The study is a longitudinal case study that examines the nature and development of beliefs that Finnish L1 elementary school children hold about English and the learning of English. The data were produced using semi-structured interviews. The participants (N= 15) were interviewed in Year 1 (aged 7), Year 3 (aged 10), and Year 5 (aged 12). The data were analysed from three perspectives: for the content of the participants’ beliefs, using the Bakhtinian notion of voice, and the sociocultural notion of agency. Data triangulation was thus achieved through the use of multiple theoretical and analytical approaches.The findings showed that the learners’ beliefs had both varying and repeated elements. The learners consistently said that, generally speaking, English must be learnt because it is needed abroad. However, their own motives for studying English varied considerably within the group and over time. While they said that the main use of English was speaking, they nevertheless considered reading books to be the most effective way to learn English. The influence of formal teaching practices in their beliefs was very clear.Some of the learners’ beliefs were modified over time as a function of their own increasing experience with language learning, reflecting their own voice: some appeared to be conditioned by authoritative voices. Their beliefs were thus polyphonic. The authoritative views regarding English learning also seemed to modify the learners’ own experience: as accepted, ventriloquated cultural truths, they acted as a filter through which the learners saw their experience.The learners’ agency developed from co-operation with parents and teachers towards a more independent role in language studies. However, this process was not consistent for all learners: in Year 5 some learners began to portray themselves as passive recipients of teaching rather than as active students.