The Effect of the 4mat Model Based Instruction on the Achievement of EFL Students

Jerome Bruner, in his book discussing the new meaning of the changes in the educational landscape, quipped in his 1966 published work, saying that “a theory of instruction…is in effect a theory of how growth and development are assisted by diverse means.”  Bruner was trying to point out that diverse means – and new means – should assist in the propagation of growth and development needed by the educational system at work and in effect today in several educational institutions (1966).

For this specific study, the introduction of the new system in educational teaching method and style focuses more on the use of Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT learning model to be able to effectively teach English in the English as a Foreign Language class among the secondary grade students in the secondary level of education (McCarthy, 1996).

The question that haunts professionals now who are intelligent enough to know when change is suitable but is overly conservative and passive to wait one more year, one more study, one more generation of ill-taught students answered by the above mentioned statement of Bruner. Education is always about growth and about development, of minds of individuals who can do better things when taught properly, when motivated using the exact dosages of excitement, freewill and interaction inside a classroom setting (Bruner, 1966).

Education is about the hurdling of the obstacles of difficulty – not failure – to understand, and this is a process that engulfs not only students, but academicians as well. When the need for the assistance of ‘diverse means’ for real growth and development is necessitated by the obvious void of knowledge owing to the use of antiquated means, professionals and academicians start stop to ask and ask, not necessarily to themselves, but nonetheless addressed to those who are responsible to put forward and answer: is there a new tool for teaching and learning (Ojure, 1997)?

There is, there always was, alternative ways to teaching students and making them experience learning in different ways and means. The next aspect put in questioning is the impact: Yes, it is a new method, a new tool, a new approach – but will it work? Over time cynics of those lobbying against the introduction of new teaching styles have posited several points of discussion usually attacking the motive of the one responsible for the introduction of the new teaching style (McCarthy, 1996).

The issues hurled at it ranges from personal business gain to total fraudulent endeavor by the persons involved. Still, new methods of teaching and learning are being introduced as years go by and this research hopes that this can help open a new avenue for new teaching and learning style to take over previous teaching and learning styles that cannot anymore cater to the new sets of educational needs and the new types of students that require an upgraded style of knowledge acquisition.

How can the world find out? By testing it, and measuring quantifiable aspects that can provide a better perspective of understanding it as a new tool that has the potential and promise of being useful and constructive of just another shot at breaking the ritualistic rigors of teaching and learning that boredom always manages to invade and render some students ineffective for learning at the first place.

But boredom is just one factor, and so do monotony and the lack of interaction – and it there is a method that promises the eradication of such factors, is it worth a try? It should not be forgotten that “instruction is, after all, an effort to assist or to shape growth” (Bruner, 1966), and if the modern day student and academicians desire to grow, then it must support the exercise of an accepted instruction design that will make possible the shaping of growth.

This research proposal therefore is geared in pursuing the possible effects – primarily in the achievement of the students enrolled in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in the English course, and with regard as well to other affected areas closely associated with measuring the level in English comprehension, appreciation, cognition and use of students, via an academic investigation hinged primarily on the review of several pertinent studies as well as other relevant published articles in lieu with the problem this paper posits, which would result basically in the use of the 4MAT Learning Model designed by Bernice McCarthy (1996) in the creation of a lesson plan as well as of the necessary school instruction design which the researcher wishes to apply to second grade students in a secondary school.

Understanding the key ideas in the research

            There are two most important aspects which need to be considered and understood well in this research – Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method and the EFL – English as a foreign language.

             The 4MAT teaching and learning experience is considered to be one of the new teaching style / model / discipline that puts the learner in a different plateau since the teaching and learning format has many different important aspects and salient points to consider before being fully understood and fully integrated in any learning experience setting, in any subject matter, in any educational level. Under the 4MAT model, there are firstly the four different types of learners namely Types 1, 2, 3 and 4 Learners, each type different in the manner by which the individual learns. Type 1 learners are considered as the ‘Why?’ persons – commonly in the process of reflective reverie.

            The Type 2 learners are those who love to answer the question ‘what’ during the learning process, commonly described as analytic and systematic in thinking. The Type 3 Learners are those who frequently ask the question ‘How’ and would always like to prove the things that they know by actual work. The Type 4 Learner is the type of learner which is categorized by McCarthy as creative individuals.

