Listening training device and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hearing training device and method, wherein the hearing training device comprises: a providing unit that provides a main screen including a plurality of training menus; and a control unit that controls a display screen differently according to a user's selection input on the main screen, and controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to a selected training item chosen by the user based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus, and through the training of hearing the output speech sound data, auditory rehabilitation for the user who has implanted a cochlear implant can be performed.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a hearing training device and method. In particular, the present invention relates to a hearing training device and method that enables hearing training for auditory rehabilitation for a user who has received a cochlear implant. Background Technology

[0002] The process by which the human body perceives sound is as follows: Vibrations from sound sources (such as human vocal cords, strings of string instruments, or drum skins) induce vibrations in air molecules. These air molecules, in turn, sequentially cause the basilar membranes within the eardrum, ossicles, and cochlea to vibrate. When the basilar membrane vibrates, action potentials are generated in the auditory hair cells aligned along it. When these action potentials originating from the auditory hair cells travel along the auditory nerve to the auditory center of the cerebrum, the individual perceives sound.

[0003] There are approximately 3,500 auditory hair cells in the cochlea of ​​the human body, and each auditory hair cell detects sounds of a specific frequency. Therefore, the human body can hear sounds ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

[0004] When auditory hair cells are damaged due to various causes (e.g., genetic defects, aging, excessive noise exposure, etc.), no action potential is generated even when a sound source vibrates, so one cannot hear well. In other words, hearing deteriorates. In cases of severe or profound hearing loss, one can hear sounds by implanting a cochlear implant that replaces the function of the cochlea (more precisely, replaces the function of 'auditory hair cells').

[0005] A cochlear implant is a device that converts vibrations generated from external sound sources into electrical signals. The electrical signals produced by the cochlear implant are equivalent to the action potentials generated by auditory hair cells, and when these signals travel along the auditory nerve to the auditory center of the cerebrum, sound is perceived.

[0006] However, since the implantation of such a cochlear implant does not mean that damaged hearing will dramatically return to its normal state immediately, users who have received the implant are required to undergo auditory rehabilitation after the procedure.

[0007] Auditory rehabilitation can be described as training to repeatedly listen to speech sounds. As mentioned earlier, the human cochlea uses 3,500 auditory hair cells to detect sounds ranging from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and generate action potentials, whereas a cochlear implant uses up to 22 electrodes (the number of electrodes varies depending on the manufacturer) to detect external sounds and generate electrical signals, so auditory rehabilitation is necessary.

[0008] Taking the case of a patient who has lost hearing due to aging as an example, the patient's auditory center, which has adapted over many years to speech sounds sent by 3,500 auditory hair cells, cannot properly understand speech sounds sent by 22 electrodes after cochlear implantation. This is because, from the perspective of the patient's auditory center, this is information it is encountering for the first time in its life. The method to help this cerebral auditory center adapt to new speech information may be 'repetitive speech listening training,' or 'auditory rehabilitation,' which can be compared to listening training when learning a foreign language for the first time.

[0009] In other words, when a cochlear implant is implanted, the sound of speech is converted into an electrical signal stimulus, such as a humming sound, and input. Since the sound that was previously detected by 3,500 auditory hair cells must now be detected by up to 22 electrodes, training (i.e., auditory rehabilitation training) to map (match) the speech sound with the electrical signal stimulus (electrical stimulus signal) so that the speech sound can be recognized is absolutely necessary for the user who has received the cochlear implant.

[0010] When we say that we produce the sound / a / , the actual speech information produced varies from person to person. However, the reason we can understand it as the sound / a / regardless of whose voice it is is because the phonological system of our native language has developed through sound experiences accumulated over a long period. Therefore, in cases where hearing is lost after language development, the speech sounds heard through a cochlear implant are different from the sounds previously heard; thus, it is necessary to repeatedly experience meaningful speech sounds until the existing phonological information is connected (matched) with the sounds (electrical signals, electrical stimulation signals) heard through the cochlear implant.

[0011] Conventional auditory rehabilitation methods generally involve a user with a cochlear implant meeting face-to-face with a speech therapist to listen to sounds, select pictures or letters, or repeat them, but this approach currently faces various problems as follows.

[0012] In the case of children with hearing impairments, parents often provide devoted support, and since financial assistance for surgery and treatment is readily available through the government or various charitable organizations, rehabilitation can be carried out for a sufficiently long period. However, for adults with hearing impairments, it is difficult to even receive support for surgery costs, and support for rehabilitation costs is even rarer; consequently, the entire burden of hearing rehabilitation often falls on the family. Furthermore, due to the lack of specialized hearing rehabilitation centers, patients often have to travel from other regions to specific centers, making it difficult for the elderly or those with limited mobility to proceed with their rehabilitation.

[0013] Furthermore, for users who have received a cochlear implant to meet directly with a speech therapist for auditory rehabilitation (listening training), they must find and visit a proper auditory rehabilitation center (specialized auditory rehabilitation center). However, auditory rehabilitation centers are difficult to find as there are few that cater to adults, and since many centers focus on rehabilitation for children, it is currently challenging for adults to undergo auditory rehabilitation. Additionally, because there are not many auditory rehabilitation centers in the first place, it is difficult to schedule rehabilitation sessions at a desired time after receiving a cochlear implant. Moreover, if patients must travel from another region, they face the burden of requiring time and financial support from their families. In short, conventional auditory rehabilitation methods based on face-to-face meetings present various problems (inconveniences), such as scheduling difficulties, time constraints, distance from the treatment center, and the cost of treatment for every session. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of technology that supports listening training for auditory rehabilitation to be conducted easily and conveniently anytime and anywhere, without the constraints of time and place.

[0014] In addition, auditory rehabilitation centers provide appropriate rehabilitation methods and materials tailored to the hearing level of cochlear implant users or their guardians (family members). They also recommend that guardians provide feedback at home on whether the user heard sounds correctly or incorrectly, and encourage them to practice distinguishing sounds that sounded similar. However, there are actually not many guardians who repeat these processes (such as providing feedback or assisting with sound discrimination exercises) as kindly as a therapist does, and there are many difficulties involved.

[0015] Although rehabilitation is generally explained thoroughly before cochlear implant surgery, many patients overlook the necessity of it because they expect to hear immediately after the operation. Furthermore, when caregivers assist with listening training, if the patient has difficulty hearing, they often yell out of frustration or scold the patient for not hearing properly, rather than providing appropriate feedback; consequently, many patients are hurt by their caregivers' behavior. Additionally, hearing rehabilitation is challenging for patients living alone, as the methods available for listening training are severely limited.

[0016] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop technology for effective auditory rehabilitation that enables users to experience positive listening with greater peace of mind and achieve effective auditory rehabilitation when conducting listening training for cochlear implant recipients. This is achieved by providing users with the opportunity to accurately verify feedback on whether their understanding is correct or incorrect, while simultaneously allowing them to repeatedly listen to sounds without restriction.

[0017] The technology forming the background of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2006-0001968. The problem to be solved

[0018] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the aforementioned prior art and to provide a listening training device and method that can support a user with an implanted cochlear implant to easily and conveniently conduct listening training for auditory rehabilitation anytime and anywhere, without restrictions on time and place.

[0019] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the aforementioned prior art and, in providing a listening training technique for auditory rehabilitation targeting a user with a cochlear implant, provides a listening training device and method that allows the user to experience positive listening more comfortably and thereby enables effective auditory rehabilitation by providing an opportunity to repeatedly listen to sounds without restriction while accurately verifying feedback on whether what they hear and understand is correct or incorrect.

[0020] However, the technical problems that the embodiments of the present invention aim to solve are not limited to the technical problems described above, and other technical problems may exist. means of solving the problem

[0021] As a technical means for achieving the above-mentioned technical task, a listening training device according to one embodiment of the present invention may include: a providing unit that provides a main screen including a plurality of training menus; and a control unit that controls a display screen differently according to a user's selection input on the main screen, and controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to a selected training item selected by the user based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus.

[0022] In addition, the above-mentioned listening training device can enable the progression of auditory rehabilitation for the user who has implanted a cochlear implant through training in listening to the output speech sound data.

[0023] Additionally, the plurality of training menus may include a first training menu for discrimination training of phonemes considering acoustic differences. Furthermore, the plurality of training menus may further include a second training menu for discrimination training of vowel-related speech sounds, a third training menu for discrimination training of consonant-related speech sounds, and a fourth training menu for discrimination training of speech sounds related to a presented topic.

[0024] In addition, the first training menu may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of options and the length of the speech sound in relation to the training item.

[0025] In addition, the second training menu and the third training menu each include a plurality of submenus, and each of the plurality of submenus may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item.

[0026] In addition, the fourth training menu includes multiple subject training submenus classified into multiple topics, and each of the multiple subject training submenus may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of the type of prompt and the type of response required regarding the target topic in relation to the training item.

[0027] Meanwhile, a listening training method using a listening training device according to one embodiment of the present invention may include: a step of providing a main screen including a plurality of training menus in a providing unit; and a step of controlling a display screen differently according to a user's selection input on the main screen in a control unit, wherein speech sound data corresponding to a selected training item selected by the user is output based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus.

[0028] The above-described means for solving the problem are merely exemplary and should not be interpreted as intended to limit the invention. In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, additional embodiments may exist in the drawings and the detailed description of the invention. Effects of the invention

[0029] According to the means for solving the problem of the present invention described above, by providing a listening training device and method, it is possible to support a user who has implanted a cochlear implant to easily and conveniently conduct listening training for auditory rehabilitation anytime and anywhere, without restrictions on time and place.

[0030] According to the means for solving the problem of the present invention described above, by providing a listening training device and method, listening training for auditory rehabilitation can be performed for users who have implanted a cochlear implant (anyone, regardless of gender or age). In particular, by providing the user with the opportunity to accurately check feedback on whether what they hear and understand is correct or incorrect, and simultaneously listen to sounds repeatedly without restriction, the user can experience positive listening more comfortably, thereby enabling effective auditory rehabilitation.

[0031] However, the effects obtainable from the present invention are not limited to those described above, and other effects may exist. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0032] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a listening training device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 to 20 are drawings for explaining a listening training device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an operation for a listening training method according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0033] Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts unrelated to the explanation have been omitted, and similar parts throughout the specification are denoted by similar reference numerals.

[0034] Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a part is described as being "connected" to another part, this includes not only cases where they are "directly connected," but also cases where they are "electrically connected" or "indirectly connected" with other elements interposed between them.

