A Correlational Study: Reading Comprehension and the Most Prevalent Intelligence Among Pre-Service English Teachers

Abstract

In the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, multiple intelligences play an essential role for teachers to decide the types of support they can give to enhance students' linguistic ability, including reading. The researchers determined the most dominant multiple intelligence among English Department students through this quantitative study and confirmed the correlation between intelligence and reading comprehension. To achieve those aims, 111 senior students at the department took part as the research respondents by filling in a questionnaire adopted from Mckenzie (1999). The survey result showed that in the majority, students are existential. Continuing the process, using ten questions from the questionnaire that focused on intelligence, the students' existential was measured.Meanwhile, the reading comprehension level was identified from a reading section of the TOEFL-like test that the students did in one of the classes. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) through SPSS version 20. The results revealed 37 intelligently existential students' intelligence was at the high level (3.2-4.2), and students' reading comprehension was at the fair level (396.68-503.35). The result also showed that the significance value was 0.009 < 0.05, and the correlation value (r-value) was 0.421. There was a positive correlation between existential intelligence as students' most dominant multiple intelligence and their reading comprehension at a moderate level.