            The EFL – English as a Foreign Language – is the course wherein English is being taught to students who hail from non-English speaking country or from those who came from families who do not have a very strong background in English. The teaching of EFL usually happens in English-speaking regions or even in countries which are not generally an English-speaking but features training centers and school curriculum that offers the teaching of the EFL. There are regular, full time EFL courses as well as special EFL courses offered after school or office hours for the convenience of regular students or employees who wants to learn EFL. It can be a service offered by the government or offered by a private teaching institution that offers classes or one on one tutorial service in schools, centers or even at home.

Research Problem

The researcher knows for a fact that anything introduced via different societal institutions capable of instilling influence upon individual is capable of extracting change. What the researcher and this research wishes to find out is that given a specific teaching and learning tool to use in place of an traditionally used method, will the teaching of the EFL and the experience of learning EFL under that specific method – the 4MAT, will the students shows signs of improved understanding of the subject resulting to better use of the language in more practical means that can ultimately be a tool to be used in the future? Or will the introduction of a new style and method of learning and teaching make the subject more difficult to grasp and embrace as it is already?

Perhaps, as this study wishes to explore, comprehend and dissect in the name of not just better educational tools and methods but improved and evolving mindsets embracing how individuals interact with education inside the school and how the pre-conceived notions this interactions brings about, the researchers would also like to set fresh corner stones in the methods of teaching by removing old settings not usable anymore and replacing it with more flexible and adaptable replacements – both in methods and in attitude since that is just as much an important key in the development of education if individuals wish to move forward in a steady pace that mental and social development dictates the tempo of their steps, and timing is no more perfect than here and now because “each generation gives new form to the aspirations that shape education in its time” (Bruner, 1960).

And perhaps author Michael Fullan best describes “this scenario that is the criss crossing of emotional and intellectual blades over the fight to retain or replace many aspects in the education system to which most of those in power to make the change is unwilling to do so generally because of the connection between the individual and the method that taught him to be a professional in the field that would see the end of that particular teaching tool (Fullan, 1991).” As the book ‘The New Meaning of Educational Change’ narrates in its opening pages, there are contradicting attitudes towards education and change.

            “One person claims that schools are being bombarded by change; another observes that there is nothing new under the sun. A policy-maker charges that teachers are resistant to change; teachers neither complain that administrators introduce change for their own self aggrandizement and that they neither know what is needed nor understand the classroom. A parent is bewildered by a new practice in reading and by the relevance of education to future jobs. Some argue that restructuring schools is the only answer, while others decry that this too is just a pipe dream diverting our attention from the core curriculum changes that are desperately needed. One university professor is  convinced that schools are only a reflection of society  and cannot be expected to bring about change; another professor is equally convinced that schools would be all right if only superintendents and principals had more ‘vision’ as educational leaders, and teachers are more motivated to learn new approaches to improving curriculum” (Fullan, 1991).

The Peace Corp has a better outlook in education – saying that educators should believe that ‘one of the greatest obstacles to development is ignorance. And the only way to fight ignorance is through the determined efforts of teachers like you. The dedication that you bring to your work has been a powerful impetus for change. But without a realistic, systematic plan of action, you can become exhausted and discouraged.’

Questions

The researcher, through this paper, wishes to answer several specific questions involving the introduction of a new teaching and learning method to be used for second grade students of a secondary school or educational institution and its effect on the rate of foreign language use and management as a learned skill inside the classroom. Specifically, the researcher, through this research, wishes to answer the specific questions including the following:

a.) Is Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method a suitable type of teaching and learning method with regards to teaching EFL among second grade students of a secondary education level as reflected in the outcome of a series of tests to be conducted to identify the level of English language achievement of each student and of the class as a whole? If yes, why? If no, why not? This question seeks to find the answer to the most important question being posed by this paper. The 4MAT method has been extensively used in many different schools and institutions, and this researcher, through the research, aims to establish a more solid claim about the exact and documented effects of the use of this particular style of teaching and learning experience with regards to the achievement scale

b.) If the study yielded a positive result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level, what specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to these outcome?

c.) If the study yielded a negative result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level, what specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to these outcome?

d.) What are the noticeable differences between the students in the controlled group and the experimental group? Are these differences a direct affect of the teaching style being used by the teacher in teaching EFL?

e.) What important input can the study on using Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method in teaching EFL among second grade students in the secondary level provide the academic circle and the community?

