Motivational changes and their affecting factors among students from different cultural backgrounds

University students (N = 140) learning second or foreign languages in Australia were investigated to find whether their learning experience in a 12-week course changes their motivational intensity and their perceptions of classroom factors affecting their motivation. The study also attempted to detect any differences among the students from four different cultural/regional backgrounds; Europe & North America, North East Asia including China, Taiwan, Korea & Japan, Australia & New Zealand, and the rest. Questionnaire surveys were conducted twice, at the beginning and the end of the courses on the students learning English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese to observe how their learning experiences affect their motivations and if they come to perceive the affecting factors differently. Results showed some significant differences in motivational intensity among the groups and also after the learning experience. The results identified the learning experience has either beneficial or detrimental influences on motivation and can alter the students’ perceptions of affecting factors. The study claims that students’ cultural and/or regional backgrounds can be an important factor to validate the discussion about motivation and also the learning experience may affect learners’ perceptions in different ways, depending on where the learners come from, where they learn what target language.