September 2017, Volume 10, Issue 1

Emotional intelligence among auditory, Received:

Revised:
19 May 2017
15 Sept. 2017
reading, and kinesthetic learning styles of Accepted: 18 Sept. 2017
ISSN: 1307-9298
elementary school students in Ambon- Copyright © IEJEE

Indonesia www.iejee.com

Marleny Leasaa,b, Aloysius D. Corebimac,*, Ibrohimc, Hadi Suwonoc DOI: 10.26822/iejee.2017131889

Abstract
Students have unique ways in managing the information in their learning process. VARK learning styles associated with memory are
considered to have an effect on emotional intelligence. This quasi-experimental research was conducted to compare the emotional
intelligence among the students having auditory, reading, and kinesthetic learning styles in elementary school in Ambon-Maluku. Emotional
intelligence was measured by a questionnaire developed based on the theory of emotional intelligence according to Goleman (19 98). The
learning style instrument was adapted from Fleming (2001). The results of this research show that learning styles have significant effect on
emotional intelligence. Kinesthetic learners have a higher emotional intelligence than those of the auditory and reading learners, as much
as 8.35% and 6.11% respectively. This research recommends that schools and teachers need to provide a conducive learning environment,
including utilizing constructivist learning strategies which are appropriate with the development of the elementary school students. Further
researches are required to investigate the changes of the students’ learning styles along with their development into higher education levels,
and its effect on their emotional intelligence.

Keywords: Auditory learning, emotional intelligence, kinesthetic learning, learning styles VARK

Introduction
Humans are required to be able to socialize with other not conducted too. The emotional components are
people in this global era. Human satisfaction can no longer happiness, joy, anger, fear, hate, and shame. Knowledge of
be measured by their wealth or their glory only, but by their emotion is indirectly taught in religious education and civic
values and new beneficial ways when they are education at different levels of education in Indonesia.
communicating with other people in a particular time and More specific knowledge about the emotional aspects is
in any situation, in order to find true happiness based on studied in the field of psychology. However, theoretical and
peace within oneself and others. Modern societies are practical studies training a person to escape from
trying to pick up inner happiness, without orienting to excessive emotional elements which bring negative
physical happiness. Physical and material wealth is not a impacts are not much revealed. Emotional intelligence
guarantee of true happiness. This rationalization reflects should be developed as early as possible, especially in
that education should emphasize the development of elementary school period, in which the students are still in
students’ social and emotional aspects (Berrocal & Ruiz, their emotional formation process. Kwon & Yakwey (2003)
2008), so as to prepare graduates to be able to survive and Ashiabi (2000) mentioned that the elementary school
facing challenges of the times. Emotional intelligence is age children began to recognize emotions, had
considered as an umbrella of habits, skills, attitudes, and relationships with others, communicated what they
nature (Furtner, Rauthmann, & Sachse, 2010). According to understood or experienced, and expressed emotion.
Brackett, Mayer, and Warner (2004), people emotional "Children see, Children do", children more likely imitate the
intelligence determines their daily behaviors. A well- behavior or the examples by adults. When the adults are
controlled emotion guarantees life success, otherwise a angry, the childreen learns how to be angry, when the
poorly-controlled emotion ensures destruction. Thus, adults show behaviors that help each other, the children
emotional intelligence is an important soft skill. also learn to help each other, and the other emotional
behaviors. Children tend to learn from the behavior of
Emotional intelligence is not taught as special subjects, and
adults around them, particularly from the immediate
the supervision of the students’ emotional development is
environment such as family and schools.

a Postgraduate Student, State University of Malang, Indonesia

b University of Pattimura Ambon, Faculty Teachers Training and Education, Department of Primary Teacher Education, Indonesia E-
mail:marleny.leasa@fkip.unpatti.ac.id
c Universitas Negeri Malang, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, E-mail addresses: (Ibrohim) Ibrohim.fmipa@um.ac.id;
(H. Suwonoc) hadi.suwono.fmipa@um.ac.id
*Corresponding author: Biology Department, State University of Malang, Jl. Semarang No. 5 65145, Malang, East Java-Indonesia. Phone: +628164294487,
E-mail:duran.corebima.fmipa@um.ac.id
 September 2017, Volume 10, Issue 1, 83-91