Objectives

            Different and innovative teaching methods have consistently usurped traditional and existing forms of educational systems and methods in the past. But is the phase by which the changing of the teaching and learning style adapts with how the student can maximize the learning experience in a way that there is still relatively much new knowledge acquired by a student from his or her teacher and from the learning experience in the classroom in general?

            Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method has been utilized by many social and educational institutions as a major tool in teaching and education in different locations in the world. Schools and institutions like the Metro Nashville Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, American Family Insurance, the Aveda Corporation, Ysleta Public Schools, El Paso, Texas, Minot Schools, North Dakota and the Columbus Schools, Wisconsin adhere to the 4MAT style of teaching and learning.

            The researcher, through this research, wishes to undertake this specific academic task in the hope of accomplishing several set objectives the researchers have identified specifically for this research, particularly:

a.) determine if Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method is a suitable type of teaching and learning method to be used in teaching EFL among second grade students of a secondary education level through the analysis of the outcome of a series of tests to be conducted to identify the level of English language achievement of each student and of the class as a whole,

b.) know if the study yielded a positive result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level and identify which specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to these outcome,

c.) know if the study yielded a negative result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level and which specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to this outcome,

d.) identify the noticeable differences between the students in the controlled group and the experimental group and know if these differences are a direct affect of the teaching style being used by the teacher in teaching EFL, and

e.) determine the important input the study on using Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method in teaching EFL among second grade students in the secondary level can provide the academic circle and the community.

Related literature

            Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method has been a subject of numerous studies around the world. Many articles were also likewise published in reaction to the 4MAT model and its impact on the teacher, the student, and the entire teaching process. These published articles – “case studies, research results, newspaper and magazine articles and professional journal articles are a key source in setting the stage for 4MAT as a teaching method to be used and embraced anew in a specific area of the academic knowledge building process conducted by the teacher (McCArthy, 1996).”

            Several studies supported the claim of 4MAT as having a positive impact on the learning of the students when it is used as the main teaching and instruction design tool. One of the studies reviewed for this research is the 2005 Independent Evaluation of the Impact of 4MAT Professional Development Training, Yonkers Public Schools. The study claims that 60 percent of the total number involved in the experiment noted the visible and noticeable improvements in student engagement when 4MAT is used.

            The Yonkers Public School evaluation involved a 3 year implementation program geared at training teachers as well as administrators – which numbered to 900 all in all – in the use of 4MAT method to help in the improvement of classroom instruction. The study recommended that the new teachers should receive 4MAT awareness training at beginning of the year, that 4MAT curriculum writing efforts should concentrate on one grade level or subject area, that 4MAT coaching in the classroom is critical, that 4MAT planners need to work with Principals to create common planning time for teachers and that 4MAT implementation should be planned with principals early in the year to meet the unique needs of each school involved in implementation.

            The study’s bar graph indicating the 8th grade English and Math student test scores show that between students receiving their English and Math education from 4MAT trained teachers versus those who are not 4MAT trained, those taught using 4MAT style of teaching and instructions registered a better mark in the survey’s study.

            As researcher Niu Qiang and Wolff noted in their work, teachers teaching the EFL must understand the very simple reason why this students are trying to learn English as a foreign language – because they need to have a very sound foundation with the use of English as a foreign language especially once they become part of the work force and become professionals who is expected to have  commendable command of the English language as part of the person’s qualification especially for those working in international or multinational corporations and companies that expects a high level of fluency in the use of English in either written or verbal communication of both. With this important role – ‘the production of people capable of effectively communicating in English as their foreign language (Quiang, Wolff), teachers should be more conscious on the dispensing of education as well as be very particular with the amount being absorbed by the cognition of the individual during classroom hours which depends highly on the teaching style.

