Motivation is one of the key factors that affect L2 learners' success and performance in the language learning process; that is why, widely concerns teachers and researchers. Amidst a global health crisis that urged most English preparatory schools across Turkey to carry out their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lessons online, the question of motivation attracted even more attention. A qualitative case study was conducted in order to explore students' perceptions of online teaching and how it affects their motivation over a period of a seven-week-course. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and creative writing samples of 12 students from an intact classroom. Both interviews and creative writing tasks demonstrated that students overall believe online education has a negative impact on their motivation due to lack of social interaction, a mismatch between expectations and content, organizational problems and the organization of learning environments. Pedagogical implications are listed.