Emotional intelligence in this research refers to Gardner have emotional intelligence automatically if they have
(1993) in the form of intrapersonal and interpersonal intellectual intelligence.
intelligence. The factors affecting low emotional
Educational institutions such as elementary school has a
intelligence of students in Ambon-Indonesia are related to
strategic role in empowering the emotional intelligence
the learning strategies used by teachers (Hegarty &
(Mayer & Cobb, 2000; Brackett, Mayer, & Warner, 2004).
Angelidis, 2015) and the practice of violence. If the teacher
Education policy should be directed to develop the school
as a single speaker in learning has no or less interaction
environment as a developmental place of emotional and
with students, the students will have difficulties in
social intelligence. In some countries the concept is
developing their emotional intelligence both
integrated into the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) based
intrapersonally and interpersonally. Conventional learning
curriculum at different levels of education (Iaosanurak,
or teacher centered learning commonly implemented in
Chanchalor, & Murphy, 2015; Ashdown & Bernard, 2012;
schools does not maximally train the students to socialize
Gunter, Caldarella, Korth, & Young, 2012; Caldarella,
with others, serve others, accept the opinions of others,
Kramer, & Kronmiller, 2009). Elementary school students
lead, resolve conflicts, communicate, and cooperate with
have unique characteristics, and they require special
team. As a post conflict environment, Ambon-Indonesia is
treatment regularly and sustainably regarding their
a field of violence practices still occuring in elementary
emotions. They need the assistance or guidance from their
schools until today (Leasa & Samallo, 2014). Teachers are
parents and teachers. Fallacy in educating children in
not trained to use humanistic methods of education
elementary school age will affect their emotional
because the environment and culture of the people in
conditions and their developmental patterns at the later
Ambon-Indonesia have been entrenched in the philosophy
stages.
of sago "be strong like sago tree, thorny outside but white
inside". Futhermore “there is gold at the tip of the cane” is Students have different characteristics such as cognitive
an old local proverb that is adopted in educating children. ability, readiness for learning, motivation level, and
The philosophy and the proverb mean that children need learning styles (Demir, Kilinc, & Dogan, 2012). There is not
to be forged, molded, and nurtured by the hard way, like any individual who is exactly same with one another (Baş
the sago trees which are thorny or like cane in order to & Beyhan, 2010). The learning styles used in storing and
finally be white, clean as sago starch or obtain the best managing information also vary (Daşdemir, 2016). Some
results as gold. Such mindsets and conducts will create students can easily remember the information only by
possible spaces for violence practices, and there will be a reading once, but some others need to read for several
notion that violence is a positive action that is useful in times. There are also some students who are able to store
educating children to become successful. In conclusion, the information in their brain only by looking at the objects,
the development of emotional intelligence in schools is but some others need to touch, practice, and perform a
hindered by unfavorable climatic environments and the more in-depth study about a particular object. Thus, every
culture of violence which is deeply rooted in the society. student has unique styles of managing a learning material.
Heterogeneous classes are expected to be a strategic place
Goleman (1995) stated that emotional intelligence was
to accommodate the students with different learning
useful in establishing and maintaining a harmonious
styles.
relationship with others. Human life is filled with various
people having different understanding as well as different VARK model learning style was developed by Fleming (Eom,
managing emotions, that would affect their adaptation to Wen, & Ashill, 2006). In VARK model, students are classified
different life situations. In such contexts students require into four types of learners namely Visual, Auditory, Read,
emotional intelligence to overcome the challenges and and Kinesthetic. Students having only one learning style
problems of real life (Ghuman, 2011). Vandervoort (2006) are called unimodal, while students having more than one
also expressed that emotional intelligence could be learning style are called multimodal. VARK learning styles
regarded as a predictor of academic success. These views can be identified among students, and the results are
are in line with the research findings reported by Downey, relatively stable. High-class elementary school students
Lomas, Clare, Billings, and Stough (2014) that women with tend to have kinesthetic, auditory, and read learning styles
good emotional intelligence managed to get a high score (Leasa, 2014). Auditory learners tend to use their auditory
on scholastic ability. The research findings reported by senses in learning, store knowledge by listening, and
Shahzada, Ghazi, Khan, Khan, and Shah (2011) revealed a usually they are eloquent. Read learners like reading, and
positive correlation between emotional intelligence and their writings are usually neater, futhermore they do not
academic ability. Emotional intelligence is needed to dominate the opportunity to speak during the learning
survive and to solve various problems of life independently activity. Kinesthetic learners, on the other hand, use all
and to make the best decision in the most difficult their body parts to store information. They are more active,
situation. Emotional intelligence also has significant effect and cannot stay still in place.
on leadership (McCleskey, 2012; Johnson & Stern, 2014).
VARK model refer to the aspect of sensory modalities
Learning is more oriented only towards the empowerment (Othman & Amiruddin, 2010), so that the optimization of
of intellectual intelligence from the past until now. As a learning styles can be associated with memory (Davis,
result, the whole time is mostly spent for teaching students 2007). A person's emotions are governed by his memory.
concepts, facts, principles, theories, formulas of Levine and Pizarro (2004) uncovered the correlation
knowledge, and tend to ignore the emotional elements between emotion and memory. The research findings by
(Berrocal & Ruiz, 2008). Emotional intelligence is not Fong and Yeo (2007) asserted too that learning styles affect
managed maximally since it is assumed that students will emotional intelligence.

