English teaching material

Abstract

To provide English teaching materials helping students intuitively acquire English pronunciation.SOLUTION: There is provided an English teaching material comprising a position identification member and a plurality of vowel cards. The position identification member includes a bimaxillary display for roughly representing a lateral cross-section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers for respectively identifying a plurality of positions of a tip of the tongue during pronunciation. The plurality of vowel cards are each assigned to a different English vowel. The plurality of vowel cards have, on each one side, a face symbol imitating a human face and one or two of a plurality of identification displays. The face display includes a mouth shape diagram for graphically representing the mouth shape when pronouncing the corresponding vowel. The plurality of identification displays respectively have the same form as any of the plurality of identifiers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to English language teaching materials for learning English pronunciation. [Background technology]

[0002] When teaching and learning English pronunciation, phonetic symbols created to systematically represent English pronunciation are used, and many English language learning materials include English letters and words with phonetic symbols attached. These phonetic symbols are attached so that users who do not know how to pronounce English letters, etc. can check them and confirm how to read them (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The learning cards described in Patent Document 1 have English letters written in the center of the front and phonetic symbols written below the English letters. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-131975 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, phonetic symbols are mainly composed of English letters or their modifications, so they are unfamiliar to beginners in particular, and it is difficult to grasp the correct pronunciation from the phonetic symbols. Therefore, there is a need for English language learning materials that allow students to acquire English pronunciation intuitively.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide English language teaching materials that allow students to intuitively acquire English pronunciation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An English language learning material according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a position identification member including a bimaxillary display that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimaxillary display and identify each of a plurality of positions of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the sound, and a plurality of vowel cards that correspond to different English vowels, each of which has on one side a face display that resembles a human face and includes a mouth shape that illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are similar in appearance to each of the plurality of identifiers.

[0007] An English language learning material according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a position identification member including a bimaxillary display that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimaxillary display and identify each of a plurality of positions of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the sound, and an information terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of vowel cards that correspond to different English vowels, each of which has on one side a face display that resembles a human face and includes a mouth shape that illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are similar in appearance to each of the plurality of identifiers.

[0008] An English language learning material according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a position identification component including a bimaxillary display that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimaxillary display and identify each of a plurality of positions of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the sound, and a plurality of vowel cards that correspond to different systems of English vowels, each of which has, on one side thereof, a facial display that imitates a human face and includes a mouth figure that illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification marks that have a similar form to each of the plurality of identifiers, and at least one of the plurality of vowel cards is double-sided, having, on the other side thereof, a facial display and one or two of the identification marks that correspond to a vowel of the same system as the vowel on one side, and the mouth figures on one side and the other side of the double-sided vowel card are similar in shape but different in size.

