Merging multiple intelligences and cooperative learning in the efl classrooms a study at vietnam usa society english center

thesis is investigating whether the combination of the MI Multiple Intelligence Theory and the CL Cooperative Learning helps to increase students’ cognition, motivation, interaction and

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

MERGING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AND

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN THE EFL CLASSROOMS:

A STUDY AT VIETNAM USA SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Supervisor

Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entiled

MERGING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AND

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN THE EFL CLASSROOM:

A STUDY AT VIETNAM USA SOCIETY ENGLISH CENTER

in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued

by the Higher Degree Committee The thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree

Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Tran Thi Huyen Chieu, being a candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities relating to the retention and the use of Master’s Thesis deposited

in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original version of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan, or reproduction of the thesis

Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

invaluable advice and guidance without which I could not have fulfilled my work

I would also like to thank the students in my classes for their cooperation and their willingness to participate in the experiments and fulfill the questionnaires

Finally, thanks go to my family and my friends for their unwavering encouragement and support

ABSTRACT

The study done for this M.A thesis is investigating whether the combination of the MI (Multiple Intelligence Theory) and the CL (Cooperative Learning) helps to increase students’ cognition, motivation, interaction and achievement or not

A quasi-experimental teaching was carried out on the three different groups with three different teaching methods The first group was instructed in the CLT (Communicative Language Teaching), which has been commonly used at VUS (Vietnam USA Society English Center), the second group was taught in the light

of the MI and the third group was taught in the light of both of the MI and CL At the end of the course, the questionnaire survey was done on the students in the three groups in order to identify the difference of the change in cognition, motivation and interaction of the students in the three groups The feedbacks then were collected and analyzed by one-way ANOVA test And this one-way ANOVA was also used to analyze the final-exam scores to explore which group had the best achievement

The findings showed that the experimental group in the environment of the MI and

CL had the most positive attitude towards learning English as well as had the highest achievement From that result, the author of the thesis raised some recommendations to English teachers and to the school management with the hope that these remedial suggestions will be selectively applied to enhance students’ cognition, motivation, interaction and achievement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of originality i

Retention and use of the thesis ii

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

Tables of contents v

List of tables viii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 BACKGROUND 1

1.2 PROBLEMS 2

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 4

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 5

1.5 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 5

1.6 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS 7

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 9

2.1 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES 9

2.1.1 Concepts of Intelligence 9

2.1.2 The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) 12

2.1.2.1 Criteria for determining an intelligence 13

2.1.2.2 The eight intelligences 15

2.1.2.2.1 Verbal Linguistic Intellgence 15

2.1.2.2.2 Logical Mathematic Intelligence 16

2.1.2.2.3 Visual Spatial Intelligence 17

2.1.2.2.4 Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 17

2.1.2.2.5 Musical Intelligence 18

2.1.2.2.6 Interpersonal Intelligence 19

2.1.2.2.7 Intrapersonal Intelligence 19

2.1.2.2.8 Naturalist Intelligence 20

2.1.2.3 The implicatios of MI in teaching and learning 21

2.1.3 Benefits of multiple Intelligences theory 24

2.1.3.1 Enhancing learners’ cognitive growth 24

2.1.3.2 Enhancing learners’ motivation 27

2.1.3.3 Enhancing leanrers’ interaction 28

2.1.3.4 Enhancing learners’ achievement 29

2.2 COOPERATIVE LEARNING 31

2.2.1 What is “Cooperative Learning”? 31

2.2.2 The four important element in Cooperative Learning 31

2.2.2.1 Positive Interdependence 31

2.2.2.2 Individual Accountability 32

2.2.2.3 Group Interaction Process 33

2.2.2.4 Social Skills 33

2.2.3 Benefits of Cooperative Learning 34

2.2.3.1 Enhancing learners’ cognitive growth 34

2.2.3.2 Enhancing learners’ motivation 35

2.2.3.3 Enhancing learners’ interaction 36

2.2.3.4 Enhancing learners’ achievement 38

2.3 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES and COOPERATIVE LEARNING 39

