The effects of multiple intelligence based reading tasks on EFL students reading skills achievements: The case of university students in Ethiopia

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of multiple intelligence-based tasks (MIBT) in improving university students reading skills and achievements. It employed a quasi-experimental design that primarily relies on a quantitative approach. Accordingly, a total of 60 students, who were selected purposefully, participated in the study as treatment and comparison groups. The experimental process was carried out with reading tasks that were designed in light of a model for teaching the skills using multiple intelligence-driven tasks. The treatment was provided for 12 weeks, in which three lessons were conducted per week. For similar weeks, the comparison group also attended lessons but followed the conventional approach of teaching reading skills. Quantitative methods were employed to analyze the data collected through tests. Specifically, T-tests were used to generate the output for the findings. Prior to analysis, a data normality check was carried out using Shapiro-Wilk tests, and a p value of .05 was used to determine the level of significance. It was found that multiple intelligence-based reading tasks brought a significant difference in the students’ higher and lower levels of reading achievements compared to the conventional methods, with the effect size value ranging from moderate for reading aspects (i.e., reading for main ideas and understanding references) to strong for reading aspects (i.e., reading for details, guessing vocabulary, and inferring meanings from a text). The findings suggest that university teachers should use multiple intelligence-driven reading tasks to raise the comprehension levels of struggling readers in the context of the study.