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Emotional Intelligence among Auditory, Reading, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles / Leasa, Corebima, Ibrohim & Suwono

Based on this background, this study aims to reveal the The students' learning styles were measured using
comparisons of emotional intelligence among auditory, learning style test by filling the questionnaire of learning
read, and kinesthetic learning styles of elementary school styles. The learning style tests were given before the quasi-
students. This information will be useful for elementary experimental research was conducted. Before the test was
school learning in Ambon, Indonesia. given, the researcher explained how to fill out the
questionnaire. The learning process was conducted for 26
Method
meetings or approximately 4 months, in which the
This study was a comparative study, conducted in a quasi- researcher also observed the consistency of students'
experiment using pretest-posttest non equivalent control learning styles, as well as ensured that the results of
group design, of 3 x 3 factorial design. The first variable was learning style test were relevant to the students’ learning
the learning model, consisting of learning model level styles demonstrated in observations and interviews. The
Numbered Heads Together (NHT) combined with learning style test results were corrected by the researcher
metacognitive strategies, NHT, and conventional learning. with referring to the provided answer key.
The second variable was the learning style consisting of
The questionnaire related to learning styles has been
auditory, read, and kinesthetic learning styles. The
constructed based on 3 indicators. The first indicator
dependent variables of this research was the emotional
referred to the context of information gaining (9 items), the
intelligence. This article will be more focused on learning
second indicator referred to the context of information
styles instead of discussing a learning model.
sending (4 items), and the third indicator referred to the
The procedures of the quasi-experimental research are as context of decision making (3 items). Therefore overall
follows. there were 16 items constructed. Each item contained four
▪ A equality tests was conducted to determine which possible answers (V, A, R and K), so that from the results of
classes are equal. Only the equal classes will be the 16 item test, the students' response of each question
involved in this research. Then, a test will be and the total score of each learning style selection could be
conducted too to the samples to find out the identified. For example: student A, with the scoring result
distribution of the learning styles among the samples. of V = 2, A = 4, R = 2, K = 8, had K learning style. If student B
▪ Students from 12 sample classes were divided into got the scoring results of V = 3, A = 5, R = 3, K = 5, so he or
three groups of treatment which were NHT, NHT she had bimodal (AK) learning style. Therefore, it could be
combined with metacognitive strategies, and concluded that each student had a specific learning style.
conventional learning. In this research, bimodal and multimodal learning styles
▪ Prior to the treatment, all the students were asked to were ignored because the percentage was very small
fill in an emotional intelligence questionnaire. (Leasa, 2014).
▪ Treatments carried out in this study was conducted
Nelis, Quidbach, Mikolajczak, and Hansenne (2009) stated
for 26 meetings. All the the groups of treatments of
that emotional intelligence should be measured more than
different types of learning received the same learning
once. In this research for 1 semester the emotional
materials.
intelligence was measured 4 times with the time interval
▪ The students’ learning styles were observed during
more or less similar: first (before treatment, 1st week of
the 26 learning meetings. Futhermore the students
August), second (meeting 9/2nd week of September), third
were asked to fill in the emotional intelligence
(meeting 18/4th week of October), and fourth (after the end
questionnaire for the second and third time.
of the whole treatment, 1st week of December). This
▪ After receiving all the treatments, the students were
method was conducted in order to ensure that the data of
then asked to fill in the same questionnaire for the last
the students’ emotional intelligence were still consistent.
time.
The research instruments used were: VARK model learning
The Study Group style questionnaire and emotional intelligence
questionnaire. The learning style questionnaire used was a
The population of this research was all the students of
learning style for young category version 7 developed by
class V in Ambon-Indonesia. The schools determined as the
Fleming (2001) (www.vark-learn.com). The questionnaire
population is a core school consisting of 23 elementary
was adapted according to the characteristics of high-grade
schools spreading in three district areas, namely
elementary school students in Indonesia, especially in
Nusaniwe, Sirimau, and Baguala. 12 of the 23 core schools
Ambon. The questionnaire of learning styles had been
were randomly selected as the samples of this research
validated by a learning expert from Universitas Negeri
involving 210 students.
Malang and had been tried out prior the research. One of
The student samples based on the learning style were the instances of the questionnaire items is:
obtained according to the determination of VARK learning 1. You like a game which…….
styles, so that there were 20-28 students found in a single a. is easy to operate
experimental class consisting of auditory (A), read (R), and b. has unique and interesting sound
kinesthetic (K) students. Because of the number of the c. has practical guidance
visual (V) students was too small in each class and it could d. has attracting appearance
not comply with the data analysis requirement, the visual The instrument for emotional intelligence was developed
learning style was disregarded in this research. by the researcher referring to emotional intelligence
domain according to Goleman (1998), and has passed the
Data Collection Tools stages of validation and empirical test. The questionnaire

