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This study was an attempt to investigate the possible effects of integrating MI-based activities into developing the EFL students’ speaking skills, and then to find out the students’ eva

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

CHÂU VĂN ĐÔN

INTEGRATING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES-BASED

ACTIVITIES INTO TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS

TO EFL LEARNERS

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS IN THEORY AND

METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

HUE, 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY

CHÂU VĂN ĐÔN

INTEGRATING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES-BASED

ACTIVITIES INTO TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS IN THEORY AND

METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Code: 9 14 01 11

Supervisor:

Assoc Prof TRƯƠNG VIÊN, PhD

HUE, 2019

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ

CHÂU VĂN ĐÔN

INTEGRATING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES-BASED

ACTIVITIES INTO TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS

LUẬN ÁN TIẾN SĨ CHUYÊN NGÀNH LÝ LUẬN

MÃ NGÀNH: 9 14 01 11

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN:

PGS.TS TRƯƠNG VIÊN

HUẾ, 2019

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

The thesis entitled “Integrating Multiple Intelligences-based Activities into Teaching Speaking Skills to EFL Learners” has been submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis I have fully acknowledged and referenced the ideas and works of others, whether published or unpublished, in my thesis

My thesis does not contain work extracted from a thesis, dissertation or research paper previously presented for another degree or diploma at this or any other educational institute

Signature

CHÂU VĂN ĐÔN

This study was an attempt to investigate the possible effects of integrating MI-based activities into developing the EFL students’ speaking skills, and then to find out the students’ evaluation of such an integration of MI-based activities Therefore, to attain those two main objectives, the mixed research method was adopted: the quantitative approach utilizing a quasi-experimental study in which MI-based activities were integrated into an experiment The participants were 60 EFL second-year students from the research site, randomly selected on their voluntary basis and were divided into an experimental group and a control group The possible effects of such an integration of MI-based activities into the speaking-training program were measured via the means of a pre- and post-test and the questionnaire administered to the experimental group as the two main research instruments The qualitative approach, aiming at collecting some supplementary evidence regarding the participants’ responses Qualitative data were collected from

30 experimental participants via the evaluation form and the interviews with six randomly chosen participants from the experimental group

The findings from the English speaking pre-test and post-test revealed significant statistical differences between the participants’ test scores of their EFL oral performances before and after taking part in the instructional intervention The

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results of data analysis of the test scores shows that there was a significant difference (M = 43) in favor of the post-test Such an improvement of the mean score in the post-test indicates that the program had some effects on improving the students’ speaking skills as well as enhancing their learning motivation

From the findings of the study, it is also depicted that the participants had positive evaluation of the integration of MI-based activities Their support and satisfaction of the MI-based activities were indicated at high levels in terms of their better perceptions of their specific MI profiles, their acknowledgement of the benefits of the MI-based activities in facilitating their speaking skills, building up their confidence, promoting their learning motivation, and increasing their engagement in the discussion and interaction activities

Based on the above-mentioned findings, some implications are proposed from this research regarding the effectiveness of integrating MI-based activities on developing EFL students’ speaking skills, and the feasibility of promoting EFL students’ oral performances by integrating MI-based activities into EFL speaking training programs

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With all of my gratitude, I would like to express my whole-hearted thanks to the ones who contributed to this thesis with their academic expertise, substantive help or emotional support

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Trương Viên for his continuous guidance, help, support and encouragement throughout the course of this study

Secondly, my sincere thanks also go to the lecturers of the University of Foreign Languages, Hue University: Assoc Prof Dr Trần Văn Phước; Assoc Prof

Dr Phạm Thị Hồng Nhung; Assoc Prof Dr Lê Phạm Hoài Hương; Dr Trương Bạch Lê; Dr Phạm Hồng Anh, who have whole-heartedly guided me through each phase of this journey I always feel your care about my study and professional development Therefore, once again, I would like to express my deep thanks for all your kind help and enthusiastic encouragement

I also own a word of thanks to Assoc Prof Dr Lưu Quý Khương and Assoc Prof Dr Tôn Nữ Mỹ Nhật for giving me such valuable suggestions for improving the quality of my thesis I would also like to express my thanks to the Board of Rectors of my university for creating all the favorable conditions for me to take part

in this Ph.D program I am grateful to the lecturers and students of the Foreign Languages Department of the university where the experiment for this study is conducted, particularly the students of second-year EFL class 2014-2019 (DC14) for their participation into the experimental study by filling the questionnaires, taking the pre/post-test, and answering the interview

Last but not least, the unconditional, innumerable, great affection, sacrifice and care of my family members for me during my Ph.D program-taking journey beyond words They are always the source of motivation and aspiration for me to overcome all my difficulties and achieve what I have academically dreamed so far

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CEFR European Framework of Reference for Languages

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

SLA Second Language Acquisition

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language

TPR Total Physical Response

ZPD Zone of Proximal Development

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 3.1 Instruments used in the research 41

Table 3.2 Summary of the procedures of the main study 60

Table 3.3 Stages of analyzing interview data 64

Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics of mean performance in pre and post-test 71

Table 4.2 Residuals Statisticsa ……….… 71

Table 4.3 Case Processing Summary ……… 72

Table 4.4 Test of Homogeneity of Variances ……… 72

Table 4.5 Difference between means of pre-test and post-test ……… 72

Table 4.6 Mean score of pre-test in comparison with the accepted mean 73

Table 4.7 Mean score of the post-test in comparison with the good mean 73

Table 4.8 Participants’ English-speaking performances within 2 groups before and after the experimental program 74

Table 4.9 Correlation between the results of the pre-test and the post-test 76

Table 4.10 Means scores of experimental participants’ pre and post-questionnaire 85

