This book discusses how second language acquisition (SLA) research can illuminate language pedagogy, and suggests four main roles for the SLA researcher: developing relevant theories; conducting classroom research; making research accessible to teachers; and facilitating action research. The first chapter outlines a number of different perspectives on this issue, and subsequent chapters address the various perspectives. Topics include these: the nature of grammar teaching and learning; options in grammar teaching; how instructed language learners acquire the kind of linguistic and pragmatic knowledge needed to produce correct and appropriate second-language sentences; the structural syllabus and second language acquisition; acquisition-compatible grammar tasks; the relationship between opportunities for production in a classroom setting and the development of requests; the teacher as researcher; use of focused communication tasks; and micro-evaluation of task completion. A concluding chapter discusses difficulties in applying research-based knowledge in the classroom. (Contains 541 references.) (MSE)