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for emotional intelligence referred to the Likert scale, with The data descriptions of the students’ emotional
five alternative answers (strongly agree, agree, undecided, intelligence viewed from the learning styles and learning
disagree, and strongly disagree). The questionnaire models are shown in Table 1. Table 1 shows that the
contained 44 statements, 22 positive statements and 22 highest mean in all of the learning models is found in
negative statements, with the validity score of 0.611 and kinesthetic learning style, which are 73.6231 (NHT +
the reliability score of 0.963. The time needed to fill out Metacognitive), 70.4865 (NHT), and 64.6749
each instrument was between 20-30 minutes. (Conventional). The lowest mean is found on the read
learning style (conventional model). In conclusion,
Data Analysis and Procedures
kinesthetic learning style had the highest mean (69.5274)
The data of learning styles were used to classify the compared with the read (65.6885) and auditory (64.1409)
students into different treatment groups based on their learning styles.
learning styles, and then they were descriptively analyzed.
The results of analysis of variance test related to the effect
The comparison of the students’ emotional intelligence
of learning styles and learning model on emotional
based on auditory, read, and kinesthetic learning styles
intelligence are shown in Table 2. Table 2 shows that
was analyzed by using analysis of variance supported by
significance value of the learning styles (0.000) is smaller
SPSS 17.00 program for Windows. Before the data were
than α (0.05). It means that there is a difference in students’
analyzed, the normality test was performed with One
emotional intelligence based on the auditory, read, and
Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. The normality test
kinesthetic learning styles. LSD test is conducted to
results showed the normality value of 0.811 (p <0.05) which
determine which of the three learning styles is significantly
meaning that the distribution of emotional intelligence
different. The results of the LSD test on the differences of
data was normal.
emotional intelligence based on students’ learning styles
Results can be seen in Table 3.

