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[Jetgirly]

I think we're all aware of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. His seven intelligences are Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal (I don't count Naturalistic, as that was a later addition). Gardner believed that each person displays each of these intelligences in varying degrees, and that they learn best when their strongest intelligences are honoured in the classroom. How do you incorporate your understanding of those intelligences into your practice?

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_intelligences

[rusmeister]

Not rejecting theory out of hand (there IS valuable research out there), and that one's fairly well known, but a main purpose of modern theories is in justifying the paychecks of those that come up with them, and a main effect on teachers is to inflate the illusion of super-professionalism in their own minds(teacher's unions love this!). Having said that...

I think a simpler non-ivory tower view is to realize that different kids learn different ways. A good program will combine music, visuals, text and make the learners get up and move at some point. (Of course they don't line up with Gardner's idea exactly.)

That one happens to have some applicability because it is true, only it presents it in a hyper-intellectual way. I personally found Oxford programs that combine those elements, and manage to reach most of my kids and adults in most areas, I think. If you're doing only conversation, or only grammar, or only activities and games, you're neither presenting the fulness of the language, so to speak, nor are the students, who learn in different ways, receiving everything that you are trying to deliver.

[coffeedrinker]

I suppose this is a pretty simplistic approach, but using vocab words on slips of paper that they have to move around to order (as opposed to just number them in a list) for kinaesthetic learners - this is also often just more practical to do than numbering a list. Activities that involve moving around like lots of efl games are of course good.

While I've always received the advice to say a new word for students before they see it - because of the difficulties of English pronunciation compared to the way something is written - this doesn't always happen for a number of reasons, and students often initially resist it anyway and want to see it, etc. But of course saying something without writing it first - a sentence or a story is a way to do this for audio learners.

Songs - and maybe jazz chants though I have to confess I've never been able to pull those off - are pretty obvious for the musical learners, but also just playing background music quietly.

I guess most activities just due to the fact they come out of a book are good for visual and logical learners already.

[John Hall]

This is my first exposure to this very interesting topic.

I have a question:
Assuming that language learning is something that one primarily learns audially, how can you turn a student who is primarily a visual or other-type-than-audial learner into a better audial learner? We all have those students who may be good mechanics or engineers, but who are totally lost in English classes, unable to maintain even simple conversation after months and months of study. What can be done to help them improve?

[Glenski]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

[ls650]

[Jetgirly]

I knew about Gardner in high school (if not middle school). His is one of those theories that you just come across again and again. MI was definitely covered in some depth in my Intro to Psych course in first-year university as well. Plus, isn't educational theory covered in everything after the initial four-week TEFL certificate?

[Glenski]

jetgirly,
You are under the misunderstanding that everyone on this board is a certified, degreed EFL/ESL teacher. Most are probably not. I only have a TESL certificate to go with my science degree. The only reason I have heard of Gardner (aside from the Perry Mason variety, Erle Stanley) is that I choose to read to improve my teaching. I couldn't have given you Gardner's name, though, if you pressed me for it. Just the concept of MI. He might have been brought up in one of my TESL courses, but I don't recall.

[coffeedrinker]

I consider this idea of "different learning styles" almost common knowledge. I couldn't have given Gardner's name - and I bet there are plenty of people who have published about it or about additional types of styles - but I don't think it's so far out to give thought to different types of learners, especially the more common (I think) ones like audio and kinaesthetic in addition to visual.

I have a BA and a CELTA.

[ls650]

[John Hall]

[coffeedrinker]

I'm hardly an expert but I'll give it a go...

First of all, my intuition is that it's not that some fields are learned a certain way (language learned audially), it's that people learn things (or remember things) in different ways. An audio learner will remember a word if he hears it but not if he only sees it and vice versa for a visual learner.

To me, this means that if you make some effort to use activities that incorporate the different styles, you will be more likely to strike upon one that works for each student. And part of it, I think at least, is raising students' own awareness about it: they aren't stupid if they don't learn by hearing, they just need to learn by seeing. And when they study or work on their own (which they need to do), they can focus on methods that work for them and not try to make themselves read a novel in English when listening to a song will be more useful.

As far as people not being able to converse, my idea is this: they need to be speaking for fluency at some point in every class. They need to be able to forget about making mistakes for that time. They need to see the value in communicating and not just making grammatically correct sentences. And I don't think these things are connected to multiple intelligences as talked about here...

[Glenski]

[Jizzo T. Clown]