An action-oriented approach views "users and learners of a language primarily as 'social agents', i.e. members of society who have tasks (not exclusively language-related) to accomplish in a given set of circumstances, in a specific environment and within a particular field of action. While acts of speech occur within language activities, these activities form part of a wider social context, which alone is able to give them their full meaning" (Council of Europe 2001). It is because the action-oriented approach takes us closer to the authenticity of language exchanges, grounded in the complexity of the sociocultural realities of learners, of the tasks to complete and of the different contextual environments, that it is both so inspiring and so contemporary. In an era where social media are omnipresent and there is an overload of information, the issue is no longer that of communicating with others. Working with others and collaborating with others "is the condition for a true understanding of the other" (Puren 2006). The action-oriented approach is a reflection of this societal transformation. This chapter describes examples of programs that use action-oriented approaches and discusses the benefits and potential issues in the context of using action-oriented approaches. [For the complete volume, see ED612143.]