Beyond the Classroom: Exploring the Motivational Impact of Globalization on EFL Learners

Globalization positions English as a gateway to digital culture, professional participation, and geographic mobility, yet its motivational resonance for individual learners remains under-described. This qualitative study explored the impact of globalization on motivation among three EFL Learners studying English as a foreign language in a language center. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two interlocking themes emerged. Personal motivation centred on the desire to engage directly with global industry, self-actualization and to construct a cosmopolitan identity. Professional motivation reflected perceptions of English as essential for employment, networking, and academic competitiveness in multinational contexts. The themes collectively depict a layered motivational ecology in which intrinsic curiosity and instrumental aspirations reinforce one another, yet are accompanied by anxiety over native-speaker benchmarks The findings enrich current literature by illuminating how globalization shapes motivation at an individual level paving way for professional goals within a linguistically diverse Global South setting, contributing to Pakistani scholarship.