The article is devoted to the analysis of the main characteristics of interactive teaching of foreign languages: problem-solving character, reliance on existing knowledge and experience, group activities, creative activity, creating an atmosphere of trust in the classroom. The methodological basis of the analysis is the principles of educational interaction. When teaching verbal communication in a foreign language, interactive activities should be considered as a structural unit of organizing both interaction and communication in the classroom. Interactive mode is organized in order to create conditions for the interaction of all participants of the educational process and independent cognitive activity of students.