            EFL learning can also be answered by not directly altering the use of a certain, existing method  like substituting 4MAT for the traditional means and ways, like the focusing on the EFL characteristic and looking inside its aspects to see where a support feature can be added. An example of this effort is the empowerment of the cliques involved in EFL classes as an active partner of students and teachers in actual learning of the English language. Mark Furr suggests the creation of EFL literature circles.

            The EFL literature circle is a group of EFL students who can interact with each other and help each other grow as individuals and as EFL learners via group discussion of a common hobby or pastime, which should be by now is made clear already. The relaxed atmosphere found in these types of settings, according to Furr, “provides for the possibility of a more meaningful discussion which can be used as a way to learn English faster and outside the confines of a classroom setting.”

            Furr added that the characteristics of such EFL literature circles must include the selection of the teachers or instructors on what appropriate reading materials the literature members should peruse based on factors like age, religion and other social demographic factors – which follows that a specific group has members reading almost the same set of prescribed reading materials; the cognizant effort to form the groups which are usually small; student understanding of the materials read will be improved by the instructor by adding a few information or by encouraging the group into undertaking an activity that will help the group members realize and process new information which is relevant in English understanding and cognition development; the small groups or cliques are conscious with pre-assigned schedule and location of meeting to discuss and analyses the recent set of readings in a more relaxed manner that can help the student exercise the use and understanding of the English language; notes, either drawn or written, are expected outputs either of the reading sessions or of the discussion sessions that act as one of the many multi-level synthesizing stages of English as a foreign language; students are taking a more active role in the discussion of the possible topics that will surface in lieu of the reading analysis and dialogue; the natural flow of relaxed conversation is expected to dictate the flow of the discussion that may result to unexpected digressing and the laying out of open ended questions which, according to Furr, is nonetheless welcome in a discussion facilitated by the initiating instructor and /or teacher that ensures not only open mindedness between students involved in the discussion but the continued presence of the spirit of playfulness, relaxation and fun inside the circle of people discussing the previously read material.

            After doing your role in the learning experience of the child, the teacher sets herself or himself free from heavier obligations since the student – given with self help tools like the capability to comprehend and use languages – is still left to decide for itself how he or she dispenses this knowledge or even if it is used at all in the first place. That is an entirely different thing because the student’s development does not stop after school is over – learning is an endless experience, its just that when a specific person is given a chance to influence a student more strongly than any other individual in a given range of time, that person of influence should be capable and equipped with the right knowledge and tools on how to maximize the learning experience, since “growth depends upon internalizing events into a “storage system” that corresponds to the environment. It is this system that makes possible the child’s increasing ability to go beyond the information encountered on a single occasion. He does this by making predictions and extrapolations from his stored model of the world (Bruner, l966).”

Relevance of the project

The researcher, through this research, believes in the need to explore new and innovative ways in which the learning experience can be enhanced, improved and be more effective and constructive, leaving a more positive and usable impact upon the students so that the students can actually use in their ‘post formal schooling’ lives the knowledge they acquired in school.

Current and in-place teaching methods, no doubt, get the job done. But whether or not the methods and practices are shoulder to shoulder with the changes happening in the society and in the individuals that may directly result in the shift in the factors previously considered with regards to the effectivity of traditional or currently in use teaching method is another thing, and students nonetheless always deserve the best teaching ways and methods so that the lessons are better absorbed.

Bruner (1960) explained that “we have reached a level of public education in America where a considerable portion of our population has become interested in a question that until recently was the concern of specialists ‘What shall we teach and to what end?” EFL is one of those new entries in the new set of ‘what shall we teach’ category, and ‘to what end’, the researcher hopes that through this research, it will be determined, whether in part or in whole, if Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method is that one option found at the end of the proverbial tunnel of darkness to which education succumbs to when traditional teaching methods evidently fail the students.

Because of this realization, several professionals tried to find out through academic researches and studies how the teachers and the teaching method as well as the learning experience can be given the chance to improve as time goes by. Some of these professionals did not really opt for batting for the use of a specific style or method of teaching but rather studied the inner workings of the human behavior and interaction especially those find inside classroom settings that directly affect the teacher, the teaching method and the understanding and learning experience of the students.

