This presentation is situated within the broader field of second language acquisition which seeks to describe the underlying developmental processes and outcomes in learning a language other than our first. While a range of individual factors may give rise to significant individual variability in language learning, the presentation takes motivation as an example of a socio-psychological factor at work in the dynamics of language learning. If motivation concerns the reasons underpinning language uptake and ongoing engagement, motivation research serves to illuminate dimensions of our motivational repertoires, tapping into the dynamics of different motivational orientations that underpin and shape language learning. The presentation problematises the role of such motivation orientations between English and languages other than English in our contemporary world where English has assumed the status of the global lingua franca of our times. Folk belief thus often holds that English constitutes a demotivating factor in the learning of other languages, with implications for plurilingual and multilingual development at individual and societal level. The presentation problematises such potentially differential motivation dynamics at play across languages, drawing on comparative research among language learners for whom English holds differential status at individual and societal level. The findings serve to inform how individual and societal factors may differentially shape motivation for language learning across different contexts and languages, with potential insights forthcoming for plurilingual and multilingual development in the individual and wider society.