Teachers employ various strategies aimed at enhancing student motivation, yet there is scant empirical evidence to support their effectiveness. Based on an investigation of 30 EFL classroom observations involving 10 teachers and more than 900 learners (including 90 learners at different levels of English proficiency who completed questionnaires), several motivational strategies in Chinese ESL classrooms are analyzed in this paper. The effectiveness of motivational strategies is measured using three different research tools: lesson observations conducted by the researcher, a post-lesson teacher evaluation scale, and a student motivation questionnaire. Before lesson observations, the questionnaire was rated by 80 EFL teachers and 10 in-depth teacher interviews were conducted to outline the motivational strategies employed in class. During lesson observations, a motivational strategies effectiveness (MSE) observation scheme was used for assessment. The student questionnaire, which was completed after the lesson observation, served as a source to validate the results of the MSE and teacher self-rated questionnaires.