Table 1. Data description of the emotional intelligence based on learning styles and learning models

Learning Model Learning Styles N Mean Std. Deviation

Conventional Kinesthetic 25 64.6749 9.46824
Auditory 25 62.6757 7.96625
Read 23 61.8291 8.40379
Total 73 63.0936 8.60554
NHT Kinesthetic 24 70.4865 6.33453
Auditory 20 63.9815 5.83460
Read 23 65.7851 6.21379
Total 67 66.9308 6.65918
NHT + Metacognitive Kinesthetic 24 73.6231 5.95375
Auditory 21 66.0371 9.85428
Read 25 69.1505 8.17474
Total 70 69.7499 8.52937
Total Kinesthetic 73 69.5274 8.25217
Auditory 66 64.1409 8.07817
Read 71 65.6885 8.14988
Total 210 66.5366 8.43695

Table 2. The results of analysis of variance test

Source Type III Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

Corrected Model 2868.312a 8 358.539 6.001 .000
Intercept 922626.723 1 922626.723 15442.746 .000
Model 1535.749 2 767.874 12.853 .000
Learning Style 1093.648 2 546.824 9.153 .000
Model * Learning Style 220.247 4 55.062 .922 .452
Error 12008.743 201 59.745
Total 944572.636 210
Corrected Total 14877.055 209
a. R Squared = .193 (Adjusted R Squared = .161)

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Table 3. The results of least significance different (LSD) test

No. Learning Styles Mean Notation LSD

1 Auditory 64.231 a
2 Read 65.588 a
3 Kinesthetic 69.595 b

Table 3 shows that kinesthetic learning style has significant expressed by the dancers' movement. Thus, dance is a
difference of emotional intelligence compared to the form of emotional expression, which requires teamwork, a
auditory and read learning styles. The emotional good adaptation from one movement to the other
intelligence of the kinesthetic students are 8.35% higher movements, and can develop social relationship harmony.
than that of the auditory students, and 6.11% higher than Hertenstein & Keltner (2011) asserted that the touch was
that of the reading students. also a sign of emotional expression in the form of
sympathy and happiness. In short, body and hand
Discussion
movements which are appropriate and timely are another
Comparison of Emotional Intelligence between Auditory, Read, way that can be used to develop emotional intelligence.
and Kinesthetic Learning Styles
Kinesthetic learners like to be involved in physical activity.
The results of the research show that learning styles have The involvement is not confined only to the physical
an effect of emotional intelligence. Learning styles of VARK involvements, but especially to emotional involvement,
model refer to the sensory modalities. The sensory aspects including cognitive activity in the achievement and the
of human are auditory, read, and kinesthetic directing the acquisition of knowledge, appreciation and internalization
information to the limbic system to be responded as of values in the formation of attitudes and values. Various
emotion. Cavanaugh, MacInnis, and Weiss (2015) exercises that are prepared for learners also develop their
confirmed that the modality of perception was capable of skills, emotion, self-esteem, and cognitive outcomes
providing strong support to emotions. Auditory aspect (Erwin, Fedewa, & Ahn, 2013). Learning activities
reflecting the hearing modality is differentiated into accompanied by physical activity make students directly
harmony (discordant vs. harmonious) and the decibel level involved by optimizing various senses to support learning
(quiet vs. loud). The dimensions of read modalities are like activities, such as hear, feel, smell, and even redesign the
the rhythm of reading (hard vs. soft), and the dimensions object being studied. Thus, the experience of the
of kinesthetic modalities are like speed (fast vs. slow). kinesthetic learners become intact and there has been a
These perceptions lead to emotional response which might maturation of the emotional elements such as motivation,
be positive or negative, depending on the response of each leadership, and social interaction.
person. Emotional expression is seen in the relation of
Kinesthetic learners activate the various organs of the body
various aspects of human life every day. Goleman (1998)
in expressing emotions. As a result, their confidence
stated that self-regulation was one of the elements of
increases, and their social relationships with others
emotional intelligence. Self-regulation refers emotion
become stronger. Physical activity which involves various
regulation, that is the ability to remain calm under
organs of the body is an opportunity for students to
pressure, or the ability to maintain and control their
express themselves as widely as possible. For example in
emotions in order to behave properly. A positive emotion
playing or dancing, the students will try something new.
regulation is the best way to minimize the negative
Some possibilities that may occur when students are doing
emotional expressions (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2007).
these activities are that students will succeed, fail, or will be
The research results also show that kinesthetic learning encouraged keep trying hard. When the students are
style has significant effect on the emotional intelligence slowly begining to master the activity, their experience and
compared to auditory and read learning styles. Kinesthetic their motoric ability are formed. Furthermore, this activity
learners are more likely to learn from the experience can improve students’ self-confidence because they have
gained when they perform certain activities (learning by showed independence and responsibility in expressing
doing). Kinesthetic is the type of learning styles that easily themselves (Walter & Sat, 2013). Physical movements or
accept and process information through a series of activities are a powerful way to present and to assess the
activities that move some or all parts of the body and emotional expression (Thom, 2010). Physical activity
practice the things being learned. They like moving their enlarges the opportunities for someone to investigate his
body (movement) and moving their hands/hand gesture environment, expand his emotional knowledge, and
(touch). Body movements are related to learning through develop his physical and emotional skills. Thus, the sensory
body movements, walking, turning the body, swaying, and experience expressed through physical activities will
these activities were skillfully done. Meanwhile, hand strengthen the emotional experience that leads to the
gesture is related to the use of fingers, feel, and body development of emotional intelligence. Hanford (2000)
touch. The fingers are quite deft and skillful to make a hand added that the children could control their physical activity
creation, to dance gracefully, to write neatly, and to draw when they were in a social environment with their peers,
thorough and detailed drawings. Body movements can be and more likely to build social relationships with others
found when someone is dancing (Dyck, Maes, Hargreaves, and developed their social skills.
Lesaffre, & Leman, 2013). The research results of Boone &
Cunningham (1998) proved that a five-year-old child was The environment is rich of factors stimulating children to
able to decode the information related to the emotions be active, to investigate, and to test an object they find. The

