This paper, an exploratory case study, examines how students' preferences and motivation to learn English are influenced by their perceptions of teaching practices--both of native English teachers and local English teachers. To better understand the context of this research question, this study adopts a method of triangulation in collecting data: classroom observation, student interviews and teacher interviews. For intrinsic motivation, results reveal that Chinese students prefer a native-English-speaking teacher's approach to communication language teaching. However, for extrinsic motivations, students preferred the curriculum-oriented approach of local teachers due to the relevance to the ultimately- important English examinations.