Information processing apparatus, terminal apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and recording medium

Abstract

The present application provides an information processing device, a terminal device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a recording medium. A CPU (11) of the information processing device acquires search history record information about a word involved in a question posed to a user, and determines question information involved in the question posed to the user based on a determination result obtained by determining whether the acquired search history record information satisfies a given search history record condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to information processing apparatus, terminal device, information processing system, information processing method, and recording medium. Background Technology

[0002] In the past, in terminal devices used for learning various disciplines such as linguistics, tests (questions and the judgment of correctness of answers) were sometimes conducted to assess learning levels or consolidate learning content. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-98864 discloses a method in which, when a user is presented with a test question, pre-registered hints corresponding to the question are provided to the user in response to a hint request from the user. In linguistics learning, such hints could be used, for example, to indicate the meaning of difficult words contained in the question sentence.

[0003] However, in the field of linguistics, due to the large individual differences in vocabulary proficiency, providing uniform tips as described above could easily result in inappropriate tips that are either excessive or insufficient for the user. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an information processing device, terminal device, information processing system, information processing method, and recording medium that can provide appropriate tips for users.

[0005] The information processing apparatus disclosed herein includes at least one processor that performs the following processing: obtaining search history information on words related to a question posed by a user, and determining, based on a determination result obtained by judging whether the obtained search history information meets given search history conditions, relevant prompting information for the question posed by the user.

[0006] Furthermore, the terminal device involved in this disclosure includes at least one processor, which performs the following processing: asking a question to a user, and prompting the user with prompting information corresponding to the prompting information involved in the question, wherein the prompting information is determined based on the judgment result of whether the search history information of the word involved in the question meets the given search history conditions.

[0007] The information processing system disclosed herein includes an information processing device and a terminal device that are communicatively connected to each other. Both the information processing device and the terminal device include at least one processor. The processor of the information processing device performs the following processing: regarding a question sent to the terminal device and generated by the processor of the terminal device; regarding words related to the question; obtaining search history information performed by the user from the terminal device; and, based on a judgment result obtained by determining whether the obtained search history information meets given search history conditions, determining the relevant prompting information related to the question to be displayed to the user; the processor of the terminal device then displays the prompting information to the user.

[0008] The effects of the invention

[0009] According to this disclosure, appropriate tips can be provided to users. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the learning support system.

[0011] Figure 2 It is a block diagram representing the functional structure of the server.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a diagram representing an example of the contents of a dictionary database.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a diagram representing an example of the content of the test DB.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of how users manage database content.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing an example of the content in the learning history database.

[0016] Figure 7 It is a block diagram representing the functional structure of the terminal device.

[0017] Figure 8 It is an image representing a dictionary.

[0018] Figure 9 It is a diagram showing the test screen used for conducting hearing tests.

[0019] Figure 10 This is an image representing the selection screen for the highlighted area.

[0020] Figure 11A This is an image representing a test screen that is displaying prompts and information.

[0021] Figure 11B This is an image representing a test screen that is displaying prompts and information.

[0022] Figure 12A This is a diagram representing a test screen used for reading quizzes.

[0023] Figure 12B This is a diagram representing a test screen used for reading quizzes.

[0024] Figure 13 These are other examples of test screens used for reading quizzes.

[0025] Figure 14 This is an image representing a screen showing the history of events.

[0026] Figure 15 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of word retrieval processing.

[0027] Figure 16 It is a flowchart representing the control steps of the test processing executed by the CPU of the terminal device.

[0028] Figure 17 It is a flowchart representing the control steps of the test processing performed by the server's CPU.

[0029] Figure 18 This is a flowchart representing the control steps for generating and processing the data.

[0030] Figure 19 This is a flowchart illustrating the control steps for generating and processing prompt data in a reading quiz.

[0031] Figure 20 This is a flowchart representing the control steps for displaying historical records. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The embodiments of this disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] <Structure of Learning Support Systems>

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the learning support system 1 of this embodiment.

[0035] The learning support system 1 (information processing system) includes: a server 10 (information processing device); and a terminal device 20 that can communicate with the server 10 via a communication network N. The communication network N is, for example, the Internet, but is not limited to it, and may also be other networks such as a LAN (Local Area Network). At least a portion of the communication path between the server 10 and the terminal device 20 may be based on a wireless communication path.

[0036] The learning support system 1 provides learning support services to users using the terminal device 20 to support their linguistic learning. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, but is not limited to it; it can also be a tablet, a laptop PC (personal computer), or a stationary PC, etc.

[0037] A learning application (hereinafter referred to as "learning application 231") is installed in the terminal device 20. Figure 7 Terminal device 20 can collaborate with server 10 to provide users with various services related to linguistic learning by executing the learning application 231. For example, if terminal device 20 receives a search instruction for a word from the user during the execution of learning application 231, it retrieves item information from server 10 containing the meaning, example sentences, etc. of that word and displays it. Here, the word that becomes the search target is, for example, a dictionary entry or dictionary item. However, the word that becomes the search target is not limited to this, and also includes any word contained in the data that terminal device 20 can access and that can be stored in the database with search history. For example, the word that becomes the search target can be the word contained in the data of books, documents such as textbooks, collections of materials, and reference books, or the word contained in the data that can be obtained through communication network N through various Web services such as news and e-commerce. The data of the aforementioned books and documents can be stored in the storage unit 13 of server 10 (see reference). Figure 2 ) or the storage unit 23 of the terminal device 20 (refer to Figure 7 The data can be stored on other web servers that can be connected via communication network N. Furthermore, the words that can be searched are not limited to a single word, but can be a combination of multiple words. The word search performed on terminal device 20 is not limited to investigating the meaning or pronunciation of the word itself, but also includes cases where the purpose is to obtain information associated with the word (such as mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, structural formulas, symbols, news reports, explanatory reports, etc. related to the word).

[0038] Furthermore, the terminal device 20 can perform linguistic practice exercises (hereinafter referred to simply as "tests") in the form of quizzes during the execution of the learning application 231. When performing a test, the terminal device 20 obtains data on questions and correct answers from the server 10, asks questions to the user, determines the correctness of the answer based on the user's input, and displays the result to the user. Additionally, when asking questions, the terminal device 20 can, in response to a user's request, provide the user with relevant hints or information related to the question.

[0039] The above is one example of the services provided by Learning Support System 1, and is not limited to this.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the learning support system 1 can have multiple terminal devices 20, in which case learning support services are provided to multiple users who use the multiple terminal devices 20 respectively. The server 10 manages information related to the utilization status of the learning support services for each user and provides the user with appropriate services corresponding to that information. For example, in the case of providing prompts during a test, prompts are provided with appropriate content corresponding to each user's word search history. The method of providing such prompts will be described in detail later.

[0041] <Server Structure>

[0042] Figure 2 This is a block diagram representing the functional structure of server 10.

[0043] Server 10 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit) (which includes a receiving unit, an acquisition unit, a discrimination unit, a decision unit, and a history record prompting unit), RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, a communication unit 16, and a bus 17. All parts of server 10 are connected via bus 17.

[0044] CPU 11 is a processor (processing unit) that controls the operation of server 10 by reading and executing server control program 131 (program) stored in storage unit 13 and performing various arithmetic operations. Alternatively, server 10 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), which execute the multiple processes performed by CPU 11 in this embodiment. In this case, the processing unit is composed of multiple processors. In this case, multiple processors may participate in common processes, or multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel.

[0045] Storage unit 13 is a non-temporary recording medium that can be read by the CPU 11, which functions as a computer, and stores the server control program 131 and various data. Storage unit 13 may include, for example, non-volatile memory such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive). The server control program 131 is stored in storage unit 13 in the form of computer-readable program code. Data stored in storage unit 13 includes a dictionary DB (database) 132 (dictionary information), a quiz DB 133, a user management DB 134, and a learning history DB 135 (retrieval history information, reminder history information), etc.

[0046] Figure 3 This is a diagram representing an example of the contents of dictionary DB132.

