The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze low-income elementary school children's motivation and demotivation for learning English. Five participants from a local community center which provides after-school programs to low-income children were selected, observed and interviewed. They were observed twice (50 minutes per session) a week for six months. They were also interviewed two times individually. The first rounds of interviews were semi-structured, while the second rounds were structured. The results of the study are as follows. First of all, all the participants had instrumental motivation while none of them had integrative motivation. This shows that even young children realize English is a necessity in Korea and they need it in order to do what they want to do. Second, participants had various Self-determination for English learning. The reason for this is that regulation for them and their internalization for it are different. Third, while three among participants had Ought-to L2 self, other two participants had Ideal L2 self. Kinds of self depend on their embodiment for future hope, relation between the future hope and English learning and their aptitude or interest for English. Fourth, three among participants mentioned experiences of demotivation and these were occurred commonly by an absence of communication between the learner and external elements like teacher or parents. The results of the study illustrate that various factors influence low-income elementary school children's motivation and demotivation to study English. Interestingly enough, however, the types and factors of low-income students' motivation and demotivation for learning English do not seem different from those of the students from more affluent families. Further studies are warranted to discover the reasons for this phenomenon.