[0035] Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a member is described as being located "on," "on the upper," "on the top," "under," "on the lower," or "on the bottom" of another member, this includes not only cases where the member is in contact with the other member, but also cases where another member exists between the two members.

[0036] Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a part is described as "comprising" a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components.

[0037] Throughout the specification of the present invention, some of the operations or functions described as being performed by a terminal, device, or device may instead be performed by a server connected to said terminal, device, or device. Likewise, some of the operations or functions described as being performed by a server may also be performed by a terminal, device, or device connected to said server.

[0038] Throughout the specification of the present invention, the term "at least one" may be defined as a term including both singular and plural forms, and it will be obvious that even if the term "at least one" is not present, each component may exist in a singular or plural form and may mean singular or plural. Furthermore, whether each component is provided in a singular or plural form may be changed according to the embodiment.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a listening training device (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the listening training device (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention will be referred to as the device (10) below.

[0040] FIGS. 2 to 20 are drawings for explaining a listening training device (10) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 2 shows an example of the main screen of the device (10) provided by the device (10), and FIG. 3 shows the types of a plurality of training menus of the device (10). FIG. 4 shows six phonemes considered in the first training menu of the device (10), and FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed when the first training menu is clicked. FIG. 6 shows a screen displayed when the second training menu is clicked, which includes 10 vowel training submenus, and FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show a screen displayed when the first vowel training submenu, 'a', is clicked among the 10 vowel training submenus. FIG. 9 shows a screen displayed when clicking the third training menu, containing 25 consonant training submenus, and FIG. 10a and FIG. 10b show a screen displayed when clicking 'ㅁ (Mieum)', the first consonant training submenu among the 25 consonant training submenus. FIG. 11a and FIG. 11b show a screen displayed when clicking 'Jongseong ㅁ (Jongseong Mieum)', the 19th consonant training submenu among the 25 consonant training submenus. FIG. 12 shows a screen displayed when clicking the fourth training menu, containing 10 topic training submenus, and FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show a screen displayed when clicking 'Family', the first topic training submenu among the 10 topic training submenus. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are diagrams showing examples of vowel-related words used in the second training menu. FIGS. 17 to 19 show examples of consonant-related words used in the third training menu, wherein FIGS. 17 and 18 show examples of consonant-related words that become the initial consonant of a syllable, and FIG. 19 shows examples of consonant-related words that become the final consonant of a syllable. FIG. 20 shows an example of a sentence input window provided through the 9th-level training item in the fourth training menu.

[0041] In describing the present invention below, the details shown (described) in FIGS. 1 to 20 may be applied equally to the description of the device (10), even if the details are omitted below.

[0042] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 20, the device (10) may be a hearing training device, specifically a hearing training device for enabling auditory rehabilitation for a user who has implanted a cochlear implant. The device (10) may be a hearing training device for a cochlear implant user.

[0043] The device (10) may be a device or server that provides at least one of a web page, app page, program, application (app), service, and platform related to listening training. At this time, the program, application, service, and platform related to listening training provided by the device (10) will be referred to as the program, the app, the service, and the platform, respectively, for convenience of explanation below. For example, the service name of the service may be 'Ieum'.

[0044] In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the device (10) is implemented in the form of the program or app and installed on a user terminal possessed by a user utilizing the device (10). That is, the device (10) may be included in the user terminal. However, this is merely an example to aid in understanding the invention and is not limited thereto. In other examples, the device (10) may be implemented in the form of a server, and the device (10) implemented in the form of a server may be linked with the user terminal via a network to transmit and receive data and control the operation of the user terminal (e.g., screen display operation). Furthermore, when the device (10) is implemented in the form of a server, the listening training system according to one embodiment of the invention may include the device (10) and a user terminal linked with the device (10) via a network. The listening training system may be referred to as the system, and the system may include multiple user terminals possessed by multiple users. At this time, the description of the user terminal in the present invention may be applied equally to the description of each of the multiple user terminals, even if the content described below is omitted.

[0045] The user of the device (10) may be a user who has received a cochlear implant (i.e., a cochlear implant user, a user who has undergone cochlear implant surgery). The user of the device (10) may be a person who wishes to undergo auditory rehabilitation or wishes to perform listening training for auditory rehabilitation due to having a cochlear implant. The user may be anyone of any age or gender, including not only children but also adults.

[0046] For example, the user may use the service without installing the program or app by using a user terminal they possess, and may also use the service without registering (logging in) by accessing the program or app.

[0047] The above user terminal may include, for example, all types of wired and wireless communication devices such as PCS (Personal Communication System), GSM (Global System for Mobile communication), PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), PHS (Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication)-2000, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-2000, W-CDMA (WCode Division Multiple Access), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) terminals, smartphones, smartpads, tablet PCs, laptops, wearable devices, desktop PCs, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0048] The above network may include, for example, a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network, an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, a WIMAX (World Interoperability for Microwave Access) network, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a Wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a PAN (Personal Area Network), a Bluetooth network, a NFC (Near Field Communication) network, a satellite broadcasting network, an analog broadcasting network, a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) network, but is not limited thereto and may include various wired / wireless communication networks. A more specific description of the device (10) is as follows.

[0049] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 20, the device (10) may include a providing unit (11) and a control unit (12).

[0050] The providing unit (11) can provide a main screen including multiple training menus. The providing unit (11) can provide the main screen to a display unit (not shown) within the device (10) and thereby allow it to be displayed on the display unit. At this time, the display unit may be configured to correspond to the screen of a user terminal.

[0051] The control unit (12) controls the display screen, which is a screen displayed on the display unit according to the user's selection input on the main screen, differently, and controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to the selected training item chosen by the user (i.e., previously stored in relation to the selected training item) through the speaker unit (not shown) in the device (10) based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus. In the device (10), auditory rehabilitation (i.e., progress of listening training) for a user with a cochlear implant can be performed through listening training of the speech sound data output through the speaker unit (not shown) by the control unit (12). Here, the speaker unit may be configured to correspond to the speaker of the user terminal.

[0052] Although not illustrated in the drawing, the device (10) may include a database section (not illustrated), in which speech sound data corresponding to each of the training items within a plurality of training menus may be stored in advance. Speech sound data corresponding to each of these training items may be stored in advance by an administrator who manages the device (10). The administrator may be a person who manufactures, distributes, operates, and manages the device (10). This speech sound data refers to data corresponding to a sound (speech sound) for listening training (auditory rehabilitation) that has been pre-registered by the administrator for the listening training of a user who has implanted a cochlear implant, and may be referred to by other terms such as speech sound material, listening training content, speech sound audio data, voice data, phonological data, etc.

[0053] Specifically, the main screen provided by the providing unit (11) may be as shown in FIG. 2, for example. The main screen may include a plurality of training menus. The main screen may refer to, for example, the screen that is displayed as the main screen (or first screen) when a user accesses the program or app on a user terminal.

[0054] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of training menus are provided to be selectable by the user and may include a first training menu for training in the discrimination of phonemes considering acoustic differences, a second training menu for training in the discrimination of vowel-related speech sounds, a third training menu for training in the discrimination of consonant-related speech sounds, and a fourth training menu for training in the discrimination of speech sounds related to a presented topic. In the present invention, the term 'discrimination' may be referred to by other terms such as distinction or classification.

[0055] Here, the first training menu may be referred to as the Ling 6 training menu or the Ling 6 sounds menu. The second training menu may be referred to as the vowel listening training menu, the third training menu may be referred to as the consonant listening training menu, and the fourth training menu may be referred to as the topic listening training menu.

[0056] Each of the multiple training menus may be configured to include training items (i.e., multiple training items) as its sub-components. In particular, among the multiple training menus, each of the second to fourth training menus may be configured to include multiple sub-menus, and each of these multiple sub-menus may be configured to include training items as its sub-components.

[0057] The control unit (12) can control the display screen displayed on the display unit to change according to the user's selection input on the main screen. After the control unit (12) displays the main screen as shown in FIG. 2 on the display unit, it can control the display screen displayed on the display unit differently according to the user's selection input (particularly according to the user's selection input regarding one of the multiple training menus in the main screen, and / or according to the selection input regarding one of the training items included in the training menu selected by the user). For example, the control unit (12) can control the display unit to display a screen as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 to FIG. 14.

[0058] Additionally, for example, the main screen may include a tree icon. The control unit (12) controls the tree icon on the main screen to initially display its entire color as, for example, gray. Subsequently, depending on the level of the number of training items that the user has completed listening training among all the training items within the multiple training menus (i.e., the performance rate of listening training, the learning rate (learning progress rate), etc.), the gray tree icon may be gradually assigned a color value other than gray, as shown in FIG. 2, thereby controlling the change of the tree icon's color. Through this control, the device (10) enables the user to intuitively check (identify) what level of training the user has completed among all the training items provided by the device (10), and can provide an element of fun. A detailed description of each of the multiple training menus is as follows.

[0059] < Training Menu 1 (Ling 6 Training Menu) >

[0060] The description of the first training menu can be more easily understood by referring to Figures 4 and 5.

[0061] The first training menu may refer to a menu prepared for training in the discrimination of phonemes considering acoustic differences. In particular, the first training menu may be a menu for performing training to discriminate these six sounds (phonemes) using Ling 6 sounds, which are sounds (phonemes) corresponding to six speech frequencies that represent speech sounds. A phoneme refers to the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes the meaning of a word in the phonetic system of a language.

[0062] Ring 6 sound refers to a specific sound occurring at a specific voice frequency and represents sounds across the entire frequency range that can occur in normal conversation. In the left figure of Fig. 4, the vertical axis represents hearing level information in dB units, and the horizontal axis represents frequency information in Hz units.

[0063] The six phonemes considered in the first training menu may include um ( / m / ), u ( / u / ), i ( / i / ), a ( / a / ), sh ( / sh / ), and se ( / s / ). Here, 'um' may be a sound occurring at a frequency of 250 Hz, 'u' may be a sound occurring at 300 Hz and 800 Hz, 'i' may be a sound occurring at 250 Hz and 2000 Hz, 'a' may be a sound occurring at 750 Hz and 1000 Hz, 'sh' may be a sound occurring at 2000 Hz, and 'se' may be a sound occurring at 4000 Hz.

[0064] The control unit (12) can control the display unit so that when a user clicks the first training menu among the multiple training menus in the main screen, a ring 6 training screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 5, the first training menu may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through at least one differentiation (difference) among the number of options and the length of the speech sound (i.e., the length of the output sound in which the speech sound corresponding to the phoneme is output) in relation to the training item. Here, the step-by-step training item included in the first training menu may be five step-by-step training items, and accordingly, may include a step-by-step training item, a step-by-step training item, a step-by-step training item, a step-by-step training item, a step-by-step training item, and a step-by-step training item.