[0047] The information contained in one data row (record) of the dictionary DB132 corresponds to the item information related to one word (item) in an English-Japanese dictionary or an English-English dictionary. In Figure 3 the item information related to an English-Japanese dictionary is exemplified. The dictionary DB132 has data columns (columns) of "word ID", "word", "translation", "example sentence", "word type", "proficiency difficulty", and "sound file path".

[0048] "Word ID" is an inherent symbol attached to the word in this data row.

[0049] "Word" is the notation (spelling) of the word.

[0050] "Translation" is the Japanese translation of the word. In addition, in the data of an English-English dictionary, an explanatory sentence of the word based on English is registered in the data row of "translation".

[0051] "Example sentence" is an example sentence corresponding to the word.

[0052] "Word type" is the word type of the word.

[0053] "Proficiency difficulty" is a value representing the level of general proficiency difficulty of the word in this data row. The proficiency difficulty is set as a multi-stage value (in this embodiment, it is a 7-stage value from "1" to "7"), and the larger the value, the higher the represented difficulty. Among the above multi-stage values, words above a pre-determined threshold (in this embodiment, "4" or above) are set as candidates for words of the following prompt information. Words with a proficiency difficulty above the above threshold are equivalent to "words with a proficiency difficulty above a pre-determined lower limit difficulty".

[0054] "Sound file path" is the file path of the sound data file of the word.

[0055] In addition, data related to dictionaries other than English-Japanese dictionaries and English-English dictionaries can be further stored in the dictionary DB132.

[0056] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing an example of the content of the quiz DB133.

[0057] In the quiz DB133, data related to quizzes provided in the learning support service is stored. One data row (record) of the quiz DB133 corresponds to one question. In addition, the quiz DB133 has data columns (columns) of "question number", "text", "translation", "sound file path", "image file path", and "correct answer". In Figure 4 the data related to an English listening quiz is exemplified.

[0058] "Problem Number" is a number assigned to each problem. Alternatively, a symbol specific to each problem can be used instead of the number.

[0059] “Text” refers to the English text data representing the question sentence that describes the problem.

[0060] "Translation" refers to the text data of the Japanese translation of the question sentence.

[0061] "Audio file path" refers to the file path of the audio data file for the English question.

[0062] "Image file path" is the file path of the image data of the image shown in the question.

[0063] "Correct Solution" is the correct answer option in the question.

[0064] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of how a user manages the content of DB134.

[0065] The User Management DB134 stores data related to multiple users utilizing the learning support service. Each data row (record) in the User Management DB134 corresponds to one user. Furthermore, the User Management DB134 has data columns for "User ID," "Occupation," "Number of Listening Tips," and "Number of Reading Tips."

[0066] A "user ID" is a unique identifier associated with each user.

[0067] "Profession" refers to the user's profession.

[0068] "Number of Listening Hints" indicates the number of words displayed as hints in the listening test described later. For example, if this data column is a numerical value (e.g., "1", "2", etc.), hints are displayed for the same number of words among the target words. Furthermore, if this data column is "All", hints are displayed for all target words. Here, "target words" refers to the words that can be the objects of the hint information display, as will be explained in detail later.

[0069] "Number of Reading Hints" indicates the number of words displayed as hints in the reading quiz described later. For example, if this data column is a number (e.g., "1", "2", etc.), it displays hints for the same number of words among the target words. Furthermore, if this data column is "All", it displays hints for all target words.

[0070] The number of "listening tips" and "reading tips" are preset and registered according to the user's settings.

[0071] In addition, the user management DB134 may also contain data columns related to user attributes (gender, age, etc.) and basic information (login history, linguistic proficiency, etc.).

[0072] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing an example of the content of the learning history DB135.

[0073] The Learning History DB135 stores data related to the learning history of each user in the Learning Support Service. The Learning History DB135 has data blocks generated for each user. Each data block contains one data row (record) corresponding to a word that the user has searched or a word displayed as a prompt in a quiz the user has taken.

[0074] Each data block has a data column for "User ID", "Word", "Search Date", "Tips Display Date", and "Audio Replay".

[0075] "User ID" is related to Figure 5 The common symbol for user IDs in the user management DB134.

[0076] "Word" refers to the word (item) corresponding to this data row.

[0077] "Search Date" is the date that the last word in this data row was retrieved. Additionally, the time information can also be recorded in addition to the date.

[0078] "Tips Display Date" represents the date on which a word in this data row was displayed as a tip during a quiz completed by the user. Additionally, the time information can also be recorded in addition to the date.

[0079] "Sound Replay" indicates whether the sound data of the word's pronunciation was replayed when the word was retrieved. For words whose sound data was replayed, it is set to "1", and for words whose sound data was not replayed, it is set to "0".

[0080] For example, from Figure 6 The learning history DB135 shown confirms that user ID "U1234" searched for the word "software" on August 15, 2021, without replaying the audio data, and that the word "software" was displayed as a prompt in a quiz taken on September 1, 2021. Furthermore, it can be determined that... Figure 6 For user ID "1235", the word "software" was displayed as a prompt in a quiz conducted on "July 15, 2021", even though it was neither searched nor played back.

[0081] Figure 2 The operation unit 14 shown has pointing devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, accepts user position input and key input, and outputs the operation information to the CPU 11.

[0082] The display unit 15 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and performs various displays on the display device in accordance with the display control signals from the CPU 11.

[0083] The communication unit 16, which consists of a network card and the like, transmits and receives data with the terminal device 20 on the communication network N in accordance with a given communication standard.

[0084] <Structure of Terminal Device 20>

[0085] Figure 7 This is a block diagram representing the functional structure of the terminal device 20.

[0086] The terminal device 20 includes a CPU 21 (question generation unit and prompting information unit), RAM 22, storage unit 23, operation unit 24, display unit 25, sound output unit 26, communication unit 27, and bus 28. All parts of the terminal device 20 are connected via the bus 28.

[0087] CPU 21 is a processor (processing unit) that controls the operation of terminal device 20 by reading and executing programs such as learning application 231 stored in storage unit 23 and performing various arithmetic operations. Alternatively, terminal device 20 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and these multiple processors may execute multiple processes performed by CPU 21 in this embodiment. In this case, the processing unit is composed of multiple processors. In this case, multiple processors may participate in common processing, or multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel.

[0088] Storage unit 23 is a non-temporary recording medium that can be read by CPU 21, which functions as a computer, and stores programs such as learning application 231 and various data. Storage unit 23 may include non-volatile memory such as flash memory. The program is stored in storage unit 23 in the form of computer-readable program code.

[0089] The operation unit 24 has a touch panel and physical buttons that overlap with the display screen of the display unit 25. It accepts touch operations on the touch panel and press operations on the physical buttons, and outputs the operation information to the CPU 21.

[0090] The display unit 25 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and performs various displays in the display device according to the display control signals from the CPU 21.

[0091] The sound output unit 26 has a speaker and outputs the sound of words, test questions, etc., in accordance with the sound output control signal from the CPU 21. In addition, the sound output unit 26 outputs sound from an external sound output device (such as earphones or headphones) that is connected by wired or wireless connection.

[0092] The communication unit 27 consists of a communication module including an antenna, and transmits and receives data with the server 10 on the communication network N in accordance with a given communication standard.

[0093] <Actions of Learning Support System 1>

[0094] Next, the actions of the learning support system 1 will be explained. The main actors in the actions shown below are the CPU 11 of the server 10 and the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20, but for convenience, the server 10 and the terminal device 20 will be referred to as the main actors in the following descriptions.

[0095] Users receiving learning support services from Learning Support System 1 execute Learning Application 231 on terminal device 20 and log in to Learning Support System 1. Login to Learning Support System 1 is performed, for example, by comparing the user ID and password entered by the user and sent from terminal device 20 to server 10 with the user ID and password pre-registered on server 10. Users logged into Learning Support System 1 can perform various functions of the learning support services on Learning Application 231.