[0009] One embodiment of the English language teaching material of the present invention comprises a position identification component including a bimaxillary display that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimaxillary display and identify each of a plurality of positions of the tip of the tongue during pronunciation; and an information terminal equipped with a display unit that displays a plurality of vowel cards that correspond to different systems of English vowels, each of which has, on one side, a facial display that imitates a human face and includes a mouth figure that illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification marks that have a similar form to each of the plurality of identifiers, and at least one of the plurality of vowel cards is double-sided, having, on the other side, a facial display and one or two of the identification marks that correspond to a vowel of the same system as the vowel on one side, and the mouth figures on one side and the other side of the double-sided vowel card are similar in shape but different in size. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the present invention, each of the multiple vowel cards has, on one side thereof, a facial display imitating a human face and one or two of multiple identification displays that are similar in appearance to the multiple identifiers of the position identification member. The facial display includes a mouth shape that illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the vowel corresponding to the vowel card. Therefore, at a glance, a user can intuitively grasp the mouth shape during pronunciation from the mouth shape and can understand the tongue position during pronunciation from the identification display. This allows learners to intuitively acquire English pronunciation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an English language teaching material according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a third series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the fourth series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the fifth series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the sixth series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the seventh series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an eighth series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the ninth series of vowel cards in the vowel set of FIG. 1. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the vowel cards of the 10th series of the vowel set in FIG. 1. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong au in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong ou in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong ai in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong ei in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong oi in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong er in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong ir in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the diphthong ur in the diphthong set of FIG. 1. [Figure 20] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter S in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 21] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the letter Z in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 22]2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter W in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 23] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter Y in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 24] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter R in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 25] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter L in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 26] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter M in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 27] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter P in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 28] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter B in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 29] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter T in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 30] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the letter D in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 31] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter N in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 32] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter F in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 33] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter V in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 34] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter H in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 35] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter th in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 36] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter TH in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 37] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter K in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 38] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter G in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 39]2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter SH in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 40] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter CH in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 41] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card related to the English letter J in the consonant set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 42] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter ng in the consonant set of FIG. 1. [Figure 43] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter ts in the consonant set of FIG. 1. [Figure 44] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating cards related to the English letter ds in the consonant set of FIG. 1. [Figure 45] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the word "apple" in the word set of FIG. 1. [Figure 46] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the word "elephant" in the word set of FIG. 1. [Figure 47] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card for the word "under" in the word set of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 48] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a grammar element card of the grammar set of FIG. [Figure 49] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an English language teaching material according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 50] FIG. 50 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the information terminal of FIG. 49. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Embodiment 1 English language learning materials according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 48. In each figure, images and symbols are omitted as appropriate to avoid complication. In Fig. 1, images of the front faces of various cards are omitted or simplified. The number and shapes of various cards are merely examples.

[0013] First, an example of the overall configuration of an English language learning material 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the English language learning material 100 includes a position identification member 10, a vowel set 20, a diphthong set 30, a consonant set 40, a word set 50, and a grammar set 60.

[0014] The position identification member 10 is a printed material such as a card or poster, and includes a bimaxillary representation 18 that schematically shows a cross-sectional side view of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers (11-15) that correspond to the bimaxillary representation 18 and identify a plurality of positions of the tip of the tongue during pronunciation. The bimaxillary representation 18 shown in FIG. 1 includes a schematic diagram of the oral cavity (including the intraoral space 19), lips, front teeth, etc. The tip of the tongue mainly refers to the front side of the anterior part of the tongue (the tip of the tongue), excluding the tip of the tongue, but may also refer to the tip of the tongue depending on the English letter or word being pronounced.

[0015] The position identification member 10 has a plurality of identifiers (11-15), including a first identifier 11, a second identifier 12, a third identifier 13, a fourth identifier 14, and a fifth identifier 15. The first identifier 11 is located at the boundary between the lower front teeth and the gums. The second identifier 12 is located at the boundary between the upper front teeth and the gums. The third identifier 13 is located at the gum area adjacent to the second identifier 12 on the rear side. The fourth identifier 14 indicates the front area within the space 19. While FIG. 1 illustrates the fourth identifier 14 as two numbers with arrows between them, any arrangement is acceptable as long as it can indicate the area. The fifth identifier 15 is located at the area adjacent to the front teeth on the outside (slightly beyond the upper and lower front teeth). FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of identifiers (11-15) representing the numbers 1-5. The position identification member 10 may be made of paper, resin, or paper with a coating applied to the surface, etc. However, the position identification member 10 may also be digital data displayed on a tablet terminal or the like.

[0016] The vowel set 20 is composed of a plurality of vowel cards 2 corresponding to different systems of English vowels. Each of the plurality of vowel cards 2 has, on one side, a face display F that resembles a human face and includes a mouth shape M that depicts the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification displays (21-25) that are similar in appearance to each of a plurality of identifiers (11-15). Hereinafter, when the identification displays (21-25) are referred to without distinction, the reference numerals may be omitted.

