Implicit theories: Language learning mindsets

Implicit theories (or mindsets) refer to the fundamental, core beliefs that individuals hold about the nature and malleability of various aspects of the human condition. Our specific interest is with implicit theories relating to intelligence or ability, as these beliefs affect approaches to learning and have been shown to connect to motivation (see Ushioda, Chapter 5, this volume), attributions (Hsieh, Chapter 7, this volume), goals (Woodrow, Chapter 13, this volume), strategies (Cohen, Chapter 10, this volume), and self-concept (Mercer, Chapter 2, this volume). While mindsets have been the focus of an increasing number of studies within psychology, they remain an under-researched construct in the domain of foreign language learning.