This thesis focuses on the motivation for foreign language learning at the beginning of formal education in the Croatian socio-educational context. The theoretical part examines the concept of motivation, explaining key motivational constructs and presenting selected European and Croatian studies on motivation in early language learning. The study aims to investigate whether there are differences in motivation for learning English and German as foreign languages among first-grade primary school pupils. Additionally, it seeks to describe and explain the study findings and their implications for teaching foreign languages in our country. The sample consists of 26 first-grade pupils from six rural primary schools, including 15 pupils learning English as their first FL and 11 pupils learning German as their first FL. To assess their motivation for learning English or German, the pupils completed a smiley questionnaire and participated in an interview (Enever, 2011). Quantitative findings reveal no significant differences in motivation to learn English and German as first foreign languages at the beginning of formal education. However, qualitative findings indicate that the main differences among these respondents lie in contextual factors, specifically the external conditions influencing students' exposure to the foreign language they are learning. As expected, informal contact with the English language surpasses that with the German language. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that more respondents have encountered people who speak German than those who speak English. The qualitative data also highlight that the majority of respondents show an interest in learning at least one or more foreign languages at the beginning of formal education, which is encouraging for the future of foreign language teaching in the Croatian cultural and educational context.