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 41

3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 41

3.2 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 41

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 42

3.3.1 Subjects 43

3.3.2 Instruments 44

3.3.2.1 The Questionnaires 44

3.3.2.2 Replacement Test and Final Test 45

3.3.2.3 Teaching Strategies 46

3.3.2.4 Interviews 48

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 49

4.1 ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 49

4.1.1 Learners’ cognitive growth 49

4.1.2 Learners’ motivation 66

4.1.3 Learners’ interaction 68

4.2 ANALYSES USING FINAL EXAM SCORES 73

Enhancing learners’ achievement 73

4.3 SUMMARY 75

Chapter 5: LIMITATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 77

5.1 LIMITATION 77

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 77

5.2.1 Recommendations to school administrators 77

5.2.2 Recommendations to EFL teachers 79

5.2.2.1 Activities based on Verbal Linguistic Intelligence 80

5.2.2.2 Activities based on Logical Mathematic Intelligence 81

5.2.2.3 Activities based on Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 82

5.2.2.4 Activities based on Visual Spatial Intelligence 84

5.2.2.5 Activities based on Musical Intelligence 85

5.2.2.6 Activities based on Interpersonal Intelligence 86

5.2.2.7 Activities based on Intrapersonal Intelligence 88

5.2.2.8 Activities based on Natural Intelligence 90

5.3 SUMMARY 94

CONCLUSION 95 REFERENCES I APPENDIX A VII APPENDIX B X APPENDIX C XIX APPENDIX D XXIII APPENDIX E XXIX APPENDIX F XXXIX

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 50

Table 4.2 53

Table 4.3 54

Table 4.4 55

Table 4.5 56

Table 4.6 58

Table 4.7 59

Table 4.8 60

Table 4.9 62

Table 4.10 64

Table 4.11 64

Table 4.12 65

Table 4.13 66

Table 4.14 67

Table 4.15 67

Table 4.16 69

Table 4.17 70

Table 4.18 71

Table 4.19 72

Table 4.20 72

Table 4.21 74

in the world who are learning English at present is over 2 billion This evidence shows that English becomes an essential demand of human beings day by day Vietnamese people can not escape from the trend In the recent years, Vietnamese government has promulgated different policies to reinforce the teaching and learning of English As a result, the textbooks are frequently innovated English teachers are trained to update new teaching methods on a regular basis English schools are built here and there Parents willingly spend money on their children’s learning English at very early age English becomes one of the compulsory subjects in national examinations and a prerequisite to get the bachelor, master and doctor degrees In short, it is undeniable that English is one of the most effective tools to help people reach the success in their life

Understanding clearly the influence of English on the people in the modern life has encouraged Vietnam USA Society English Center (VUS) to open a lot of English centers as well as to cooperate with different colleges to teach English

to the students in the colleges Sai Gon Art Culture and Tourism College (Sai

Gon ACT) is one of them The college’s aim is to help students to attain 300 to

400 scores in TOEIC Degree at the threshold of graduation Hence, teaching English should focus on not only reading and writing but also listening and speaking To train the students the four skills, teachers should know how to activate the motivation in each student and to create an interactive, facilitating and effective environment for them

1.2 PROBLEMS

Although at Sai Gon ACT College most of the students know that English is indispensable in their study, there still remain some problems restraining students’ learning process To find out the problems, a questionnaire survey (see appendix A) implemented on 98 students According to the feedbacks to the questionnaire, 82.7% of the students are from countryside and remote regions in Vietnam All of them had spent years studying English at lower and upper high schools However, after doing the placement test given by VUS, these 98 students were placed at the beginning level The fact showed that there existed problems causing this unsatisfying language competence From the questionnaire’s feedbacks, three problems have been located

Firstly, the learning environment was not supportive enough for the full development of the students’ cognitive process Particularly, they rarely had chance to practice speaking and listening to English when Grammar Translation and teacher-centered approaches were mainly used in most of the classrooms In these methods, both the students and their teacher usually used the first language to translate all new words Students often followed what the teacher taught and had little critical thinking Consequently, they became very passive in thinking and inferring Moreover, all the students in the class did the same things which did not accommodate the needs, interests, learning styles or

strength of some students In addition, it was not easy for students to move along and out of long benches and long tables They were just seated at a fixed place and worked with the same partners everyday Therefore, they might sink

in the boredom, lose the confidence, have no empathy and grow the inhibition

in studying In short, their cognitive process could not grow in such a condition (Brown, 2000)

Secondly, there was a lack of the intrinsic motivation Indeed, the responses to the question 9 in the questionnaire indicated that 100% of the students understand clearly that English was very useful and can help to bring them good future opportunities For example, they might have a good job with a higher promotion or higher salary, read books or search for the information on the Internet, and travel or study abroad In other words, they had a very strong extrinsic motivation Nevertheless, the results to questions 10 through 13 reflected that 93% of the students were not interested in studying English at lower and upper high schools because the lessons were not attractive The students had little chance to use the target language through different activities

In addition, the poverty of the learning resources is another cause They just had a textbook and followed it step by step That is the reason why the intrinsic motivation still has been hibernating The inactivated intrinsic motivation entails the failure in achievement (Nunan and Lamb, 1996)

Thirdly, there was a shortage of the interactive environment It is unbelievable that each person’s language would develop without communicating with people in the community Therefore, it is necessary to create a place or a situation where students can apply their target language in speaking In reality, teachers in lower and upper high schools primarily taught grammar, reading and writing to meet the requirements of the final examinations The students rarely had chances to work in pairs or in groups from the responses to the

questions 11 and 17 Consequently, the students might accumulate myriads of structures of the target language but they did not acquainted with using them in communication

One way to solve the three problems discussed above may be the combination

of Cooperative Learning (CL) and Multiple Intelligences Theory (MI) in teaching because of their following strengths CL helps to urge students to communicate with one another in their target language, and get them to assist each other Especially, it provides different effective ways to manage large classes Moreover, MI helps teachers develop a greater awareness of students’ specific strengths, and different learning potentials which in turn offers them the way to examine and form the best teaching techniques and strategies suitable for each student In brief, the combination may create a strong motivation, a good environment for interaction and cognitive growth for students

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The three problems causing the ineffectiveness in learning and teaching English have been identified and the general solution has also been suggested

So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of CL and MI on students’ motivation, interaction, cognitive growth and achievement Particularly, it is going to identify students’ intelligence profiles, apply MI and

CL in teaching and then analyze students’ achievement The study attempts to answer the following research questions

To what extent does the blend of Multiple Intelligences and Cooperative Learning influence on learners? In particular:

1 Can the blend of MI and CL help to enhance learners’ cognition, motivation and interaction?

2 Can the blend of MI and CL help to enhance learners’ achievement?

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Many teachers and educators around the world have recently built models of classroom and school in the light of MI theory For example, Campbell, Campbell and Dickinson (2004) suggest creating different learning environment or learning zones in correspondence with various kinds of intelligences in a classroom Gardner suggests that “in an MI school, students might spend their morning working on traditional subjects in nontraditional ways Students then go into the community during the second part of the day and further extend their understanding of the topics they are studying in school They could go to art or science museum or other places where hand-on exploratory learning and plays are encouraged” (Armstrong, 2009: 125)

