This paper discusses miscommunication in speech acts, speech act research, and applications in the classroom. A new model of speech acts proposed by Celce-Murcia, Dornyei, and Thurrell is discussed. The distinguishing feature of this model is that the pivotal center is discourse competence. Discourse competence interacts with the three subfields of sociolinguistic competence, linguistic competence, and actional competence. The three facts influencing success in interpersonal communication are covered. These are mutual shared knowledge, specific situational factors and personal perceptions. An overview is taken to see what research can accomplish for the teacher. A cycle of data collection to be followed by all speech researchers include ethnographic data collection, role playing, the Discourse Completion Test, the Acceptability Test and self reporting. The student should become aware of social factors, pragmatic factors and specific features of speech-act interaction. Teachers can adjust their expectations regarding interlanguage features of speech-act behavior. (Contains 2 references.) (CK)