Table 4.11 Grouped data for the 6 clusters in the pre-questionnaire 86

Table 4.12 The mean scores of the pre-questionnaire 87

Table 4.13 Comparing mean score of Pre-questionnaire and Scale 3 (NS) 88

Table 4.14 Grouped data for 6 clusters in post-questionnaire 89

Table 4.15 Mean scores of post-questionnaire 89

Table 4.16 Comparing mean score of Post-questionnaire and Scale 4 (“A”) 90

Table 4.17 Participants’ preferred MI-based activities 97

Table 4.18 Summary of the study findings 132

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Figure 3.3 The research procedures 39 Figure 4.1 Participants’ intelligences profiles 69 Figure 4.2 Participants’ speaking performances reported in pre & post tests

(both groups) reported in speaking pre-test and post-test 75

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

iv v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 3

1.3 Research objectives 4

1.4 Research questions 5

1.5 Research scope 5

1.6 Significance of the study 5

1.7 Organization of the thesis 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 9

2.1 Multiple Intelligences Theory 9

2.2 Individual differences in an English speaking class 13

2.3 Social Interaction, Learning Styles and Individual Differences 14

2.3.1 Relationship between Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, Learner-Centeredness, and Communicative Approach 17

2.3.1.1 Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles 17

2.3.1.2 Learner-centeredness approach 18

2.3.1.3 Communicative approach 19

2.4 Speaking skills 20

2.4.1 Definition of speaking 20

2.4.2 Components of speaking skills 21

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2.4.3 Definition of MI-based speaking activities 21

2.4.3.1 Project-based activities ……… 24

2.4.3.2 Poster-making activities ……… 24

2.4.3.3 Common features between project-based and poster-making activities 25 2.5 Implementing MI-based activities in EFL classrooms 26

2.6 Previous studies relating to the application of MIT 27

2.6.1 Previous studies on integrating MI-based activities in teaching speaking 27 2.6.2 Some viewpoints on integrating MI-based activities into speaking instruction 32

2.7 Chapter summary 35

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36

3.1 Revisiting the Research Questions 36

3.2 Research design 36

3.3 Research procedures 38

3.4 Research participants 40

3.5 Research instruments 41

3.5.1 MI inventory 42

3.5.2 English-speaking pre-test and post-test 43

3.5.3 Questionnaires 44

3.5.4 Evaluation form 45

3.5.5 Interview 46

3.6 Research context 48

3.7 Roles of the researcher 49

3.8 Ethical issues 49

3.9 Research implementation 50

3.9.1 The pilot study 50

3.9.2 The official study 52

3.9.2.1 Overview 52

3.9.2.2 The Conventional speaking-training program 52

3.9.2.3 The experiment 58

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3.9.3 Administering the MI inventory 61

3.9.4 Administering questionnaires 61

3.9.5 Administering speaking pre-test and post-test 62

3.9.6 Administering interviews and evaluation form 62

3.10 Data analysis 63

3.11 Research reliability and validity 65

3.12 Chapter summary 66

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 67

4.1 Effects of integrating MI-based activities 67

4.1.1 Participants’ MI profiles 68

4.1.2 Participants’ speaking performances before and after experiment 69

4.1.2.1 Participants’ speaking performances between two groups 70

4.1.2.2 Comparison of the participants’ speaking performances within the control group prior to and after the experiment 74

4.1.2.3 Comparison of the participants’ speaking performances within the experimental group prior to and after the study 74

4.1.2.4 Exploratory investigation: Correlation between the results of the pre-test and the post-pre-test 76

4.2 Discussion of the effects of integrating MI-based activities 77

4.3 Participants’ evaluation of the integration of MI-based activities 83

4.3.1 Participants’ responses in the questionnaires 84

4.3.1.1 Findings from pre-questionnaire 86

4.3.1.2 Findings from post-questionnaire 89

4.3.2 Participants’ responses in the evaluation form 99

4.3.3 Participants’ responses in the interviews 104

4.3.4 Impacts of the extra-curricular speaking-training activities 117

4.4 Discussion of findings on participants’ evaluation of integrating MI-based activities 121

4.4.1 Participants’ perceptions of integrating MI-based activities ……… 121

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4.4.2 Benefits of integrating MI-based activities ……… 124

4.4.3 Participants’ support of integrating MI-based activities ……… 125

4.4.4 Participants’ preferred MI-based activities suitable with MI profiles … 127

4.4.5 Frequency of using teaching materials ……… 130

4.4.6 Some remaining problems with integrating MI-based activities ……… 131

4.5 Chapter summary 133

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 134

5.1 Summary of the key findings 134

5.2 Pedagogical implications 137

5.3 Limitations of the study 140

5.4 Recommendations for further study 140

REFERENCES

AUTHOR’S WORKS LIST OF APPENDICES

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150

151

1.1 Background of the study

The primary goal of learning a foreign language, according to Brown (2001),

is the competence to carry out communicative activities in which learners are able

to use the target language and express it properly in real-life situations for various functions and different extents In language study, oral communicative skills (mainly speaking and listening competencies) are normally regarded as the ones of most considerable difficulties to be trained and developed Such difficulties in developing speaking skills, according to Harmer (2007), are mainly due to the lack

of authentic documents and environment for practicing speaking the language as well as the learners’ acquisition methods Applying various and flexible methods based on a learner-centered approach and promoting diverse and multiple skills and intelligences can help develop learners’ oral communicative skills

Creating a friendly and encouraging EFL speaking environment can help language learners to communicate effectively with one another Within this such a motivating academic environment, language learners feel comfortable to express and exchange their ideas orally, and thus, make their progress in speaking skills

“Application of MI-based approach helps students to promote their positive strengths as well as design relevant learning methods in an effective academic environment” (El-Naggar, 2000, p 25)

The traditional methods of language teaching and learning, argued by Nunan (1991), Savignon (2000), Larsen-Freeman (2000), and Brown (2001), first of all, are generally based on sentence patterns and models of teaching procedures for practicing how to use the language applied and built from such fixed grammatical points Therefore, such a classroom use of the language might likely be entirely