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experience is developed by children through various models are that learning should activate all senses, not
physical activities. The condition is highly relevant to the only focusing on one of the senses. The practical
development of the brain nerve which allows the child to implications of the results of this research are directed to
utilize the objects in the environment effectively. Such the teacher as a designer, actor, and evaluator of learning.
processes make the children learn to carry out more As a designer, teachers need to consider how to develop
complex tasks. The physical activity is carried out by the and to create a learning atmosphere or a learning
children in order to gain the experience in a wide variety of environment which activates all the senses. As an actor of
motion. The other goal is to improve their motor skills and learning, teachers can begin with organizing learning
control mechanisms, so that their confidence, appreciation material in such a way that attracts the students’ attention,
or recognition for themselves develop positively. In as well as stimulates the maximum use of all the senses.
addition, physical activity is helpful to show initiative, Teachers can select learning strategies or learning models
independence, and responsibility (Walter & Hen, 2012). which facilitate the use of multiple senses equally in
Thus, physical activity can encourage the development of a receiving instructional information. Teachers can use
child's emotional intelligence. learning media which support the learning strategy or
learning model, as well as trigger various sensory organs
Kinesthetic learners tend to activate the cerebellum to
to work, thus strengthening students' emotional
manage and to store information physiologicaly (Davis,
intelligence. As an evaluator, a teacher can make an
2007). Kinesthetic learners enjoy doing a variety of physical
assessment or reflection to improve and refine the
activities that facilitate them to store information.
planning or the real action performed in learning activities.
According to Leiner (2010), the cerebellum is also known to
Teachers also need to reflect on whether or not their
be involved in mental exercise of motor tasks, which can
teaching styles have been able to accommodate all the
improve the performance and make someone become
characteristics of students’ learning styles, and to
more skillful. The cerebellum is connected to the area of
encourage the development of students' emotional
the brain that not only focuses on motor activity but also
intelligence. In learning, teachers may need to introduce a
focuses on the mental and the sensory tasks and can
variety of strategic ways of learning for students related to
automate the motor activity as well as mental and sensory
the VARK model, thus constructing the students’
skills of humans. Thus, at the same time, kinesthetic
awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of their
learners not only perform motor skills but also perform the
learning styles. It is expected that it motivates students to
other skills automatically. For example, in communication,
learn earnestly based on their unique learning styles. In
motor activity controls speech or gestures, while the
relation to that, teachers, as the real models in learning,
mental activity is responsible for formulating what to say.
are believed to become the role models which practice
Kinesthetic learners like repetitive exercises and repetitive
mature emotional intelligence and support the learning
testing or those conducted in stages, to activate a variety
conditions and the students’ emotional development.
of other skills simultaneously, such as communication
skills, accepting the opinions of others, listening, so that
Facts about Learning Style Changes
the emotional intelligence becomes more well organized.
Students’ learning styles are influenced by various factors.
The research results of Fernandez et al. (2015) also
These factors include physical, emotional, sociological, and
revealed the profile of the emotional intelligence in
environmental factors (Singh, 2014). When people have
relation to students' learning strategies in Chile. The
different learning styles, this will also lead to different
student samples of 14-18 years old were classified into 4
emotional intelligence or learning results, although the
profiles of students’ emotional intelligence namely: 1) a
patterns of learning and the learning materials are similar.
group of young students having high intelligence profile, 2)
A class as a learning community serves to accommodate a
a group having the dominance of low emotional attention
number of students in the same room and the same
and high improvement skills, 3) a group having high
atmosphere during the learning process until the exam.
attention and low improvement skill, and 4) a group of
However, learning styles may change along with the
adolescents having low intelligence. In conclusion,
people’s maturity development.
emotional intelligence is influenced by the learning
strategies which include attention, motivation, time VARK learning style models are oriented on sensory
management, concentration, information processing, the modalities or human physiological dimension, namely by
learning objectives, and self-assessment strategies. The enabling the vision (visual), hearing (auditory), read (visual
research conducted by Aliakbari & Nejadian (2011) proved and touch) and kinesthetic (multisensory). VARK learning
that there was a correlation between Myers-Briggs style models are easy to be implemented on students at
learning styles and the emotional intelligence in the different levels of education, and tend to be stable in
dimensions of emotion regulation, use of emotion, and certain situations. In addition, it provides an overview of
emotion ratings. Similarly, the findings of Zhang (2008) learning method the students use (Rudman, Beer, &
revealed that there was a correlation between a person’s Olorundju, 2015).
thinking styles and his or her emotions. The research,
The distribution of learning styles at different levels of
involving a sample of 99 students in Hongkong, was able to
education varies. At the elementary school level in Ambon-
prove that the thinking style had the power to predict the
Indonesia, kinesthetic learning style is dominant compared
emotions along with the development of age.
to the visual, auditory, and read learning styles. The
The consequences of the differences in students’ percentage of kinesthetic, auditory, read, and visual styles
emotional intelligence on the learning styles of VARK are 56.76%, 22.86%, 17.52%, 2.86% respectively (Leasa,