[0096] (Word search)

[0097] One of the basic functions of the learning support service in the learning support system 1 is the search for words in the English-Japanese dictionary. By performing a given operation on the learning application 231, the user can access the dictionary screen 40, which is used to search for words in the English-Japanese dictionary, and display it on the display unit 25.

[0098] Figure 8 This is a picture representing screen 40 of the dictionary.

[0099] The dictionary screen 40 displays: a search box 41 for specifying the word to be searched; an item information display area 42 for displaying item information of the searched word; a sound playback button 43 for replaying the sound of the word; and a dictionary screen end button 44 for ending the word search. If a search is performed while the spelling of the desired word is entered in the search box 41, the terminal device 20 retrieves the item information of that word from the server 10 and displays the retrieved item information in the item information display area 42. Furthermore, the server 10 registers the search date of the word search in the data block corresponding to the user who performed the search in the learning history DB 135. Thus, the user's word search history is recorded.

[0100] By selecting the sound playback button 43 on the dictionary screen 40, the user can replay (output) the sound of the word displayed in the item information display area 42. That is, if the sound playback button 43 is selected, the terminal device 20 obtains the sound data of the word from the server 10 and uses this sound data to calculate the sound of the word from the sound output unit 26. Furthermore, the server 10 registers the replay of the word in the data block corresponding to the user who has performed sound playback in the learning history DB 135. Thus, the user's word sound playback history is recorded.

[0101] Furthermore, as described above, Learning Support System 1 can search for words not only in various dictionaries, but also in data contained in books and documents, or in data provided by web services. When these searches are performed, the search history and audio playback history are also recorded.

[0102] (test)

[0103] In the learning support service of Learning Support System 1, linguistic-related tests can be conducted. By taking these tests, users can receive a judgment on their learning level or consolidate their learning. In this embodiment, a listening test and a reading test will be used as examples for explanation. For example, the listening test presents a question sentence through sound from the sound output unit 26, and the user answers by selecting the appropriate option from the multiple options contained in the question sentence. In addition, the reading test presents a question sentence displayed on the display unit 25, and the user answers by selecting the appropriate option from the multiple options contained in the question sentence. However, the content of the tests is not limited to these.

[0104] By performing a given operation on the learning application 231, the user can display a test screen 50 on the display unit 25 for taking a test.

[0105] Figure 9 This is a diagram representing test screen 50 used for conducting a hearing test.

[0106] The test screen 50 displays: a question sentence replay button 51 for replaying the audio of the question sentence; an answer button 52 for responding to the question; a hint request button 53 for requesting hint information; a hint display area 54 for displaying hint information; and a test end button 55 for ending the test. When the test screen 50 is displayed and the listening test begins, the terminal device 20 receives question sentence data from the server 10. The question sentence data includes the audio data of the question sentence and the correct answer data. If the question includes an image, the question sentence data also includes the image data of that image, and the image is displayed on the test screen 50 after the question sentence data is obtained.

[0107] After the question sentence data is received, if the question sentence playback button 51 is selected, the sound of the question sentence will be played back (output from the sound output unit 26). Figure 9 In the example shown, replay is used as a question sentence. Figure 9 The lower layer displays the sounds of four sentences corresponding to options A through D. Users can answer questions by selecting the answer button 52 from among multiple answer buttons 52 that they deem correct (consistent with the content of the image). If any answer button 52 is selected, the correctness judgment result is displayed on the display unit 25. Alternatively, after answering multiple questions, the correctness judgment results related to those multiple questions can be summarized and displayed.

[0108] After the audio of the question is played back and before the answer button 52 is selected, the hint request button 53 can be selected to request hints related to the question. If the hint request button 53 is selected, the hint location selection screen 60 is first displayed, which is used to select the option to display the hint information (hereinafter also referred to as "hint location").

[0109] Figure 10 This is an image indicating that the selected area is 60 pixels away from the screen.

[0110] The prompt selection screen 60 displays: a selection button 61 for determining the prompt location; and a prompt display button 62 for displaying prompt information. If the prompt display button 62 is selected after selecting any of the options A to D by selecting any of the selection buttons 61, the option (prompt location) for the prompt information is determined, and the terminal device 20 sends a prompt data request to the server 10 containing the prompt information H (either the first prompt information H1 or the second prompt information H2, referred to as "prompt information H" in the case of either the first prompt information H1 or the second prompt information H2) related to that option. If the terminal device 20 receives the prompt data from the server 10, it displays (prompts) the prompt information H (prompt information prompt processing) on ​​the test screen 50.

[0111] Figure 11A as well as Figure 11B This is a diagram of test screen 50 that displays the prompt information H.

[0112] Here, we will use the example of requesting and displaying suggestion information H for option B as an example. Figure 11A as well as Figure 11B In each test screen 50, in the hint display area 54, hint information H related to the word "software," one of the multiple words constituting the question sentence of option B, is displayed. The displayed hint information H is selected by the server 10 and sent to the terminal device 20. The hint information H is selected from the item information of the "software" item contained in the dictionary DB132. In addition, different content of hint information H is selected according to the user's search history for the word "software." In the listening test of this embodiment, corresponding to the word search history, there are... Figure 11A The first hint information H1, which shows only the notation (spelling) of a word, is displayed as shown. Figure 11B The diagram shows the notation (spelling) of the words and the second hint information H2 of the translation.

[0113] The following describes the actions involved in selecting the prompt information H on server 10.

[0114] Server 10 responds to the prompt request for prompt information and performs prompt information selection processing for each prompt target word among the multiple words constituting the specified prompt position in the question sentence, selecting the prompt information H to be prompted to the user. Here, the prompt target words are words excluded from the multiple words constituting the prompt position that are not suitable as prompt information H. Specifically, words with low proficiency levels, such as those learned in lower grades like elementary school (in this embodiment, words with a "proficiency level" of less than "4" in dictionary DB132), numerals ("one", "two", etc.), pronouns ("you", "me", etc.), and proper nouns ("Mt. Fuji", etc.) are set as prompt target words.

[0115] Furthermore, the prompt word can replace the word itself contained in the question sentence and be a word associated with that word, such as a derivative. For example, if the question sentence contains the word "inventor," then "invention," a derivative of that word, can be set as the prompt word. Additionally, if the word in the question sentence is a conjugated form of a word, then the infinitive form of that word can be set as the prompt word. Furthermore, if the question sentence contains the past tense or past participle form of a verb, then the infinitive form of that word can also be set as the prompt word. Moreover, it is not limited to these; the prompt word can be any word that provides guidance for the user in answering the question. For example, the prompt word can be selected from words other than those contained in the question sentence (including derivatives and conjugated forms).

[0116] In the process of selecting prompt information for each word that is a prompting target word, server 10 selects prompt information H to provide suggestions to the user from the item information of that word in dictionary DB132. Specifically, based on the user's search history for that word in the learning history DB135, the sufficiency of multiple different search history conditions is determined, and the content of the prompt information H selected for that word is different according to the determination result of the sufficiency.

[0117] Specifically, the first search history condition among the aforementioned search history conditions is the condition where the learning history DB135 contains a history of searching for the aforementioned word, but does not contain a history of replaying the sound of that word (equivalent to "condition 1"), and the sound was not replayed. The sufficiency of the non-search condition is determined based on the "search date" and "sound replay" data columns in the learning history DB135. For example, in the case of user ID "U1234" taking a test on September 1, 2021, in... Figure 6 In the data block of user ID "U1234" in the learning history DB135 shown, since the word "software" is registered with a "retrieval date", "sound playback" is "0" (not played back), so it is determined that the condition of not playing back the sound is met.

[0118] If the condition that the sound is not reproduced is met, the user taking the test is presumed to have grasped the meaning of the word from its representation since the word has been searched. On the other hand, since the sound of the word is not reproduced, it can be presumed that the user cannot understand the word from the sound of the question sentence. Therefore, if the condition that the sound is not reproduced is met, the server 10 selects the word's representation as the word's hint information H (first hint information H1). Correspondingly, for example, in the test conducted by user ID "U1234" as described above, if... Figure 11A As shown, the word "software" is displayed in the prompt display area 54 as the first prompt information H1. If the user is prompted with the word's symbol as the first prompt information H1, they can identify the word they don't understand and establish a connection with the meaning of the words they have already learned.