[0066] The first training menu may be a menu designed to enable practice (training) in distinguishing sounds (speech sounds), starting with phonemes that have large acoustic differences.

[0067] The step-by-step training items within the first training menu can be configured (set) so that the difficulty level is adjusted according to the number of options presented. That is, the step-by-step training items within the first training menu can be configured so that the difficulty level increases (the learning difficulty of listening training becomes harder) by increasing the number of options, compared to when the number of options is relatively small.

[0068] For example, referring to Fig. 5, the number of options may be set to 2 in Stage 1, 3 in Stage 2, 4 in Stage 3, and 6 in Stage 4. In this case, Stage 2 may be more difficult than Stage 1, Stage 3 may be more difficult than Stage 2, and Stage 4 may be more difficult than Stage 3. That is, the step-by-step training items within the first training menu can be configured to adjust the difficulty level (to gradually increase the difficulty) by setting the number of options differently so that they gradually increase as 2->3->4->6.

[0069] For example, when a user clicks on a first-stage training item (5-stage training items) within a first training menu, the control unit (12) can display information of the views set in the first-stage training item on the display unit, and in addition, allow speech sound data corresponding to the views set in the first-stage training item (i.e., speech sound data of 'ah' and speech sound data of 'sh') to be output through the speaker unit. Through this, the control unit (12) can enable the user to perform listening training to distinguish between two speech sounds (phonemes) of 'ah' and 'sh' through the first-stage training item. At this time, in describing the present invention below, the above-mentioned description regarding the first-stage training item among the step-by-step training items within the first training menu can be applied equally to the description of each of the training items within the multiple training menus, even if the content is omitted below.

[0070] Additionally, the step-by-step training items within the first training menu may be configured (set) so that the difficulty level is adjusted according to the length of the speech sound. For example, the number of options may be set equally to 6 for each of the training items corresponding to the 4th and 5th steps within the first training menu. In this case, the 4th step training item may be configured so that speech sound data corresponding to each of the 6 options is output through the speaker unit for a speech sound length of, for example, 1 time (e.g., 1.5 seconds). On the other hand, the 5th step training item may be configured so that speech sound data corresponding to each of the 6 options is output through the speaker unit for a speech sound length of, for example, 2 time (e.g., 1 second or less), which is shorter than the 1 time. That is, the control unit (12) controls the output of speech data for each of the six options through the speaker unit for 1.5 seconds each when the user clicks, for example, a 4th-level training item (i.e., 'ah' sound for 1.5 seconds, 'shh' sound for 1.5 seconds, 'um' sound for 1.5 seconds, etc.), while, when the user clicks a 5th-level training item, the output of speech data for each of the six options through the speaker unit for 1 second each (i.e., 'ah' sound for 1 second, 'shh' sound for 1 second, 'um' sound for 1 second, etc.). According to this, the 5th-level training item is set to have a higher difficulty level (more difficult) than the 4th-level training item.

[0071] That is, the step-by-step training items within the first training menu can be set so that the difficulty level is adjusted by differentiating the length of the speech sounds, for example, by presenting a shorter length of speech sounds (as in the 5th level training item) in contrast to a case where the length of the speech sounds is presented relatively long (4th level training item).

[0072] Additionally, referring to FIG. 5, the first training menu may include not only five step-by-step training items but also a listening training item and a test training item. Here, the listening training item may be a menu provided to allow one to listen in advance to all the words to be practiced (trained) in the step-by-step training item before performing listening training (word discrimination training) on ​​the words through the step-by-step training item.

[0073] The test training item within the first training menu may refer to an item prepared to perform a test in which speech data corresponding to at least one word among the words presented in the step-by-step training item is output, and the user listens to and writes down the output speech data. In this case, the test training item may be configured so that only speech data is output, and text information (i.e., options) of the word corresponding to the speech data is not displayed on the screen (i.e., not exposed). That is, the test training item may be a training item configured to provide listening and writing training without providing options. Additionally, the test training item may be configured so that the test proceeds from a Closed set to an Open set, for example.

[0074] For example, the test training item may be configured so that when a user clicks the test training item within the first training menu, speech data corresponding to six phonemes (i.e., phonemes corresponding to Ling 6 sounds) is output through the speaker unit. At this time, the control unit (12) may output speech data corresponding to the six phonemes when the user clicks the test training item, and then, if it is detected that the user has correctly answered, for example, 5 / 6 or more of the output speech data (i.e., after listening to the output six speech data, it is detected that the user has correctly written the text corresponding to five or more of the six speech data), it may determine that the user has completed the learning for the first training menu, process the learning for the first training menu as passed, and control the user so that listening training can be performed through the next training menu, the second training menu. That is, the control unit (12) can control the user so that, for example, if it is determined that the learning for the first training menu has not been completed (i.e., that the learning for the first training menu has not been processed as passed), the user cannot perform listening training through the second training menu, which is the next training menu, as well as the third training menu and the fourth training menu.

[0075] The control unit (12) controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to six phonemes sequentially through the speaker unit when the user clicks on a test training item, and when the speech sound data is output, the user writes the characters corresponding to the speech sound data heard by the user on the screen of the display unit, and then determines whether they match by comparing the text information corresponding to the characters written by the user with the text information of the word corresponding to the speech sound data output through the speaker unit, and if they match, determines that the answer is correct, and if they do not match, determines that it is incorrect. Through this, the control unit (12) can determine that the learning for the first training menu is completed if the user correctly writes five or more of the speech sound data corresponding to six phonemes output and gets the answer right.

[0076] Meanwhile, the second training menu and the third training menu each include a plurality of submenus, and each of the plurality of submenus may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item. A detailed explanation thereof is as follows.

[0077] < Training Menu 2 (Vowel Listening Training Menu) >

[0078] The explanation of the second training menu can be more easily understood by referring to Figures 6 through 8.

[0079] The second training menu may refer to a menu prepared for discrimination training of vowel-related speech sounds. The second training menu may be a menu for vowel-related listening training regarding speech sounds that serve as the nucleus of a syllable.

[0080] The second training menu is a plurality of submenus and may include 10 vowel training submenus classified into a plurality of vowel types as illustrated in FIG. 6. Here, the 10 vowel training submenus may include, for example, a first vowel training submenu corresponding to '1. A', a second vowel training submenu corresponding to '2. U', a seventh vowel training submenu corresponding to '7. Eu', an eighth vowel training submenu corresponding to '8. Diphthong', a ninth vowel training submenu corresponding to '9. Word Fill-in-the-Word 1', and a tenth vowel training submenu corresponding to '10. Word Fill-in-the-Word 2'.

[0081] The control unit (12) can control the display unit to display a vowel training submenu selection screen as shown in FIG. 6 when the user clicks a second training menu among a plurality of training menus in the main screen, and then control the display unit to display a vowel training screen as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 when the user selects a first vowel training submenu corresponding to, for example, '1. Ah' as ​​one of the 10 vowel training submenus in the vowel training submenu selection screen.

[0082] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, each of the 10 vowel training submenus within the second training menu may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item. Here, the step-by-step training item included within each vowel training submenu may be a 10-step training item, and accordingly, may include a 1-step training item to a 10-step training item.

[0083] In other words, the second training menu may be a menu designed to provide an opportunity to hear the corresponding phonemes in various locations and environments, taking into account the number of syllables and the syllable structure applicable to the Korean language, Hangul. That is to say, the second training menu may be a menu designed to enable training in vowel discrimination, syllable discrimination, and syllable discrimination through words containing vowels located in various positions within the characters, taking into account the number of syllables and syllable structure.

[0084] At this time, the words used in the second training menu (i.e., the vowel listening training menu) are vowel training words for vowel listening training, and may be multiple words configured to allow specific phonemes to be heard intensively in various locations and environments using the syllable structure of each vowel and consonant, and may be composed of, for example, high-frequency vocabulary (high-frequency words) that elementary school students can understand. The words used in this second training menu (i.e., vowel training words) may be data generated by the administrator managing the device (10) directly selecting them by referring to, for example, theoretical standards of auditory rehabilitation, and may include, for example, words such as those shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16.

[0085] In particular, among the 10 vowel training submenus in the second training menu, the words used in the 8th vowel training submenu corresponding to '8. Diphthong' (words for vowel training related to diphthongs) may include data such as that shown in the lower right figure of FIG. 16.

[0086] Each of the 10 vowel training submenus within the second training menu may include a step-by-step training item (10 step-by-step training items) in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item as previously mentioned.

[0087] In other words, the step-by-step training items within each vowel training submenu may be configured to present group data of words with different syllable counts, for example, to enable training (practice) in distinguishing the number of syllables. A syllable refers to a unit of sound that can be pronounced at once; for example, "Dad" could be a two-syllable word with two syllables, "younger brother" a three-syllable word with three syllables, and "older cousin" a four-syllable word with four syllables. The ability to recognize (discriminate) the number of syllables may mean distinguishing the length of speech sounds.

[0088] Accordingly, referring to FIG. 7 as an example, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu (i.e., the first vowel training submenu corresponding to '1. Ah'), the first-level training item may be set up to present group data of the word 'aju', which has 2 syllables, and the word 'amsepo', which has 3 syllables, for the purpose of discriminating training on the number of syllables (i.e., presenting group data including two words including 'aju' and 'amsepo'). As another example, the first-level training item may be set up to present group data of two words including 'ai' and 'item'.

[0089] The words used in each vowel training submenu of the second training menu may be words containing the vowel corresponding to that vowel training submenu (i.e., the vowel 'a' in the case of the first vowel training submenu). Similarly, in the description below, the words used in each consonant training submenu of the third training menu may be words containing the consonant corresponding to that consonant training submenu (for example, the consonant 'm' in the case of the first consonant training submenu). Furthermore, the words and sentences used in each topic training submenu of the fourth training menu may be words and sentences related to the topic corresponding to that topic training submenu (for example, the topic 'family' in the case of the first topic training submenu).

[0090] In addition, the step-by-step training items within each vowel training submenu may be configured (set) in a form that presents group data of words with different syllable structures, for example, so that training (practice) to distinguish possible syllable structures in the Korean language can be carried out.

