On the Relationship of Multiple Intelligences With Listening Proficiency and Attitudes Among Iranian TEFL University Students

Abstract

Gardner’s (1983) Multiple Intelligences Theory (MIT) has been found to have profound implications in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in that it provides a way for teachers to recognize learners’ individual cognitive and affective differences by providing favorable motivational conditions for learning. However, little investigation has focused on the domains of cognition and affect in a single study. Therefore, this study investigates two facets: the relationship of Multiple Intelligences (MIs) with listening among Iranian TEFL university students and the possible relationship between the type of intelligence the students fall into and their attitudes toward learning English. In this study, McKenzie’s (1999) MI Inventory was used to identify 60 participants’ preferred intelligences. The participants comprised an intact group randomly assigned to the experiment. A Likert-type questionnaire was employed to elicit data about participants’ levels of personality traits that accounted for their attitudes to language-learning. Also, the participants’ listening comprehension proficiency was measured using the listening section of a retired TOEFL test. Data analysis using Pearson correlation revealed no significant relationship between the score of listening and any of the MIs. Similarly, the results indicated no significant difference between MIs and attitudes.