【Abstract】With the development of China and its rising status in the world， more and more foreign students come to China to learn Chinese. Research in Second Language Acquisition generally regards learning motivation as a key factor in second language learning. Because learning motivation is one of the key factors affecting language learning， it is of great significance to pay attention to stimulate and cultivate the students’ learning motivation.
　　【Key words】motivation； foreigners； second language acquisition
　　1. Research Background
　　As we all know， it’s a complex process to learn a foreign language because there’re many factors which affect the process of foreigners’ Chinese learning. In second language learning， it is an undoubted question that the attitudes toward the second language and the motivation of language learners deeply influence the ability of language learning. The ultimate goal of this study is to find the characteristics in learning motivation of the foreign Chinese learners in the natural learning environment，， in order to provide reference and recommendations for improving the quality of teaching.
　　Research in Second Language Acquisition generally regards learning motivation as a key factor in second language learning. However， motivation itself is dynamical. It is worth being further studied what role it plays， what constituents it has and how these factors interact with each other and finally affected leaning result. As a social motive， learning motivation is the objective requirements of society and education which reflect on students’ minds， and it is an important non-intellectual factor affecting learning， so the study on learning motivation can effectively promote the learners’ language.
　　This study aims to find the characteristics in learning motivation of the foreign Chinese learners. When more and more foreigners come to China to learn Chinese， we may want to have a full understanding of the reasons. This paper will adopt both quantitative and qualitative methods. It addresses the following research questions：
　　（1） What is the motivation of foreigners learning Chinese here？
　　（2） What are the performances of the foreigners’ motivation in the class and in their life？
　　（3） Does the motivation affect the foreigners’ learning behavior？
　　2. Literature Review
　　（1） Gardner’s theory of socio-psychology in second language learning
　　Research on motivation for foreign language learning was started in the 1950s by Canadian psychologists， Gardner and Lambert. They studied the second language learning of Canadian students in Grade Two. After multivariable analysis， they found attitude motivation and language ability correlated with proficiency in the second language. And based on this conclusion， they constructed theory of the social psychology of second language learning. Gardner and Lambert proposed a construct they called integrative motivation and instrument al motivation.