Harmonizing Minds and Words: Multiple Intelligences and Vocabulary Learning Styles in an Upland Secondary School Toward CIFUL Framework

This study explored the interplay between Multiple Intelligences (MI) and English Vocabulary Learning Styles (VLS) among junior high school learners at PAIMA National High School, a rural upland high school in the Province of Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Utilizing a descriptive-correlational research design and total enumeration, data were gathered from 74 respondents (Grade 7 = 42; Grade 8 = 32) using validated MI and VLS questionnaires. Findings revealed that Interpersonal (x̄ = 2.79) and Naturalist (x̄ = 2.74) intelligences were the most dominant, while Kinesthetic (46%) and Visual (26%) strategies were the most preferred modalities for vocabulary acquisition. Correlation analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between social-environmental intelligence domains and active-sensory learning styles. These results served as the foundation for the Contextualized Instructional Framework for Upland Learners (CIFUL), which advocates for place-based, socially-mediated, and multi-modal pedagogical strategies to bridge the verbal-linguistic gap in rural secondary education.