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Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 11 (2011) 72–76

Teachers for the Knowledge Society

A multiple intelligences approach:

intuitive English learning – a case study for k-1 students
Loredana-Andreea Stăncună*, Aneliz-Iulia Crăciun*
*University of Bucharest, Faculty of Letters, 5-7 Edgar Quinet Street, district 1, Bucharest – 010017, Romania

Abstract

Our paper presents a case study for kindergarten and primary students who learn English as a foreign language, following their
progress when they rediscovered their world and renamed it intuitively in the target language. We use interactive multiple
intelligences tasks that support the young learners to improve their awareness of the language system of regularities and their
basic communication abilities.
The research consists in implementing school games that highlight the abstract and concrete concepts that are at hand in the
youngsters' environment. We also consider that intuitive techniques can support effective internalization of the concepts and in-
depth learning.

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Keywords: multiple intelligences; intuitive learning; interactive methodology; in-depth learning; school games

1. Introduction

Traditional English lessons did not allow games, songs and poems. They were permitted only at the end of the
lessons and not every time. They were like a dessert that came along with students diligently to fulfill the tasks
required.
Modern methods and in particular Multiple Intelligences Theory, bring these desserts in the current activities,
which are used to facilitate learning anytime. The literature provides theoretical and practical information in support
of these modern methods and regarding the manner in which a child assimilates new knowledge from the
environment through active and intuitive teaching methods. We felt that it is necessary to do a research that regards
children groups who were not yet accustomed to traditional teaching methods, as the children are at the beginning of
their English study. The design of our research was inspired by a variety of studies that focus on language and the
human mind in a broad sense (Chomsky, 2006), children’s acquisition of language (Karmiloff-Smith, 1981) and
mainly on the intuitive acquisition of language in young learners (Karmiloff, Karmiloff-Smith, 2002) as well as on
the research in multiple intelligences (Gardner, 2004, 2006). The latter was particularly inspirational for adapting
interactive methodology suitable for k-1 English learning to the variety of intelligences profiles of our children.
The hypothesis that we support is that "if we use the intuitive teaching, then the students will acquire knowledge
of foreign language without effort”. Our target groups are children of kindergarten and primary school (first
graders). We present below the research by means of two case studies according to the target groups.

2. Case study and experimental results – kindergarten

Following the experience gained during the activities with very young students we observed a tendency of
receptivity increase in those classes in which students used the environment correlation when being taught a new
language. Children at this age cannot absorb knowledge through reading or writing, primarily because they do not

* Loredana Andreea Stăncună. Tel.: +40724905973;

E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.01.036
 Loredana-Andreea Stăncună and Aneliz-Iulia Cră ciun / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 11 (2011) 72–76 73

