Extensive SLA research has led to a myriad of teaching and learning methods. Implicit and explicit English language exposures constitute important components utilized in English language education. In Malaysia, the English language status had been downgraded for a period of time after the pre-independence era resulting in reduced English language exposure in classrooms. This has contributed in producing decreased English language fluency among graduates and it has raised the question as to which of the two language exposure modes best motivates language learning. Accordingly, the present study investigated whether doing receptive and productive language activities implicitly or explicitly correlates with motivation (low to high) among Malaysian higher education students. 445 from 460 undergraduate respondents from different public and private higher education institutions were selected following data cleaning. The initial analysis for descriptive data using the SPSS was followed by the structural model analysis using the PLS-SEM. The results show that explicit ESL exposure increased motivation to learn English. Implicit exposure, by contrast, did not directly increase motivation to learn English. Future research should examine how implicit (vs. explicit) language exposure influences different elements of language learning (e.g., syntax, semantics) to further verify the significance of present study's measurement items.