The study is focusing on using MI in building lesson plans adapted from the book “First Choice” to teach students of beginning level Moreover, the techniques of CL are being incorporated to create lively, interactive and motivated lessons

1.5 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

1.5.1 Cooperative Learning (CL)

Cooperative Learning is defined as a system of concrete learning and teaching techniques, rather than an approach, in which students are active agents in the learning process through small group structures in order that students can work together to maximize each other’s and their own learning (Liang, 2001) In this study, CL refers to five characteristics: the positive interdependence, the individual accountability, the quality of group

interaction process, the interpersonal and small group skills, and the social skills; and refers to some typical techniques such as Jigsaw Procedures, Three-Step Interview, Inside-Outside Circle and Learning Together

1.5.2 Multiple Intelligences Theory (MI)

In this study, MI refers to the theory written by Howard Gardner, an American psychologist He has proved that each person possess at least seven intelligences and an eight later They are Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Visual-Spatial Intelligence, Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, and Naturalist Intelligence

1.5.3 Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching is a method used popularly in VUS This method aims “broadly to apply the theoretical perspective of the

Communicative Approach by making communicative competence the goal

of language teaching and by acknowledging the interdependence of

language and communication” (Lasen-Freeman, 2000) In other words, it requires students both linguistic competence and communicative

competence Students have to know “when and how to say what to whom”

1.5.4 Cognition

Cognition is a term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception and planning (Wagner, 2007) In the study, it is focusing on the way students acquire process and

store information; and the way to improve memory and to increase decision-making accuracy

1.5.5 Motivation

Motivation can be defined as an internal force that actuates a behavioral pattern, thought process, action or reaction There are two kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic The learners with extrinsic motivation study for money, career and power possess; and the ones with intrinsic motivation study for the desire of being identified in the culture or community that speaks the language The study is mainly focusing on the latter because the stronger intrinsic motivation is; the more successful learners are (Gardner and Lambert, 1972)

1.5.6 Interaction

Interaction can be understood as the way students communicating in the class There are different ways of interaction or interaction patterns such as T-Ss (teacher to the whole class), S-S (pair-work) or Ss-Ss (Group-work)

In the study, S-S and Ss-Ss are being discussed

1.5.7 Achievement

Achievement here refers to what students can attain after MI and CL are applied in teaching Particularly, that is the results that students get in the final exam

1.6 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS

The study consists of 5 chapters

Chapter1: Introduction

Chapter 1 describes the background, problems and purpose of the study It also gives the brief definitions of the key words or expressions in the study Finally,

it ends with the overview of the study

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 2 provides a theoretical background for the study Especially, it reviews the concept of CL and MI and their benefits on learning and teaching English

Chapter 3: Methodology

The chapter deals with a number of methodological aspects including the population, the materials and the procedure

Chapter 4: Findings and discussions

The chapter presents the results of the questionnaire of the students’ motivation, interaction and cognition as well as the students’ result of the final exam The study’s findings are then raised for subsequent discussions

Chapter 5: Recommendations

The chapter puts forwards some recommendations for the sake of accelerating students’ learning process by applying MI and CL in teaching

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, the theoretical background of Multiple Intelligences Theory and Cooperative Learning are presented Besides that, their influence on students’ cognition, motivation, interaction and achievement are also discussed

2.1 MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

This part is concerned in detail with concept of intelligence in traditional view, the theory of multiple intelligences, its application in teaching English and its benefits to learners

2.1.1 Concepts of Intelligence

According to Gardner (1999), each community has different ways to appraise

an ideal person For example: the ancient Greek respected people with

‘physical ability, rational judgment and virtuous behavior’; the Roman appreciated ‘manly courage’; the Islamite paid honor to the ‘holy soldiers’; the Chinese traditionally attached much importance to skills of music, drawing and archery And the Kenes tribes of the Pueblo, Indians today, hold the people caring for others in high regard Over the past few years a certain ideal has emerged commonly in Western societies They have considered intelligent people as their idols In their opinion, intelligence is exposed in different settings: “in traditional schools the intelligent person could master classical languages and mathematics, particularly geometry In business setting, the intelligent person could anticipate commercial opportunities, take measured risks, build up an organization and keep the book balanced and the stockholders satisfied.” (Gardner, 1999: 1)

Since then, a great number of psychologists have endeavored to define and measure human intelligence One of them was Francis Galton who strongly believed that intelligence was inherited and could be measured As a result, he developed IQ (Intelligent Quotient) test in the early 19th century In 1906 the measurement was developed by a French psychologist named Alfred Binet and

it has become very famous in the world Then The IQ test was reformed to be suitable to American society in 1920s and 1930s and it was used for several aims such as recruiting employees in a company or enrolling students in a school (Gardner, 1999: 2) In short, in the traditional point of view

“intelligence is defined as the ability to answer items on tests of intelligence” (Gardner, 1993: 15) This is the singular view of general intelligence

However, the singular concept of intelligence has been challenged in the last two decades of the 20th century due to the important discoveries of anthropologists and neuroscientists The anthropologists have criticized the idea of general intelligence as a superficial view and pointed out the human being’s different capacities valued in various culture groups (Greenfield, 1997, Greenfield, Keller, Fuligni & Maynard, 2003) And the neuroscientists have proved that the human’s brain is a highly organized organ with specific capacities linked to particular neural networks (Pinker, 1997) Stimulating the connections of the neural networks results in learning The more sophisticated the connections are, the more knowledge is absorbed So, the brain and its functions are formed by experiences obtained from environment exchange (LeDoux, 2002, Siegel, 1999) It is these challenges that argue for a pluralistic understanding of intelligence

