Arab Educational Information Network

The study aimed at developing preservice EFL teachers’ teaching knowledge and reducing their writing anxiety. To achieve these aims, an instructional program based on the free LMS (learning management system) Schoology was developed. Schoology is a free-access, web-based, multi-function LMS that can be utilized in education at no cost. Ten units of the course (Practicum One) were designed to fit and benefit from the tools available in the LMS. Instruments of the study included an achievement test and a scale of writing anxiety. The test was developed by the researcher, while the scale was modified from Cheng 2004. Sample of the study consisted of 93 female students enrolled at the General Diploma program at Taibah University. Of them, 43 were treated as the experimental group, and 40 were treated as the control group. Results of the achievement posttest showed a significant and remarkable difference between the two groups favoring the experimental group. The scale results shows that experimental group students’ writing anxiety was drastically reduced. Recommendations and suggestions are presented. (Published Abstract)