In accordance with major shifts in emphasis in both general and applied linguistics, this text about intonation has two main goals. Firstly to show the practical importance of intonation, particularly discourse intonation, which is acknowledged in theoretical linguistics as an indispensable component of language and communication and which thus ought to be taught to L2 learners. Secondly to integrate theory and practice in order to render intonation accessible to teachers and pedagogues, and to suggest a pedagogical approach to the teaching of discourse-based phonology and intonation in L2 instruction.