[0091] Every syllable necessarily has a syllable nucleus. In the syllable structure of Korean, a vowel (or a glide + vowel) acts as the syllable nucleus; if we call this V (vowel) and the initial or final consonant C (consonant), then a Korean syllable can always correspond to one of V, VC, CV, CVC, or CVCC (the sound can be realized as CVC). In other words, in Korean, a syllable is formed only when there is a vowel.

[0092] The syllable structures considered in the second training menu (especially vowel-related syllable structures) may include V structures and VC structures.

[0093] Accordingly, referring to FIG. 7 as an example, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu (i.e., the first vowel training submenu corresponding to '1. Ah'), the fifth-step training item may be an item set up to present, for example, two words 'apa' and 'hop' which have two syllables (i.e., two-syllable words) and a V-structure syllable structure, and two words 'anju' and 'akgi' which have two syllables (i.e., two-syllable words) and a VC-structure syllable structure (i.e., presenting a total of four two-syllable words) for the purpose of discriminating training of syllable structures. As another example, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu, the 6th level training item may be an item set up to present, for example, two words 'item' and 'agujjim' which have 3 syllables (i.e., three-syllable words) and a V-structure syllable structure, and two words 'sabbatical year' and 'alphabet' which have 3 syllables (i.e., three-syllable words) and a VC-structure syllable structure (i.e., presenting a total of four three-syllable word combinations) for the purpose of discriminating training on syllable structure.

[0094] In addition, the step-by-step training items within each vowel training submenu may be configured (set) so that the difficulty level is adjusted according to the number of options presented. That is, the above step-by-step training items may be items configured to adjust the difficulty level through differentiation of the number of options. For example, referring to Fig. 7, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu, the 3rd step training item and the 4th step training item have the same word presentation conditions set in that 'words with different number of syllables and syllable structures are presented,' but the difficulty level of the problem may be set higher in the 4th step than in the 3rd step training item because the number of options is set to 4 in the 3rd step training item and the number of options is set to 8 in the 4th step training item.

[0095] In this way, the step-by-step training items (10 step-by-step training items) within each vowel training submenu can be designed to adjust the difficulty of the questions (listening training questions) by differentiating at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and the number of options (i.e., by setting a difference).

[0096] For example, referring to FIGS. 7 and FIGS. 8, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu, 1) each of the first-step training item and the second-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with two options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure, 2) the third-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with four options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure, and 3) the fourth-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with eight options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure.

[0097] In addition, among the step-by-step training items within the first vowel training submenu, 4) the 5th step training item may be an item set up to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables) but differ in syllable structure and have 4 options, and 5) the 6th step training item may be an item set up to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables) but differ in syllable structure and have 4 options.

[0098] In addition, among the step-by-step training items within the 1st Vowel Training submenu, 6) the 7th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables), the same syllable structure of V, and 8 options; 7) the 8th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables), the same syllable structure of VC, and 8 options; 8) the 9th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables), the same syllable structure of V, and 8 options; and 9) the 10th level training item may be an item that has the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables), the same syllable structure of VC, and 8 options It may be an item configured to present group data of prepared words.

[0099] Additionally, each vowel training submenu may include not only step-by-step training items (10 step-by-step training items) but also listening training items and test training items. Here, the listening training items may be a menu provided to allow users to listen in advance to all the words intended for practice (training) in a given step-by-step training item before performing listening training (word discrimination training) on ​​the words through the step-by-step training items within each vowel training submenu.

[0100] In addition, the test training items within the second training menu (specifically, the test training items within each vowel training submenu) may refer to items prepared to perform a test to determine whether the user has distinguished the presented words (i.e., whether the discrimination was successful) by presenting words for the discrimination of minimal pairs, for example (i.e., causing the speech sound data of the corresponding words to be output).

[0101] A minimal pair refers to two words used to analyze whether there are phonological differences in a single sound in a language. For example, if we compare the Korean words 'tal' and 'ddal', the two words have 'al' as a common element, but their meanings are distinguished because 't' and 'tt' are different. A pair of words that differ in only one part like this is called a minimal pair. Referring to Figure 8, for example, the test training item within the first vowel training submenu can be arranged to present 'galbi' and 'gulbi' as words for distinguishing minimal pairs.

[0102] The device (10) provides a second training menu, thereby enabling the user to effectively perform listening training for vowels, and in particular, improves the ability to recognize the number of syllables and the syllable structure, so that the user can correctly understand a wider variety of words and achieve effective auditory rehabilitation. In particular, when providing the second training menu, the device (10) can adjust the difficulty of listening training for vowel-related words by applying (differentiating) at least one of the number of syllables, the syllable structure, and the number of options differently.

[0103] < Training Menu 3 (Consonant Listening Training Menu) >

[0104] The description of the third training menu can be more easily understood by referring to Figs. 9, 10 (i.e., Figs. 10a and 10b) and Fig. 11 (i.e., Figs. 11a and 11b).

[0105] The third training menu may refer to a menu for discrimination training of consonant-related speech sounds. The third training menu may be a menu for consonant-related listening training regarding speech sounds that form the initial and final consonants of a syllable.

[0106] The third training menu is a plurality of submenus and may include 25 consonant training submenus classified into multiple consonant types as illustrated in FIG. 9. At this time, the multiple consonant types may include 18 initial consonants and 7 final consonants. That is, among the 25 consonant training submenus, the first to eighteenth consonant training submenus may be menus for training consonants related to 18 initial consonants. Among the 25 consonant training submenus, the 19th to twenty-fifth consonant training submenus may be menus for training consonants related to 7 final consonants.

[0107] For example, the 25 consonant training submenus include the 1st consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅁ', the 2nd consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅂ', the 3rd consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄴ', the 4th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅈ', the 5th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄷ', the 6th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅅ', the 7th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄱ', the 8th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅎ', the 9th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄸ', the 10th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅌ', the 11th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅃ', the 12th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅍ', the 13th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄲ', the 14th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅋ', and the submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅉ'. It may include the 15th consonant training submenu, the 16th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅈ', the 17th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㅆ', and the 18th consonant training submenu corresponding to the initial consonant 'ㄹ'. Additionally, the 25 consonant training submenus may include the 19th consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㅁ', the 20th consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㅂ', the 21st consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㄱ', the 22nd consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㅇ', the 23rd consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㄹ', the 24th consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㄴ', and the 25th consonant training submenu corresponding to the final consonant 'ㄷ'.

[0108] The control unit (12) can control the display unit to display a consonant training submenu selection screen as shown in FIG. 9 when the user clicks the third training menu among the multiple training menus in the main screen, and then control the display unit to display a consonant training screen as shown in FIG. 10a and FIG. 10b when the user selects the first consonant training submenu corresponding to, for example, '1. ㅁ' as one of the 25 consonant training submenus in the consonant training submenu selection screen.

[0109] Referring to FIGS. 10a and 10b, each of the 25 consonant training submenus within the third training menu may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item, just like the 10 vowel training submenus within the second training menu mentioned earlier. Here, the step-by-step training item included within each consonant training submenus may be a 10-step training item, and accordingly, it may include a 1-step training item to a 10-step training item.

[0110] In other words, the third training menu may be a menu designed to provide an opportunity to hear the corresponding phonemes in various locations and environments, taking into account the number of syllables and the syllable structures applicable to the Korean language, Hangul. That is to say, the third training menu may be a menu designed to enable training in the discrimination of consonants, the number of syllables, and syllable structures through words containing consonants located in various positions within the characters, while considering the number of syllables and syllable structures.

[0111] At this time, the words used in the third training menu (i.e., consonant listening training menu) are consonant training words for consonant listening training, and may be multiple words configured to allow specific phonemes to be heard intensively in various locations and environments using each consonant and the syllable structure of the consonant, and may be composed of high-frequency vocabulary that elementary school students can understand. The words used in this third training menu (i.e., consonant training words) may be data generated by the administrator managing the device (10) directly selecting them by referring to the theoretical standards of auditory rehabilitation, for example, and may include words such as those shown in FIGS. 17 to 19.

[0112] In particular, among the 25 consonant training submenus within the third training menu, the words used in the consonant training submenus related to initial consonants (i.e., the first to eighth consonant training submenus) may be data such as those shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, and among the words used in the consonant training submenus related to final consonants (i.e., the 19th to twenty-fifth consonant training submenus) may be data such as those shown in FIG. 19.

[0113] Each of the 25 consonant training submenus within the third training menu may include a step-by-step training item (10 step-by-step training items) in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options in relation to the training item as previously mentioned.

[0114] That is, the step-by-step training items within each consonant training submenu may be set (configured) in a form that presents group data of words with different syllable counts, for example, so that training (practice) to distinguish the number of syllables can be carried out.

[0115] Accordingly, referring to FIG. 10 as an example, among the step-by-step training items within the first consonant training submenu (i.e., the first consonant training submenu corresponding to '1. ㅁ'), the first-step training item may be an item set in a form that presents group data of the word 'maum' (heart) which has 2 syllables and the word 'milgaru' (flour) which has 3 syllables, for the purpose of discriminating training on the number of syllables (i.e., presenting group data including two words including 'maum' and 'milgaru').

[0116] In addition, the step-by-step training items within each consonant training submenu may be configured (set) in a form that presents group data of words with different syllable structures, for example, so that training (practice) to distinguish possible syllable structures in the Korean language can be carried out.

[0117] As mentioned earlier, Korean syllables can always correspond to any one of V, VC, CV, CVC, or CVCC.

[0118] The syllable structures considered in the third training menu (especially consonant-related syllable structures) may include CV structures, CVC structures, and VC structures.

[0119] Accordingly, referring to FIG. 10a as an example, among the step-by-step training items within the first consonant training submenu (i.e., the first consonant training submenu corresponding to '1. ㅁ'), the 6th step training item may be an item set up to present group data for discrimination training of syllable structures, for example, two words 'corner' and 'minor' which have 3 syllables (i.e., 3-syllable words) and have a CV structure, and two words 'dispute' and 'stationery store' which have 3 syllables (i.e., 3-syllable words) and have a CVC structure (i.e., presenting group data including a total of 4 3-syllable words).

[0120] In addition, the step-by-step training items within each consonant training submenu may be configured (set) so that the difficulty level is adjusted according to the number of options presented. That is, the above step-by-step training items may be configured so that the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of the number of options. For example, referring to FIG. 10a, among the step-by-step training items within the first consonant training submenu, the 3rd step training item and the 4th step training item have the same word presentation conditions set in that 'words with different number of syllables and syllable structures are presented,' but the difficulty level of the problem may be set higher in the 4th step than in the 3rd step, as the number of options is set to 4 in the 3rd step training item and the number of options is set to 8 in the 4th step training item.