Thank to the above discoveries, psychologists have been suspicious about the validity of IQ test and the notion of intelligence as a single in a static state For example, Professor Michael Howe of Exeter University, in a research, showed

that “intelligence testing is so unreliable that even people recognized as geniuses could have a low IQ score” Sternberg, Vygotsky, Reuven Feuerstein and Jacob Rand pointed out that “intelligence could be modified and thus expanded and developed” Machado of the Ministry of Intelligence, Venezuela, proposed that “intelligence was a basic human right and can be taught” (Smith, 2003: 57)

Assuming that intelligence could be taught, the two outstanding authors in this field, Sternberg and Gardner, began to classify human’s intelligence Sternberg, in his triarchic theory, claims that Intelligence is "Purposive adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one's life" (Sternberg, 1985: 271) It means intelligence is the reflection of people’s ability to adjust to the environment He presents three subtheories which make up the intelligence: componential, experiential and contextual subtheories (Sternberg, 1985) The first is the analysis ability which presents the relation of oneself to his/her internal world or the person’s cognitive process, the second is the creative ability which shows the relationship between the inner world of oneself to the outer world or the ability to deal with the novel situation, and the third, practical ability, shows the ability to solve everyday tasks Gardner suggests the theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983) in which he first identified seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal He recommends that intelligences can combine each other in complex ways and provides much broader view of human intelligence

Both of the theories are valuable because of their reasonable and meticulous explanation of intelligence based on the environmental and cultural aspects of people’s lives However, Gardner’s theory strongly influences on education for its innovative suggestion Therefore, his theory is applied in teaching and

learning English as foreign language It provides a solid background to explain that it is necessary to pluralize the materials and techniques in teaching in order

to meet students’ interests, to help them enhance their cognitive growth, to create their motivation, to stimulate their interaction and have a better achievement in learning English as foreign language That is the reason why the author of this report chooses Multiple Intelligence theory for the theoretical background of the thesis

2.1.2 The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI theory)

With the great impact on teaching and learning English, it is essential to investigate in detail the theory to explain why it makes a big change in teaching method as well as in learning strategies

In order to arrive at the MI theory, Gardner has spent for twenty years studying the organization and operation of human’s brain The most important study that helped him to arrive at the theory is Human Potential Project within which he had to write a book about the discoveries made throughout history in relation

to human cognition Writing this work, he had a close look on the studies of psychology, anthropology, genetics and brain science to identify human capacities In the end, the book “Frame of mind” was born and made him become the father of “multiple intelligences theory” He said that “I made a deliberate decision to write about “multiple intelligences”: “multiple” to stress

an unknown number of separate human capacities, ranging from musical intelligence to the intelligence involved in understanding oneself;

“intelligence” to underscore that these capacities were as fundamental as those historically captured within the IQ test” (1993: xii)

In “Frame of Mind” (1983), he defined intelligence as the human ability to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings Nearly twenty years later, Gardner (1999) proposed a more precise definition that intelligence is a biopsychological potential for information

processing that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or fashion products valued by the culture It means that intelligences are not available when people were born but they are the result of stimulating the connection of neuron network by solving problems or fashion products in a particular culture

2.1.2.1 Criteria for determining an intelligence

According to the second definition, the two cultural and biological elements are considered as foundation to frame the MI theory In the theory, he determines the eight intelligences derived from variety of sources At the same time, in order to distinguish between an intelligence and a talent or skill, he identifies the eight criteria that each intelligence must meet Christison (1998) describes the eight criteria as follow:

Potential withdrawal from brain damage studies: One or two intelligences are

often in trouble if a part of the brain is damaged For instance, the damage of the left frontal lobe will bring out the destruction of linguistic intelligence So, the ability of reading, writing, and speaking will be in difficulty while the ability of doing math, dancing, and singing are still good This criterion points out the relationship between the each part of human’s brain and each intelligence

Existence of exceptional individuals: Exceptional individuals like prodigies or

savants demonstrate amazing ability in one intelligence while the other intelligences are very low developed For example, some people can play a musical instrument or perform the song after looking or hearing it only one time In these cases, intelligences can be observed in an isolated way

An identifiable set of core operations: Each intelligence has a set of

subcomponents clustering together For instance, musical intelligence includes

the ability to discriminate rhythmic structures and be sensitive to melody or rhythm The linguistic intelligence entails the ability of conducting syntactic analysis, composing the literature works or learning language by ears

Developmental history within an individual: The developmental process of

each intelligence is different Some intelligences arise early in childhood and reach the peak very late while the others are earlier Musical intelligence, for example, peaks early, but linguistic intelligence can peak very late

Evolutionary history: Each intelligence has origin in the evolutionary history

of human being For example, archaeologist found out the evidence of thepresence of early musical instruments or evolutionists examined the spatial intelligence in mammals

Psychometric findings: Many existing standardized tests have supported for

the theory of multiple intelligences To illustration, The Weschsler Intelligence Scale for Children consisting of subtests has used to test different intelligences

Psychological tasks: Many psychological tasks have been designed in order to

discover which abilities are related to each other and which are separated For example, an individual may be very good at math and computer while he is not good at literacy Or they may have an amazing memory for words but not for faces

Symbol system: Intelligences are coded in a symbolic system For example,

spoken and written languages, graphic languages, computer languages, musical notation systems, and ideographic languages

