This paper aims to evaluate the current position of pragmatics in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) with focus on teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL). First it attempts to reach an overall understanding of pragmatics by looking into its history and its main definitions in the relative literature. Building on this understanding, pragmatics is given a definition that suits the SLA paradigm, including second language learning and teaching (SLLT). Then the concept of pragmatic competence will be discussed and how it can be achieved. This paves the way for shedding light on the status of teaching of pragmatics within the field of SLA/TEFL. This will include its representation in published TEFL materials and the difficulties that face assessing pragmatic competence.

Teacher retention in the UK has reached crisis level according to many resources. The paper attempts to provide an overview of the extent of the problem and its impacts, the factors that make a teacher wanting to leave especially in state-funded London primary schools and how some schools manage to keep a high teacher retention. Then it explores the same issues again but from the point of view of the headteacher and teachers of the author’s school. The results show that the efforts of the management, which are based on an understanding of the factors that could drive teachers away, play an important role in retaining the teachers. They also reveal that there are other independent (i.e. not directly resulting from the management’s efforts) factors, that influence high retention within the school such as royalty and ethics.