An investigation of the effects of intelligence type and physical activity participation level on foreign language learning achievement in university preparatory class students

Although learning a foreign language is almost compulsory for almost everyone, it may not be at the same easiness. The different types of intelligence that individuals have and being deprived of the numerous benefits offered by sports because of more passive lives brought by technology can affect this situation. In this context, the aim of the study is to compare the foreign language achievement levels of students who participate in physical activity and have physical/kinesthetic intelligence with others. The sample of the study consisted of 1012 participants, all of whom are volunteers, studying at Karabük University, School of Foreign Languages in the 2019-2020 academic year. "Personal Information Form" developed by researchers, "Multiple Intelligence Observation Form" belonging to Selçuk, Kayılı and Okut (2003), "International Physical Activity Questionnaire" developed by Craig et al. (2003) and adapted by Öztürk (2005) and "Cambridge Preliminary English Test" were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskall Wallis test, Spearman Correlation test and Multiple Regression test were used in the analysis of the data with the help of SPSS. As a result, no significant differences have been found between foreign language achievement scores according to gender, income level, the status of dealing with a sports branch under license, the sports branch performed under license, and the time spent as an athlete (p>,05). Significant differences have been determined between intelligence types according to gender, income level, the status of dealing with a sports branch under license, the sports branch performed under license and the time spent as an athlete, and also a positive, medium-strong significant relationship has been found between the time spent as an athlete and physical/kinesthetic intelligence (p<,05). While there have been no significant differences between physical activity participation levels according to gender, income level, the status of dealing with a sports branch under license and the time spent as an athlete (p>,05), significant differences have been ound between physical activity participation levels and the status of dealing with a sports branch under license (p<,05). A significant positive moderate relationship between the physical activity participation levels of the participants and their physical/kinesthetic intelligence domains; a significant positive moderate relationship between physical activity participation levels and foreign language achievement scores; a significant positive weak relationship has been found between foreign language achievement scores and physical/kinesthetic intelligence. When the effects of multiple intelligence domains and physical activity participation levels on foreign language achievement scores have been examined, it is seen that the level of physical activity participation have a positive and significant effect on foreign language achievement scores. It is seen that physical/kinesthetic intelligence, the duration of sportsmanship and physical activity level are all important factors in foreign language learning success.