2.1.2.2 The eight intelligences

Using the above criteria as the backbone for his research, Gardner identified seven different intelligences and later an eighth which were listed in three categories as follows (Smith, 2003):

Inteligences

Personal-related Language-related Object-related

Visual/Spatial Naturalist Following are the intelligences described in detail and the language teaching activities designed based on each intelligence They are summarized from different sources and described separately (Christison, 1997; Chapman & Freeman, 1996; Shaw & Hawes, 1998; Gardner, 1999; Smith, 2003) However, Gardner suggests that it is normal for a number of intelligences to be used together A person can use different kinks of intelligence to solve a problem

2.1.2.2.1 Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence

Linguistic Intelligence is the ability to use words effectively both in speaking and in writing People who are strong in this kind of intelligence often have a large vocabulary and enjoy reading, writing and speaking They are often good at language and manipulation of words; they are aware

of pattern easily and have a sense of order and ability of reason; they can also read, write and spell easily and have a good memory for detail People who have strong linguistic intelligence often choose the careers like: poets, writers, journalists, politicians, teachers, reporters, interpreter, etc

This intelligence can be strengthened by doing the following activities in language classroom:

Brainstorming, debates, discussion, speaking to an audience

Writing letters, stories, diaries, poetry, instructions, lists, book reviews, reading, retelling stories, identifying with characters, extracting information from text, using library

Building vocabulary through word games and puzzles, writing tongue twisters

Telling jokes and riddles

2.1.2.2.2 Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

Logical Mathematical Intelligence is the ability to recognize logical and numerical pattern The people with this kind of intelligence have some characteristics like: being good at manipulating numbers, picking out patterns and relationships, dealing in abstract symbols, enjoying problem solving and applying logic and valuing precision and order This kind of intelligence can be found in mathematicians, scientists, engineers, accountants, economists or doctors, etc

In teaching, teachers can help students to improve or strengthen the intelligence by organizing the activities as:

Following directions to accomplish a goal Teach problem solving strategies

Classification, sorting Sequencing, use of symbols Pattern identification, code making/breaking Hypothesizing, predicting, experimenting Logic and reasoning puzzles

2.1.2.2.3 Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Visual Spatial Intelligence is the ability to understand the position of a person or an object in relation to other people or objects People who are strong at this kind of intelligence are very good at visualizing images in 3D They can rotate and manipulate mental images They have a facility with maps, charts and diagrams They may think in pictures They can predict the effects of movement and they are able to design or construct 3D objects This kind of intelligence can be easily found in the people who work as architects, navigators, engineers, artists, sculptors, chess player, etc

In order to strengthen this intelligence, it is necessary to do the following activities:

Giving guided visualization Making maps, charts, graphs and diagrams Drawing concept-mapping

Illustrating or interpreting through pictures Using imagination and fantasy

Designing

2.1.2.2.4 Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence

Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence is the ability to use the body to express ideas, feelings and to solve problems This includes such physical skills as coordination, flexibility, speed, and balance People who possess this intelligence have a very good control of body and a well-developed sense

of touch They enjoy physical movement and like to manipulate objects They may always fidget and find it difficult to sit still People with this kind

of intelligence often choose careers like: athletes, gymnasts, dancers, surgeons, crafts people or actors, etc

So teacher can help students develop their bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

by providing opportunities for physical challenges by doing the following activities:

Dramas, mime and role play All forms physical education and dance Human sculptures, graphs and tableaux Field trips

Hands-on learning, construction and manipulative activities Incorporate movement into the lessons

‘Simon Says’ type games and action rhymes

2.1.2.2.5 Musical Intelligence

Musical Intelligence is the ability to sense rhythm, pitch, and melody This

includes such skills as the ability to recognize simple songs and to vary speed, tempo, and rhythm in simple melodies People with this kind of intelligence are sensitive to pitch, tone and rhythm, enjoy listening to music, can be aware of the differences of musical instruments, have facility for playing one or more instruments and have good sound discrimination They are often fond of the careers like: musicians, conductors, composers,

or recording technicians, etc

In order to strengthen this kind of intelligence, it is necessary to carry out the following activities:

Use raps and chants to aid memory Make, play musical instrument Singing, chanting, choral reading Use music to set moods and enhance learning Rhythm activities including patterns

Compose and perform tunes and songs

Encourage awareness of sounds in the environment

2.1.2.2.6 Interpersonal Intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence is shown in the ability to influence other people,

to anticipate their likely reactions and empathize Those strong in this intelligence are good at conflict resolution, negotiation and persuasion and work well in teams They are very good at understanding of people, able to mix easily and very sensitive to moods and intentions They often work well in a team, communicate well with others, and enjoy company This kind of intelligence is often found in the people who work as counselors, sales people, mangers, personnel workers, teachers, politicians, religious leaders, etc

The following activities are useful to develop this intelligence:

Collaborative work in groups Peer tutoring, working in pairs Role playing

Circle time and self-esteem activities Giving and receiving feedback and constructive criticism Group discussion and projects

Teach strategies for dealing with conflict

2.1.2.2.7 Intrapersonal Intelligence

Intrapersonal Intelligence is the ability to understand oneself strengths, weaknesses, moods, desires, and intentions This includes such skills as understanding how they are similar to or different from others, reminding themselves to do something and knowing how to handle their feelings, such

as what to do and how to behave when they are angry or sad This kind of intelligence can be found in philosophers, theologians, counselors, novelists, psychiatrists, psychologists, etc

Teacher can help EFL students develop intrapersonal intelligence by letting them express their own preferences, help them to understand their own styles of learning and doing following activities:

Autobiographical writing and journals Personal goal setting

Circle time and self esteem activities Discussions about feelings and moods Teach study skills

Provide opportunities to make and explain reasoned choices Self evaluation

2.1.2.2.8 Naturalist Intelligence

Naturalist Intelligence is the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass, and all variety of flora and fauna People with high naturalist intelligence often choose careers as farmers, botanists, environmentalists and biologists Teacher can help students develop their naturalist intelligence by focusing their attention on the world outside the classroom like:

Visit the zoo, aquariums or other places where the natural world is studied

Be involved in hobbies of nature such as bird watching, sightseeing Read books or magazines, or watch television shows or movies that features nature

Collect followers, bugs, leaves or other natural things to show and describe to others

Enjoy studying environment, nature, plants and animals Talk about favorite pets or preferred natural places to their classmates or friends

2.1.2.3 The implications of Multiple Intelligences Theory in teaching and learning:

In the above part, intelligences are described separately; however, according to Gardner (1993), each person possesses at least eight intelligences which are combined in different ways depending on the person’s genetic heritage, education and cultural support Therefore, each individual has different profiles

of intelligences And the function of each intelligence will vary from the prodigies who have an extreme high-level functioning of most intelligence to the disables whose intellectual capacities are severely damaged He believes that most of the people are in middle with some highly developed intelligences, some are moderate developed and the rest are under-developed From the light

of these ideas, Armstrong (2009) has analyzed them into four key points that educators find interesting about the theory

1 Each person possesses all eight intelligences In each person the eight

intelligences work together in unique ways Some people have high levels of functioning in all or most of the eight intelligences; a few people lack most

of the rudimentary aspects of intelligence Most people are somewhere in the middle, with a few intelligences highly developed, most modestly developed, and one or two underdeveloped

2 Intelligences can be developed Gardner suggests that everyone has the

capacity to develop all eight intelligences to a reasonably high level of performance with appropriate encouragement, enrichment, and instruction

3 Intelligences work together in complex ways No intelligence really exists

by itself in life Intelligences are always interacting with each other For example, to cook a meal, one must read a recipe (linguistic), perhaps double it (logical-mathematical), and prepare a menu that satisfies others you may cook for (interpersonal) and yourself (intrapersonal)

4 There are many different ways to be intelligent There is no standard set of

attributes that one must have in order to be considered intelligent I

remember a friend in high school who was completely awkward in the dance class and yet a marvel in building construction Both activities required bodily- kinesthetic intelligence (cited from Christison, 1998)

Based on the above characteristics, Gardner (2000) considers education from the view of a psychologist, he mainly focuses on students’ mind and brain and

raises two points affecting to what and how in teaching and learning For the

what, the content, Gardner suggests that it is impossible to teach everything

because the amount of knowledge is getting richer and richer To solve this problem, Gardner says that it is necessary to choose some basic, important subjects to teach such as the theory of evolution in biology, the concept of

political revolution in history, or mastery of an art or trade For the how, the

way to help students comprehend the materials; Gardner (1999) offers a comprehensive differentiated pedagogical strategy in teaching In this strategy, the roles of the students and the teachers are different from those of students and teachers in traditional view Traditionally, students play a passive, reactive and dependent role in classroom They sit facing to the board and listen to what teacher says They rarely have chance to have their own ideas or opinions They are required to learn by heart and remember all the knowledge they’ve learnt (Sánchez & Llera, 2006) Gardner (1983, 1999), determines that it is much better if students play an active, independent role in the classroom because of the following reasons Firstly, each student has different set of developed intelligences, so each of them has different cognitive styles or learning styles It means that they have a variety of ways to explore and understand the material If they are allowed to work actively and independently they will choose the most attractive, familiar and productive one Secondly, Gardner strongly supports for the idea that the purpose of education is to enhance students’ understanding, not just their memories So, in order to understand a new knowledge, students should actively identify their own

strengths and weaknesses of their intelligences profile and apply their strengths

to find out the essence of the problems (Gardner & Hatch, 1989)

In order to switch the role of the students from traditional view to the MI view, the roles of teachers also need to be changed In a traditional class, teachers sit

or stand facing to the students, give the lectures, write on the board, ask students questions and wait for students doing exercises In an MI classroom, teachers need to change their method Teachers should know how to define the strengths and weaknesses of each student, provide them various materials based on a learning objective and organize them in a way that they can develop the strong intelligences as well as improve their weak ones The lesson normally moves from linguistic field to musical field, after that switches to logical field, then to natural field and so on The intelligences are combined creatively in classroom with the purpose of helping students understand the lesson in the most interesting way In MI classroom, especially in a foreign classroom, co-operative learning is highly motivated in order to widen the interactive opportunities for students Simultaneously, teachers also pay attention to the cognitive or learning styles and affective factors of each individual (Armstrong, 2009) So, according to Gardner (1999), teachers’ tasks would be double First, they have to make students understand the knowledge, but not in a cramming way Second, they have to help students take an active role in learning

To do so, teacher should create a positive, supportive learning environment where the brain can work in harmony with feelings, where brain is encouraged

to work with high challenge and low stress because the brain is born for survival not for learning So, with high stress, the brain will produce a kind of chemical which restrains the learning process Teachers also know how to maintain the positive self-esteem and develop intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence (Smith, 2003)

However, Gardner’s theory mostly applies for the education of elementary and secondary school In the scope of the study, the author mainly focuses on the influence of multiple intelligences theory on the foreign language learning of adults; therefore it is necessary to discuss about the correlation between the multiple intelligences theory and the successful learning factors of adults, especially cognitive styles and affective factors of foreign language learners

