ONE TEXT, MANY MINDS: READING STRATEGY VARIATIONS AMONG LEARNERS WITH DIFFERENT INTELLIGENCE PROFILES
Abstract
Reading comprehension is one of the most essential skills for EFL learners, as it contributes to academic success and overall language proficiency. Effective readers employ a variety of Global, Supportive, and Problem solving strategies to construct meaning from texts. However, the effectiveness of strategy use may depend on learners’ individual differences, including their cognitive styles and types of intelligence. Gardner’s (1983) theory of multiple intelligences provides a useful framework for exploring these differences, suggesting that learners possess distinct intellectual strengths. This study investigates the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ multiple intelligences (MI) and their use of reading strategies. These relationships were examined through the administration of three instruments: Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scales (MIDAS), Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS), and IELTS and TOEFL reading comprehension tests on a group of EFL university students. The analysis of data obtained from correlational procedures indicated that there is meaningful relationship between the subjects’ MI and their reading strategies. Among the eight intelligences defined by Gardner linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, and logical-mathematical intelligences were found to have positive relationships with the subjects’ reading strategies use. The findings suggest that teachers should structure the presentation of material in a style which engages most or all the intelligences. MI aids teachers in creating more personalized and diversified instructional experience.
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