Ojure (1997), through her work entitled ‘An Investigation of the Relationship Between Teachers’ Participation in 4MAT Fundamentals Training and Teachers’ Perception of Teacher Efficacy’ stressed the importance of being able to ensure the fullness of a teacher and his/her teaching tools – including strong personality and character and most importantly, the understanding in detail of learning style theories that can be suitable for the students the teacher is teaching and is amenable with the rigors of the specific subject matter the teacher is discussing, pointing out that the findings of the study done ‘suggest that knowledge of learning style theory and practice can be valuable to teachers. It appears that examining “the impact of learning style training on teachers’ attitudes and behaviors may provide meaningful insights into why interest in learning style concepts continues despite an inconclusive research base (Ojure, 1997).”

Bruner (1960) makes his point more clear and pristine, re-wording it simply with the question “what shall be taught, when and how?” The researcher, through this research, does not wish to immediately cement the position of the use of the 4MAT model as the ideal or the suitable teaching method and style best in handling EFL classes; the researcher, through this research, simply puts forward that the use of the 4MAT model should be given a try based on the merits of the said model of teaching as an effective method, as reflected in the review of related literature. The researcher, through the research, would like to reiterate that the positive results of previous use of the said teaching format would not surface when the same teaching method is applied in a classroom setting that has several different factors compared to the classroom setting to which it was previously used and was documented as successful.

Understanding teaching methods is crucial not only in classroom settings but as well as for individuals who are deeply involved in the community service. The Peace Corps in 2004 released a volunteer instruction guide entitled ‘Community Content-Based Instruction Manual’. In this publication, the Peace Corps’ participatory action plan for the community included the harnessing of important information followed by the need to effectively process the new information so that it can help in the teaching style of the teachers and the efficacy of their training methods which is highly dependent on two things – their knowledge about the behavior of the people and their notions connected with education and learning, and the ability of the new community ‘teachers’ to teach math, science, and most importantly, English, which can be made better through the incorporation of the newly research terms and information.

Indeed, groups undertaking the role of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is either challenged or burdened or both by many different things, including the solid grasp in teaching styles among volunteers who are teachers most of the time in the area where they serve. The case of the TEFL difficulties of the Peace Corps volunteers / teachers is readily answered by Peace Corps by providing an instruction manual and guide entitled Teaching English as a Foreign Language To Large, Multilevel Classes wherein EFL teachers are advised on the expectations and adjustments they have to make to make the sessions work and make it a source of new and usable information.

The role of the teacher – and how the teacher is well or ill-equipped  with regards to his or her teaching tools and methods that can be interchanged depending on the need of the student – is crucial in the learning stages of a student because, as Bruner  (1996) stated, “intellectual development depends upon a systematic contingent interaction between a tutor and learner, the tutor already equipped with a wide range of previously invented techniques that he teaches the child.”

            For those who opt to retain the traditional way of teaching, the constant question was what does the change can offer?, while some are admittedly just scared of trying something new. Others who support the change realize the need for one – sees the need for one in the way students are not learning enough anymore because most of them are made to memorize tables and graphs and formulas and was left with hardly any chance to try it out for themselves if all of these memorized data really worked in real life. When that chance to experiment is deprived from students, the learning process is hampered and the memorized data becomes nothing more than just notes from school which will be erased by the user after a period of time.

            As Zull (2002) candidly pens in his book, “our students were demanding better teaching. Tuition was growing every year and they just wanted their money’s worth. But most of us were just scholars and researchers. No one had ever explained teaching and learning to us, so we just mimicked the way we had been taught. This wasn’t good enough anymore.” This is one of the areas that 4MAT wishes to penetrate and infiltrate, and if possible be an agent to be used to annihilate all the processes of teaching usually done inside classrooms that stagnates the mind.

            The arming of individuals to be truly competitive and not just ‘merely capable’ once they are released from the care and confines of the school and into the real world is indeed an essential consciousness a teacher should possess, that it why the need for a teaching and learning experience inside the school setting is necessary so that the lessons will be well entrenched in the cognition of the individual and not just a mere thought remembered during days of musings. Education is crucial in making a person learned, because it is that learning that will help the person define him or herself sooner or later.