[0119] Furthermore, the second search history condition among the aforementioned search history conditions is a non-search condition that satisfies the condition that there is no history of searching for the aforementioned words in the learning history DB135 (equivalent to "condition 2"). The sufficiency of the non-search condition is determined based on the "Search Date" and "Audio Replay" data columns in the learning history DB135. For example, in the case of a user with user ID "U1235" taking a test on July 15, 2021, in... Figure 6 In the data block of user ID "U1235" in the learning history DB135 shown, since the word "software" was not registered with a "search date" and "sound playback" was "0" (not played), it was determined that the search condition was met.

[0120] If the "no search" condition is met, since the user did not search for the word, it can be inferred that they have not learned the meaning of the word. Furthermore, since the sound of the word was not reproduced, it can be inferred that they also cannot understand the word from the sound of the question sentence. Therefore, if the "no search" condition is met, server 10 selects the word's notation and translation as the word's prompt information H (second prompt information H2). Correspondingly, for example, in the aforementioned test conducted by user ID "U1235", as... Figure 11B As shown, the notation and translation of the word "software" are displayed in the prompt display area 54 as the second prompt information H2. By using the notation of the prompted word as the second prompt information H2, the user can identify words they do not understand. Furthermore, the translation of the prompt information H2 helps them grasp the meaning of the word.

[0121] In addition, in the listening test of this embodiment, words that have a search history in the learning history DB135 and a history of replaying the sound of the word in the learning history DB135 are considered to be words with high user proficiency and no hint information is displayed.

[0122] If server 10 performs hint information selection processing on each word (the hint target word) contained in the hint area and selects hint information H, it selects a given number of words that will cause the hint information H to be displayed on the test screen 50. The number of words selected here is determined according to the "listening hint number" in the user management DB134. There is no particular limitation on the method of selecting words to display hint information H; for example, it can be a method of selecting in descending order of difficulty. That is, when the "listening hint number" is "1", the word with the highest difficulty among the multiple hint target words contained in the hint area is selected, and the hint information H of that word is sent to the terminal device 20 and displayed on the test screen 50. In addition, when the "listening hint number" is "2" or more, the hint information H of that number of words selected in descending order of difficulty is sent to the terminal device 20 and displayed at a glance or in sequence on the test screen 50. In addition, when the "listening prompts number" is "all", the prompt information H of all the prompt target words contained in the prompt area is sent to the terminal device 20, and can be viewed or displayed in order on the test screen 50.

[0123] Next, we will explain the prompting action of the hint information H in the reading test.

[0124] Figure 12A This is a diagram representing the test screen 80 used for conducting a reading test.

[0125] The test screen 80 displays: a question display area 81 showing the question; an answer button 82 for answering the question; a prompt request button 83 for requesting prompt information H; a prompt display area 84 showing the prompt information H; and a test end button 85 for ending the test. The functions of the answer button 82, prompt request button 83, prompt display area 84, and test end button 85 are the same as those of the answer button 52, prompt request button 53, prompt display area 54, and test end button 55 described above.

[0126] If the test screen 80 is displayed and the test begins, the terminal device 20 receives question sentence data from the server 10. The question sentence data includes the text data of the question sentence and the correct answer data. If the question includes an image, the question sentence data also includes the image data of that image, and the image is displayed on the test screen 80 after the question sentence data is obtained.

[0127] Once the question sentence data is received, the text of the question sentence is displayed in the question sentence display area 81 of the test screen 80. Here, the question displays the appropriate word to fill in the blank space in the question sentence, selected from options A through D. The user answers the question by selecting the answer button 82 from among several answer buttons 82 that they deem correct. If any answer button 82 is selected, the correctness result is displayed on the display unit 25. Alternatively, after answering multiple questions, the correctness results related to those multiple questions can be summarized and displayed.

[0128] By selecting the hint request button 83 before selecting the answer button 82 after displaying the question, one can request hints related to the question. Selecting the hint request button 83 sends a request to the server 10 containing hint data H from the terminal device 20. If the terminal device 20 receives the hint data from the server 10, it displays (prompts) the hint information H in the hint display area 84 of the test screen 80. Figure 12A In the middle, select "unnecessarily" from the multiple words that constitute the question sentence other than options A to D, and use it as the object of the prompt information H. Then display the second prompt information H2 for that word.

[0129] In the reading quiz, different prompts H are selected based on the user's search history for the word ("unnecessarily") corresponding to the prompt H. In the reading quiz of this embodiment, corresponding to the aforementioned search history, there are... Figure 12A The table showing the word containing "unnecessarily" from the English-Japanese dictionary, along with the item information (translated here) and the second tip H2, are displayed as shown. Figure 12BThe table showing the word "unnecessarily" from the English-English dictionary, along with the first prompt information H1 of the item information, is displayed as shown. The following explains the actions involved in selecting the prompt information H on server 10.

[0130] In the reading quiz, the first search history condition among the multiple search history conditions mentioned above is a first search period condition that satisfies the situation where the last search prompt information H was displayed after the base time point (equivalent to "Situation 1"). Furthermore, the second search history condition among the multiple search history conditions is a second search period condition that satisfies the situation where the last search prompt information H was displayed before the aforementioned base time point (equivalent to "Situation 2") and the situation where there is no search history for that word (equivalent to "Situation 2"). Regarding the determination of the aforementioned base time point, the length of the period from the base time point to the current time point is determined to be within the range of the length of time during which the learning content of the searched words is typically stored, for example, set to about one month. The sufficiency of these first and second search period conditions is determined based on the "Search Date" data column of the learning history DB135.

[0131] In this context, if the conditions of the first retrieval period are met, and the user has memorized the meaning of a word learned through word searches after the baseline time point, this is considered to indicate a certain level of proficiency in that word. Therefore, if the conditions of the first retrieval period are met, server 10... Figure 12B As shown, select the English-English dictionary items with high reading difficulty (low reading ease) as prompt information H (first prompt information H1).

[0132] On the other hand, if the second retrieval period condition is met, there is a possibility that the user has forgotten the meaning of a word learned through retrieval of words before the baseline time point, or that the user has not learned the meaning of the word as if no retrieval of that word was performed. Therefore, if the second retrieval period condition is met, server 10... Figure 12A As shown, select the English-Japanese dictionary items with low reading difficulty (high reading ease) as prompt information H (second prompt information H2).

[0133] The English-Japanese and English-English dictionaries mentioned above are examples of cases where the user's native language is Japanese. If the user's native language is not Japanese, a dictionary that uses the user's native language for item information can be used instead of an English-Japanese dictionary; similarly, a dictionary that uses a language other than the user's native language for item information can be used instead of an English-English dictionary.

[0134] Furthermore, similar to the listening test mentioned above, in reading tests, users can also specify the areas requiring guidance. For example, ... Figure 13 As shown, when selecting the appropriate answer to the question "What is the software?" from options A to D, selecting the suggestion request button 83 can also select the option that provides the suggestion information H as the suggestion location. Figure 13 The image shows a scenario where the user selects option B through a tapping action, etc. In this state, by selecting the suggestion display button 86, the user can select the word from the multiple words constituting option B that displays the suggestion information H, and the suggestion information H related to that word is displayed using the method described above.

[0135] Furthermore, the first and second search history conditions are not limited to those described above. When the search history of the word displaying the prompt information H is in state 1, satisfying the first search history condition, the second search history condition can be set to any condition that satisfies the search history of that word as a state 2, indicating a lower proficiency level for that item than state 1. Moreover, the second prompt information H2 selected when the second search history condition is satisfied can be arbitrarily chosen from the word's item information, such that the amount of information is greater than that of the first prompt information H1 selected when the first search history condition is satisfied, or that the ease of interpretation is higher.