have these skills yet, and secondly because the need for movement and play is much more pronounced than patience
and concentration.
Kindergarten children learn from their environment, they develop a sense of space and time and they are able to
undertake connections between concepts and objects around them. So practice and repetition provide recognition
and use of at least 50 new words in a month’s time, in new contexts and in their own phrases.
Games, songs and movement activities were the main focus of the research, although the background was
focused on children’s accumulation of new knowledge in English. Research on preschool children group took place
during two months of study. The available time was 1 hour per week. The children, in a total number of 60 students,
were divided into two groups: those who had first contact with English and those who had studied English a year
before.
Since the beginning of the study, the children were involved in presentation activities, as well as in the departure
ones. Bruner (1983) claims that teachers must engage in a "struggle against passivity". Thus we chose as a landmark
for the beginning and end of each lesson, two suggestive songs, titled "Hello" and "Goodbye." These songs have
allowed the children to enter the English lesson environment and were a "signal" that the English time either started
or ended. The songs proved to be very alluring and exciting, because through their simple and entertaining lyrics,
they offered the children freedom of movement, and gave them the opportunity to use hands and face expressions.
Thus, we aimed the understanding of greetings expressions in new contexts, through verbal repetition, mixed with
suitable gestures and movements (meeting with parents at the end of the day, separation from mates).
During the study, we used a mascot, personified in the role of a friend and instructor of the children's movement.
This doll, named Bob, asks the children to perform certain actions such as "sit down", "dance", "jump", "stand up",
"close the door, open the door". Knowing that Bob is a true friend and a very funny person, who just wants to play,
repeated tasks application, at least 3-4 times during a course didn’t bother the kids. They were very amused and
happy to do what Bob performed. Also, through repetition and association with various movements and actions, the
acquisition of new linguistic elements was made effortlessly. Bob is the one who teaches them songs and poems
using the CD, because he knows them very well as he practices them at home.
Another phase of the research was the introduction of some suggestive big and very big posters. These contained
colours, numbers and animals. The new elements were accumulated using posters in various contests and games.
These were mixed on the floor, and at Bob’s commands children were asked to sit on the right image. If the image
contained an animal, the child had to mimic the animal’s sound. If they were wrong, they were asked to wait on the
red chair, which was called the “Stop Chair”.
The next interactive activity, on which the teacher followed recognizing colours, consists in gathering all the
coloured chairs in the middle of the room. The children had to dance around them, and when Bob told them a colour
in English, they had to sit quickly on them. The rule was not to sit on the mentioned colour. Thus if a child is left
standing or he/ she sat on the wrong colour he has to be removed from the game. This game aimed at the recognition
of colours.
After these activities we needed to analyze students' progress in order to draw conclusions. As the children are
unable to read and write, progress could be verified only through systematic observation or other games with the
same themes. Games are activities where children participate in a natural way, and they contribute in a friendly way
to testing things that children should know or for the strengthening of certain skills. The systematic observation was
made through watching the children’s attitude and their answers to Bob, to other mates, to parents and to other
teachers. So we prepared a chart that allows data collection in terms of student progress.
At the end of this research period we can also speak about results. Although at the beginning songs seemed
difficult because they were in English, on the way, the children perceived this activity as relevant and fun. This was
challenging because all children love to imitate and mimic, and the repetitions gave them a sense of security and
fulfilment. They managed to associate gestures and forms of greeting with the right situations, and approximately
70% of students gained a very good score in the systematic observation, being able to use concepts learned in their
own contexts.
When learning a foreign language, children can understand more than they can say.
Most times, they can express what they understand through movement. Bob’s activities allowed the children to
focus on what they were listening to and demonstrate that they understand without having to formulate a response.
These games have helped in the development of listening and speaking skills. Thus, it was found that 90% of
students were able to understand and react to 10 common commands in English.
Contests based on different systems of reward were effective in the acquisition and use of concepts from the
environment due to competitiveness. All the children wanted to know and understand the concepts used in the game
74 Loredana-Andreea Stăncună and Aneliz-Iulia Cră ciun / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 11 (2011) 72–76

problem for at least 90% of the students, and the analogy with the sounds of each studied animal had a high
efficiency.

Figure 1. Children’s evolution

According to the systematic observation, a graphic organizer was obtained (Fig. 1). It shows the evolution of the
children. Thus, in the first two weeks the evolution was not very obvious because they were still undergoing
adjustment. Towards the middle of the study, after a significant evolution, regression was observed in remembering
the knowledge acquired in earlier weeks. After a brief recap, the students succeeded in having a very good yield in
the last two weeks of the research.

3. Case study and experimental results – first grade

Recent research has shown that children learn a language by using language. They do not learn it and
then use it! Furthermore, we know that repetition is essential for consolidating language learning. A similar
program was used for first graders, also. They were introduced to the new language by Freddie, an English speaking
frog. This frog became their teacher and is the one who delivers information, concepts and commands. The frame is
a story of Freddie and some of his friends. By dividing this story, a set of mini-stories were produced and they came
to be the “Intuitive English Teaching Program”. The lessons focus was not on vocabulary, but on the main structures
that the students may acquire such as It’s a (pencil).(recognition) What colour is your (schoolbag)?My
(schoolbag) is (red). (recognition) Where’s (Freddie)? He’s/She’s (big). He/She isn’t (fast) and on functional
language such as Come on! Hurry up!I can’t wait! It’s late. You’re too slow.
The main ideas around which teaching in such a manner was developed are the following:
Children’s learning develops with active involvement. Children learn by doing.
Children use language to structure their concepts. Language comes first.
Learning environments need to be language rich.
Children’s development is not limited to language and concepts. They also develop as learners.
This fourth idea sustains the importance of creating learners, not students able only to reproduce a known fact. As
children develop as learners, they need to extend their language experience outside the controlled environment
of the story. We also need to prepare the children for a more formal study of the language and its contents in
order to meet later challenges. As the children develop as learners, both in their command of language and in
the underlying concepts, the story presented becomes a kind of package for other questions. For example, a
story about nature leads us to examine the importance of respecting and protecting our natural environment.
Once the children are ready to engage in these issues they will work with the stories in a different way. Each
mini-story illustrates a specific topic with its particular language register and knowledge content.
 Loredana-Andreea Stăncună and Aneliz-Iulia Cră ciun / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 11 (2011) 72–76 75