            And a person with very poor teaching and learning experience is bound to be more vulnerable to suffer with human business interactions in the near future. Whitehead explains that ‘culture is activity of thought and receptiveness to beauty and humane feeling. Scraps of information have nothing to do with it. A merely well-informed man is the most useless bore on God’s earth. What we should aim at producing is men who possess both culture and expert knowledge in some special direction. Their expert knowledge will give them the ground to start from, and their culture will lead them as deep as philosophy and as high as art.”

            The researcher, through this study, aims to contribute to the improvement of a specific aspect of the educational system by understanding and dissecting the labyrinth of complex issues surrounding the success or failure of the current existing EFL teaching format in today’s schools. The researcher, through this study, hopes that either a viable and effective alternative can be raised through this study or debunk the idea altogether that the 4MAT method may not be entirely suitable for EFL teaching and learning in the first place.

Proposed methodology

            The proposed methodology for the study on measuring the level of English language-based achievement of the second grade secondary school students who will be subjected to the use of Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method in the teaching of EFL requires the creation of a controlled group and an experimental group inside one specific class. The segregation of the students with regards to which group a student would be designated to can be done using two different ways:

The first way is the use of any available random selection process that will divide the class into two groups, namely the controlled group and the experimental group. The random selection process may be undertaken by drawing of lots by the students, by the raffling of names or by the setting of dividing lines separating the class seating arrangement into two spheres or halves so long as the seating arrangement is arranged with no particular consideration to aptitude levels of students, English language comprehension and learning behavior concerns since the presence of any or all of the three makes the reason for the defined arrangement of the seating plan one key factor that will make the result of the study useless.

            To explain further, no demarcation or dividing line should be used or implemented to divide a class into two groups if the seating arrangement is based on the level of intelligence of the students. If all of the slow learning students are placed in the front row and the students with higher aptitude and faster learning skills seated at the back, the dividing of the class into two makes the section with the most number of slow learning individuals as a weak control or experimental group since the development of their learning is not, as a group or as an individual, dependent on the teaching method factor, producing suspect, if not entirely, faulty conclusions.

            Basically, each of the group should be identical as they should be both natural – identical in the sense that there is as slower and fast learning in the controlled group as there is in the experimental group and vice versa to make both groups in equal footing with regards to group average intelligence and comprehension capability, and natural in the sense that the composition of either of the two groups are diverse when it comes to personality, comprehension, intelligence range and overall disposition in learning.

            The students from both groups would be subjected to the designated teaching style – the controlled group to undergo traditional teaching style while the experimental group set to undergo the teaching method required by the 4MAT style.

            The researcher will set a prescribed time frame wherein both groups are immersed in their specific kind of learning experience. Mandatory examinations which will be used to gauge improvement of the students inside the two groups will be conducted in a preset date so that there will be available points of reference to which declining or increasing figures would be patterned or compared against, in order to come up with the quantitative statistical figures which will be used later for data analysis.

            Questionnaires containing the same set of questions will be prepared and given to each and every student inside the two different groups during the designated student examination schedule so that the researcher can determine the qualitative and quantitative data needed for the formulation of a summary and conclusion of this specific study.  Questions that can reflect the standing of a student and the changes it experienced after being submitted to the 4MAT learning method will be placed in the questionnaire, along with other key variables and determinants that can help establish and cement the outcome expected from this study.

            The target participants for this study should be equal in number and each group, preferably heterogeneous and is currently belonging in the same level of educational attainment. The participants from both groups shall be briefed regarding the study and should be informed on the role they are set to take for this study. Target participants who, for some reason, refused to be a part of the study, shall be allowed to leave the group he or she is designated to, the researcher tasked again with reshuffling the groups in a way that balance as well as random qualities for the selection are maintained and observed.

The division of one class is an ideal and practical manner of undertaking the methodology required for this research since it is important to detect any changes and measure it against those who are still using traditional methods or methods currently in use and in place before the introduction of the lesson plan and instruction design crafted in lieu of the parameters set by McCarthy’s in the 4MAT Learning Method pattern.

