Linguistic Intelligence

    As we go on with our lives, we never stop and think to ourselves, "How am I able to understand this story?" or "How can I understand what the author was feeling?" because as we are reading we are comprehending what the author is trying to say to us without realizing it. This skill that we have is called linguistic intelligence. This means that we can understand what we read or hear and we can tell others what we feel or think through speech or written words. This skill is one of eight multiple intelligences that were created by Howard Gardner. 

Verbal Intelligence Quotient 

    As a young child, you are read stories and are commonly asked "How do you think the character felt?" as a way of seeing if you understood what was going on in the story. When at school, between the ages 6-16, you are tested with a test called Verbal Intelligence Quotient (Verbal IQ). This test determines how well your child can comprehend and express language, it is there to measure their understanding and limitations. Some things that are measured are reading and writing skills, length of vocabulary, and how well they can express themselves. Under the Verbal IQ test, six categories are being evaluated, these are information test category, digit span, arithmetic test, vocabulary test, comprehension test, and similarities test.

Enhance your Thinking 

    One of the ways that you can help your kid with linguistic intelligence is by supporting your child through their literacy learning. As a parent, you can encourage your kids to read books or have some creative time on their own. Some examples of these are reading nighttime stories, reading books with them, having them trace letters, showing them new words, and simply asking them what they feel about the story or about their day. As a teacher, you can also enhance your kids' learning by having a journal entry, playing word games, reading books and newspapers, and creating magazines of things the child is interested in. 

   I believe that our linguistic intelligence continues to improve as we grow older because we are constantly exposed to new information. This exposure can come from a variety of sources, such as reading different genres, listening to the news or podcasts, and even engaging with others in conversation. By processing and internalizing the words we encounter, we can expand our vocabulary and develop a deeper understanding of language.

Kelly, Melissa. “Linguistic Intelligence: Expressing Yourself through Speech or in Writing.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 12 Feb. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/linguistic-intelligence-8093.

“Verbal Intelligence Quotient.” Special Learning, 28 Mar. 2024, special-learning.com/verbal-intelligence-quotient/#:~:text=Verbal%20IQ%20Test,a%20person%20communicates%20with%20words.