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isolated from its authentic socio-cultural contexts and functions Also, the four language skills are often trained and developed through separated classroom activities generally implemented in a teacher-controlled atmosphere, and the students have limited chances for participation Most important of all, the speaking skills, in such traditional teaching and learning methods, are trained and practiced based on the teacher’s models of drills and much attention is paid to error correction, not to highlight and promote the students’ communicative competences

It can be seen that not much importance is attached to the individual distinction among the different learners regarding their preferences or styles of acquiring and producing the target language that they have learned Thereof, it is indicated by Johnson (2013) that in traditional classrooms, the students with highly developed analytical and reasoning skills are the ones who are more likely to be considered successful learners according to the instructors’ assessment

Dorgham (2011) proposed that most learners own various types and levels of intelligences and utilize them following their own ways Therefore, teachers should always be aware that learners have differential learning styles, levels of intelligences in participating and performing classroom activities Nunan and Baily (2009), Oxford (2001), and Ezarik (2001) also shared their common viewpoint that teachers could find their proper ways of teaching through focusing on the students’ learning styles and thinking strategies:

Teachers are in a bad need to find the right strategies to fit the diverse learning styles of each individual within the classroom context In order to achieve the required skills, the eight MIs need incorporating into everyday classroom learning (Ezarik, 2001, p 143)

The change from teacher-centered to learner-centered approach to learning means a reduction in teacher domination, with a corresponding increase in student control and initiative (Jones, 2007; Geven & Attard, 2012; Johnson, 2013; Crumly, 2014; and Hoidn, 2016) Learner-centeredness has proved to be a practical approach

in EFL teaching and learning Johnson (2013, p 19) views “learner-centered approach is self-directed learning.” The principle of learner-centeredness stipulates

Another common feature that these theories share among each other is the viewpoint of training the learner as an entire person Ahmed (2013) remarked,

“Shifting the central roles from the teacher-centeredness to the student-centeredness

in classroom activities conforms with Dewey’s concept of empowering the students” (p 115) According to Gardner (1983), intelligence is defined as “the ability to deal with problems in real-life situations or to propose solutions practically valuable in various cultural and social contexts” (p 214) He proposed that individuals possess at least eight types of intelligences: bodily-kinesthetic; interpersonal; musical-rhythmic; verbal-linguistic; visual-spatial; logical-mathematical; intrapersonal and naturalistic Recently, two more types of intelligences named spiritual and existential were added by Gardner (1996)

1.2 Statement of the problem

In general, there have been quite a lot of research to investigate the effects of MIT application aiming at developing learners’ linguistic knowledge and communicative competence (e.g., Campbell, 1994; Armstrong, 1993; Christison,

1996 & 1999; Younas & Subhani, 2015; among the others) However, in the field of applying MI-based activities to promote language learners’ speaking skills, the number of such studies is minimal (Orhan & Hasan, 2015)

Speaking in the target language has taken up a significant place throughout the history of language teaching and learning (Brown, 2001 and Nunan, 1991) Nowadays, speaking skills have themselves manifested to be a separate field of teaching, learning, and assessment Nevertheless, Nunan (1991) and Samira (2014) commented that little attention has still been paid to spoken discourse production Due to the difficulties in learning how to speak in the target language, it is,

From the survey of the test scores of the EFL first-year students at the Foreign Languages Faculty at the research site in the second-term of the academic year 2015-2016, it revealed that the students’ scores were quite low in all language skills, particularly in the EFL speaking subject From both of the teachers’ and students’ viewpoints, EFL Vietnamese students usually feel reluctant in participating in English speaking activities due to their problems, such as limited vocabulary, lack of confidence, large number of students in the class, inconveniences of classroom furniture design, not much use of visual aids in class, inflexible teaching and learning methods to develop students’ speaking skills, etc

Aiming at improving the speaking skills, or oral performances as it is sometimes used interchangeably in this study, for the EFL students at the research site, the researcher put forward the integration of MI-based activities into the EFL experimental program as the core of designing and implementing speaking-training lessons Then, based on the findings relating to the possible effects of integrating such MI-based activities, the participants’ evaluation of such an integration of MI-based activities were explored

1.3 Research objectives

The current study was conducted to achieve the following two goals:

- To survey the effects of integrating MI-based activities into the EFL training program to develop students’ speaking skills

speaking To investigate the students’ responses to such an integration of MIspeaking based activities into their EFL speaking-training program

1.6 Significance of the study

The current study is significant regarding the following contributions:

Theoretically, this study aims to make some contributions to the knowledge

of teaching and learning speaking skills based on the integration of MI-based activities The adoption of the mixed research approaches in the current study provides an overview of implementing MI-based activities for developing speaking skills for the EFL students by organizing the discussion and interaction activities like group work in intelligence centers according to their similar MI profiles As

Practically, based on the findings of the current study, some implications are provided for both instructors and students in implementing speaking-training activities For instance, the teaching procedures in the experimental program of this study can not only help instructors to become more aware of creating favorable conditions for students to demonstrate their oral performances based on their preferred intelligence types and classroom activities but also encourage students to

be more motivated, confident and engaged in the speaking-training lessons

This research, therefore, is hoped to make some significant contribution to (1) establishing some sources of data on tertiary EFL students’ MI profiles; (2) introducing the teaching materials which are relevant for applying MI-based activities in Vietnamese EFL speaking lessons; (3) recommending some MI-based speaking activities aiming at promoting more than one type of intelligences at a time; (4) establishing the possible effects of MIT application in EFL classroom instruction practice regarding promoting students’ speaking skills; and (5) initially catching the students’ support of such an integration of MI-based activities

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In other words, this study proposes an alternative way of training English speaking skills for the students by adopting the MI-based approach instead of the conventional speaking-training method commonly applied for training speaking skills for the EFL students at the research site If this MI-based approach for training speaking skills proves to work better for the participants, this experience of learning speaking might be adopted on a broader scale into their future learning experience at higher levels and also in their future of English-speaking teaching career Besides, the current study also attempts to establish some theoretical contribution in terms of proposing the MI-based approach for developing students’

speaking skills

1.7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis comprises five main parts as follows:

Chapter 1, the introduction to the study, briefly presents the statement of the problem, the research aims, the scope and significance of the study This chapter provides information about the context of the study regarding the contemporary context of EFL teaching and learning in Vietnam in which this study is conducted

Chapter 2 reviews relevant literature to this study including the correlations between MIs and learning styles, learner-centeredness, and communicative approach In this chapter, previous studies on integrating MIT into English language teaching are extensively reviewed in order to identify the research gaps which this study aims to fulfill

Chapter 3, then, demonstrates in detail the research methodology of the study from the selection of the research philosophy, research approach to the description

of data collection and data analysis procedures as well as the criteria for ensuring that the study was conducted in the stable and ethical conditions

Chapter 4 is the presentation of the two findings in lines with the two established research questions regarding the possible effects of integrating MI-based activities into the speaking training program for EFL students majored in English Education and their evaluation of such an integration of MI-based activities

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Chapter 5 is the discussion on the findings concerning the literature, the research questions and the analytical framework of the study, from which the overview picture of teaching and learning EFL speaking skills integrated with MI-based activities in some Vietnamese contexts is highlighted This final chapter is also concluded with a summary of the entire research, which is then followed by some implications of the study from both theoretical and practical perspectives

Besides, some limitations the researcher had to deal with during this research implementation are also acknowledged Finally, several suggested avenues for further research in the area of integrating MI-based activities into teaching English speaking skills in particular and communicative language teaching, in general, are proposed

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

The literature, in this chapter, related to some relevant studies to the concepts

of multiple intelligences and speaking skills is preliminarily reviewed Notably, the chapter includes (1) individual differences in an EFL speaking-training class; (2) speaking skills: definition, types of speaking-training activities, and MI-based speaking-training activities; (3) Multiple Intelligences Theory: definition of intelligence, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory (1983), some criticisms and credits of MIT in education; (4) features of Vietnamese EFL learners; the chapter also briefly describes some previous studies having some close relationships with this research, as well as indicates some research gaps in such a literature

2.1 Multiple Intelligences Theory

Multiple Intelligences Theory (MIT) is a psychological and educational theory developed and refined gradually by Gardner (1983), in which this author proposes that different kinds of "intelligence," instead of only two traditional verbal and logical types of intelligences, simultaneously exist in each person Gardner (1983) suggests that each person possesses different levels of these different intelligences, and hence, each person has a unique "cognitive MI profile."

In other words, MIT proposes that the definition of intelligence as traditionally measured and stipulated in intelligent quotients (IQ) tests cannot cover sufficiently all types of competencies an individual possesses According to MIT, a student who can perform calculations quite well should not be regarded as smarter

in an all-round manner than another student who has some difficulties in solving such math problems The second student may prove to be smarter in using different types of intelligence, and can perform the same calculations better through a different learning style or method of solving such math problems or even be better

in another area apart from logical reasoning

Regarding the nature of the afore-mentioned concept of students’ similar types of intelligence, Campbell (2003) also noted that although every individual

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learner may have all or most of the eight types of intelligence, the levels of each type of intelligence in their MI profiles are different among different individuals Such an argument results in various cases in the combination of all the learners’ intelligence types This view-point was backed up with the nature of Gardner (1983)’s MIT proposing that every student is intelligent with their unique structure

of MI profiles

According to Campbell (2003, p 161), MIT was first published in 1983 in

Gardner’s book, Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and has been

refined up to now Following are the definitions and supportive speaking activities for each of the eight types of intelligence in MIT:

Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence: This is considered the fundamental

competence to be learned by all students This intelligence is the skill to combine words to express the concepts from simple to complicated forms to achieve communicative purposes This refers to the linguistic competences regarding the language skills as well as linking them together This intelligence enables students

to express ideas orally, making conversations, making up stories, and organizing ideas for coherent and persuasive presentations

Relevant classroom activities: reporting complicated bulletins; conducting interviews with celebrities; re-telling a news event; delivering speeches; telling stories; and the like

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: the ability to calculate, identify the

quantities, and solve mathematical puzzles This intelligence enables students to understand abstract concepts, develop critical thinking and argumentation skills, think and express their ideas in deductive and conductive methods

Relevant classroom activities: constructing time charts and filling in them with necessary information; doing puzzles; giving directions or finding a place based on a map; producing oral presentations based on statistical results, etc

Visual-Spatial Intelligence: the ability of thinking in three dimensions,

including imagination and reasoning in space, the use of images and the graphic skills as well as creating relevant contents for language talks based on pictures or

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real objects Students who demonstrate this intelligence tend to show great interest

in working with visual aids or prefer using real objects to support oral expressions

Relevant classroom activities: describing pictures; telling stories from pictures; making posters; illustrating 3-D models; drawing things to prepare for oral reports; creating a pictorial report; establishing diagrams to explain information to others, etc

Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence: the ability to perceive the melodies, tunes

and rhythms, which allows a student to identify, create and modify the music This intelligence enables students to create songs, appreciate music, or use musical instruments They can easily imitate tunes and melodies, identify sounds, and learn quickly by heart the lyrics of the songs Musical intelligent students usually like listening to or reproducing words aloud instead of working silently with them The background music also keeps them more motivated while they are practicing or doing their oral language tasks It is not necessary that the student must be able to play a musical instrument or sing a song well, but he should be sensitive to music, tunes, rhythms, or beats

Relevant activities: performing musical instruments as illustration for an oral presentation; creating songs containing topics of vocabulary; performing short “rap” songs to express orally the viewpoints or to summarize information; etc

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: The skills to use the body in various

manners such as gestures or facial expressions to convey meanings for communicative purposes This intelligence exists and actively develops among the students keen on playing sports, dancing, or acting It is a combination of body and mind to perform the activities and express ideas for interaction and communication These students learn best through direct feeling or touching the objects

