The present study made an attempt to investigate the differences between Iranian EFL
teachers’ resilience at private institutes and public schools in a mixed method study. To do
so, 205 male and female teachers participated in the quantitative study who were selected
through snowball sampling from several private language institutes and public schools from
different regions in Iran with teaching experience between 1 to 30 years. The Connor and
Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was used to measure teachers’ resilience at private
institutes and public schools. The results obtained through the independent samples t-test
and one sample t-test revealed that there was no significant difference between factors
affecting teachers’ resilience at private institutes and public schools. The point that resilience
was a promoting factor was evident among all the respondents. Regarding the qualitative
part, 26 male and female teachers were selected through purposive sampling, participated in
semi-structured interviews, and telling their teaching stories, which was analyzed through
thematic analysis. Based on the gleaned data, teachers at public schools had a complicated
repertoire of strategies at their disposal to tackle the challenges of teaching conditions in
comparison with those of at private institutes. The results of the current study have some
implications for teacher development and teacher education.