This study addresses the limited research on L2 motivation within English for Specific Purposes (ESP) by examining how Estonian ESP teachers employ motivational strategies (MotS) and how their students perceive these efforts. It aims to pinpoint which MotS are used most frequently and to reveal any discrepancies between teachers’ self-reported MotS use and their observable classroom practice. Teachers and students at an Estonian university completed a questionnaire grounded in Keller’s (2010) ARCS model, while class observations—covering both in-person and online sessions—were carried out using Guilloteaux and Dörnyei’s (2008) observation scheme; the resulting data were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods.
Findings indicate that confidence-building strategies constitute the most commonly employed MotS among the participating teachers.