Linguistic

Linguistic Intelligence



//Words mean more than what is set down on paper.// //It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.// -Maya Angelou

According to Howard Gardner (1998), linguistic intelligence is "a mastery and love of language and words with a desire to explore them." These are the poets, authors, journalists and wordsmiths of the world. They exhibit great control of (and a passion for) semantics, syntax, phonology, and the pragmatic functions of language. Recent studies have shown that this intelligence may even be split into oral and written components. The University of Arizona (2000) writes that, "A child, for example, might have a great deal of difficulty writing a story, but when asked to tell the story verbally, can do so with eloquence and detail." It's likely that the cause of this is that spoken language is primary, and the most used form of communication. Francis writes that, "Spoken language is primary... in many primitive languages, of course, where writing is unknown, spoken language is the only form." This supports the two forms of linguistic intelligence. A student in your class may struggle horrible in essays but tell a great story, and it could likely be because he's done a lot of talking in his life, but reading and writing have not been an emphasis. Students from poverty may not have had the opportunity to hone reading skills, but verbally are successful. This makes spoken language central to this intelligence.

Many of the students who excel in school tend to show this type of intelligence. Ryan (1998) writes that, " these students are seen as being very bright because school tasks and standardized tests tend to emphasize the intelligence." Many educational tasks, and especially state testing, include writing essays, short answers, and interpreting multiple choice questions. Students with this type of intelligence excel at writing persuasively, at decoding symbols, have large vocabularies, and are great at interpreting the meaning of a text. This gives them an added advantage in traditional classrooms that are reading and writing based.

It is important to note that linguistic intelligence is closely related to musical intelligence. Gardner (1983) writes that, "buried far back in evolution, music and language may have arisen from a common expressive medium." Students with linguistic intelligence often find a musical quality and rhythm in both his or her own writing as well as the writing of others. Taking into consideration writers such as Doctor Seuss or Shakespeare, and it is easy to see the musical aspects of their talents.

Technological Ideas and Resources:

There are a lot of great ways to integrate technology into the classroom to benefit students with linguistic intelligence. One great way is virtual reading journals. This would likely be most beneficial for high school students. Often in high school, student keep reading logs, but no one but the teacher ever sees them. By transforming logs into [|blogs], the student can get a lot more feedback from it, as well as use a medium that they enjoy and are familiar with. You can assign students into groups or partners, and require that they not only write their own blog, but comment on others. In English, the blog could be reflective, or a teacher can assign groups -- one focuses posts on plot, one character, one scenery, etc. It works in other subjects too. A student in a history class could be assigned to write a weekly blog reflecting on what they've learned for the week or on a teacher assigned topic, like "Imagine the Depression happens tomorrow. What would change and how would you feel?" Best of all, a teacher can see the posts before class starts, and use them as a jumping off point to clear up confusion or talk about interesting points that the students made. This method is much more engaging, interactive, and provides more positive reinforcement than a pen and paper journal.

[|CoverItLive] - Time is tight in class, and not everyone can get their opinions in before it is over. One option is to let students type in a chat room while instruction is going on, so that everyone can get their opinions out. CoverItLive allows this to happen. Students could post questions about what is being taught, pose critical questions they want to explore, or debate important topics. It would also be beneficial for an in class movie. Teachers may not want students talking so people can hear the movie, but CoverItLive offers a non-disruptive option to continue discussion. This type of learning would be highly preferential to those of linguistic intelligence, and would help students to sharpen their written skills instead of always practicing verbal debate and discussion. [|My Story Maker] - This is a fun, free website that teachers younger kids how to write stories! The program provides a ton of characters, objects, and backgrounds for students to use, and provides helpful hints on writing the story. When students finish, they can download the story as a .pdf file and print it out as a book. This activity could even be a fun way to simplify complex historical events in high school, or even just as an activity for an introductory creative writing class. [|Wordle] - Students with linguistic intelligence love words - so give them words! Wordle allows you to enter a segment of text, and it will rearrange it visually so that the most frequently used words are the largest, and the least frequent are the smallest. This is a great way to start off any lesson or unit. In the picture below, the entire text of Shakespeare's MacBeth was entered in. A teacher could present the result to the students and see what they can infer about the book just from that diagram. Who will be the main characters? What will happen in the plot? What are possible themes? Teachers in all subjects can use this- history, science, and math teachers could use a chapter from a text book.


 * __**Traits of Musical Learners:**__ || __** Possible Professions **__ || __**Famous Musical Learners:**__ ||
 * * writes well for age
 * spins tall tales or tells jokes and stories
 * has a good memory for names, places, dates, or trivia
 * enjoys word games
 * enjoys reading books
 * spells words accurately
 * appreciates nonsense rhymes, puns, tongue twisters, etc.
 * enjoys listening to the spoken word (stories, radio, talking, books)
 * has a good vocabulary for age
 * communicates to others in a highly verbal way

(Wake Country Public School System, 2009) || * librarian
 * archivist
 * curator
 * editor
 * translator
 * speech pathologist
 * writer
 * radio/TV announcer
 * journalist
 * legal assistant
 * lawyer
 * secretary
 * typist
 * proofreader
 * English teacher

(Horton, 2001) || * R.L. Stein
 * Judy Blume
 * Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel)
 * Shel Silverstein
 * Roald Dahl
 * Agatha Christie
 * Demosthenes
 * Edgar Allen Poe
 * Alexander Pope
 * Rudyard Kipling
 * John Irving

(Pearson Education Inc, 2011) ||

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__Works Cited__ Francis, W. N. (1954, October). Revolution in grammar. //Journal of Speech//, 424-443.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, H. (1998). A Multiplicity of Intelligences. Scientific American Presents, 18-23. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Horton, M. S., Ph. D. (2001, October 1). Careers for your intelligence. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from Mesa Community College website:[]

Pearson Education Inc. (2011). Linguistic celebrity profiles. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from []

Ryan, C. D., M.A. (1998). Verbal-linguistic intelligence. In Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from Edupress website: http://www.unco.edu/cebs/psychology/kevinpugh/5-7320/ITcomponents/Multi_intel.htm#Verbal

Wake County Public School Systems. (2009, November). SMART characteristics & preferred learning activities. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from []

University of Arizona. (2000). Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved February 21, 2011 from <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[]

Title Image:

Squidoo. (n.d.). Book hugging girl. Retrieved February 21, 2011, from http://i2.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/590/draft_lens7379772module61253752photo_1254832763linguistic_learner.jpg