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Abstract
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In recent decades, the field of applied linguistics has witnessed a marked shift toward examining the psychological dimensions of language teaching, with increasing emphasis on teachers as active, thinking, and feeling professionals rather than passive implementers of prescribed curricula. Within this paradigm shift, two constructs have gained particular prominence: professional agency and well-being. Both are now widely recognized as central to understanding not only teachers’ professional practices but also the sustainability and quality of educational systems. Teacher professional agency refers to the capacity of teachers to make purposeful choices and to act autonomously within the constraints and affordances of their sociocultural contexts (Biesta & Tedder, 2006). It is increasingly conceptualized as an emergent, contextually situated phenomenon shaped by the interplay of individual capacities, institutional structures, and cultural norms (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Tao & Gao, 2021). In EFL settings, where teachers often navigate rigid curricula, high-stakes examinations, and limited resources, the enactment of agency becomes both challenging and critical. Agency enables teachers to adapt pedagogical practices, negotiate institutional demands, and sustain professional growth (Karimi & Mansouri, 2025). Concurrently, teacher well-being has emerged as a central concern in language education, particularly under the influence of positive psychology, which foregrounds human flourishing, resilience, and optimal functioning (MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014; Mercer & Gregersen, 2020). Well-being is a multidimensional construct encompassing emotional, psychological, and social dimensions (Diener et al., 1999; Ryff & Keyes, 1995). In the context of language teaching, well-being is not merely an individual concern but a professional necessity, as it has been linked to instructional effectiveness, teacher retention, and student outcomes (Granziera et al., 2023; Nalipay et al., 2024
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