Teach English in Linfeng Zhen - Chongqing

Multiple Intelligences In the ?heyday? of the psychometric and behaviorist era, experts believed that all human beings were born with one innate form of intelligence. This intelligence could be trained to learn anything, provided it was presented in the appropriate way. Since that time, theories have been presented that are contrary to that belief system. According to Howard Gardner, one of the leading experts in the field of ?Multiple Intelligences,? human beings utilize seven forms of intelligence. The documented intelligences are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Gardner claims that the seven intelligences rarely operate independently, and tend to complement each other. Linguistic intelligence involves an individual?s sensitivity to spoken and written language, and the capacity to use language to accomplish tasks. Writers, poets, and speakers are all people that are suspected of having high linguistic intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical problems, and investigate issues scientifically. Individuals with high logical-mathematical intelligences are generally mathematicians, engineers, and logicians. Musical intelligence is one?s affinity to perform, compose, and appreciate music. Musical intelligence is also thought to be highly similar to linguistic intelligence. Musicians, obviously, are likely to have high musical intelligences. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to use one?s body or body parts to solve problems. Individuals with high bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are those considered to be physically dexterous, like dancers. Interpersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations, and desires of other people. Sales-people, political and religious leaders, and counselors are all individuals that require high interpersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself; to appreciate one?s feelings, fears, and emotions. According to Gardner, multiple-intelligences are amoral. The use of these intelligences can be put towards constructive or destructive objectives. This provides a daunting challenge for educators that feel compelled to teach to these different forms of intelligence. From the point of view of a teacher, being forced to cater to seven different forms of intelligence can seem impossible when it?s already difficult enough teaching one. However, Gardner affirms that seven different intelligences allows, not forces, several different ways of teaching. Teachers are not required to teach in one banal method. Instead they may ?develop new approaches that might better meet the needs of the range of learners in the classroom.? This insight can be applied to TEFL teaching. Traditionally, it has been seen as extremely difficult for non-youth learners to absorb all of the information necessary to become fluent in a language. Many are told that they well never acquire true fluency if they begin studying after the age of 15-17. However, this lack of true fluency may simply be caused by how the students are being taught. In adult-focused TEFL environments, learners are usually at desks or tables, attempting to absorb as much of what the teacher says, or what they can do on their own, as possible. However, this kind of learning is usually focused on linguistic intelligence-oriented study. When children are learning languages at an extremely young age, they often exercise all the forms of intelligence. In conclusion, the multiple-intelligences theory, if applied to TEFL, may be able to solve the issue of adults being unable to reach complete, native-level- fluency. It may not be a matter of their brain being too old, but simply the method in which they are learning.