[0136] (Display of reference history)

[0137] In the learning support service of the learning support system 1, by performing a given operation on the learning application 231, the user can display the words corresponding to the tips H given to the user in the past in the tip history screen 70.

[0138] Figure 14 This is an image representing the history screen at 70.

[0139] The prompt history screen 70 displays: a list of words corresponding to past prompt information H, i.e., prompt history words 71; and a prompt history screen end button 72 for closing the prompt history screen 70. Each prompt history word 71 displays the date of the prompt information H associated with that prompt history word 71. The prompt history words 71 ​​displayed on the prompt history screen 70 and the dates are determined based on the "prompt display date" in the learning history DB135. By selecting a prompt history word 71, one can transition to a dictionary screen 40 containing the item information for that word. Figure 8 ).

[0140] (Control steps in word retrieval processing)

[0141] Next, we will explain the methods used for performing Figure 8 The dictionary screen 40 displays the control steps for word retrieval processing.

[0142] Figure 15 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of word retrieval processing.

[0143] exist Figure 15 The process of word retrieval performed by the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 and the process of word retrieval performed by the CPU 11 of the server 10 are recorded.

[0144] If word search processing begins, the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 causes the display unit 25 to display the dictionary screen 40 (step S101). At this stage, the item information display area 42 may be empty.

[0145] CPU 21 determines whether a word search operation has been performed by the user, i.e., whether the spelling of a word has been entered into the search box 41 and a search execution instruction has been received (step S102). If a word search operation has been performed (step S102 "Yes"), CPU 21 requests word data (data containing item information of the word) from server 10 for the specified word (step S103). Here, CPU 21 sends a word data request signal to server 10.

[0146] If the CPU 11 of server 10 receives a request signal for word data, it refers to dictionary DB 132 and sends word data containing item information of the specified word to terminal device 20 (step S201). Furthermore, CPU 11 updates the word's search history in learning history DB 135 (step S202). Here, CPU 11 registers the search date of the target word in the data block corresponding to the logged-in user in learning history DB 135.

[0147] If the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 receives word data, it displays the word's item information in the item information display area 42 of the dictionary screen 40 (step S104).

[0148] CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the sound playback button 43 has been performed (step S105). If it is determined that the operation has been performed (step S105 "Yes"), it requests the sound data of the word from server 10 (step S106). Here, CPU 21 sends a sound data request signal to server 10.

[0149] If the CPU 11 of server 10 receives a request signal for sound data, it refers to the "sound file path" in dictionary DB 132, retrieves the sound data of the specified word, and sends it to terminal device 20 (step S203). Furthermore, the CPU 11 updates the playback history of the word's sound in the learning history DB 135 (step S204). Here, the CPU 11 changes the "sound playback" item for the searched word to "1" in the data block corresponding to the logged-in user in the learning history DB 135.

[0150] If the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 receives the sound data of a word, it causes the sound of the word to be reproduced (step S107). Here, the CPU 11 supplies sound data to the sound output unit 26 and outputs the sound of the word through the sound output unit 26.

[0151] If step S107 ends, and if it is determined in step S102 that no word search operation was performed (step S102 "No"), or if it is determined in step S105 that no operation was performed to select the sound playback button 43 (step S105 "No"), CPU 21 determines whether the dictionary screen end button 44 was selected (step S108). If it is determined that no operation was performed to select the dictionary screen end button 44 (step S108 "No"), CPU 21 returns the process to step S102. If it is determined that the dictionary screen end button 44 was selected (step S108 "Yes"), CPU 21 closes the dictionary screen 40 (step S109), thus ending the word search process.

[0152] Furthermore, if the CPU 11 of server 10 finishes processing in step S204, the word retrieval process will end.

[0153] (Control steps for test processing)

[0154] Next, the control steps for the test processing used to perform the above-mentioned tests will be explained. Here, the test processing for a hearing test will be used as an example for explanation.

[0155] Figure 16 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of the test processing executed by the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20.

[0156] If the test processing begins, the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 causes the display unit 25 to display the test screen 50 (step S301). In addition, the CPU 21 requests question data from the server 10 and receives the question data (step S302).

[0157] CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the question sentence replay button 51 has been performed (step S303). If it is determined that the operation has been performed (step S303 "Yes"), CPU 21 (question generation unit) replays the audio data of the question sentence and generates the question (step S304). Here, CPU 21 supplies audio data to audio output unit 26, causing audio output unit 26 to output the audio of the question sentence.

[0158] CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the prompt request button 53 has been performed (step S305). If the operation is performed (step S305 "Yes"), the prompt location selection screen 60 is displayed (step S306). CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting a prompt location has been performed through the selection button 61 and the prompt display button 62 (step S307). If the operation is not performed (step S307 "No"), step S307 is executed again.

[0159] If it is determined that an operation to select a prompting location has been performed (step S307 "Yes"), CPU 21 requests prompting data from server 10 containing prompting information H about the selected prompting location, and receives the prompting data (step S308). If the prompting data is received, CPU 21 (the prompting information prompting unit) causes the prompting display area 54 of the test screen 50 to display the prompting information H (step S309). In addition, CPU 21 requests server 10 to register the prompting display history of the words displaying the prompting information H (step S310).

[0160] If the processing in step S310 ends, or if it is determined in step S305 that no operation was performed on the prompt request button (step S305 "No"), CPU 21 determines whether the operation on the answer button 52 was performed (step S311). If it is determined that no operation was performed on the answer button 52 (step S311 "No"), CPU 21 returns the processing to step S305. If it is determined that the operation on the answer button 52 was performed (step S311 "Yes"), CPU 21 refers to the correct answer data contained in the question sentence data to determine the correctness of the answer and displays the correctness determination result (step S312).

[0161] If the process in step S312 ends, or if it is determined in step S303 that the operation of selecting the question sentence replay button 51 was not performed (step S303 "No"), CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the test end button 55 was performed (step S313). If it is determined that the operation of selecting the test end button 55 was not performed (step S313 "No"), CPU 21 returns the process to step S303; if it is determined that the operation was performed (step S313 "Yes"), it closes the test screen 50 (step S314), thus ending the test process.

[0162] Figure 16 Steps S308 and S309 in the test processing are equivalent to "prompt information processing".

[0163] Figure 17 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of the test processing performed by the CPU 11 of server 10.

[0164] Figure 17 The test processing of the server 10 side and Figure 16 The test processing on the terminal device 20 side is executed in parallel.

[0165] If the test processing begins, the CPU 11 of the server 10 determines whether a request to send question sentence data has been received from the terminal device 20 (step S401). If it is determined that no request to send question sentence data has been received (step S401 "No"), the CPU 11 executes step S401 again. If it is determined that a request to send question sentence data has been received (step S401 "Yes"), the CPU 11 refers to the data columns of "audio file path", "image file path" and "correct answer" of the test DB133, and sends the question sentence data containing the audio data, image data and correct answer data to the terminal device 20 (step S402).

[0166] The CPU11 (receiving unit) determines whether it has received a request to send hint data from the terminal device 20, that is, whether it has received a request for hint information related to the question asked by the user (step S403). If the CPU11 determines that it has not received a request to send hint data (step S403 "No"), it executes step S403 again. If it determines that it has received a request to send hint data (step S403 "Yes"), it executes the hint data generation process (step S404).

[0167] Figure 18 This is a flowchart representing the control steps for generating and processing the data.

[0168] If the prompt data generation process is invoked, CPU11 refers to the "text" data column of test DB133 and generates a list of multiple words constituting the prompt part from the text list of the question sentence (step S501).

[0169] CPU11 substitutes "0" into variable N (step S502) and determines whether the value of variable N is insufficient for the number of words in the word list generated in step S501 (step S503). If it is determined that the value of variable N is insufficient for the number of words in the word list (step S503 "Yes"), CPU11 determines whether the Nth word in the word list meets the above-mentioned target words for prompting (step S504). Here, CPU11 refers to the "word category" and "proficiency level" data columns of dictionary DB132, and determines that words that meet the above-mentioned exclusion criteria, such as numerals, proper nouns, and words whose proficiency level is insufficient, do not meet the target words for prompting.

