This study analyzes the learning of Spanish as a foreign language from a perspective based on Gardner’s socioeducational model. Two different studies are presented. The first study verifies the viability of the socioeducational model in Chinese university students who are learning either in linguistic and cultural immersion (Spain) or in their original culture (China). The results show that Gardner’s model is appropriate but some of the variables are restructured. Based on this, the second study includes some variables specifically linked to Chinese culture. The model is tested through cross-cultural analysis in two samples from China and the United States. The findings are interpreted in relation to the cultural characteristics of the sample studied. Theoretical, empirical, and practical implications are also discussed.