The article reports results of a study of beginner-level learners of Zulu in higher education in the UK, focussing on learners' linguistic background, their motivation and reasons for studying Zulu, and their self-assessed progress at the beginning of the second term of teaching. The study shows that participants typically studied Zulu as an additional or L3 language and often had prior knowledge of three or four background languages, including in many cases prior knowledge of an African language. They studied Zulu for personal, academic and professional reasons and their motivation was integrative as well as instrumental. Many expected to use Zulu professionally, in particular for work or study in South Africa. While learners' motivation does not interact significantly with self-assessed progress, the study suggests that both a higher number of background languages, and knowledge of an African language structurally similar to Zulu might have positive effects on self-assessed progress. (Contains 9 figures, 3 tables and 11 notes.)