[0170] If the Nth word is determined to be a word that matches the target word (step S504 "Yes"), the CPU 11 determines whether the Nth word is a word that has been retrieved (step S505). Here, the CPU 11 refers to the data block in the learning history DB135 corresponding to the user who took the test, and if the retrieval date is registered for the word, determines that it is a word that has been retrieved.

[0171] If it is determined that the Nth word is not a word that has been completely searched (step S505 "No"), the CPU11 determines that the unsearched condition (second search history condition) is met, and selects the notation and translation of the Nth word as suggestion information H (second suggestion information H2) (step S506). Here, the CPU11 refers to the item information of the Nth word in the dictionary DB132 and obtains the notation and translation data of the word from the item information.

[0172] CPU11 determines whether the Nth word is a word with multiple meanings (step S509). For example, the word "bear" has two meanings: "bear" and "endure". Since such a word is registered as two separate entries in dictionary DB132, CPU11 determines it to be a word with multiple meanings if it is a word registered as two or more separate entries in dictionary DB132. If it is determined to be a word with multiple meanings (step S509 "Yes"), CPU11 selects the appropriate word to translate based on the translation of the question sentence registered in the "Translation" data column of test DB133 (step S510).

[0173] If the process ends in step S510, or if it is determined in step S509 that the word is not a word with multiple meanings (step S509 "No"), the CPU11 appends the selected prompt information H to the prompt data (step S511).

[0174] On the other hand, in step S505, if it is determined that the Nth word is a word that has been searched (step S505 "Yes"), the CPU 11 determines whether the Nth word is a word whose sound has been played back (step S507). Here, the CPU 11 refers to the data block in the learning history DB135 corresponding to the user who took the test, and if the data column for "sound playback" for that word is "1", it determines that it is a word whose sound has been played back.

[0175] If it is determined that the Nth word is not a word whose sound has been completely reproduced (step S507 "No"), the CPU 11 determines that the sound has not been reproduced condition (first search history condition), and selects only the notation of the Nth word as the prompt information H (first prompt information H1) (step S508). Here, the CPU 11 refers to the item information of the Nth word in the dictionary DB132 and obtains the notation data of the word from the item information. Then, the CPU 11 moves the processing to step S511 and appends the selected prompt information H to the prompt data.

[0176] If the Nth word is determined to be a word whose sound has been completely reproduced (step S507 "Yes"), the CPU 11 considers the word to have high proficiency and does not select the prompt information H about the word, causing the process to proceed to step S512. Furthermore, if step S511 ends, or if in step S504 the Nth word is determined to be a word that does not meet the prompt target (step S504 "No"), step S512 is also executed. In step S512, the CPU 11 substitutes "N+1" into the variable N, causing the process to proceed to step S503.

[0177] In step S503, if it is determined that the value of variable N is greater than the number of words in the word list (step S503 "No"), CPU 11 selects words that conform to the number of "listening prompts" in user management DB 134 and generates prompt data containing prompt information H of those words (step S513). In other words, CPU 11 adjusts the number of words (the number of prompt information H) contained in the prompt data according to the "listening prompts" in user management DB 134.

[0178] If step S513 ends, CPU11 will end the data generation process and return the process to the test process.

[0179] Figure 18Steps S504, S505, and S507 in the data generation and processing are executed by CPU 11, which serves as both an acquisition unit and a discrimination unit. Furthermore, steps S506, S508, and S511 are executed by CPU 11, which serves as a decision unit.

[0180] like Figure 17 Once the data generation and processing (step S404) is completed, the CPU 11 sends the generated data to the terminal device 20 (step S405).

[0181] CPU11 responds to the registration request for displaying historical information from terminal device 20. Figure 16 In step S310), the word that will display the hint information H is registered in the learning history DB135 (step S406). Here, CPU11 registers the date the hint is displayed in the "Hint Display Date" field of the learning history DB135.

[0182] If step S406 is completed, CPU11 will end the test processing.

[0183] Figure 19 This is a flowchart illustrating the control steps for generating and processing prompt data in a reading quiz.

[0184] In the case of conducting a reading test, replace Figure 18 Data generation and processing, execution Figure 19 The generation and processing of reference data. Figure 19 Steps S601-S605 and S609-S613 in the data generation and processing are respectively related to Figure 18 The steps S501 to S505 and S509 to S513 in the data generation and processing are the same, so the explanation is omitted.

[0185] exist Figure 19 In the process of generating and processing the prompt data, if the CPU11 determines in step S605 that the Nth word is a word that has been searched (step S605 "Yes"), it determines whether the date and time of the last search for that word is after the base time point (step S606). If it is determined that the search date and time is after the base time point (step S606 "Yes"), the CPU11 determines that the first search period condition (first search history condition) is met, and selects the notation and item information of the Nth word in the English-English dictionary as prompt information H (first prompt information H1) (step S607). Here, the CPU11 refers to the item information of the Nth word in the English-English dictionary in dictionary DB132 to obtain the data of the notation and item information of that word.

[0186] On the other hand, in step S605, if it is determined that the Nth word has not been completely retrieved (step S605 "No"), or in step S606, if it is determined that the last date and time of retrieving the word is before the base time point (step S606 "No"), CPU11 determines that the second retrieval period condition (second retrieval history condition) is met, and selects the notation and translation of the Nth word in the English-Japanese dictionary as hint information H (second hint information H2) (step S608). Here, CPU11 refers to the item information of the Nth word in the English-Japanese dictionary in dictionary DB132, and obtains the notation and translation data of the word from the item information.

[0187] Subsequent handling and Figure 18 The same applies to the generation and processing of reference data.

[0188] Figure 19 Steps S604 to S606 in the data generation and processing are executed by CPU 11, which serves as both an acquisition unit and a discrimination unit. Furthermore, steps S507 to S611 are executed by CPU 11, which serves as a decision unit.

[0189] (The history of the prompts shows the control steps of the processing.)

[0190] Next, it will be explained how it is used. Figure 14 The prompt history screen displays the prompt history of actions and the control steps of the prompt history processing.

[0191] Figure 20 This is a flowchart representing the control steps for displaying historical records.

[0192] The point history display process is performed by the CPU 11, which serves as the point history prompting unit. If the point history display process is started, the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 causes the display unit 25 to display the point history screen 70 (step S701).

[0193] CPU 21 retrieves the historical data of the previously displayed tips information H from server 10 (step S702). Here, server 10 sends the historical data of tips containing the words "tips display date" registered in the learning history DB135 to terminal device 20. If CPU 21 receives the historical data of tips, it displays the historical tip word 71 on the historical tip screen 70 (step S703).

[0194] CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the reference history word 71 has been performed (step S704). If the operation is determined to have been performed (step S704 "Yes"), CPU 21 transitions the display on display unit 25 to dictionary screen 40 (step S705), retrieves the item information of the selected word from dictionary DB132 from server 10 (step S706), and displays the item information of the selected word on dictionary screen 40 (step S707).

[0195] CPU 21 determines whether the operation of selecting the dictionary screen end button 44 has been performed (step S708). If it is determined that the operation has not been performed (step S708 "No"), step S708 is executed again. If it is determined that the operation has been performed (step S708 "Yes"), CPU 21 closes the dictionary screen 40 (step S709), thus ending the history display process.

[0196] On the other hand, in step S704, if it is determined that no operation was performed to select the word 71 in the history of the prompting (step S704 "No"), CPU 21 determines whether the operation to select the end button 72 of the history of the prompting screen was performed (step S710). If it is determined that no operation was performed (step S710 "No"), CPU 21 returns the process to step S704; if it is determined that the operation was performed (step S710 "Yes"), CPU 21 closes the history of the prompting screen 70 (step S711), thus ending the history of the prompting display process.