Relevant classroom activities: role-play; drama; using gestures and miming

to tell stories or illustrating the details of an oral presentation or description; working with peers in different intelligent centers; organizing outdoor activities; designing posters or participating in project-based activities

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Interpersonal Intelligence: the skills of communicating effectively,

team-working and combining the work well with other people, including verbal and verbal communication Students with this type of intelligence enjoy cooperative- learning and learn best via team-work and interaction activities Students with interpersonal intelligence should be provided with opportunities to share ideas with their peers, participate in group work discussions

non-Relevant classroom activities: organizing co-operative learning activities; group-work and pair-work discussions; sharing information or experiences on a specific topic; carrying out interviews in role-playing with real or imaginative celebrities; then presenting the results of the interviews in front of the public

Intrapersonal Intelligence: the ability to listen to and understand oneself as

well as understand one’s thinking and feelings Then, use such understandings to make plans for oral products and speaking activities Students with intrapersonal students generally like working on their own However, individual face-to-face academic consultations are sometimes needed to help them receive support from their peers or teachers Intrapersonal students usually do show much interest or motivation in group or class discussions, though they are stimulated by thought-provoking questions, and is capable of contributing a unique perspective

Relevant classroom activities: Delivering individual oral speeches; doing independent small projects; conducting self-assessment tasks; keeping diaries on a regular base

Naturalistic Intelligence: the ability to identify, distinguish, and classify the

things found in the natural environment This intelligence is also the ability to recognize and understand clearly the differences among the living things, the sense

of curiosity in discovering the natural laws and principles

Relevant classroom activities: describing the landscapes or the surrounding environment; re-constructing and describing the natural scene of a historic period; observing the clouds and stars; then describing some weather forecast

Later on, Gardner added the ninth type of intelligence, named existential intelligence or spiritual intelligence or even cosmic intelligence However, as this

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type of intelligence has still been regarded by many contemporary psychologists as

a controversial issue and further adequate evidence should be needed to bring about its demonstration and recognition, in this study, only the original eight types of Gardner’s multiple intelligences are mentioned and discussed In this research, with

an attempt to integrate MI-based activities into the English speaking program on the principle that each MI-based activity will be used to promote as many types of students’ intelligences as possible, priority is given to the use of the following two types of MI-based activities: project-based and poster-making activities

2.2 Individual differences in an English speaking class

Gardner (1983) proposed the fact that “within one classroom, each student is unique and has their own different features” (p 114) The differences between students may originate from the environment in which they live or personal characteristics they are born with (Shahila, 2012, p 639) who supposes that “the social environment of a learner has a great influence on learning a foreign language and the environment from which the student originates has a strong influence on the level of students’ language acquisition.”

Shahila (2012) argued that environmental differences do not determine success or failure of learning a foreign language, but this author indicates that it is much easier for the students to achieve their progress in language learning when they are supported by the teaching and learning environment “This is, however, in contrast with the individual differences, which cannot be modified by the teacher or external impact of the environment” (Shahila, 2012, p 640)

Shahila (2012) also proposed that “only motivation or attitudes can be modified to some extent by the teacher, and after the initial effort put into recognizing individual differences of learners, the process of learning will be much easier and the didactic effects will also be much better” (p 641) Therefore, the integration of MI-based speaking-training activities aiming at creating favorable opportunities for students of similar intelligence types to work with each other in intelligence groups is an effective method of fostering and developing their speaking skills based on the key principle of taking advantages of their differences

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Therefore, in similar language teaching and learning contexts, “the language learning process is determined to produce various effects in different individuals” (Ullman, 2015, p 42) According to this author, the teacher’s role is to get acquainted with them and to find out know how to take them into account Obviously, it can be observed in this study that students cannot be classified into only one or two groups, but every student is different and unique; the same situation

is present in every language learning classroom It is, therefore, indispensable to pay attention to different factors influencing the individual differences of the learners

2.3 Social Interaction, Learning Styles and Individual Differences

In this part of the research, some general contexts in which the similarities and differences between MIT and the other current theories of SLA will be mentioned and discussed Namely, it will begin with a brief introduction to some cognitive theories such as Vygotsky’s social interaction theory, the theory of individual differences, and the learning styles theory From that, a relationship between learning style preferences and learning achievement is mentioned and discussed, and this will be the foundation and bridge to connect learning styles and multiple intelligences Furthermore, aiming at establishing and confirming the relationship between the learners’ intelligence types and their learning style preferences, this study attempts to combine MIT with some other language teaching methods such as learner-centeredness approach and communicative language teaching approach

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory has made great impact on language learning and teaching practices The theory advocates learning, including L2 acquisition, in which emphasis is placed on learners’ participation in social interaction Instruction

is considered crucial to the development of the target language and within the Zone

of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is supposed to be higher than the existing development ability of the learner It is believed that learning in an EFL environment should be the result of interactive and collective academic tasks and not a separated learning activity of an individual who works independently and in

an isolated way away from the others

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Vygotsky (1978) put a strong emphasis on the viewpoint that “every child is

an active learner” (p 106) He paid particular attention to the social and cultural environment and considered it the key factor in the development of the child These days, more and more attention has been paid to the fact that there are a diversity of ways in which intelligence is accepted and recognized, as suggested by Gardner (1983), whose MIT has proposed various applications for implementing effective instructional strategies Gardner’s concept of intelligence reflects in a definition that intelligence is not something inborn and unchanged throughout a person’s life as it has been traditionally understood Gardner argued, “an intelligence is defined as the ability to solve problems or bring about solutions that are considered effective and with good results in a particular cultural or social context” (1996, p 42) On this foundation, different individuals, according to MIT, are supposed to have some biological skills to deal with problems with their own specific and unique strategies

