This workshop is designed to raise awareness of the centrality of pragmatics in understanding and learning a second language. The basic distinction between sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic failure is introduced, followed by a discussion of some specific difficulties faced by learners of Chinese as a second language in the area of pragmatic competence. For illustration purposes, further considerations are given to a few specific areas of Chinese pragmatics such as compliment responses, refusals, and telephone openings. The workshop ends with a set of suggestions and resources for teaching pragmatics.