[0197] <Effect>

[0198] As described above, the server 10, which is the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment, includes a CPU 11. The CPU 11 retrieves search history information (retrieval unit) from the learning history database 135 regarding the words involved in the questions posed to the user. It then determines the sufficiency of the search history conditions based on the search history information (determination unit) and decides on the relevant prompting information H (determination unit) to be provided to the user based on the determination result. Thus, it is possible to select and determine appropriate prompting information H corresponding to the user's word search history. Consequently, it is possible to provide the user with appropriate prompting information H corresponding to the user's word proficiency. Furthermore, since the user can promptly confirm the required information (word notation, translation), learning can be performed efficiently and effectively.

[0199] Furthermore, the CPU 11 determines the sufficiency of multiple search history conditions (determination unit) based on the search history information. One of the multiple search history conditions is a first search history condition that satisfies the condition of the word's search history as condition 1. Another multiple search history condition is a second search history condition that satisfies the condition of the word's search history as condition 2, indicating a lower level of proficiency than condition 1. When the first search history condition is satisfied, the CPU 11, as the decision unit, selects first suggestion information H1 from the item information related to the word as suggestion information H to be provided to the user. On the other hand, when the second search history condition is satisfied, it selects second suggestion information H2 from the item information related to the word that has more information or higher readability than first suggestion information H1 as suggestion information H to be provided to the user. Thus, suggestion information H with an appropriate amount of information corresponding to the user's word proficiency, or suggestion information H with appropriate readability, can be provided to the user.

[0200] Furthermore, the word displayed in the prompt information H is any one of the multiple words constituting the question sentence. The question is presented via the audio of the question sentence. The first search history condition is a "no playback" condition where the learning history DB135 contains a history of the word being retrieved but does not contain a history of the word being played back. The second search history condition is a "no search" condition where the learning history DB135 does not contain a history of the word being retrieved. When the "no playback" condition is met, the CPU 11, as the decision unit, selects the notation of the word as the first prompt information H1. Conversely, when the "no search" condition is met, it selects the notation and translation of the word as the second prompt information H2.

[0201] When the sound is not reproduced, since the user has already searched for all the words, it can be inferred that they understand the meaning from the word notation. Conversely, since the sound of the word is not reproduced, it can be inferred that the word is the one they cannot understand from the sound of the question sentence. Therefore, in a listening test where the sound is not reproduced, by selecting the word notation as a cue information H, the user can identify the word they did not understand and connect it with the meaning of the words they have already learned. Thus, appropriate cue information H corresponding to the user's vocabulary proficiency can be provided.

[0202] On the other hand, when the "no search" condition is met, it can be inferred that the user has not learned the meaning of the word. Furthermore, since the word's sound is not reproduced, it can be inferred that the user can understand the word from the sound of the question sentence. Therefore, in a listening test where the "no search" condition is met, by selecting the word's notation and translation as prompt information H, the user can identify the word they did not understand from the word notation in prompt information H, and furthermore, they can grasp the word's meaning from the translation of the word in prompt information H. Thus, appropriate prompt information H corresponding to the user's vocabulary proficiency can be provided.

[0203] Furthermore, by using word suggestions as prompts (H), even in listening tests where users have no recollection of the words in the question sentences and are unsure of the spelling when looking up words in a dictionary, the system can provide users with the information (spelling) needed to advance their learning, thus improving their learning efficiency.

[0204] Furthermore, the word displayed in the prompt information H is any one of the multiple words constituting the question sentence. The question is presented through the display of the question sentence. The first search history condition includes a first search period condition that satisfies the situation after the time point of the last searched word as the base time point. The second search history condition is a second search period condition that satisfies the situation before the time point of the last searched word as the base time point, and the situation where the search history information includes the history of the searched word. Therefore, the CPU 11 can provide the user with prompt information H of an appropriate amount of information corresponding to the length of the elapsed period since the time point of the last search (learning) word (and the presence or absence of search history), or prompt information H with appropriate readability. That is, in the case where the time point of the last searched word is before the base time point (or in the case where there is no search history), it is presumed that there is a possibility that the user has forgotten the learning content of the word (or has not learned it), and the CPU 11 can provide prompt information H with more information or prompt information H with high readability.

[0205] Furthermore, when the first retrieval period condition is met during the reading test, the CPU 11, as the decision unit, selects the first prompt information H1 from the English-English dictionary item information (item information written in a language other than the user's native language) in the dictionary DB 132. Furthermore, when the second retrieval period condition is met, it selects the second prompt information H2 from the English-Japanese dictionary item information (item information written in the user's native language) in the dictionary DB 132. Thus, when the elapsed time since the last word retrieval (learning) is short, the CPU 11 can provide prompt information H1 (the first prompt information H1 suitable for users with high proficiency) by suggesting English-English dictionary item information with low reading difficulty, and can also encourage the user to learn additional English related to the English-English dictionary content. Conversely, when the elapsed time since the last word retrieval (learning) is long, or when the word was not retrieved, the CPU 11 can provide prompt information H2 (the second prompt information H2 suitable for users with low proficiency) by suggesting English-Japanese dictionary item information with high reading difficulty.

[0206] Furthermore, the CPU 11, as the decision-making unit, selects the word to be displayed for the prompt information H from a plurality of words whose proficiency level is above a predetermined lower limit (in the above embodiment, words whose proficiency level is above a threshold). This prevents the display of prompt information H at a level unnecessary for a large number of users.

[0207] Furthermore, the CPU 11, which serves as the prompting history unit, uses the learning history DB 135, which contains the prompting history information related to the prompting information H given to the user, to prompt the user with words corresponding to the prompting information H that has been given to the user in the past. This allows the user to effectively review the words.

[0208] Furthermore, the CPU 11, as the decision-making unit, can select multiple hint information H corresponding to multiple words involved in the question. This allows it to provide the user with an appropriate amount of hint information H.

[0209] Furthermore, the terminal device 20 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 21. The CPU 21 asks questions to the user (question generation unit) and, in response to a request for hint information H related to the question, provides hint information H to the user (hint information prompting unit). Moreover, the hint information H prompted by the CPU 21, which is the hint information prompting unit, is determined based on a judgment result regarding the sufficiency of search history conditions for the search history information related to the question. Therefore, appropriate hint information H corresponding to the user's vocabulary proficiency can be provided to the user. Furthermore, since the user can promptly confirm the required information (vocabulary notation, translation), they can learn efficiently.

[0210] Furthermore, the learning support system 1, which is the information processing system according to this embodiment, includes a server 10 as an information processing device and a terminal device 20. The CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 poses questions to the user (question generation unit), and the CPU 11 of the server 10 retrieves search history information from the learning history database 135 regarding the words involved in the questions posed to the user (acquisition unit). It then determines the sufficiency of the search history conditions based on the search history information (determination unit), and decides on the prompting information H related to the questions to be provided to the user based on the determination result of the sufficiency (determination unit). The CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 then provides the user with the prompting information H determined by the CPU 11 of the server 10 (prompt information prompting unit). Thus, appropriate prompting information H corresponding to the user's vocabulary proficiency can be provided to the user. In addition, since the user can confirm the required information (word notation, translation) in a timely manner, they can learn efficiently.

[0211] Furthermore, the information processing method involved in this embodiment is an information processing method executed by the computer (CPU11 and CPU21) of the learning support system 1, which is an information processing system. When a user asks a question, the system retrieves search history information from the learning history database DB135 regarding the words involved in the question. It then determines the sufficiency of the search history information and, based on the sufficiency determination, decides to provide the user with relevant prompting information H related to the question. This allows for the provision of appropriate prompting information H to the user, corresponding to the user's vocabulary proficiency. Furthermore, because the user can promptly confirm the required information (word notation, translation), they can learn efficiently.

