The aim of this study was to investigate teachers` and pupils` views of the English subject in Swedish and Norwegian schools, and to find out what motivates six year olds to learn English. The study was carried out in two different countries where the start of compulsory English teaching are taking place in different grades. The methods of the survey have been interviews with teachers and pupils and classroom observation. The findings of the study are that six year olds are motivated to learn English, because they want to be able to communicate with other people. The results also show that the teachers` implementation of English activities has a significant part in their pupils’ linguistic motivation and language learning.