ABSTRACT. The purpose of this mixed methods study, within the altruistic, intrinsic, or extrinsic motives framework, was conducted in order to document the motives of English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers to become a teacher by choosing a teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. A sample of 285 student teachers who were enrolled at EFL teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia was investigated. Data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The frequency of each statement was computed and expressed as percentage of its total score and all of the interview data were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and carefully analysed. The findings of this study revealed that the Indonesian EFL student teachers' interpretations of their motives for embarking on a journey to become a teacher were various and unique. Although, altruistic motives seemed to be predominant, the kinds of motives on their career choice were likely to involve an interaction among altruistic, intrinsic, and extrinsic motives across participants quantitatively and qualitatively. Implications policies to create good standards of teacher education programs in order to attract and recruit quality student teachers should be made before, during, and after entering the program. Keywords. Motives, Indonesian Student Teachers, Teacher Education SUMMARYPurpose and Significance: Interest in entering teacher education has been growing in Indonesia. Understanding student teachers' initial motives or reasons to become a teacher by entering a teacher education program is necessary as a foundation to develop teacher education policies and programs intended to increase the quality of teachers and teaching practices. Information on their motives is very important for teaching institutions to obtain in order to help prepare the quality student teachers during their education and training, to train them with better skill, knowledge, and attitude, and to socialize them with the teachers' roles so that they will take teaching as a more challenging and rewarding profession. However, much of the research is from developed countries and schooling there differs in many significant respects from Indonesia, including governance, financing, and policies on curriculum and assessment while research on student teachers' motives to enter the teacher profession in Indonesia is still rare. The focus of this study was to document English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers' motives to become a teacher by choosing a teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia.Methodology: This study employed a mixed methods design, in which both students' questionnaire and semistructured interviews were used to gather the data within the altruistic, intrinsic, or extrinsic motives framework. A sample of year 2, 3, and 4 EFL student teachers who were enrolled at an EFL teacher education program at one public university in Jambi, Sumatra, Ind...