We are concered at every stage with the details of real language in classrooms,
and for some readers this may lead to an assumption that such work is directly
and obviously relevant to teaching practice. However, while we do see such work
as very relevant, such an assumption needs qualification. There is no reason, for
example, why increased insight into teacher-pupil discourse should in itself lead
to better teaching. It may do or it may not (it depends on the educational
decisions and action that the teacher takes) ... Nor is there any special value in
the analysis of classroom discourse for its own sake, and it would be wrong of us
to promise that there is.