This short, introductory paper presents an up-to-date account of works within the field of Applied Linguistics which have been influenced by a Conversation Analytic paradigm. The article reviews recent studies in classroom interaction, materials development, proficiency assessment and language teacher education. We believe that the publication of such a special journal issue is timely, since Conversation Analysis has been one of the most influential methodologies in recent Applied Linguistic research, as can be seen by the growing number of publications appearing in various journals. (Contains 1 footnote.)