This paper reports on the results of an investigation of the relationships between motivation, motivation intensity, use of Chinese outside of class and self-rated competence in Chinese. Analyses of 162 questionnaires and 17 semi-structured interviews revealed the following findings: (1) the participants reported having high integrative motivation, instrumental motivation and motivation intensity to learn Chinese, and having a high use of Chinese outside of class, (2) integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, motivation intensity and use of Chinese outside of class were significantly positively correlated; use of Chinese outside of class was significantly positively and motivation intensity significantly negatively correlated with self-rated competence in listening Chinese, and (4) use of Chinese outside of class and motivation intensity were powerful predictors for self-rated competence in Chinese. These findings indicate that contact with the target language is crucial in enhancing motivation and competence in the language.