An Evaluation of Middle English Textbooks of Punjab Textbook Board Using Multiple Intelligences Theory

Abstract

English language textbooks are an important part of students' language learning in classrooms. This study aimed to evaluate Punjab Textbook Board Middle English textbooks for grades 6, 7, and 8 through the Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory, which explains that people can learn in multiple ways and suggests ways to improve their learning process by engaging their multiple intelligences. The study used a mixed-methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools that consisted of a multiple intelligences (MI) checklist to categorize the textbooks’ activities, an MI survey to identify students' MI profiles, classroom observations, and an open-ended questionnaire. The quantitative analysis revealed that the textbooks focused heavily on linguistic intelligence, covering 100% of the activities while representing a limited presence of other intelligences between 3.6% to 15.8%. In contrast, students' MI profiles showed spatial intelligence to be the most dominant with 96.3%. The classroom observations presented linguistics intelligence to be the dominant one. The qualitative analysis of responses obtained from the questionnaire revealed that teachers highlighted the need for varied teaching strategies to cater to multiple intelligences, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills of students. The findings suggested updating textbooks to include more MI activities, using diverse instructional methods, and considering students' backgrounds, class sizes, time allocation, and teacher training to create engaging learning environments, improve student confidence, and enhance English proficiency.