This paper focuses on the investigation of the differences in multiple intelligences, learning styles, motivation and language learning strategies used by a successful and an unsuccessful foreign language learner. The study finds that the successful language learner has verbal/linguistic, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences while the unsuccessful one owns naturalistic intelligence. The study indicates that the successful learner was intrinsically motivated and the unsuccessful one studied English as foreign language to pass examination. | A CASE STUDY OF A SUCCESSFUL AND AN UNSUCCESSFUL FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNER DIỄN CỨU NGƯỜI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ THÀNH CÔNG VÀ KHÔNG THÀNH CÔNG MA Nguyen Van Thang1 MA ThS. Phạm Hương Lan2 MA. 1 Thanh Dong University 2 Vietnam National University of Agriculture Abstract This paper focuses on the investigation of the differences in multiple intelligences learning styles motivation and language learning strategies used by a successful and an unsuccessful foreign language learner. The study finds that the successful language learner has verbal linguistic intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences while the unsuccessful one owns naturalistic intelligence. The study indicates that the successful learner was intrinsically motivated and the unsuccessful one studied English as foreign language to pass examination. It was also found that the successful leaner used a wider range of language learning strategies for significantly learning English as a foreign language more frequently than the unsuccessful one. The former mostly used metacognitive strategies compensation strategies cognitive strategies memory strategies and social strategies while the latter rarely used the language learning strategies. Key words successful learner unsuccessful learner multiple intelligences learning styles motivation language learning strategies 1. Introduction Ever since the seminal works of Rubin 1975 and Stern 1975 the passion for researching the good language learner has shown no sign of waning. Starting from the assumption that if we knew more about what the successful learners did we might be able to teach these strategies to poorer learners to enhance their success record Rubin 1975 earlier studies focused mainly on language learning strategies. Up to date research in the field has covered both learner variables for example multiple intelligences learning styles motivation attitude aptitude personality gender culture context beliefs metacognition and autonomy learning variables for .
