At the present, the analysis of second language (L2) classroom interaction is one of the most productive areas in the field of L2 teaching and learning. This article describes current theoretical and methodological views of classroom interaction, with specific attention to Spanish as a L2. First, the article examines several theoretical positions that outline the role of interaction on L2 acquisition within certain social, cultural, and political contexts. Then, it focuses on some individual and collective factors involved in the interaction between instructors and students within the L2 classroom, and it discusses some of the social and institutional dimensions that may affect the interaction between the diverse participant agents in the teaching of a L2: instructors, students, administrators, family members, academic institutions, etc. Finally, the article suggests possible pedagogical applications derived from a principled knowledge of contextual and ‘local’ interactive processes in classrooms of Spanish as a L2.