be inculcated. The Council of Europe's four types of motivation are defined and illustrated. A communicative syllabus must have both content and purpose, using integrated methods. No one method has been shown to give better results than any other. Different methods must be used as learners themselves differ. Communication between teacher and pupil in the classroom should not be neglected. Foreign language learning is no longer product-oriented, but process-oriented. (Author)