The viewpoint mentioned above strongly backs up the theory of cultural learning proposed by Vygotsky, whose ZPD theory emphasized the impact

socio-of the social and cultural aspects on the development socio-of an individual ZPD, in Vygotsky’s ZPD is defined as “the distance between the actual developmental level and the level of potential development as identified through problem-solving in collaboration with more capable peers” (Lui, 2012) Therefore, the idea of extending Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development may become real with the application of Gardner's MI-based method of fostering the learners' mobilization of different intelligences Such a method of education will enable language instructors

to encourage the learners’ creativity and sense of imagination as well as to enhance the learning motivation and develop their individual, learning, and social growth

Gardner proposed his opinion that learners should be taught in the way that they can learn best at school In this study, this viewpoint is supposed to be employed for students at tertiary level Via classroom interaction activities, in which much attention is paid to the students’ individual differences, and opportunities of demonstrating the learners’ strengths and learning styles are given, EFL students

be developed and changed in adaptation with environmental impacts

Therefore, the theories of Vygotsky’s and Gardner’s provide support to each other to a great extent as both of them strongly propose that learners potentially possess their diverse abilities and solve problems in their different ways Gardner, like Vygotsky, also attaches the critical role of social and cultural elements integrated into the academic environment to promote the learner’s individual and unique methods of acquisition In this way, the meeting points between Gardner’s MIT and Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory is that: it is within the social and cultural context or the academic environment in which learners participate in that they become well developed Following the Social Development Theory, learning processes occur when learners interact with their partners within the same academic environment; while according to MIT, learners’ individual and unique abilities to solve problems usually are promoted and developed in the cultural and academic environment where they work

There are several key concepts in MIT worth discussing Above all, every individual learner has at least eight types of intelligences However, some learners have more massive proportions of some types of intelligence than others However,

“most of us are strongly smart in some, relatively smart in some other types, and less smart in the remaining” (Armstrong, 1993, p 132) The next key concept is that every learner can promote each type of intelligence to a certain proportion of ability Gershkoff (2005) confirmed later in one of his studies that every learner can adapt their ability to develop some types of intelligence through practice fostered with incentives and encouragement

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Besides, all types of intelligences are typically integrated and combined in complicated patterns Lazear (2000) also asserted that multiple intelligences co-exist in every learner, they co-ordinate and link closely into each other Finally, “in each type of intelligence, learners can demonstrate themselves to be intelligent in many different manners” (William, 2001, p 358)

2.3.1 Relationship between Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, Centeredness, and Communicative Approach

Learner-2.3.1.1 Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles

Stremmel and Fu (1993) proposed that if teachers consider current teaching materials on teaching ESL in elementary school, they will see variations in learning styles incorporated into proposed activities For example, languages are related to movement, visuals, or both Games and game-like activities such as Total Physical Response (TPR) and problem-solving tasks are recommended along with any activity in which children can focus on something other than language forms These activities are designed to cater for students of different learning styles or MIs When teachers understand their students’ MIs and learning styles, they will be able to help them and teach them better Students can learn better in the way that most suitable for their learning styles

Each learner perceives and solves problems most effectively with their own methods Nolen (2003) differentiated MIs as an individual learner’s ways to process and use the information and learning styles as the ways to receive the information Hoerr (2002, 2014) argued that in any circumstance, the goals of teaching activities should firstly aim at teaching students effectively Moreover, to achieve these goals, teachers need to explore and understand their students’ MIs as well as how they prefer to learn, based on which suitable teaching and learning activities can be designed and implemented in the EFL classrooms

It is recognized in MIT that there are at least eight types of categories in which learners are supposed to be intelligent These types of intelligences, again in the other way, can affect a student’s learning styles “Central to MIT is that every child has his or her learning style” (Silver and Strong, 2000, p 43)

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Therefore, students’ MIs and learning styles exert a strong influence on each other A learning style is also defined as the unique way each person learns most effectively Learning styles are students’ different methods of thinking and learning

In other words, people not only learn at a different rate but also in different ways Today it has become commonly accepted that every student is unique and has their way to learn

2.3.1.2 Learner-centeredness approach

The learner-centeredness approach, with the following characteristics mentioned in the definition by Desai (2007) as follows:

A learner-centered approach recognizes these following features: (1) Students need

to be active in their learning; (2) People have different rates of learning; (3) Learning happens in group settings and individual situations and (4) Learning is more effective when it happens through personal experience (p 121)

Regarding learner-centeredness, Brown (2008) defined it as an approach based on the principle that learning is totally decided by the learner Nunan (2009,

p 128) also emphasized the crucial role of language learners as “In a centered classroom, decisions about what, how and when it is taught, and how it is

learner-assessed will be made concerning the learner.”

From the above-mentioned distinguished characteristics of the centeredness, it can obviously be seen that, in nature, the Theory of Multiple Intelligences and the learner-centeredness are closely related with each other in the principle that language teaching should be targeted at the students’ overall growth and development, not merely the mastery of the language knowledge and skills

learner-2.3.1.3 Communicative approach

Communicative approach (CA) was developed in the 1960s and early 1970s originating from the concepts of notions and functions in the use of language and communicative competence (Nunan, 1991) By nature, CA adopts the learner-orientation approach Learners’ needs of communication in terms of filling the information gaps are established as foundations for diverse targets in teaching and learning activities

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A fundamental principle underlying all CA-based classroom activities, according to Nunan (1991), is that students must learn how to produce both an accurate system of linguistic and grammar structures and be able to perform and achieve a diversity of communicative tasks through using the language One of the basic features of CA is its learner-centered and experience-based view Savignon (2000, p 92) also denoted that “with CA, individual learners possess unique interests, styles, needs, and goals that should be reflected in the design of instructional methods.”