In the early stages the children’s capacity to produce language is clearly very limited. We can support this
process of learning by providing activities with simple repetitive lines of the story in each lesson. Another way
in which the children are encouraged to produce language is through songs, rhymes and tongue twisters.
Songs play an important part in the language classroom as they provide an opportunity for children to
articulate the new language within a melodic framework. For the teacher, songs are a means of checking
comprehension through physical response and for eliciting choral production of new language. For the
children, songs are motivating and enjoyable. Songs are used for language presentation and give students a
real reason for listening to a list of new words or a repeated structure. The pronunciation model for the new
language is contained in the song lyrics and the melody and the rhythm help the students to memorise the
new language. A song can be sung many times and it provides a vehicle for reviewing language. This is
possible due to the number of students in a group: 16-18 children.

Figure 2. Language acquisition

Young learners respond positively to routine and predictable sequences of events. At the start of each lesson
the children will say a short warm up rhyme and at the end of each lesson they will say a short goodbye
rhyme. The purpose of this is to mark a clear beginning and end to each lesson. This is for the purposes of
classroom management: to signal to the children that the English lesson has started and they need to change
their language of communication; to provide repetitive structures for greeting and saying goodbye to each
other.
Through the work the children do with the stories they will develop the kind of literacy skills which will
support their language learning, such as: sequencing, predicting, drawing conclusions, observing character
development and so on. These skills are essential for developing the language competence that we are aiming
for. Furthermore, they are essential if the children are to eventually reach an acceptable standard of written
English.
They start to do this with simple activities such as tracing over words, completing words, choosing words to
complete sentences and so on.
Initially the children’s capacity to use English is practically nonexistent. They will use the mother tongue
when talking to t h e t e a c h e r o r to their peers because they cannot do otherwise. However, the teacher
should speak back to them in English choosing words carefully and clarifying with mime, gestures and facial
expressions. Gradually the teacher should encourage them to use more and more English.
76 Loredana-Andreea Stăncună and Aneliz-Iulia Cră ciun / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 11 (2011) 72–76

For many children – over more than 40 out of the total number of 85 students -, their only exposure to English
is in the classroom with their teachers. We know that language learning requires a lot of exposure and practice
and this is why it is suggested to view all the situations in the classroom as potential learning situations and take
maximum advantage of the time the children are present.
There are clearly some occasions when it is not efficient to use English and the teacher should revert to the
mother tongue, specifically when they are dealing with a conflict or a child is distressed. Even so, these
opportunities should be taken to assure the children they could express their emotions in English, too. By
doing so, the environment is secure and it assorts a certain type of interaction. Moreover, the child will
understand that it is also very good to speak a second language and they will also be provided with the
environment in which they could do so.

4. Conclusions

The present research has shown that so far our hypothesis has not been denied! The language acquisition is of 50
or more words in a month’s time. These words are not just label words as they are used in different main structures
or/and to construct a functional language.
In addition, there were no limitations to the present research, the results obtained having been unaltered during
the whole period of the study.
The two groups that were involved have shown that a variety of verbal and non-verbal tasks does help the
students in acquiring a new language, focusing on implementing the main structures of the functional language. The
dynamics of the game-like activities as well as the wide range of – mainly - visual, kinesthetic, interpersonal and
musical entry points or representations allowed young students to enjoy effortless activities that motivated their
learning. This intuitive form of language acquisition proved to be a success in both groups, despite the minimal
setbacks that occasionally appeared.

Figure 3. 1st grade class

References

Bruner, J. S. (1983). In Search of Mind. New York: Harper and Row.

Chomsky, N. (2006). Language and Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gardner, H. (2004). The Disciplined Mind (in Romanian). Bucuresti: Sigma.
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligences. New Horizons (in Romanian). Bucuresti: Sigma.
Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1981). A Functional approach to child language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Karmiloff, K., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2002). A Functional approach to child language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Harvard
University Press.