There is no well established body of work thai represents the applications of discourse analysis. Since discourse analysis is itself not a well defined field, this is hardly surprising. What I have tried to illustrate in this chapter is the re-emergent interest amongst both linguists and educators in analysing connected discourse in socially important contexts. And I have argued that linguistic approaches to discourse are beginning to provide explicit ways of discussing aspects of language which are very relevant to the educational process. I have no doubt that current work in discourse is a very rich source of ideas for educational theory and practice, if it is well selected and interpreted. Good teachers may justifiably feel that it provides only a different slant on what they already do. A general problem with much applied social research is that it tells practitioners, in different words, what they know already, if only unconsciously. However, making explicit the principles of good teaching practice is precisely one important aim of applied discourse analysis. The systematic study of language in use provides many ideas for teaching, from lesson plans to whole syllabuses. And just as importantly, it provides a principled and explicit basis for work that is done, by relating it to a coherent theory. This is what is meant by applied linguistics: theory which suggests and illuminates good practice.