[0121] In this way, the step-by-step training items (10 step-by-step training items) within each consonant training submenu can be designed to adjust the difficulty of the questions (listening training questions) by differentiating at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options (i.e., by setting a difference).

[0122] For example, referring to FIGS. 10a and FIGS. 10b, among the step-by-step training items within the first consonant training submenu, 1) each of the first-step training item and the second-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with two options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure, 2) the third-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with four options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure, and 3) the fourth-step training item may be set up to present group data of words with eight options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure.

[0123] In addition, among the step-by-step training items within the first consonant training submenu, 4) the 5th step training item may be an item set up to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables) but differ in syllable structure and have 4 options, and 5) the 6th step training item may be an item set up to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables) but differ in syllable structure and have 4 options.

[0124] In addition, among the step-by-step training items within the submenu of the first consonant training, 6) the 7th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables), the same syllable structure (CV), and 8 options; 7) the 8th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 2 syllables), the same syllable structure (CVC), and 8 options; 8) the 9th level training item may be an item configured to present group data of words that have the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables), the same syllable structure (CV), and 8 options; and 9) the 10th level training item may be an item that has the same number of syllables (i.e., 3 syllables), the same syllable structure (CVC), and 8 options It may be an item configured to present group data of prepared words.

[0125] Additionally, each consonant training submenu may include not only step-by-step training items (10 step-by-step training items) but also listening training items and test training items. Here, the listening training items may be a menu provided to allow users to listen in advance to all the words intended for practice (training) in a given step-by-step training item before performing listening training (word discrimination training) on ​​the words through the step-by-step training items within each consonant training submenu.

[0126] In addition, the test training items within the third training menu (specifically, the test training items within each consonant training submenu) may refer to items prepared to perform a test to determine whether the user has distinguished the presented words (i.e., whether the discrimination was successful) by presenting words for the discrimination of minimal pairs, for example (i.e., causing the speech sound data of the corresponding words to be output).

[0127] Referring to Fig. 10b, for example, the test training item within the first consonant training submenu can be arranged so that 'mill' and 'seven' are presented as words for distinguishing minimal pairs.

[0128] The device (10) provides a third training menu, thereby enabling the user to effectively perform listening training for consonants, and in particular, improves the ability to recognize the number of syllables and the syllable structure, so that the user can correctly understand a wider variety of words and achieve effective auditory rehabilitation. In particular, when providing the third training menu, the device (10) can adjust the difficulty of listening training for consonant-related words by applying (differentiating) at least one of the number of syllables, the syllable structure, and the number of options differently.

[0129] Figures 11a and 11b show the screen displayed when clicking the 19th consonant training submenu, 'final consonant ㅁ (final consonant mieum),' among the 25 consonant training submenus.

[0130] Referring to FIGS. 11a and 11b, for example, among the step-by-step training items within the 19th consonant training submenu, 1) the 1st-step training item may be an item set in a form that presents group data of words with two options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure (for example, a form in which a total of two words are provided as options, including one 1-syllable word with a VC structure and one 2-syllable word with a CVC structure); 2) the 2nd-step training item may be an item set in a form that presents group data of words with two options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure (for example, a form in which a total of two words are provided as options, including one 2-syllable word with a VC structure and one 1-syllable word with a CVC structure); and 3) the 3rd-step training item may be a group of words with four options that differ in the number of syllables and syllable structure. It may be an item set in a format that presents data (for example, a format in which a total of 4 words are provided as options, including one 1-syllable word with a VC structure, one 2-syllable word with a VC structure, one 1-syllable word with a CVC structure, and one 2-syllable word with a CVC structure).

[0131] In addition, 4) the 4th level training item may be an item set up to present group data of words with the same syllable structure of VC but different numbers of syllables and 4 options, 5) the 5th level training item may be an item set up to present group data of words with the same syllable structure of CVC but different numbers of syllables and 4 options, and 6) the 6th level training item may be an item set up to present group data of words with different syllable structures and different numbers of syllables and 8 options.

[0132] In addition, 7) the training items from level 7 to level 10 are identical in that they are all set up to present group data of words with 8 options, but there may be differences in that the training item at level 7 presents 8 words with 2 syllables of a VC structure, the training item at level 8 presents 8 words with 2 syllables of a CVC structure, the training item at level 9 presents 8 words with 1 syllable of a CVC structure, and the training item at level 10 presents 8 words with 1 syllable of a VC structure.

[0133] The test training item in the 19th consonant training submenu can be arranged to present, for example, two words corresponding to ‘repay’ and ‘wrap’ as words for distinguishing minimal pairs.

[0134] < Training Menu 4 (Topic Listening Training Menu) >

[0135] The description of the fourth training menu can be more easily understood by referring to FIGS. 12 to 14.

[0136] The fourth training menu may refer to a menu prepared for discrimination training of speech sounds related to a presented topic. The fourth training menu may include multiple submenus, and may include multiple topic training submenus divided into multiple (10) topics as illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0137] At this time, the multiple (10) topics considered in the 4th training menu are set (selected) as topics encountered in daily life, but can be set by the administrator. These multiple topics may include 10 topics, and may include, for example, family, food, shopping, time, travel, hospital, telephone, internet, government offices, and religion. That is, the multiple topic training submenus within the 4th training menu may include, for example, a 1st topic training submenu corresponding to 'family', a 2nd topic training submenu corresponding to 'food', ..., a 10th topic training submenu corresponding to 'religion'.

[0138] The fourth training menu may be a menu designed to allow listening training (practice) to be conducted by adjusting the difficulty level based on linguistic complexity and predictability, using speech sound data corresponding to words (vocabulary), sentences, and paragraphs (paragraphs corresponding to stories or conversations) related to each of the 10 topics.

[0139] The control unit (12) can control the display unit to display a subject training submenu selection screen as shown in FIG. 12 when the user clicks the fourth training menu among the plurality of training menus in the main screen, and then control the display unit to display a subject training screen as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 when the user selects the first subject training submenu corresponding to, for example, 'family' as one of the ten subject training submenus in the subject training submenu selection screen.

[0140] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, each of the multiple (10) subject training submenus within the fourth training menu may include a step-by-step training item in which the difficulty level is adjusted through differentiation of the type of presentation text (presented speech sound data) presented regarding the target topic (i.e., whether the presentation text is of the type of word, sentence, or paragraph) and the type of response required in relation to the training item.

[0141] At this time, the step-by-step training items included within each subject training submenu may be 10 step-by-step training items, and accordingly, may include 1 to 10 step-by-step training items.

[0142] In addition, the step-by-step training items included within each subject training submenu (i.e., 10 step-by-step training items) can be classified into, for example, three types of training items. Among the three types of training items, the first type of training item is a training item related to 'listening to topic words' for listening training of words related to the target topic, the second type of training item is a training item related to 'listening to topic sentences' for listening training of sentences related to the target topic, and the third type of training item is a training item related to 'listening to topic paragraphs' for listening training of paragraphs related to the target topic.

[0143] At this time, for example, among the 10 step-by-step training items, i) as shown in FIG. 12, the training items from Step 1 to Step 8 are classified as Type 1 training items (i.e., training items related to listening to topic words), ii) as shown in FIG. 13, the training item at Step 9 is classified as Type 2 training items (i.e., training items related to listening to topic sentences), and iii) as shown in FIG. 13, the training item at Step 10 can be classified as Type 3 training items (i.e., training items related to listening to topic paragraphs). That is, according to this, the 4th training menu refers to a menu for training in listening to topics, and through this 4th training menu, listening training through listening to topic words, listening training through listening to topic sentences, and listening training through listening to topic paragraphs can be performed as shown in FIG. 3.

[0144] For example, referring to FIG. 13, among the 10 step-by-step training items included in each subject training submenu (e.g., the first subject training submenu), the training items of the first type (i.e., the training items of the first to eighth levels) may be configured such that the type of the presented text (i.e., the form of the presented speech sound data) is a word type or a sentence type, i) when the type of the presented text is a word type, the response request type consists of a first type requiring discrimination (distinction) between multiple presented words and a second type requiring dictation of text information corresponding to the speech sound data of the presented word, and when the type of the presented text is a sentence type, the response request type consists of a third type requiring dictation of a word within the sentence corresponding to a blank within the presented sentence, a fourth type requiring dictation of an interrogative word within the sentence corresponding to a word within the presented sentence, and a fifth type requiring input of selecting one of multiple options after listening to the presented sentence.

[0145] As a specific example, among the training items of the first type mentioned above, 1) the first stage training item may be an item in which the type of the presented text is a word type and the type of response required is set as the first type, but in order to train discrimination of the number of syllables, it may be an item in which multiple words with different numbers of syllables (for example, two words including 'cousin' with 2 syllables and 'grandmother' with 3 syllables) are presented.

[0146] In addition, among the training items of Type 1, 2) the Level 2 training item may be an item in which the type of the passage is a word type, the response request type is set to Type 1, the number of options is set to 2, and two words having the same number of syllables of 3 (e.g., two words including 'grandmother' and 'mother') are presented. 3) The Level 3 training item may be an item in which the type of the passage is a word type, the response request type is set to Type 1, the number of options is set to 4, and four words having the same number of syllables of 2 are presented. 4) The Level 4 training item may be an item in which the type of the passage is a word type, the response request type is set to Type 1, the number of options is set to 8, and eight words having the same number of syllables of 2 are presented. According to this, the 2nd to 4th level training items may be items in which the type of passage and the type of response required are set identically, but the difficulty is adjusted through differentiation of the number of options and the number of syllables in the options.

[0147] In addition, among the training items of Type 1, 5) the Level 5 training item may be an item in which the type of the presented text is a word type and the response requirement type is set to Type 2, and 6) the Level 6 training item may be an item in which the type of the presented text is a sentence type and the response requirement type is set to Type 3.

[0148] For example, the control unit (12) controls the display unit to display the sentence “I have three _ _ _” when the user clicks the above 6th stage training item, and then controls the speaker unit to output speech data corresponding to the completed sentence containing the correct answer word corresponding to the blank in the sentence displayed on the display unit, and then controls the user to listen to the output speech data and input (write) text information of the word corresponding to the blank in the sentence displayed on the display unit onto the display unit, and then after the user inputs the text information, it determines whether the correct answer word for the blank and the word corresponding to the text information entered by the user match by comparing them, and if they match, it determines that the answer is correct, and if they do not match, it determines that the answer is incorrect, and then controls the speaker unit to re-output speech data corresponding to the completed sentence so that the problem can be solved again.