The differences each of the group exhibits during the duration of the study will be determined if those were consistent and indicative of the presence of a real change or just plain coincidental happenings that cannot be considered as a valid impact of the change introduced to the teaching and learning pattern. The ideal setting for this type of style in setting up of segregated class members usually suits secondary schools with a very small population (i.e. one section or class per grade or level).

            The researcher also suggests that other options maybe considered. One of this is the option to instead pick one whole class as the control group and another class as the experimental group. This is important since the level of interpersonal interaction present inside one class may directly affect the manner by which the effect of the use of McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method in teaching EFL in the level of achievement in English comprehension, cognition and use is gauged, especially if the same class gets together in other non-language class wherein they interact with each other and the impact on the effectivity or failure of the teaching method introduced in exchange for traditional or existing methods dissolves when one or more students from the experimental group shows signs of improvement or development which one of more students from the controlled group may and would imbibe.

Pursuing this course of action for use as methodology for this specific study would immediately result to the increase of number of students subject for study and analysis, and the increase as well in the expected set of responses and in the creation of expected behavioral and personality patterns and changes brought about by the effect of the use of a new teaching and learning method in place of an old or existing method.

Statistical analysis

The statistical analysis of the results that the study will yield will be the much needed well of information for those who are also considering the use of other teaching methods in the undertaking of their tasks as educators of different subjects, including English, especially when taught as a foreign subjects.

The statistical analysis which will be extracted by the researcher from the students shall contain pertinent information that can help in the answering of the questions mentioned in the previous sections of the paper. Specifically, the statistical analysis should include in its process of trying to make sense of the response of the students, quantifiable figures which can be used as proof that there are indeed significant differences in the use of traditional and 4MAT styles and techniques in teaching that it is important for school officials to really take a look at the figures and make the necessary changes.

            The statistical analysis should be able to have a quantifiable answer to show whether or not Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method is a suitable type of teaching and learning method to be used in teaching EFL among second grade students of a secondary education level as seen through the recorded level of English language achievement each student attained during the duration of the entire experiment.

            It should also be able to show if the study yielded a positive result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level and identify which specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to these outcome through the use of statistical data; to show if the study yielded a negative result with regards to the improvement in English achievement by the second grade students in the secondary level and which specific area in Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method contributed heavily to this outcome.

            The date for statistical analysis should also be able to identify the noticeable differences between the students in the controlled group and the experimental group and know if these differences are a direct affect of the teaching style being used by the teacher in teaching EFL; and to determine the important input the study on using Bernice McCarthy’s 4MAT Learning Method in teaching EFL among second grade students in the secondary level can provide the academic circle and the community.

The researchers highly recommend that the manner by which the experiment will be analyzed regarding the failure or effectivity of the use of 4MAT Learning Method and the teaching of EFL and the short term and long term effects of a class exposed to it should both be quantitative as it is qualitative.

While numerical patterns and trends highly indicates a more concrete status on the aspects which the research desires to measure, a certain area for qualitative study and analysis should also be given space and considerable bearing in the analysis of the study since not every finding, especially in the field of learning and the display of whatever skill or capacity which is thought to be ‘learned’ inside a classroom setting where there are teachers leading the learning experience and students following the lead of the teacher in the hope that the same experience would trigger knowledge intake and retention to the multi-personality group, since some of the things which are learned both in the classroom setting and in real life cannot be encapsulated using an analysis that is limited to the design and scope of the one who crafted such measuring tools.

There should be a ‘blank page’ for the research wherein notes can be noted in the hope that these can be pertinent information in the analysis of the success or failure of the research. As what Gardner (1983) said, that ‘there must be more to intelligence than short answers to short questions.’  This is perhaps in answer to most of the definitive efforts of specialists and professionals who try to define intelligence with the use of very limited measurements, means and ways that in a way limits the projection of the real qualities in place. There should be an area where candid comments earn as much attention to researcher as do the result of the many letter D answers in the multiple choice section of the questionnaire.  Ultimately, the aims of the research is to find something new by using something just as new in place of an aging practice which may have lost its efficacy over time. Regardless of the case, the statistical analysis will be one of the key points of this research since it is in this area that the study will take a more solid shape once the input of the individuals are assessed.

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