This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the impact of project-based learning on the academic motivation of first-year university students. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. A group of English language students was placed in the experimental and control groups. The students of the experimental group were trained for 10 sessions using the project-based learning method, while the students of the control group were trained using the traditional method. Before and after the training, the academic motivation test was taken in both groups as a pre-test and post-test. The obtained results showed that there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in academic motivation. The results confirmed the effectiveness of the project-based learning method on students' attitudes toward language learning.