[0149] In addition, among the training items of Type 1, 7) the Level 7 training item may be an item in which the type of the presented text is a sentence type and the response requirement type is set to Type 4, and 8) the Level 8 training item may be an item in which the type of the presented text is a sentence type and the response requirement type is set to Type 5.

[0150] For example, the control unit (12) controls the display unit to display three words including ‘police station’, ‘police car’, and ‘police officer’ when the user clicks the above 8-step training item, and then controls the output of speech data corresponding to a sentence in the form of a question (e.g., ‘What is your uncle’s job?’) through the speaker unit, and then allows the user to listen to the output speech data and select one of the three options corresponding to the three words displayed on the display unit that the user thinks is the answer to the question corresponding to the speech data heard, and then after the user selects the above option, the control unit can determine whether the word corresponding to the above option selected by the user matches the word of the actual correct answer to the question corresponding to the output speech data by comparing them, and if they match, determine that the answer is correct, and if they do not match, determine that it is incorrect, and then control the output of the speech data through the speaker unit so that the problem can be solved again.

[0151] Additionally, referring to FIG. 14, among the 10 step-by-step training items included in each topic training submenu (e.g., the first topic training submenu), the 9th step training item corresponding to the second type of training item can be arranged (configured) such that the type of the presented text consists of a sentence, and the response request type is the sixth type, which requires dictation of text information corresponding to the speech sound data of the presented sentence. At this time, the listening training in the 9th step training item can be performed in the manner shown in FIG. 20, for example, and the specific explanation is as follows.

[0152] Referring to FIG. 20, the control unit (12) can perform a first process of controlling speech data corresponding to the 9th stage training item among the 10 stage training items in the first subject training submenu to be output through the speaker unit in response to the click (i.e., speech data stored in relation to the 9th stage training item, particularly speech data corresponding to the sentence of the presentation text stored in the 9th stage training item), such as ‘I ate pizza’, and a second process of controlling a preset sentence input window(s) to be displayed (exposed, displayed) on the display unit.

[0153] Here, the sentence input window(s) may include instruction sentence information such as ‘dictate the sentence you hear,’ as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 20, for example, an input field (21) provided for the user to input (write, record) the correct answer, a listen again button (b1), and a submit button (b2).

[0154] The control unit (12) can perform a third process after performing the first and second processes, inducing the user to listen to the speech data output through the speaker unit, input text information of the sentence corresponding to the speech data into the input field (21), and click the submit button (b2). At this time, the control unit (12) can induce the user to click the re-listen button (b1) if the user wishes to listen to the speech data output through the speaker unit again, and can control the re-listen button (b1) to be output through the speaker unit again in response to the click of the re-listen button (b1).

[0155] Among the 10 step-by-step training items within the submenu of the first topic training, the 9th step training item may be provided in the form of a task where, upon clicking by the user, blanks corresponding to the number of syllables in each word are presented in the form of spaces between words, and the user listens to the output sentence and inputs the entire sentence. Additionally, the above 9th step training item may be designed to guide the user to listen again and correct the incorrect parts by highlighting the parts corresponding to the incorrect characters in the sentence entered by the user if the input is incorrect (i.e., does not match 100%) when the user inputs and submits the heard sentence, and may be designed to allow the user to repeat the task until the user gets the correct answer. In addition, in the 9th level training item, re-listening may be provided, for example, once before the user inputs and submits the sentence they heard. When the user inputs and submits the sentence, if it is not the correct answer (if it does not match 100%), the incorrect characters in the input sentence may be displayed to encourage the user to listen again and correct the incorrect parts. In the case of an incorrect answer, it may be provided so that the user can repeatedly listen and solve the problem again until they get the correct answer.

[0156] As a specific example, when the control unit (12) detects that the user has entered text information into the input field (21) and clicked the submit button (b2), it determines whether the correct text information (i.e., text information of 8 characters, such as 'I ate pizza'), which is text information of the sentence corresponding to the speech sound data, matches the user input text information entered into the input field (21), and can derive the user's correct answer rate based on the determined information regarding whether they match. For example, if the user input text information entered into the input field (21) is 'I' and the correct text information is 'I ate pizza', then only one of the 8 characters is correct, so the control unit (12) can derive the user's correct answer rate as 12.5%.

[0157] At this time, the control unit (12) can perform a fourth process of controlling the display of a character count hint frame (22) as shown in (b) of FIG. 20 in the area corresponding to the input field (21) within the sentence input window (s) displayed on the display unit, in the case where the user's click on the replay button (b1) in the sentence input window (s) is detected to have occurred at least twice (at least twice), and the user's correct answer rate derived from the state where the replay button (b1) is clicked at least twice is not detected to be 100% (i.e., in the case where the user presses the replay button (b1) at least twice and listens to the speech data at least twice, but the user is detected to have failed to input all 8 characters and thus failed to get the correct answer). At this time, in one example of the present invention, the character count hint frame (22) is exemplified as being performed after the third process, but this is merely an example to aid in understanding the present invention and is not limited thereto, and may be performed during the process of the first and second processes described above as other examples. That is, the character count hint frame (22) may be provided from the beginning when the user clicks the 9th step training item.

[0158] Here, the character count hint frame (22) is a hint information for indicating the number of characters corresponding to the correct text information, and is displayed in the form of a square box corresponding to the number of characters (i.e., 8) corresponding to the correct text information, for example, and may be information displayed considering the spacing within the sentence corresponding to the speech sound data. For example, referring to FIG. 20 (b), the character count hint frame (22) is provided with a total of 8 square boxes including 2 square boxes, 3 square boxes, and 3 square boxes, and can be seen that a space (spacing) is provided between 2 square boxes and 3 square boxes considering the spacing within the sentence, and a space is provided between 3 square boxes and 3 square boxes.

[0159] In other words, the character count hint frame (22) can be created to include multiple group cells by considering the number of words in the sentence corresponding to the speech sound data. Since the sentence is 'I ate pizza', the number of words in the sentence may be 3 (i.e., 3 words such as 'I', 'pizza', and 'ate'), and accordingly, the multiple group cells may be 3 group cells. At this time, among the multiple group cells, the first group cell may be provided to include 2 square cells corresponding to 'I', the second group cell may be provided to include 3 square cells corresponding to 'pizza', and the third group cell may be provided to include 3 square cells corresponding to 'ate'.

[0160] Afterward, the control unit (12) can perform a fifth process in which, after the fourth process is performed, the user clicks the replay button (b1) on a screen like (b) of FIG. 20 to listen to the speech data output through the speaker unit by the click, and then inputs the text information of the sentence corresponding to the speech data into the character count hint frame (22) as shown in (c) of FIG. 20, for example, and clicks the submit button (b2). At this time, the control unit (12), as described above, can induce the user to click the replay button (b1) when the user wishes to listen to the speech data output through the speaker unit again in a state like (b) of FIG. 20 (i.e., when the character count hint frame (22) is displayed on the display unit), and when the replay button (b1) is clicked, the control unit (12) can control the speech data to be output again through the speaker unit in response to the click on the replay button (b1).

[0161] At this time, the control unit (12) can perform a sixth process of controlling the display of word-by-word listening buttons (23) (23a, 23b) as shown in (d) of FIG. 20 in the area corresponding to the input field (21) in the subsequent process of performing the fifth process, based on the first time point when the character count hint frame (22) is displayed on the display unit, and detecting that the user's click on the replay button (b1) in the sentence input window (s) has been made at least twice (at least twice) after the first time point, and detecting that the user's correct answer rate derived from the state where the replay button (b1) has been clicked at least twice falls within a preset first correct answer rate range.

[0162] At this time, the first correct answer rate range may be set to, for example, a range of 40% or less. According to this, when the number of characters corresponding to the correct answer text information is 8, 40% of 8 is 3.2, so the control unit (12) can perform the 6th process, for example, when, during the process of performing the 5th process, even though the user clicked the replay button (b1) two or more times, only 3 characters among the user input text information entered in the character count hint frame (22) are correct (i.e., only 3 characters out of 8 are correct).

[0163] Additionally, the above-mentioned word-by-word listening button (23) may refer to a button provided to allow selective listening of speech sound data output when the re-listening button (b1) is clicked, by dividing it into words that constitute the sentence corresponding to the speech sound data.

[0164] At this time, the control unit (12) can control the display of the word-by-word listening button (23) in the area corresponding to the input field (21) in the sixth process by targeting the character count hint frame (22) in which user input text information is entered, and identifying some group cells that include an incorrect answer cell (i.e., a square cell containing an incorrect answer) among the plurality of group cells (i.e., the first group cell to the third group cell) included in the character count hint frame (22), and then targeting only the identified some group cells to display the word-by-word listening button in each of the identified some group cells, and control the display of the word-by-word listening button on the top line of the identified some group cells. The user can listen to the sentence again in parts by word from the entire sentence (i.e., the entire sentence of the speech sound data corresponding to the sentence of the previously stored presentation text) through the word-by-word listening button, or can listen to the entire sentence again by repeatedly clicking the re-listen button (b1).

[0165] For example, referring to (d) of FIG. 20, let us assume that during the process of performing the fifth step, the user has correctly answered only three letters, including ‘na’, ‘neun’, and ‘reul’. At this time, when the control unit (12) identifies the group cells, i) in the case of the first group cell among the multiple group cells, since all the letters ‘na’ entered by the user are correct, the first group cell can be determined as a group cell that does not contain incorrect letters; ii) in the case of the second group cell, since only the letter ‘reul’ entered by the user is correct and the remaining two square cells within the second group cell are empty, the second group cell can be determined as a group cell that contains two incorrect letters; and iii) in the case of the third group cell, since the user has not entered any letters, the group cell can be determined as a group cell that contains three incorrect letters. Accordingly, the control unit (12) can identify only the second and third group cells among the multiple group cells included in the character count hint frame (22) in which user input text information (e.g., 'Na', 'Neun', 'Reul') is entered as the aforementioned partial group cells containing the incorrect answer cells. Subsequently, the control unit (12) can control the display of a word-by-word listening button in each of the identified partial group cells, thereby enabling the word-by-word listening button (23) (23a, 23b) to be displayed in the area corresponding to the input field (21). As a specific example, the control unit can control the display of the first word-by-word listening button (23a) on the top line of the second group cell among the identified partial group cells, and control the display of the second word-by-word listening button (23b) on the top line of the third group cell among the identified partial group cells.