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Emotional Intelligence among Auditory, Reading, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles / Leasa, Corebima, Ibrohim & Suwono

2014). On the other hand, Saadi & Abdulaziz (2014) using Conclusion
VARK model on junior high school students of class VII and
Based on the results of the discussion in this research,
VIII among 399 students in Saudi Arabia, reported that the
three conclusions will be described as follows.
percentage of visual, auditory, read, and kinesthetic
1. There is a difference in students’ emotional
models was 7%, 5%, 9% and 12% respectively. These data
intelligence viewed from the learning styles.
indicate that there has been a change in the learning styles.
2. Related to the emotional intelligence, kinesthetic
Visual learning style increases about 4.14%, but auditory,
learning style has a significant difference compared
read, and kinesthetic learning styles decrease by 17.86%,
to auditory and read learning styles; the difference
8.52%, and 44.72% respectively. This change occurrs
between the kinesthetic and auditory was as much as
because at the level of junior high school, students tend to
8.35%, while the difference between the kinesthetic
integrate more than one learning style, so the multimodal
and read was 6.11%.
learning style percentage reaches 67%.
3. Learning styles are thought to be dynamic,
The learning style change occurs at a higher level. Singh, depending on the cognitive and mental
Govil, and Rani (2015) reported that there was an increased development, and the learning environment which
percentage in all learning styles of senior high school can stimulate the learners to become adaptive.
students. Compared to that of junior high school level, the
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