Defining a latent construct such as beliefs is always a challenge. The plethora of different definitions available highlight its complex and multifaceted nature. Scholars provide definitions that range from those reflecting theoretical approaches in cognitive psychology to those in line with socioconstructivist views. As a result, learner beliefs have been defined, inter alia, as cognitive constructs, implicit theories, personal epistemologies, folkloristic conceptions of learning, and “general assumptions that students hold about themselves as learners, about factors influencing language learning, and about the nature of language learning and teaching” (Victori and Lockhart 1995, p. 224).