Philosophical roots --- underlying motivators.

 
   “Between the desire/…And the descent/ Falls the Shadow”(T.S.Eliot). What lies under your motivation for learning something? For learning English? If you are negative and pessimistic, do you call it “greed, fear, ambition, pride, envy, dissatisfaction”? Or if you are positive and optimistic, do you call it “hunger, concern, desire, self-respect, wish to be included in life’s blessings, desire to do better with what you have right now”? Otherwise, why should you get up in the morning? Why struggle all day long? Why study in the evening hours? Above all, why dream at night? Why?
  Here is an observation. It may not be related, but I think it is. Tell me, why is there a qualitative difference in the way some students study Russian and French, as opposed to English and Japanese? Do these languages hold different attractions? Do they arouse different motivations? Do the target nations/target cultures offer different rewards? After all, one studies a language in the hope of achieving some output or reward.