Moodle: A Courseware Applied in EFL

Moodle is an open source course management system for online learning allowing teachers and instructors to make use of its tools to create student-based and cooperative learning course. Such courses can be accessed by students either from the internet or even through a specially designed LAN network. This research investigates the effects of using Moodle on English language learning in one of the secondary schools in Latakia. This study was conducted in the first term of the academic year 2009. The study sample included two groups of eighth graders, one of which was taught via the conventional methods, and the other was taught an adapted eversion of the same course designed to fit into Moodle. Tests were administered, and the results were analyzed to find out the important role of Moodle in enhancing students skills in English based on Bloom s Taxonomy of intellectual skills (Bloom et.al, 1956). The results of the study reveal that the overall achievement scores of the Experimental Group students have notably improved compared to those of their peers in the Control Group. They also show similar improvement in their performance on various levels of intellectual ability including comprehension, application, synthesis, and evaluation.