An Action Research On Applying The Multiple Intelligence Theory To Improve The Pupil’s Oral Communication Ability

As Curriculum Standards of English Compulsory Education stated the overall goal of English course in the basic education stage is to cultivate students’ comprehensive language ability,the main purpose of primary English teaching is to enable students to master English language skills and achieve basic communication.The author has been engaged in practical English teaching in a primary school for many years and found that the phenomenon of "dumb English" in pupils has always existed.Therefore,improving pupils’ oral communicative ability is not only a requirement of the new curriculum standard but also the demands of solving "dumb English" state among pupils.Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory(MIT)has been widely used in education since its inception and has achieved fruitful results in both theoretical development and teaching practice.Therefore,the author attempts to combine Multiple Intelligence Theory with the teaching practice,focus on primary school English classrooms,design reasonable and effective multiple teaching activities,and use multiple evaluation measures to stimulate students’ various intelligence,improve their oral communication abilities,and promote their comprehensive development.Based on Multiple Intelligence Theory,this study conducts action research on primary school spoken English teaching in Grade 5 of Xiangji Primary School in Xiangtan City.This study explores the following three questions: First,what is the current situation of the pupils’ oral English communication ability? Second,can Multiple Intelligence Theory improve the pupils’ oral communication ability? Third,how to use the Multiple Intelligence Theory to improve the pupils’ oral communication ability? The author used interviews,tests,questionnaires,and other methods to make clear of the current status of pupils’ oral English communication ability,explore the application of the teaching methods based on MIT in combination with primary school English classroom to design a variety of activities and adopt multiple evaluation measures to promote pupils’ oral English learning interest and self-confidence to improve oral communication abilities.This research consists of three stages: First,the preparation stage: The author consulted a large number of relevant literature and comprehensively review them;understood the current situation and causes of pupils’ oral communication situation through the questionnaire and analyzed them,based on which make the questions and hypothesis;simultaneously,the author knew the pupils’ multiple intelligence advantages through another questionnaire,and their interest in Multiple Intelligence(MI)teaching activities;these provide theoretical basis and practical preparation for the second stage.Second,the drafting and implementing the planning stage: The author carried out two rounds of action research.The first round of action was organized different intelligence teams according to the pupils’ intelligence advantages and MI activity preference.In the classroom,Multiple Intelligence teaching activities were implemented between the groups,new problems were occurred during the practice and adjusted the original plan accordingly.During the second round of action research,the author adopted multiple evaluation measures both inside and outside the classroom to stimulate students’ interest in learning,enhance their self-confidence in learning,and improve their autonomous learning ability.Third,the research summary stage: The author collects,organizes,statistics and analyzes the data obtained by SPSS 2.0 during the research,and finally draws the research conclusions.The results of this study show that: 1.The pupils are mostly interested in English but rarely communicate in English,they want to speak but cannot express properly and correctly,they seldom communicate in English in daily life;2.Teaching methods and strategies based on Multiple Intelligence Theory can effectively improve the pupils’ oral communicative ability.3.With diversified teaching activities the pupils’ learning interest,autonomous learning ability,and the desire of oral communication could be inspired and promoted;a united,supportive,relaxing and interesting learning environment is provided through group work,which helps to eliminate the pupils’ Psychological obstacles such as anxiety,shyness,and fear of making mistakes in oral communication;multiple evaluation not only cultivates students ’good study habits and positive learning attitudes but also stimulates pupils’ self-confidence and self-accomplishment.Based on the above conclusions,the author puts forward the following teaching suggestions: promote the learning of Multiple Intelligence Theory,be aware of the pupils’ intelligence advantages,teach students according to their aptitude,use various classroom teaching activities and multiple evaluation measures,improve classroom teaching efficiency,and improve pupils’ oral communication skills.In teaching practice,teachers need to continuously innovate their theoretical knowledge,improve their teaching skills and ability to solve problems,and expedite educational reform.