[0212] Furthermore, the server control program 131 according to this embodiment enables the CPU 11, which is a computer located in the server 10 as an information processing device, to function as the following units: an acquisition unit that acquires search history information from the learning history DB 135 regarding the words involved in the question posed to the user; a judgment unit that judges the sufficiency of the search history conditions based on the search history information; and a decision unit that determines the suggestion information H related to the question to be suggested to the user based on the judgment result of the sufficiency. Thus, appropriate suggestion information H corresponding to the user's proficiency in the words can be suggested to the user.

[0213] <Other>

[0214] Furthermore, the descriptions in the above embodiments are examples of the information processing apparatus, terminal apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and program involved in this disclosure, and are not limited thereto.

[0215] For example, in the above embodiments, the terminal device 20 may execute part or all of the processing performed by the server 10. When the CPU 21 of the terminal device 20 performs the prompt information selection processing, the terminal device 20 is equivalent to an "information processing device".

[0216] Furthermore, while exemplified by displaying prompts on test screen 50, this method is not limited to this; prompts may also replace display or, in addition to display, be delivered through sound output. For example, in Figure 11A In the test screen 50, in addition to the word "software" being displayed, the sound of the word can also be output from the sound output unit 26.

[0217] Furthermore, in listening tests, the prompt information H can be differentiated based on the sufficiency of the first and second retrieval period conditions. For example, if the last time a word was retrieved was after the baseline time (satisfying the first retrieval period condition), only the word's representation is selected as the prompt information H. If the last time a word was retrieved was before the baseline time and there is no search history for that word (satisfying the second retrieval period condition), both the word's representation and its translation are selected as the prompt information H.

[0218] Furthermore, the first hint information H1 and the second hint information H2 are not limited to the embodiments described above. The first hint information H1 and the second hint information H2 can be any information selected such that the second hint information H2 has more information content than the first hint information H1 or has higher readability.

[0219] Furthermore, multiple search history conditions can include more than three search history conditions. For example, the number of times a word was searched and the period when the word was last searched can be divided into more than three stages. The results of the judgment of more than three search history conditions that meet the conditions corresponding to each stage can be used to make the content of the prompt information different.

[0220] Furthermore, if the multiple search history conditions for the target object include more than three search history conditions, the suggestion information H can also be determined according to the number of search history conditions that are satisfied.

[0221] Furthermore, the search history conditions are not limited to the examples of the above embodiments, and can be set to conditions that can determine the sufficiency status based on any parameters involved in the search, such as the presence or absence of a search, the number of searches, the frequency of searches (search interval), and the period in which the search is conducted.

[0222] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the sufficiency of multiple different search history conditions is determined, and the prompting information is decided based on the determination results. However, it is also possible to decide the prompting information based on the sufficiency of a single search history condition. For example, for the word to be prompted, only whether it meets the "not searched" condition is determined. If it is determined that the "not searched" condition is met, the word's notation and translation are displayed as prompting information; if it is determined that the "not searched" condition is not met, no prompting information is displayed.

[0223] Furthermore, the above description discloses examples of using HDD or SSD of storage unit 13 as computer-readable media for the program involved in this disclosure, but is not limited to these examples. Other computer-readable media may include flash memory, CD-ROM, and other information recording media. Furthermore, as a medium for providing data of the program involved in this disclosure via a communication line, a carrier wave is also used in this disclosure.

[0224] Furthermore, the detailed structure and operation of each component of the learning support system 1, server 10, and terminal device 20 in the above embodiments can, of course, be appropriately modified without departing from the intent of this disclosure.

[0225] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described, but the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims and its equivalents.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising at least one processor, the processor performing the following processing: Regarding obtaining search history information for words involved in questions posed by users via voice, Based on the judgment result obtained by determining whether the obtained search history information meets the given search history conditions, the relevant prompting information for the question prompted to the user is determined. The search history criteria include the first search history criteria. The first search history condition is the condition that determines whether the search history of the word is in the first condition. The first situation is when the search history information includes a history of the word being retrieved but does not include a history of the word being played back. The processor performs the following processing: determining whether the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition; if it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition, selecting the first prompt information, i.e. the word's representation, from the item information involved in the word as the prompt information to be given to the user.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The search history criteria also include a second search history criterion. The second search history condition is a condition that determines whether the search history of the word is satisfied, indicating that the word has a lower level of proficiency compared to the first condition. The processor performs the following processing: Determine whether the obtained search history information meets the second search history condition. If it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the second search history condition, a second suggestion information with more information or higher readability than the first suggestion information is selected from the item information involved in the word, and used as the suggestion information to prompt the user.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The word in question is any one of the multiple words that constitute the question sentence. The second search history condition is a non-search condition that determines whether the search history information does not contain any history records of the word being retrieved. The processor performs the following processing: If it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the non-search condition, the word representation and translation are selected as the second suggestion information.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, The processor performs the following processing: The word is selected from a plurality of words whose difficulty level is above a predetermined lower limit.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor performs the following processing: The system retrieves the user's history of prompts, i.e., the prompt history information. Based on the obtained historical prompting information, the user is prompted with the words corresponding to the prompting information that has been previously prompted to the user.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor performs the following processing: Determine the multiple tips corresponding to the multiple words involved in the question.

7. A terminal device comprising at least one processor, The processor performs the following processing: Users can ask questions via voice. In response to the user's request for helpful information related to their question, the relevant helpful information is provided to the user. The suggested information is determined based on whether the search history information of the words involved in the question meets the given search history conditions. The search history criteria include the first search history criteria. The first search history condition is the condition that determines whether the search history of the word is in the first condition. The first situation is when the search history information includes a history of the word being retrieved but does not include a history of the word being played back. The processor performs the following processing: if it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition, it selects the first prompt information, i.e., the word's notation, from the item information involved in the word, as the prompt information to suggest to the user.

8. An information processing system, comprising information processing devices and terminal devices that are communicatively connected to each other, wherein, Both the information processing device and the terminal device include at least one processor. The processor of the information processing device performs the following processing: For the questions sent to the terminal device and generated by the terminal device's processor via voice, the system retrieves the user's search history information regarding the words involved in the questions from the terminal device. Based on the determination result obtained by judging whether the obtained search history information meets the given search history conditions, the relevant prompting information for the question prompted to the user is determined. The search history criteria include the first search history criteria. The first search history condition is the condition that determines whether the search history of the word is in the first condition. The first situation is when the search history information includes a history of the word being retrieved but does not include a history of the word being played back. The processor of the information processing device performs the following processing: determining whether the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition; if it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition, selecting the first suggestion information, i.e., the representation of the word, from the item information involved in the word, as the suggestion information to be given to the user. The processor of the terminal device displays the prompt information to the user.

9. An information processing method, executed by a computer in an information processing system, wherein, For questions posed to a user via voice in a terminal device with a communication connection, the search history information performed by the user regarding the words involved in the question is obtained from the terminal device. Based on the judgment result obtained by determining whether the obtained search history information meets the given search history conditions, the relevant prompting information for the question prompted to the user is determined. The search history criteria include the first search history criteria. The first search history condition is the condition that determines whether the search history of the word is in the first condition. The first situation is when the search history information includes a history of the word being retrieved but does not include a history of the word being played back. Determine whether the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition. If it is determined that the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition, select the first suggestion information, i.e., the representation of the word, from the item information related to the word, as the suggestion information to be given to the user. The determined prompt information is sent to the terminal device as the prompt information to be prompted.

10. A recording medium recording a program executable by a computer disposed in an information processing device, the program causing the computer to function as a unit: The acquisition unit retrieves search history information regarding the words involved in questions posed by users via voice; and The decision unit determines the relevant prompts for the user's question based on a judgment result obtained from determining whether the obtained search history information meets the given search history conditions. The search history criteria include the first search history criteria. The first search history condition is the condition that determines whether the search history of the word is in the first condition. The first situation is when the search history information includes a history of the word being retrieved but does not include a history of the word being played back. The decision unit determines whether the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition. If it determines that the obtained search history information meets the first search history condition, it selects the first prompt information, i.e., the word's representation, from the item information involved in the word as the prompt information to suggest to the user.

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