Nowadays, language teaching and learning methods in favor of CA propose that there have been many advantages in shifting from the teacher-centeredness approach towards a learner-centeredness approach Tudge and Rogoff (1999) pointed out the connection between Communicative Approach and Learner-centeredness by affirming that “the contribution of CA in language teaching-learning methodology is that it fosters an experimental form of language study in which learners’ real-world experience was given a central role in learning activities.” Similarly, the MI-based approach also promotes collaborative group work and interaction among learners based on their preferred ways of oral expressions as an effective way of increasing motivation and developing their speaking skills

In general, from the above-mentioned summary and analysis of MIT, the Learner-Centeredness approach and the Communicative Approach, we can see that the most significant similarity among these three approaches is that students/learners are the main focus of teaching-learning process; the guideline running through these approaches is that through a diversity of classroom activities organized around the development of students’ learning abilities, teachers can visualize the students’ learning styles and potential intelligences, thus, making teaching and learning activities more effective

In summary, it has become clear that the speaking-training lessons should take into account the learners’ diversity and individual differences in terms of intelligence types in every single speaking-training activity In this way, the students’ oral products are more likely to be better presented and potentially meet

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the instructors’ assessment requirements In other words, when students’ differential learning styles and preferred types of intelligences are nurtured and mobilized, they have opportunities to speak about the topics of their interests, and participate in interactive activities with their peers within their preferred MI centers

2.4 Speaking skills

2.4.1 Definition of speaking

Speaking is described by Brown (2001) as an essential aspect of language teaching and learning This author defined speaking as one of the two forms of productive skills to express meaningful and intentional ideas of a person Cameron (2001) established three key factors relating to the concept of speaking skills:

(1) the competence of a learner to express his ideas orally by using the language from the speech-making system of the body; (2) with the intention of conveying and expressing the meaning to exchange ideas in the form of verbal communication; and (3) the product of speaking of an individual can be measured

by evaluating its effectiveness and appropriateness (p 40)

In this study, EFL students’ speaking skills were also viewed as the process

of interaction and communication in using the English language orally However, aiming at forming the linguistic competence according to which the students must

be able to meet the requirements of the speaking-training program at Level B2 (CEFR), the speaking skills were re-defined as the four following communicative functions: firstly, talking about general topics; secondly, comparing pairs of pictures; thirdly, making quick decisions on how to choose something; and finally, persuading other people to agree with a decision, as required by the learning outcomes of the experimental program

2.4.2 Components of speaking skills

According to McDonough and Shaw (2012), if students wanted themselves

to be fluent speakers, they were able to master a variety of oral sub-skills In other words, a combination of various EFL speaking sub-skills will make up comprehensive speaking competences Simin and Tavakoli (2015, p 76) featured the following language aspects as three main components of speaking skills:

Following the Marking Guidance for the assessment of speaking skills by ESOL Examinations, University of Cambridge (UCLES, 2011), the students’ oral performances are assessed in these five categories: grammatical resource, lexical resource, discourse management, pronunciation, and interactive communication

2.4.3 Definition of MI-based speaking activities

From the time Gardner (1983) initially introduced the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, there have been a diversity of its applications to language teaching and learning Among the applications of MIT into the language classroom instructions, the concepts of MI activities, MI-oriented activities, MI-related activities or MI-based activities, are mentioned and described by many researchers and authors in the following part of this study Campbell (2003, p 82) defined MI-based activities as:

Multiple intelligences (MI)-based activities are student-friendly classroom tasks designed on the purpose of providing support to the students who may have difficulties in learning the language which is taught with the traditional method in which verbal and logical reasoning skills are primarily used

The most crucial highlight behind MI-based activities is that students learn the language by mobilizing their different types of intelligence For example, speaking skills can be developed through drama activities which use bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

The term MI-based activities or MI-related activities is also used as an alternative based on the argument proposed by Dickinson (2012, p 24):

A wide range of text-book activities are not designed for learners to use their multiple intelligences to complete Therefore, both of the teachers and students need to adapt themselves to deal with the solutions to such language tasks

Armstrong (1993) also proposed that individual students learn in their own different ways, which is the reason why instructors should develop classroom

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activities based on the students’ different types of intelligences Similarly, Armstrong (1993 & 2017) argued that the students who do not tend to perform their oral skills traditionally might not seem to be motivated in conventional classroom activities such as role-play or group discussion activities Therefore, by implementing MI-based classroom activities, and organizing the students’ communication activities in intelligence centers to promote the students’ intelligences and learning styles, the instructors will then create favorable conditions for the students’ success

Examples of MI-based activities, following Armstrong (1993 & 2017), Campbell (1994 & 2003), Hoerr (2002), Ridwan (2015) and Beare (2018), which are designed and implemented in classroom to develop learners’ language skills in general, can be listed in accordance with each type of intelligence as follows:

Verbal-linguistic intelligence: Note-taking, interview-making, listening to speeches, storytelling, discussing in groups, presenting ideas orally, problem-solving, round table meetings, doing project work

Logical-mathematical intelligence: Ordering or re-ordering things, matching ideas, problem-solving situations, numbering and ordering events in a story, activities for critical thinking, recognizing and correcting errors

Visual-spatial intelligence: Using graphs and charts, illustrating contents of stories, poster-making, using pictures to express ideas and feelings, creating a computer slideshow, communicating through pictures

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: Role-plays, dancing in circles, using total physical response, poster-making, using movements, drama, doing project-work, pantomime to express ideas, playing classroom games…

Intrapersonal intelligence: Tasks with self-reflection factors, working in interest centers, keeping diaries, poster-making, self-study, reflective practices, doing project work…

Interpersonal intelligence: Discussing, brain-storming, and problem-solving

in pairs or groups, doing project work, doing project-work, implementing cooperative learning, conducting a survey in a group or with the entire the class

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Musical-rhythmic intelligence: Poster-making in background music, writing lyrics of the songs, giving oral presentations with background music, playing musical games, designing words to express simple well-known melodies

Naturalistic intelligence: Describing patterns or changes in the environment, taking pictures of natural phenomena or objects, organizing outdoor activities, classifying and categorizing things in nature