[0166] At this time, the first word-by-word listening button (23a) may be configured to output, through the speaker unit, the speech sound data corresponding to the word in the second group column, for example, among the sentences corresponding to the speech sound data (i.e., speech sound data corresponding to 'pizza'), when click input is made by the user. Similarly, the second word-by-word listening button (23b) may be configured to output, through the speaker unit, the speech sound data corresponding to the word in the third group column, for example, among the sentences corresponding to the speech sound data (i.e., speech sound data corresponding to 'ate'), when click input is made by the user.

[0167] The control unit (12) can perform a seventh process of inducing the user to click the submit button (b2) after the word-by-word listening buttons (23) (23a, 23b) are displayed on the display unit through the execution of the sixth process, by clicking the first word-by-word listening button (23a) and the second word-by-word listening button (23b) each at least once, so that the user hears the speech sound data corresponding to the word output through the speaker unit by clicking each word-by-word listening button (23a, 23b), and then inputs text information corresponding to the speech sound data corresponding to the word into the input field (21) (more specifically, inputs it into the second group field and the third group field, which are some group fields corresponding to the word-by-word listening buttons (23)).

[0168] At this time, the control unit (12) can perform an 8th process of controlling the display of syllable-by-syllable listening buttons (24) (24a, 24b, 24c) in the area corresponding to the input field (21) as shown in (e) of FIG. 20, based on the second time point, which is the time point at which the word-by-syllable listening button (23) is displayed on the display unit during the process of performing the 7th process, and detecting that the user's click on the first word-by-syllable listening button (23a) and the second word-by-syllable listening button (23b) has been made at least once (i.e., at least once) after the second time point, and detecting that the user's click on the submit button (b2) has been made at least three times (i.e., at least three times), and detecting that the user's correct answer rate derived from the state in which the click on the submit button (b2) has been made three times (i.e., at least three times) falls within a preset second correct answer rate range.

[0169] At this time, the second correct answer rate range can be set, for example, to a range of greater than 40% and less than or equal to 70%. Accordingly, when the number of characters corresponding to the correct answer text information is 8, 40% of 8 is 3.2 and 70% is 5.6, the control unit (12) can perform the 8th process, for example, when, during the process of performing the 7th process, even though the submit button (b2) is clicked 3 or more times, only 4 or 5 characters (i.e., approximately 4 or 5 characters corresponding to the range of greater than 40% and less than or equal to 70%) among the user input text information entered by the user within the character count hint frame (22) are correct.

[0170] Additionally, the above-mentioned syllable-by-syllable listening button (24) may refer to a button provided to allow selective listening of speech sound data output when the replay button (b1) is clicked, by dividing it into syllables that constitute a sentence corresponding to the speech sound data.

[0171] At this time, the control unit (12) can control the display of the syllable-by-syllable listening button (24) in the area corresponding to the input field (21) in the eighth process by targeting the character count hint frame (22) in which user input text information is entered, identifying some incorrect answer squares among the plurality of squares (i.e., a total of 8 squares) included in the character count hint frame (22) in which incorrect answers are entered (written), and then targeting only the identified some incorrect answer squares to display the syllable-by-syllable listening button in each of the identified some incorrect answer squares, and control the display of the syllable-by-syllable listening button on the bottom line of the identified some incorrect answer squares.

[0172] For example, referring to (d) of FIG. 20, let us assume that during the process of performing the 7th step, the user has correctly answered only 5 characters, including ‘Na’, ‘Neun’, ‘Ja’, ‘Reul’, and ‘Da’. At this time, when the control unit (12) identifies the partial incorrect answer squares, among the multiple (i.e., 8) squares in the input field (21), only 3 squares, including the third, sixth, and seventh squares, are empty, and the remaining squares have the correct characters entered (written), so the control unit (12) can identify the three empty squares as the partial incorrect answer squares. Afterwards, the control unit (12) can control the display of a syllable-by-syllable listening button (24) in each of the identified incorrect answer square cells, thereby allowing the syllable-by-syllable listening button (24) (24a, 24b, 24c) to be displayed in the area corresponding to the input field (21). As a specific example, the control unit can control the display of a first syllable-by-syllable listening button (24a) on the bottom line of the third square cell among the identified incorrect answer square cells, control the display of a second syllable-by-syllable listening button (24b) on the bottom line of the sixth square cell among the identified incorrect answer square cells, and control the display of a third syllable-by-syllable listening button (24c) on the bottom line of the seventh square cell among the identified incorrect answer square cells.

[0173] At this time, the first syllable-by-syllable listening button (24a) may be configured to output speech data corresponding to the syllable corresponding to the third square box, for example, among the sentences corresponding to speech data (i.e., speech data corresponding to 'pi'), through the speaker unit when click input is made by the user. Similarly, the second syllable-by-syllable listening button (24b) may be configured to output speech data corresponding to the syllable corresponding to the sixth square box, for example, among the sentences corresponding to speech data (i.e., speech data corresponding to 'meok'), through the speaker unit when click input is made by the user. In addition, the third syllable-by-syllable listening button (24c) may be configured to output speech data corresponding to the syllable corresponding to the seventh square box, for example, among the sentences corresponding to speech data (i.e., speech data corresponding to 'eot'), through the speaker unit when click input is made by the user.

[0174] The control unit (12) can perform a ninth process in which, after the syllable-by-syllable listening buttons (24) (24a, 24b, 24c) are displayed on the display unit through the execution of the eighth process, the user clicks each of the first syllable-by-syllable listening button (24a), the second syllable-by-syllable listening button (24b), and the third syllable-by-syllable listening button (24c) at least once, thereby listening to speech data corresponding to the syllable output through the speaker unit by clicking each syllable-by-syllable listening button (24a, 24b, 24c), inputs text information corresponding to the speech data corresponding to the syllable into the input field (21) (more specifically, inputs into three incorrect answer squares, which are some incorrect answer squares corresponding to the syllable-by-syllable listening buttons (24)), and clicks the submit button (b2).

[0175] The control unit (12) can process the user as having completed the listening training for the 9th level training item (i.e., as having completed the learning) when the user clicks the submit button (b2) in the sentence input window(s) and the user's correct answer rate is 100%.

[0176] According to this, the control unit (12) provides a sentence input window(s) in the form shown in Fig. 20 when the user performs listening training for the 9th stage training item (i.e., when performing training to transcribe after listening to the speech data of a sentence), thereby allowing listening training to be performed based on this, so that the correct answer is checked in real time (incorrect answer check) through a click on the submission button (b2) during the process of the user listening to and transcribing the speech data of the presented sentence, thereby enabling real-time feedback on the correct answer, and through this, motivation for listening training (learning) can be provided through real-time results.

[0177] Additionally, the control unit (12) provides a character count hint frame (22), a word-by-word listening button (23), and a syllable-by-syllable listening button (24) in stages (sequentially) according to the level of the user's correct answer rate derived in real time or the number of times the speech sound data is re-listened to via the re-listen button (b1). This allows the user to listen to the entire speech sound data in the same way every time during the process of listening to the speech sound data until the user gets 100% correct answer (i.e., until the user's correct answer rate is derived to 100%), rather than listening to the entire speech sound data in the same way every time. Instead, as the correct answer rate gets closer to 100% (i.e., as the correct answer rate increases), the user can listen to the entire speech sound data word by word or syllable by syllable, thereby allowing the user to intensively repeat listening to only the specific speech sound data section (i.e., the section of a word or the section of a syllable) for which the user did not get the correct answer. This reduces unnecessary time waste caused by always listening to the entire speech sound data and enables efficient and effective listening training.

[0178] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 14, for example, among the 10 step training items included in each subject training submenu (for example, the first subject training submenu), the 10 step training items corresponding to the third type training item may be configured such that the type of the presented text consists of a paragraph, and the type of response request is to display at least one question on the display unit, and the user is required to input (write) text information of the response to each of the at least one displayed question on the display unit.

[0179] For example, when a user clicks the above 10-step training item, the control unit (12) can first control the output of speech data corresponding to a paragraph-based prompt (e.g., 'My uncle likes japchae. Mom is making japchae because my uncle is coming over to the house today.') through the speaker unit, and then control the display unit to display two questions such as 'Question 1: Who is cooking? _ _ , Question 2: What food does my uncle like? _ _'. Accordingly, the user can listen to the output speech data and then enter an answer to each of the questions displayed on the display unit. After the user enters an answer, the control unit can determine whether the word corresponding to the answer entered by the user matches the word of the actual correct answer by comparing them. If they match, it is determined that the answer is correct, and if they do not match, it is determined that the answer is incorrect. Then, the control unit can control the output of the speech data through the speaker unit so that the user can solve the problem again.

[0180] These above-mentioned 10-step training items may be provided, for example, in the form of a task where one listens to a story first and then looks at and inputs a question, and may be configured so that the question is not displayed on the display unit before the story ends. However, this is merely one example to aid in understanding the present invention and is not limited thereto, and as another example, the question may be displayed before the story ends.

[0181] In addition, each topic training submenu may include not only 10 step-by-step training items but also listening training items as illustrated in FIG. 13. Here, the listening training item may be a menu provided to allow one to listen in advance to the words and sentences intended for practice in the corresponding step-by-step training item before performing listening training on the words and sentences through the step-by-step training items within each topic training submenu. In other words, each topic training submenu may be configured to include listening training items provided to allow one to listen to words and sentences related to the target topic, and 10 step-by-step training items provided to enable listening training in 10 levels according to difficulty.

[0182] As described above, the device (10) can provide an environment in which anyone, including elementary school students and people of all ages, can easily understand the words and focus on the training (practice) without resistance during listening training by selecting and applying high-frequency vocabulary words as words used when performing listening training in the second training menu and the third training menu.

[0183] In addition, the device (10) can effectively and intensively perform training for discrimination between similar-shaped words that may be confused when listening to speech sounds by selecting words containing specific phonemes and specific syllable structures in the second to fourth training menus and allowing learning to be performed based on them, and can also develop the ability to distinguish between the number of syllables (i.e., the length of speech sounds) or the ability to distinguish between syllable structures, thereby enabling accurate discrimination and recognition of a wider variety of words.

[0184] In addition, the device (10) can provide a listening training item in each training menu when providing the first to fourth training menus, thereby allowing information (speech sound data) about related words or sentences to be exposed to the user in advance before proceeding (performing) the step-by-step training item within each training menu (i.e., before performing listening training / practice through the step-by-step training item), so that effective listening training can be achieved.

