This study aims to define the motivational and attitudinal features of EFL learners at the outset of the preparatory program from the Socio-Educational Model perspective. Research was conducted via exploratory mixed methods design. First, the quantitative data of the study were obtained via a questionnaire in Turkish, including 19 five-point Likert scale items taken from Pulat (2010) who adapted Gardner's (1985) motivation and attitude test battery to an identical EFL context. During the second week of the academic year 2019-2020, 182 EFL students at the School of Foreign Languages at a state university in Turkey participated in this quantitative study. For the qualitative data, nine students selected by a process of purposeful sampling were addressed four open-ended questions in Turkish about what they do to improve their English, their opinions on the importance of learning English, how they interact with English-speaking people, and their lifestyle. Results revealed that learners' instrumental motivation outweighed their integrative motivation and that students lacked regular interactions with target community people.