This book presents a succinct summary of various theories of motivation and an overview of some sixty years of empirical research into the role of motivation in second language acquisition, from the social psychological approach of the pioneering work of the Canadian school (Robert Gardner, Richard Clément, Peter MacIntyre and others) to the more recent investigations conducted by such scholars as Zoltán Dörnyei, Kata Csizér and Ema Ushioda. The insights generated by such research are then applied to the author's own investigation of the language learning motivation of undergraduates studying at the University of Cagliari on the Italian island of Sardinia. Steve Buckledee teaches English language and linguistics at the University of Cagliari, having previously worked in various state and private institutions in London, Canterbury, Oporto, Madrid, Milan and Rome. His main research interests are Second Language Acquisition and English as a Lingua Franca.