2.1.3 Benefits of multiple intelligences theory

2.1.3.1 Enhancing cognitive growth

In order to develop the cognition of students, it is necessary to create a learning environment convenient for students in which the two hemispheres of the brain are motivated; the two cognitive styles, field independent and field dependent, are encouraged; the self-esteem is built; the inhibition is lowered; the risk-taking is encouraged; the anxiety is lowered; and the empathy is increased (Brown, 2000) Obviously, it is only Multiple Intelligence Theory that can build up such an environment

Firstly, in a MI lesson, different kinds of intelligences are motivated and combined creatively in various ways to entail the equal development of the both hemispheres

as well as the active participation of both field independent and field dependent styles For illustration, in teaching grammar, to help students understand

profoundly one of the simple present tense uses - simple present tense is used to

describe routines, teachers often design different tasks in which students can

choose a suitable one and manipulate different profiles of intelligences to solve problems Particularly, students with linguistic, mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences can make a survey about the most frequent activities that their classmates do In the task they go around the class, find out reasonable

questions to ask and collect the necessary information Then they carry out calculations to find out the result Left-hemisphere or field independence is really useful in the task Students who are strong at visual, linguistic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences can describe their daily activities by drawing pictures Next, they swap the pictures each other and use the target language to describe their partners’ pictures It is clear that both left and right hemispheres are used in this task Students who are good at music can be required to choose a song which they can use to replace the song lyrics by their own words describing their own daily activities In this task, the both hemispheres are stimulated

Secondly, the self-esteem is also raised in MI classroom because of the following items With the help of teachers, students can identify their strengths and weaknesses, that is, they know which developed intelligences they have and which ones they still feel at low level, so they know clearly about themselves In addition, they are allowed to work in pairs or groups or move around the classroom to look for more opportunities for exposure of their strengths as well as for improvement on their weaknesses by gaining experiences from their partners And the last, they are provided different ways to understand a topic and different ways to express their comprehension with the teachers’ praise and encouragement, which can reduce the pressure of learning When the self-confidence is established and improved, the inhibition of the learners will be lowered

Thirdly, in MI classroom, a moderate level of risk-taking is also encouraged because both the high and low levels of risk-taking are restrained Indeed, the high level of risk-taking is certainly decreased because of the following reasons The first reason is that students always have chance to deepen their understanding by carrying the new tasks on the background of their experience or their old knowledge (Gardner, 1993) which can prevent students from the perplexity; the second reason is that they always have opportunities to think and discuss the

thinking to their classmates before performing their comprehension in front of the class However; it does not mean that students do not need to take any risk With the demand of reaching the target of the task in a limited period of time and the teacher’s appropriate appraising, students with low risk-taking are pushed to a moderate level

One more considered thing is that the high level of anxiety is also decreased because relaxing activities such as music, games and jokes are often used in MI classrooms Some songs may be used as a background for raising intelligence levels and reducing noise levels such as “Sonata for two pianos” of Mozart;

“Concerto for violin” of Beethoven; or “Air on the G string” of JS Bach Some songs may be used for stimulating unconscious learning like “Symphony No.6” of Beethoven, “Memory of trees” of Enya Other songs may be used for stress relief

or change of state like “Far Island” of L’Esprit or “Concerto for Harp” of Handel (Shaw & Hawes, 1998) Moreover, a variety of well-organized games and jokes are sometimes employed with the purpose of bringing laughter to classrooms and decreasing anxiety of students

In addition, empathy is extremely necessary in communicative process because it

is an aspect of interpersonal intelligence The higher the degree of empathy is, the more successful language learner is In MI classes, students have got a lot of opportunities to interact each other which makes the level of empathy higher

In summary, multiple intelligences theory helps teachers to understand the characteristic of each student, to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of each individual, so they help to instruct students the way to explore and comprehend the materials in accordance with their interests and their needs Students become active contributors to their language learning rather than passive recipients of knowledge In the other words, Multiple Intelligences theory really helps to

improve students’ cognition because it shows the way to create a learning environment in which both the cognitive styles and affective factors are combined harmoniously and stimulated reasonably

2.1.3.2 Enhancing learners’ motivation

According to Nunan and Lamb (1996), there is a close relation between motivation and achievement The more highly students are motivated, the more successful they are in learning Therefore; motivation plays a very important role

in learning process According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), the motivation can

be divided into two basic types: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation The learners who have extrinsic motivation study for money, career and power possess And the ones who have intrinsic motivation study for the desire of being identified in the culture or community that speaks the language Gardner and Lambert also argue that the learners with intrinsic motivation will study better than the ones with extrinsic motivation

The most crucial way to enhance learners’ motivation is to design curriculums that are related to the needs and interests of students This gives them the chance to make more accurate decision about what to learn and how to learn and to encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning In the case that learners have no chance to expose the language outside the classroom, it is very necessary to make classroom tasks and activities more interesting by involving learners’ experiences and world knowledge in the content of the lesson (Nunan and Lamb, 1996)

