The aim of this thesis is to explore the perceptions of motivation of secondary school learners in different age groups. It focuses on how students perceive internal and external motivational factors in foreign language learning and what are the most influential ones from the learners’ point of view. The research is based on a questionnaire about motivation answered by secondary school learners, also reflecting on similarities and differences between the perceptions of two different age groups, 16 and 18-year old students, and exploring motivational relationship between the first and the second foreign languages as well. Analysing the data of the questionnaires enables to set up a preference order about the most popular internal and external motivational strategies. The research paper also deals with the influence of the first foreign language towards the second one focusing on English and German variations. It is worth exploring what motivates students best in order to understand their needs and fears because the research definitely reflects on the great impact of the teacher on their motivation in foreign language learning.