On the Relationship between Iranian EFL Learners' Multiple Intelligences and Their Learning Styles

Abstract

The current work reports investigation of the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' multiple intelligence (MI) profiles and their learning styles (LSs). The study also attempts to find out the most and the least dominant learning styles among the participants. The study further examines whether there is any significant difference between genders in using the different types of learning styles. To this end, two questionnaires, a 90-item multiple intelligences questionnaire and a 24-item learning styles questionnaire adapted from Willing (1988), were distributed among 120 Iranian EFL learners (60 males and 60 females) during their class time at the universities of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iranshahr, and Yasuj. In order to find answer to the first research question, the Pearson Correlation analysis showed that there is a significant positive relationship between the different types of multiple intelligences and learning styles in particular and the multiple intelligences and learning styles as general factors. Descriptive statistics was also run and considered communicative type of learning styles as the most dominant type and Authority-oriented learning style as the least dominant learning style type. Finally, the results of an independent-samples t-test analysis revealed that there is only a significant difference between male and female students in using communicative type of learning styles. That is, female students use this type of learning style more than male ones. The data analyses further indicated that there is no significant difference between genders in employing learning styles as a general factor.