Multiple Intelligence theory with a broad view in teaching and learning actually motivates students in learning process As mentioned above; on one hand, it opens

a new window for teachers to have a close look at students’ brain, to understand their needs and interests, and as a result; they can provide rich and provocative materials for students On the other hand, students also have a chance to improve the self-confidence, to propose ideas of contents of the lesson as well as to confide

to the teachers how to learn effectively In short, in an MI classroom, the materials mostly satisfy each individual with different profiles of intelligences For example,

to understand profoundly the list of words describing people’s feeling, students are suggested different ways to practice depending on the different combination of their strong intelligences Obviously, linguistic intelligence is always presented because this is a language classroom Particularly, the students who are strong in visual and linguistic intelligences can work in a small group to find out or draw different faces expressed different feelings, and then they both show and describe their pictures to classmates The students strong in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence may express different kinds of feeling by changing their eyes, face’s muscles, mouth, eyebrows, etc and the others can guess what feeling they are expressing The students who have naturalist intelligence can identify different gestures of animals which reveal the feelings of animals and they can introduce the gestures to the classmates The students with musical intelligence may be asked to find out different songs which refer to different feelings In this case, teacher instructs different kinds of tasks and students can choose one by themselves

In short, if the multiple intelligence theory is applied efficiently in classroom, the integrative motivation of students is really enhanced since it meets the needs and interests of students

2.1.3.3 Enhancing learners’ interaction

Celce-Murcia (1991) has defined human interaction as a process in which two or more people involve in mutual action This action may be verbal or non-verbal In this process, there are several factors that affect to either positively or negatively such as instrumental and integrative motivation, self-esteem, empathy and anxiety (Brown, 2000) As discussed above, it is understandable to arrive at a conclusion that in MI classroom, all of the affective factors are adjusted to suitable levels which make the interactions in classroom happen effectively

Moreover; in MI classrooms, there are several advantages that lead students to the success in interacting First, they are supplied different kinds of tasks which require the cooperation with the other partners such as carrying out a survey, performing a play, solving problems, composing chants or songs, etc Second, they are arranged to work with the partners who have same strong intelligences at this time and with the ones who have different intelligences at the other time depending on the kind of task Therefore; students can share their interests and experience each other as well as support to one another to attain the goals Last but not least, students in MI class often cope with rich authentic learning materials which help to provoke their critical thinking, one of the important elements to stimulate interactions (Al-Arishi, 1994; Hyland, 1993) In short, MI classroom can create a convenient environment for interactions

2.1.3.4 Enhancing learners’ achievement

MI theory with a broad view of human’s intelligence has varied the ways for students to comprehend the materials, to achieve their learning target With its innovative suggestion in education, students are more independent in discovering themselves as well as finding out the most suitable way to meet the learning objectives The new perception that intelligence is multiple and teachable has given educators a new looks on their students’ potentials and provided them various ways to deploy the teaching materials Educators have also known a suitable method to provoke the students’ strength, to build and maintain students’ self-confidence In fact, some researches about applying MI theory in teaching English as foreign language for adults have attained favorable results For example, a research carried out by Diane Paxton to find out “whether a focus on diverse, multiple intelligences-informed approach to curriculum would help the students practice and acquire English more effectively and help them appreciate and value a less traditional, more diverse, and holistic approach to acquiring English” (Paxton, report, July 1998 cited in Kalenbach & Vien, 2002: 45) has

given an optimistic result With a learning environment of multiple choices, learner-centeredness and enjoyment, learners has felt more confident to take more control over their own learning They have had more responsibility for their learning; as a result, they have had a profound understanding on the teaching materials and they have acquired the target language in a fast speed The second one is the research of Marjorie Hall Haley (2004) on the topic “Learner-centered Instruction and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences with Second Language Learners” with the participation of 23 foreign teachers and 650 students from eight states has show that students achieve greater success rates when MI theory was implemented Students in the experimental group were more enthusiastic about learning and behavior problems were minimized The third one named “Multiple Intelligences Theory and College English Classroom” done by Loli M Dillion (2006) indicates that students’ points of view about their learning environment have been very positive and they are at high level of engagement, participation and retention They have also felt that this teaching approach have met their learning goals and their interests and they have gained a profound comprehension of the course materials In short, MI theory offers the English language teacher a diversified way of grasping and classifying human intelligences, and combination

of intelligences, strengthening the awareness of what speeds up the learning process and makes it effective for individual students, which in turn helps students attain a satisfied result in learning

In conclusion, MI theory with its eight different intelligences has made a considerable contribution to the innovation of teaching method Teachers can use

it as a guideline to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of each student and create abundant of teaching materials suitable to them Thank to the purposeful preparation of the teacher, students’ interests are increased, their motivation is stimulated, their learning cognition is enhanced, their interactions in the classroom occurs frequently; as a result, students make a great progress in studying

2.2 COOPERATIVE LEARNING (CL)

This part aims to review the definition of cooperative learning and its effects on the learners

2.2.1 What is “Cooperative Learning”?

Different researchers have defined cooperative learning in different ways; however, they all have the similar ideas For example, Cooper and Mueck (1990) have considered CL as a structured and systematic instructional design in which small groups work together to attain a common goal Johnson & Johnson (1999) have said that CL is “the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning” Jacobs, Power, & Loh have defined CL as “principles and techniques for helping students work together more effectively” (2002: 1)” It is obvious that Cooperative Learning is not simply putting students together in groups and giving them something to do Instead, it is an environment in which teachers have to guarantee that the following four elements occur

2.2.2 The four important elements in Cooperative Learning

2.2.2.1 Positive Interdependence

The first element is positive interdependence which creates the sense that “we sink

or swim together” (Johnson et al, 1998) It is the sense of working together for a common goal and caring about each other’s leaning (Sharan, 1980) When positive interdependence is established, each member’s effort in the group is always required and he or she takes different roles and responsibility for a part of the given task The group’s successfulness is the contribution of each member in the group Below are some effective ways to build up positive interdependence in

a learning group: