The aim of research is formation of cognitive motivation in learning English of primary school puplis. Scientific novelty lies in the fact that some methods and ways of motivating pupils of primary school age to learn a foreign language have been identified. Results of the application of these methods showed a significant increase in pupils’ interest to English language lessons. This work is based on the hypothesis that learning English by younger schoolchildren will be more successful if teachers take into account the age characteristics of pupils in the first stage, the level of formation of foreign language skills and the development of skills through the formation of cognitive motivation. It goes without saying that the ability to motivate pupils is a key skill of a teacher. In pedagogical practice, in our opinion, the issues of motivating pupils to learn a foreign language are not studied enough.