Multiple Intelligences Theory And The Summer Camp Curriculum Design At Saint Mary’s University

The purpose of this research study was to project an applicable curriculum design for Confucius Institute summer camp by exploring and comprehending the role of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (MI) in foreign language learning, and through analyzing the perspectives of students in a summer camp program at Saint Mary’s Confucius Institute. Data collection included literature review, interviews and questionnaires of10students from the summer camp, questionnaires of45students who were learning Mandarin at local primary schools, interviews of11teachers who had the experiences in teaching Mandarin summer camp, and classroom observation. By analyzing these data, the findings of the research indicated that integration of MI into children’s foreign language instruction was perceived as both beneficial and enjoyable by students, the integration of multiple intelligences and thematic teaching is an effective and creative approach to teaching children Mandarin. Chapter1introduces the overview of this study, including the reason and purpose of this study, theoretical framework, and definitions of terms. Chapter2provides a detailed review of existing literature regarding the rationale for this study and previous and pertinent research. Chapter3presents the research methodology applied in order to conduct the research, and presents the findings of the research study. Chapter4projects a Confucius Institute summer camp course design according to previous findings. Chapter5presents the conclusions.