In the current study, aiming at developing speaking skills for the EFL students, some of the above-mentioned MI-based activities are selected and modified as follows: pair or group discussions and giving oral speeches on a particular project (verbal-linguistic intelligence); using graphs and/or charts to describe the poster establish from group discussion activities (logical-mathematical intelligence); poster-making and/or telling stories from pictures to demonstrate solutions to a project (visual-spatial intelligence); role-playing and/or participating

in a movement activity in performing oral presentations (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence); using rhythms and melodies to support verbal expressions and/or tapping/clapping as visual signals to support oral presentations for the project (musical-rhythmic intelligence); group work and sharing information to solve problems of a particular project work (interpersonal intelligence); working independently to create ideas for oral presentations or persuade partners in the group to build up posters (intrapersonal intelligence); recycling things to use as visual aid for illustrating ideas, organizing outdoor activities to accomplish a project work or a poster on a particular topic (naturalistic intelligence) and the like

The MI-based activities to be utilized as the speaking-training activities in the experiment of this study were based on the preferred intelligences identified from the participants’ MI profiles Based on the results of the statistics of the participants’ MI profiles, some MI-based activities, implemented in the form of project-based or poster-making, but carried out in the form of group discussion, giving oral speeches, using graphs and charts, telling stories from picture, using bodily movements in oral presentations, employing music rhythms and melodies as supportive tools for delivering oral description and presentations, organizing

on a flexible application of the two MI-based activities namely project-based and poster-making to include and involve as many types of intelligence from the participants as possible

2.4.3.1 Project-based activities

When a project is designed as the focus of the classroom activity, argued by Armstrong (2017), the students can feel free in selecting their ideas and language for their discussion and interaction to complete the assigned project based on their own initiatives Knoll (2014) also proposed that project work is an interesting way

to bring real-life situations into the language classroom He argued that besides the entertainment factor, project-based activities are often designed with authentic classroom situations for developing problem-solving skills, as well as promoting various soft skills needed for students’ both professional and personal life afterward In general, PBL can help students develop a diversity of not only linguistic but also life skills rather than focusing on merely academic knowledge

2.4.3.2 Poster-making activities

Hilberg, Chang, and Epaloose (2003) defined poster-making as the activities

to present information, attract interest and attention from the public Therefore, the people attracted by a poster are usually the ones who share the common interest After a poster presentation, the audience can exchange information with the speaker through follow-up interviews or Q&A activities Similarly, Beare (2016) mentioned the following characteristics of poster-making activities:

(a) They are considered an effective instruction method to develop students’ oral interaction and co-operation skills; (b) Students have good opportunities to explore the oral topic; (c) Students co-operate, interact, and communicate with their peers through discussion activities in their groups; (d) Students can build up positive relationships, attitude and co-operation with one another (p 162)

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In the current study, as an MI-based tool, project-based and poster-making activities were integrated into the experiment following topics to set up authentic situations for students’ group discussions within their intelligence centers to create their problem-solving oral presentations It is through the combination of various speaking-training activities implemented for students of similar MI profiles grouped

in separate intelligence centers that their learning motivation is promoted, their confidence is enhanced, and their oral performances are improved

2.4.3.3 Common features between project-based and poster-making activities

Hoerr (2014), Fauziah (2015) and Beare (2016) proposed that project-based and poster-making activities can be considered as a quick synthesis of information for large class assessment as students enjoy and engage in such activities Lunenburg (2014) argued that through project-based and poster-making activities, students’ diversified learning styles and MIs can be promoted with their better involvement and higher learning motivation Examples of such an argument can be found in some classroom activities such as visual-spatial intelligence (students’ projects and posters are often designed with many pictures and images), logical-mathematical intelligence (charts and statistics can be integrated into projects and posters for illustrating the contents of the topic), intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences (e.g to complete a project or a poster, students have to work in groups), and above all, students will verbally give explanations and presentations to illustrate the contents of their projects or posters (verbal-linguistic)

In other words, project-based and poster-making activities can be regarded as the MI-based activities in which students have many opportunities to demonstrate their preferred multiple intelligences based on the principles of the learner-centeredness approach

2.5 Implementing MI-based activities in EFL classrooms

Armstrong (1993) proposed the advantage of implementing MI-based activities is that when students work in separate intelligence centers where the partners have similar types of preferential intelligence, they are likely to share the common interests and interact with each other in a more motivating atmosphere

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Therefore, MI-based activities can be integrated into language instruction in various directions Berman (1998, p 84) suggested that “teachers can use daily learning activities such as activity centers, simulations, and presentations to develop students’ multiple intelligences.” Thus, language teachers can assigned their students to work in MI centers according to their MI profiles established at the beginning of the training program, or alternatively, in the middle of the teaching and learning process, when the students have better understood the structures of their MI profile Hoerr (2002, p.89) explained:

Using MI-based activities allows teachers to provide students with diversified opportunities to mobilize their experiences to perform classroom activities in which they can engage with the material individually rather than acquire it passively and mechanically out of real-life contexts

Within one single lesson or classroom activity, teachers can integrate and develop multiple intelligences at a time As a matter of fact, with an EFL speaking lesson focusing on the topic “glass-making process”, there are many activities in which students can participate such as brain-storming and describing a glass-making process, figuring out a glass-making diagram, re-ordering the order of the steps of the glass-making process, labeling the names of each glass-production stage… Armstrong (2017, p 92) suggested:

One way to incorporate MIs in daily learning activities is through activity centers Each activity center can be created to cater for one specific intelligence, and activities can be carried out where the student will use that intelligence to perform the task

In this way, when a project-based or a poster-making activities are conducted for practicing their speaking skills, students are encouraged to select to work in their most preferred MI center where they have good opportunities to (1) share their information and co-operate with their partners having the same types of MIs; (2) explore and learn to imitate to mobilize and promote the other types of MIs For example, the students with preferred interpersonal intelligence can work with each other in the Interpersonal Intelligence Center, having discussions and sharing information about the topic One of the advantages of this MI-based activity is that