Majority of research on motivation in FL learning deals with English as the global language or LSP. As a result, there is less research in motivation dynamics within specific populations, specifically, among students of other modern languages to whom FL is their future profession. The aim of this study is the construction of a new type of questionnaire that investigates the dynamics of the process of FL learning at the university level. The research was conducted with Italian Studies students of University of Zagreb of all 5 years (N = 173). We used a mixed method approach for collecting quantitative and qualitative data with a questionnaire comprising of language learning biography and self-assessed motivation level at enrolment time and at the time of the research. Thirty-three questionnaire entries were adopted from existing motivation models, five entries inquired about participants’ expectations from completed study and four open- ended questions asked about their motivation to enrol into the studies, the de-motivating factors, and their professional aspirations after graduation. The results show a medium level of motivation among participants with an overall decrease from first to the last year of studies, while factor analysis shows that 36% of the variance is explained by love for Italian language and teaching situation ; two factors targeting intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of motivation. Qualitative analysis confirmed these factors and showed that their teaching situation, the organization of the studies and the university curriculum offering, was a dominant factor in the de-motivation. These results support the theory of motivation as a dynamic phenomenon that varies with time in intensity and orientation. We find that the participants are generally intrinsically oriented but that their motivation reduces with time. For this reason, we propose the presented questionnaire for investigating motivation of these specific populations, and a model that, in addition to the existing constructs, includes components assessing the satisfaction of the participants with the organization of the studies and the execution of the curriculum, and one that observes other affective factors as the attribution model, self-awareness, and expectations of the university programme.