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This study explored college students' experiences with and perceptions of integrating both the Google.doc and peer e-tutors into an English writing course. This socio-cultural study employed online collaborative learning mechanisms with an attempt to develop students' English writing skills and motivation over the course of one year. Participants included a class of forty-four, 1st-year non-English majors from a college in southern Taiwan; eleven fourth-year English majors were also invited to assist with online, peer e-tutoring. The findings revealed that most students demonstrated positive attitudes towards using this online writing system and were satisfied with their meaningful interactions with peer e-tutors. On-line tutoring activity enhanced their English writing skills, and they reported a desire to engage in similar practices in the future. A few challenges emerged from using the Google.doc, including periodical missing data from the screen and an accidental lag that occurred during the course of writing online. Several conclusions can be drawn from the study, which have some implications for EFL teachers. Suggestions for future research are also provided.

Metaphors are significant in teacher education, because they can provide insights into complex concepts of teaching and learning and thus provide a window into the comprehension of teachers' personal experiences. This study employed metaphorical analysis to investigate how pre-service teachers view English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses at the beginning of their teacher education programmes. Forty student teachers in a teacher certificate programme in secondary education were asked to provide metaphors of how they conceptualise themselves as EFL teachers. Findings revealed that the teachers' metaphorical conceptualisations appeared to be more student-centred, reflecting beliefs about teaching practice and generally stemming from personal and school experiences. Overall, the written metaphors provided access to pre-service teachers' preconceived notions of teaching prior to entering the classroom. Metaphors thus provide a framework with which to assess teaching and a means for teachers to enhance self-awareness and professional development. This study leads to several conclusions that highlight some implications for teacher education and to ideas for further investigations. (Contains 2 tables.)

Traditional, cognitive-oriented theories of English language acquisition tend to employ experimental modes of inquiry and neglect social, cultural and historical contexts. In this paper, I review the theoretical debate over methodology by examining ontological, epistemological and methodological controversies around cognitive-oriented theories. I also present a socio-cultural research study on English language learning in a Taiwanese indigenous school as an example for discussion. Findings suggest that non-experimental modes of inquiry that employ multiple methods for multi-layered analysis are productive and appropriate. Socio-cultural theoretical lenses and methodological instruments may liberate research in English language studies and broaden our understanding of English learning and teaching. (Contains 3 tables and 3 extracts.)

This study applied Wiki technology and peer review to an English as a foreign language writing class. The objective was to investigate whether this system, as a collaborative platform, would improve students' writing skills. The study gauged students' perceptions about integrating a Wiki writing course and peer feedback. The participants were 32 sophomore students in an English department at a college in Taiwan. The study used a socio-cultural theoretical framework to explore students' perceptions of the effectiveness of Wiki-based writing projects and experiences of social interaction in the process of writing, based on self-reported reflections about the project, observations of student learning, interviews and surveys. Findings revealed that most students explicitly stated that they felt positive about their ability to apply Wiki and peer feedback to writing instruction. Meaningful social interaction appears to play a significant role with regard to students' perceived benefits of this collaborative writing process. Students nevertheless encountered both functional and psychological obstacles to using the new tools, indicating the need to alter their traditional learning practices to embrace new, technology-enhanced learning systems. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This study examines the effects of two types of e-tutoring interventions (text-based vs. face-to-face videoconferencing, TB vs. F2F) on the grammar performance and motivation of low-achieving students. The study investigates the patterns of interaction between tutors and students in both platforms, including the manner in which tutors and students engage during the tutoring sessions. The students' experiences and perceptions of e-tutoring interventions are also explored. The findings reveal that although the two modes of tutoring were equally effective (both groups showed improvement in their grammar performance, with no discernible difference between the two groups), the F2F group members overcame their negative feelings toward English to a greater extent than the TB group members. Interestingly, although the findings reveal that the TB tutors engaged in more tutoring strategies than the F2F tutors, the F2F students perceived more self-improvement in their English performance and were more likely to evaluate the tutors and the e-tutoring program positively than the TB group. The paper concludes by offering some recommendations for future studies on different tutoring modes using computer conferencing. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

Background: Polysaccharides, considered as immunomodulators with the capacity to activate immunity against microbial pathogens and tumors, have been employed for their dietary and medical benefits. Purpose: This study investigated the immunomodulatory effect of polysaccharide such as type II arabinogalactan from Anoectochilus formosanus (AGAF) on dendritic cell (DC) maturation and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods and results: Exposing DCs to AGAF induces cell maturation, which is characterized by the upregulation of CD86, CD83, CD80, CD40, and MHC class I and class II expression through flow cytometry analysis and morphological change without cytotoxicity. In addition, AGAF-triggered DC2.4 cells were involved in priming T-cell activation in vitro and in vivo. Transfection of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 proteins and TLR4 siRNA suppressed DC maturation, suggesting that AGAF induced DC maturation through TLR2 and TLR4. Conclusion: These findings indicate that AGAF may be a potentially effective immunomodulator in stimulating DC maturation. Keywords: Polysaccharides Arabinogalactan Anoectochilus formosanus D.C2.4 cells DC maturation T cell activation, Introduction Various plants that contain major active compounds such as polysaccharides are used in traditional medicine to prevent several diseases. Polysaccharides offer numerous benefits including antioxidant (Liu et al. 2013; [...]