This paper argues that understanding the source and development of student motivation for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is very important for educational purposes. The purpose of this study of 234 Korean 9th graders was to identify the following: (1) Korean students' orientations and motivations for learning English; (2) what kinds of orientations could lead to motivations; (3) how new cognitive variables, such as confidence and attributions, are related to students' motivations; and (4) how gender relates to and affects student motivation. Methodologies employed included factor analysis to extract underlying motivations, Pearson product-moment correlations to assess relationships among these factors, and discriminate function analysis to examine the effects of gender. The following findings are discussed: integrative reasons for second language learning are most significant; goal salience, attributions, and self-confidence are the main motivators; all orientations should be internally controllable by students before leading to motivations; and females consistently report higher integrative orientations and more positive attitudes toward second language learning. It is concluded that formal, extrinsic, classroom-related motivations were more important factors in second language learning than traditional integrative and instrumental motivations in Korean EFL contexts. Extensive quantitative empirical data and 64 references are included. (Author/KFT)