Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers

reviewed by Wayne Rimmer, Russia

Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers
Rolf Palmberg, Russia
Palmsoft Publications
2010

The aim of this short book (62 pages) is to make teachers aware of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and its application to the second language learning classroom. As the title suggests, it assumes little or no knowledge on teachers’ part so its handy size and coverage makes it particularly suitable for the typical busy teacher who wants an overview of the issues in an accessible format. Should teachers want to go into the area in more depth, there are plenty of references to the literature on MI, both theoretical works and practical guides and teaching tools, many of them available free online. It should be clear then that Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers does not try to be authoritative and comprehensive. Its coverage is deliberately selective and the content should be appreciated accordingly.

Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers contains six chapters. The first three present basic concepts and features of MI. The final three chapters each contain an example lesson that illustrates principles of MI. This movement from theory to practice is logical and very widely-adopted in EFL resource books. However, Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers is not really a recipe book to flick through and consult casually. First, the three model lessons won’t make much sense unless you’ve read the material in the earlier chapters. Second, in a book of this size there just isn’t the range and variety of activities which would normally be associated with a pure resource book. The approach seems to be to provide a framework whereby teachers can start to apply MI to their teaching context and the activities serve to exemplify this process. Teachers looking for off-the-peg lesson ideas are not likely to get maximum benefit from this book, it encourages deeper engagement.

As the opening chapters acknowledge, there is actually much confusion over the scope of MI. Gardner’s initial classification has been refined and expanded so that it includes other intelligences, which are often difficult to distinguish from the existing categorisation. The prime example of this, discussed on pp.18ff, is whether / how Existential Intelligence differs from Spiritual Intelligence. Palmberg tries to sort out the confusion.

One way of summarising the state of the art would be to distinguish between three basic groups of intelligence types – IQ, EQ, and SQ. IQ of course refers to the traditional intelligence quotient that is measured using a test originally designed in the early 1900s by Alfred Binet and his colleagues. IQ tests, however, concentrate almost exclusively on people’s logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligence. EQ refers to emotional intelligence, be it the model popularised by Daniel Goleman or the model refined by Peter Salovey and his colleagues. SQ, finally, refers to the controversial area of spiritual-existentialist-metaphoric intelligence. (p.18)

This position is sensible but in a book for novices, Palmberg probably puts too much stress on differentiating between the newer intelligences. For this target audience, such fine distinctions over-complicate the issues and anyway they just aren’t that relevant to pedagogy. Scientists hate to have overlap between categories or any degree of fuzziness because this endangers their neat theories (cf. the preoccupation in cognitive linguistics with semantic classification, spawning prototype theory). However, teachers are more comfortable with loose boundaries as they deal with a world, albeit classroom-bound, where very little can be put into discrete categories. Furthermore, there is something artificial, in an EFL context, in making hard distinctions. Intelligences not only share a great deal of overlap but they are mutually complementary. For example, Logical-Mathematical and Naturalist activities both depend on a sense of order and logic. Palmberg is far from putting the intelligences in strait-jackets, and his approach is generally holistic, but I am not sure that teachers need to be involved in this ontological debate. More space could be devoted to classroom application of the basic theory.

What is interesting is that much of the book could be utilised regardless of the reader’s commitment to MI. The prime example comes from the information in Chapter 2 on developing an MI profile. This is a tool for identifying a learner’s individual MI characteristics, in particular their leaning towards a certain set of intelligences. While Palmberg’s survey of the most useful online MI profile generators is helpful, this discussion is basically a variation on the very well-documented field of needs analysis. It is widely accepted that needs analysis is a preliminary to any meaningful syllabus so this chapter is relevant to any language learning context. For me, this does raise the question of how much MI is actually contributing to EFL. For example, as briefly mentioned in the book (p.19), the difference between MI and learning styles has still not been fully resolved. A weak version of MI is simply that learners have different ways of processing information. A strong version is that learning preferences can be categorised into discrete constructs. If the weak version of MI is preferred, there is very little to promote MI beyond the very broad area of recognising individual differences in (language) acquisition.

The introduction to chapter five explains the aim of the three model lesson plans.

The purpose of this chapter is the same as that of the previous one: first, to demonstrate how teachers can cater optimally for students with different intelligence profiles during a foreign-language lesson and second, to show that this can be easily achieved using everyday classroom activities and techniques while at the same time creating a learning environment in which students feel secure and relaxed. (p. 39)

These aims are achieved as the lesson plans are developed methodically and transparently so that they would be easy for newer teachers to follow. The actual activities are fairly standard in terms of topic and task but they do include some nice variations and extension activities, for example the reference to the hidden text computer programme for the pop song ‘Our House’ (a favourite in adult coursebooks). The level of some of the lesson stages is sometimes quite variable. For example the occupations lesson has one stage where the learners are given useful language like ‘My name is …’ and another where learners decide which jobs are oriented towards specific genders. The language level required for these stages is not compatible. This doesn’t make the lessons unworkable but teachers will need to apply them flexibly.

As Palmberg points out in the first chapter, the number of titles on MI in ELT is surprisingly small. Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers is a useful addition to the field as it delivers much core information while having a strong commitment to practical applications. The references to the wider literature, particularly online material, are particularly helpful. MI is not a quick fix to teaching (what do I do with class 6B on Friday afternoon?). Rather, it raises fundamental questions over the nature of learning and the direction of pedagogy. Palmberg generally succeeds in presenting a coherent picture of MI as a key consideration for curriculum design. For the teacher wondering, ‘What’s in it for me?’, Basic Multiple Intelligences for EFL Teachers is a good place to start.

Please check the Teaching English Through Multiple Intelligences course at Pilgrims website.