Multiple Intelligences and Teaching English as a Foreign Language The Case of Second -Year Pupils at MalikaGaid Secondary School Sétif

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, it aims to examine whether implementing Multiple Intelligences theory would enhance students' comprehension of the English teaching materials. Secondly, it strives to discover whether there is a relationship between Linguistic Intelligence and linguistic proficiency. To meet the first purpose, we have used two questionnaires A and B: one for the pupils and the other for the teacher. The questions in questionnaire A are framed so as to allow for statistical analysis of the pupils' answers and to get a feedback of quantitative nature. Questionnaire B comprises a number of open-ended questions to allow for more unstructured commentary on the part of their teacher and to get a feedback of qualitative nature.The second purpose was achieved through the use of McKenzie's (1999) multiple intelligences inventory. The sample of the first purpose consisted of thirty four pupils. They were administered questionnaire A to assess their level of comprehension of the material presented through the Multiple Intelligences Theory and their teacher's performance. After the presentation of this material, the results revealed that students' ability to comprehend the teaching material improved considerably: The questionnaire revealed that 90.01 % of the population favored the MI based lesson plans over the traditional ones. The teacher's reply to the questionnaire showed that the MI based material did enhance the pupils' motivation, facilitated the teacher's task and resulted in better results. The sample of the second purpose was one hundred secondary school pupils. They were given the Multiple Intelligences Inventory to diagnose the pupils who have a high level of Linguistic Intelligence. Next, we have calculated the mean of the marks each pupil has had during the whole academic year, separating the high from the middle and low achievers. Afterwards, we have compared the marks of the high English language achievers with their Linguistic Intelligence level to see whether there is a relationship between Linguistic Intelligence and their achievement. McKenzie's (1999) multiple intelligences inventory Université Sétif2 iv enabled us to understand that English language learning is intrinsically related to Linguistic Intelligence. It showed that 80.39 per cent of the pupils who got good marks in English examinations had strong Linguistic Intelligence. In addition to the main aim of this research work, two salient objectives have been reached: (a) A new teaching approach labeled ECPTA (Ending Classroom Prescribed Teaching Approaches) which takes into account the cultural background of the learner, and (b) new intelligences which respect Gardner's (2003) criteria: (a) the existence of idiot savants, prodigies and other exceptional individuals (b) an identifiable core operation or set of operations, and (c) an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility..............................................................................................La recherche sur les intelligences multiples révèle que les individus varient beaucoup dans la façon dont ils apprennent une langue étrangère. Chaque individu possède une intelligence prédominante qui lui facilite les apprentissages et les transferts de connaissance. Selon Howard Gardner, la théorie des intelligences multiples comporte neuf intelligences : linguistique, logico- mathématique, musicale, spatiale, kinesthésique, naturaliste, interpersonnelle, intrapersonnelle et existentialiste. Le but premier de cette étude est d’identifier les intelligences multiples des élèves de deuxième année secondaire fréquentant le lycée de Malika Gaid – Sétif, et vérifier la relation entre l'intelligence verbale et les résultats de ces élèves aux compositions d'Anglais. L'étude explore aussi les différentes techniques que le professeur met en application dans le but d'assurer une adaptation adéquate de ces intelligences et produire des changements positifs dans la manière d'apprendre l'Anglais. Le deuxième but est d’évaluer l'efficacité des techniques d'enseignement de la poésie en utilisant la théorie des intelligences multiples. L'instrument utilisé pour l'étude était le "McKenzie Multiple Intelligences Inventory".La population cible comporte 97 élèves : 74 filles et 23 garçons. Leurs âges varient entre 16 et 23 ans. En ce qui concerne le deuxième but, deux questionnaires ont été utilisés. L'un pour les élèves et l'autre pour leur enseignant. Les deux questionnaires visent l’évaluation du contenu des leçons présentées, la compréhension par les élèves de ce contenu, et la méthode de travail de l'enseignant