Exploring the interplay between EFL teacher assessment agency, L2 grit, and teacher buoyancy

English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ L2 grit and teacher buoyancy (TB) are emerging constructs in research on teacher personality traits, yet that their predictors remain underexplored. Addressing this gap, this paper explored the interplay between EFL teachers’ assessment agency (TAA) and teacher L2 grit and TB. A sample of 386 Iraqi EFL teachers instructing ESP and EAP courses completed the L2 Teacher Grit scale, the Teacher Ecological Assessment Agency (TEAA) questionnaire and the Dual Component Teacher Buoyancy scale. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that TAA is a strong predictor of both teachers’ L2 grit and TB. The findings highlight how giving teachers agency in assessment processes is useful in fostering their positive psychological attributes of grit and buoyancy. Practically, this suggests that assessment policies should be revised to incorporate TAA as a core component of professional development, thereby empowering L2 teachers and enhancing their grit and buoyancy.