The roles that pragmatics can play in the development of communicative competence are discussed, and three uses are examined in greater detail, with examples offered: (1) for the refinement of the study of speech acts as they occur in different cultures; (2) to help determine the extent to which explicit instruction can increase the rate at which non-native speakers of English can develop different facets of their pragmatic competence (in the example cited, competence with implicatures); and (3) as a contribution to the presentation of different functions of a language in textbooks designed for second language learners. Data from studies are presented for illustration. It is concluded that the current challenge is to ensure that what is learned about pragmatics is used effectively in the second language classroom. Contains 30 references. (MSE)