Challenges in Implementing Multiple Intelligences in the Teaching of English to Orang Asli Students in Malaysia

The Multiple Intelligences (MI) recognises an individual’s differences and proposes that the learning process should be tailored to one’s strengths in his/her multiple intelligences. This approach seems promising to address the learning problems faced by the Orang Asli students in the mainstream education in Malaysia as they possess different types of intelligence due to their inherited traits and cultural environments, which have been cited as potential reasons for their low performance compared to their non-indigenous peers. Despite the potential of MI in education, studies that look into the implementation of MI for the Orang Asli students in Malaysia, particularly in ESL learning, have been scanty. Thus, this study aimed to identify the integration of MI employed by teachers, and uncover the problems encountered during the process so that strategies can be drawn for more effective implementation in the classroom for these students. This research employs a qualitative case study design with in-depth interview as the data collection method. The homogenous sampling technique involving five teachers was applied. The interview data was later transcribed, coded, and analysed in Atlas Ti using a thematic analysis technique. The findings show that teachers who integrate multiple intelligences of their students can make a significant contribution to shaping the students’ character and potential and that the intelligence and abilities possessed by students will be able to solve problems and create something of value from their cultural background and surrounding environment. The study offers paramount information on the challenges of MI implementation in the teaching of ESL among Orang Asli primary school students and helps direct ways to improve it and provides more direction for more detailed further research into the area.