Abstract
Decreasing English skills among new university students have been reported over the years in Japan. Some solutions adopted to overcome this problem include implementing remedial courses, facilitating support centers, and introducing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). However, in the present circumstances, university students' English levels have been becoming progressively worse for years, and the English ability gap among students has widened. This study proposes using multiple intelligence (MI) theory as a more radical measure to respond to these challenges. MI theory is believed to offer an efficient approach, although such an approach is rarely observed at the university level in Japan. This is a pilot study, which will become the foundation for constructing instruction courses based on MI theory. It is designed to identify the intelligence type of Japanese students whose major is related to rehabilitation and welfare, and to examine correlations between students intelligence and other variables in terms of cognitive, psychological, and behavioral aspects. This study involved 147 first and second year students, including 92 males and 55 females. Two types of questionnaires were administered to these students. The data were stored in SPSS and used for descriptive and correlational analysis. This study found unique characteristics of participants' MI profiles as well as gender differences. From the correlational analysis, some significant correlations were found between students' MI profiles and their perspectives and attitudes toward English. Future studies can use these findings to describe ways of constructing and implementing MI theory-based English instruction for remedial purposes.
Author Information
Minako Inoue, Health Science University, Japan
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