[0185] In addition, the device (10) can adjust the difficulty of the listening training by differentiating the number of syllables, syllable structure, and number of options of words in the second training menu and the third training menu. In addition, the device (10) can increase the predictability of the listening language when the user proceeds with the listening training by presenting a topic in the fourth training menu, thereby increasing the probability that the user can get the correct answer. In addition, the device (10) can adjust the difficulty by differentiating the type of presented text (word, sentence, paragraph (dialogue)) and the type of response required in the fourth training menu.

[0186] In addition, the device (10) is configured to allow for difficulty adjustment when, for example, providing (configuring, setting) step-by-step training items within a plurality of training menus, and in particular i) when trying to adjust the difficulty to a low level (i.e., making the difficulty easy), the number of syllables is applied differently, the syllable structure is applied differently, the options are applied as a Closed set, the number of options is applied less, the familiarity is applied as high-frequency vocabulary, noise is applied without, the complexity of the language is applied simply, and the predictability of the language is applied in a form that presents context, and on the other hand, when trying to adjust the difficulty to a high level (i.e., making the difficulty difficult), the number of syllables is applied the same, the syllable structure is applied the same, the options are applied as an Open set, the number of options is applied more, the familiarity is applied as low-frequency vocabulary, noise is applied, the complexity of the language is applied complexly, and the predictability of the language is applied in a form without context.

[0187] The device (10) can provide this service, thereby enabling a user with a cochlear implant to perform auditory rehabilitation through this app, and thus can provide an environment where listening training for auditory rehabilitation can be performed anytime and anywhere without restrictions on time and place.

[0188] In addition, the device (10) can provide the service so that the user can accurately check feedback on whether what they hear and understand is correct or incorrect, and at the same time, repeatedly listen to the sound (speech data) without restriction. This allows the user to experience positive listening more comfortably and enables effective auditory rehabilitation.

[0189] The device (10) can be configured with multiple training menus by applying the same method of conducting rehabilitation when a cochlear implant user and a speech therapist actually meet in the auditory rehabilitation of Eum, a speech and hearing counseling center, for example.

[0190] The device (10) may be configured (set, provided) with a plurality of training menus, such that the first training menu is configured to allow the user to practice distinguishing Ling 6, which is a frequency representing speech sounds, the second training menu is configured to allow 10 levels of listening training related to vowels, the third training menu is configured to allow 25 levels of listening training related to consonants (specifically, 18 levels of listening training related to initial consonants and 7 levels of listening training related to final consonants), and the fourth training menu is configured to allow listening training (practice) with speech sound data composed of 10 topics.

[0191] At this time, the first training menu can be configured so that discrimination training is performed starting from phonemes with large acoustic differences when performing discrimination for Ling 6, and can also be configured to proceed in the order of listening training in 5 training stages (i.e., 5 training items for each stage) by adjusting the difficulty level by the number of options and the difference in the length of speech sounds, followed by a test.

[0192] In addition, the language used in the second training menu, the vowel listening training menu, and the third training menu, the consonant listening training menu (i.e., vocabulary used for vowels and consonants) can be applied as high-frequency vocabulary that, for example, elementary school students can understand. The second and third training menus can be configured to allow listening to the corresponding phonemes in various locations and environments, taking into account not only the number of syllables but also the possible syllable structures in the Korean language. Furthermore, each of the multiple submenus included in the second and third training menus can be configured to proceed in the order of allowing listening to words related to each phoneme through listening training items, followed by listening training through 10 training stages (i.e., 10 stage training items), and then a test.

[0193] As previously mentioned, the 10 topics considered in the 4th training menu can be selected and applied as topics encountered in daily life. Additionally, the 4th training menu can be configured to allow listening training by adjusting the difficulty level based on linguistic complexity and predictability using words (vocabulary), sentences, and paragraphs (stories) related to the target topic (the given topic). Each of the multiple topic training submenus included in the 4th training menu can be configured so that listening training proceeds through 10 training stages (i.e., 10 stage-by-stage training items) after listening to words and sentences related to the target topic through a listening training item.

[0194] Generally, when learning a foreign language, one undergoes a process of learning new phonological information and connecting that sound information to the native language; however, since such learning is designed for individuals with normal hearing, it is characterized by a focus on semantic information without considering acoustic differences. Consequently, this method of learning has the disadvantage of reduced effectiveness when applied to users who have undergone cochlear implant surgery.

[0195] Since a user's hearing does not immediately become normal hearing just because they have undergone cochlear implant surgery, it is very important to configure tasks that allow the user to easily distinguish speech sounds (words) by utilizing sounds with large differences in acoustic information in the beginning, and to gradually increase the difficulty level. Accordingly, the device (10) is configured to provide the user with learning content for listening training that includes multiple training menus in order to enable more effective hearing rehabilitation (i.e., listening training / practice for hearing rehabilitation) for a user who has undergone cochlear implant surgery. In particular, the first training menu is configured to allow the user to easily distinguish speech sounds (words) by utilizing sounds with large differences in acoustic information, and each of the multiple training menus is configured to allow listening training to be performed while gradually increasing the difficulty level.

[0196] In addition, the device (10) can enhance the user's auditory comprehension by configuring the difficulty level by distinguishing the number of syllables, increasing the number of options, and increasing the complexity of words when configuring the step-by-step training items within each of the multiple training menus. In particular, unlike conventional auditory rehabilitation methods, the device (10) can configure the learning content to have a structure that allows specific phonemes to be heard intensively in various locations and environments by utilizing the syllable structure of each vowel and consonant.

[0197] In addition, the vowel-related words used in the second training menu and the consonant-related words used in the third training menu of the device (10) may be selected and set by the administrator managing the device (10) by referring to the theoretical standards of auditory rehabilitation as previously mentioned. Furthermore, the settings for the step-by-step training items included in each of the multiple training menus of the device (10) (especially the setting of the difficulty level for the step-by-step training items) or the order of listening training within each training menu (for example, the sequence of a process in which listening is performed first through the listening training item, followed by listening training through the step-by-step training item, and then a test) may be derived and set by the administrator by combining theory based on long-term clinical experience, for example. The device (10) can be said to have distinct features in terms of actual content and the method of conducting auditory rehabilitation (the method of conducting listening training) compared to conventional auditory rehabilitation methods, and through this, effective auditory rehabilitation for cochlear implant users can be achieved.

[0198] Below, we will briefly examine the operation flow of the present invention based on the details described above.

[0199] FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an operation for a listening training method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0200] The listening training method illustrated in FIG. 21 can be performed by the device (10) described above. Therefore, even if the content is omitted below, the description of the device (10) can be applied equally to the description of the listening training method.

[0201] Referring to FIG. 21, in step S11, the providing unit can provide a main screen including multiple training menus.

[0202] Next, in step S12, the control unit controls the display screen differently according to the user's selection input on the main screen, and can control the output of speech sound data corresponding to the selected training item chosen by the user based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus.

[0203] In the description above, steps S11 and S12 may be further divided into additional steps or combined into fewer steps, depending on an embodiment of the present invention. Additionally, some steps may be omitted as necessary, and the order between steps may be changed.

[0204] A listening training method according to one embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either individually or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the present invention, or they may be those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the present invention, and vice versa.

[0205] In addition, the aforementioned listening training method can also be implemented in the form of a computer program or application executed by a computer and stored on a recording medium.

[0206] The foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only, and those skilled in the art will understand that other specific forms can be easily modified without altering the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single unit may be implemented in a distributed manner, and components described as distributed may likewise be implemented in a combined form.

[0207] The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims set forth below rather than by the detailed description above, and all modifications or variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and equivalent concepts thereof should be interpreted as being included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim 1 A providing unit that provides a main screen including multiple training menus as a listening training device; The method includes a control unit that controls the display screen differently according to the user's selection input on the main screen, and controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to the selected training item chosen by the user based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus, and enables the progression of auditory rehabilitation for the user who has implanted a cochlear implant through listening training of the output speech sound data, wherein the plurality of training menus include a first training menu for discrimination training of phonemes considering acoustic differences, a second training menu for discrimination training of vowel-related speech sounds, a third training menu for discrimination training of consonant-related speech sounds, and a fourth training menu for discrimination training of speech sounds related to a presented topic, wherein the first training menu includes a step-by-step training item in which difficulty is adjusted through differentiation of at least one of the number of options and the length of the speech sound in relation to the training item, and the second training menu and the third training menu each include a plurality of sub-menus, wherein each of the plurality of sub-menus includes differentiation of at least one of the number of syllables, syllable structure and the number of options in relation to the training item It includes step-by-step training items with difficulty levels adjusted through, and the fourth training menu includes a topic sentence listening related training item in which the type of the presented text consists of a sentence, and the response request type requires dictation of text information corresponding to the speech sound data of the presented sentence, and the control unit controls the speech sound data corresponding to the clicked training item to be output through the speaker unit for listening training when the user clicks the topic sentence listening related training item, and controls the pre-set sentence input window including instruction sentence information, an input field provided for the user to input the correct answer, a replay button, and a submit button to be displayed on the display unit.Subsequently, the user is guided to listen to speech data output through the speaker, enter text information of the sentence corresponding to the speech data into an input field, and click a submit button; when it is detected that the user has clicked the submit button, the user's accuracy rate is derived by comparing the correct answer text information, which is the text information of the sentence corresponding to the output speech data, with the user-input text information entered in the input field; and depending on the level of the user's accuracy rate derived in real time and the number of times the speech data is listened to again through the click of the replay button, a character count hint frame is displayed within the area corresponding to the input field to indicate the number of characters corresponding to the correct answer text information; the process of displaying a word-by-word listening button, which is provided to allow the user to selectively listen to the speech data output upon clicking the replay button by dividing it into word segments constituting the sentence corresponding to the speech data, and the process of displaying a syllable-by-syllable listening button, which is provided to allow the user to selectively listen to the speech data output upon clicking the replay button by dividing it into syllables constituting the sentence corresponding to the speech data. A listening training device that, by making it sequential, allows the user to listen to specific sections of speech data—such as word segments or syllable segments—that the user failed to answer correctly as the accuracy rate approaches 100%, rather than making the user listen to the entire speech data in the same way every time until the user answers 100% correctly. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 delete Claim 4 delete Claim 5 delete Claim 6 delete Claim 7 A listening training method using a listening training device of claim 1, comprising: a step of providing a main screen including a plurality of training menus in a providing unit; and a step of controlling a display screen differently according to a user's selection input on the main screen, wherein the control unit controls the output of speech sound data corresponding to a selected training item selected by the user based on the user's selection of training items within the plurality of training menus.

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