In the 21st century, ICT-based teaching has evolved into problem-solving (PS). Therefore, scholars from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have identified the factors that facilitate such a process in their classes. Therefore, empirical evidence on English language teaching is warranted to uncover what factors shape teachers' professional competence to have such language classes. Thus, putting one step forward, this explanatory study explored the antecedents shaping language teachers' 21st-century digital competence from a bi-level approach. As a result, 863 Iranian EFL teachers who taught English in various areas responded to instruments measuring their ICT-individual characteristics, schools' ICT characteristics, and 21st-century digital competence. The partial least square structural modeling (PLS-SEM) showed that the teachers' connectivity and computer for instruction (CI) in school improved their competence to analyze, browse, and evaluate language learners' problems with it. Regarding their individual aspects, instructors' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), information access (IA), and perception of the benefits of ICTs were the main antecedents, leading them to become creative problem-solvers. Having examined the findings, the researcher offers teachers to enhance their approaches beyond teaching language skills with ICT to problem-solving. Curriculum experts should also invest more money and equip their schools with ICTs gadgets, increasing instructors' connectivity and creativity.