This article reports on a case study of the relationship among language learning motivations, instruction factors and second foreign language (L2) achievement in Japanese non-major undergraduate courses in Hsuan Chang University (HCU) in Taiwan. A questionnaire based on L2 self framework (Dörnyei, 2005) was completed by 82 students who took an optional course in Japanese language, at the end of their programme of study. The results indicated that two major motivations for learning Japanese were travel and instrumental (carrier). Furthermore, a simultaneous multiple regression analysis suggested that travel orientation may predict higher examination scores. There was a weak significant correlation between students' examination scores and their preferred instruction type.