[0017] At least one of the multiple vowel cards 2 is double-sided, with one or two of a face display F and an identification display (21-25) corresponding to a vowel of the same family as the vowel on one side on the other side. The double-sided vowel card 2 has mouth-shaped figures M on one side and the other side that are similar in shape but different in size. The multiple vowel cards 2 have different colors for the mouth-shaped figures M for each family. Specific examples of the multiple vowel cards 2 will be described later with reference to Figures 2 to 11.

[0018] The diphthong set 30 has a plurality of diphthong cards 3 corresponding to different English diphthongs. Each of the diphthong cards 3 has, on one side thereof, a composite face display W formed by combining face displays F of two vowel cards 2 of different systems side by side, and one or two identification displays corresponding to the composite face display W. Specific examples of the diphthong cards 3 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 12 to 19.

[0019] The consonant set 40 has a plurality of consonant cards 4 corresponding to different English consonants. Each of the plurality of consonant cards 4 has, on one side thereof, an image 7 that is an image that evokes the English letter associated with the English consonant. Each of the plurality of consonant cards 4 has, on the other side thereof, a character representation 8 that represents the English letter, a reference image 9 that illustrates the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing the consonant, and identification marks (21-26) that indicate the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Specific examples of the plurality of consonant cards 4 will be described later with reference to Figures 20 to 44.

[0020] The word set 50 is made up of a plurality of word cards 5 each corresponding to a different English word. Each of the plurality of word cards 5 has, on one side thereof, a word notation T indicative of an English word and a pronunciation image H representing the pronunciation of the English word. The pronunciation image H is a combination of a face display F associated with one or more vowel cards 2 corresponding to the English word and an image 7 associated with one or more consonant cards 4, arranged horizontally in accordance with the English word. Specific examples of the plurality of word cards 5 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 45 to 47.

[0021] The grammar set 60 is made up of one or more grammar element cards 6. The grammar element cards 6 include image images 7 of consonant cards 4, and represent the pronunciation and image of an element of English grammar. The vowel cards 2, diphthong cards 3, consonant cards 4, word cards 5, and grammar element cards 6 may be made of paper, resin, or paper with a coating applied to its surface. Specific examples of multiple grammar element cards 6 will be described later with reference to FIG. 48.

[0022] Next, specific examples of multiple vowel cards 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 11. The facial display Fa of the vowel card 2a in FIG. 2 includes a thin oval mouth figure Ma that evokes a state in which the mouth is slightly open (a state in which the mouth is naturally half-open). The vowel card 2a has an identification mark 21 in the same form as the first identifier 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the vowel card 2a may have a phonetic symbol Pa that corresponds to the mouth figure Ma. The mouth figure Ma is drawn in purple, for example.

[0023] The facial display Fb of the vowel card 2b in FIG. 3 includes a diamond-shaped mouth Mb, which evokes a slightly protruding mouth. The mouth Mb may be a square with rounded corners, and the corners may be positioned so that the top, bottom, left, and right sides are aligned. The vowel card 2b has an identification mark 21 that is similar to the first identifier 11 and an identification mark 24 that is similar to the fourth identifier 14. On the vowel card 2b, the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24 are arranged side by side. The side-by-side identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24 indicate that the tip of the tongue moves from the position of the first identifier 11 to the position of the fourth identifier 14 when pronouncing the vowel associated with the vowel card 2b. As shown in FIG. 3, the vowel card 2b may also include a phonetic symbol Pb corresponding to the mouth Ma. In addition, the vowel card 2b may also include an associated image 28 related to the pronunciation of the vowel. In Figure 3, the related image 28 is an image of a baby lion that evokes the pronunciation of the vowel on the vowel card 2b. The image of the baby lion evokes a relatively soft (gentle) sound in comparison with the image 7e (lion image) in Figure 24, which will be described later. The mouth shape Ma is drawn in brown, for example.

[0024] The vowel card 2c in FIG. 4 has a face display Fc1 on its front side (shown in (a)) and a face display Fc2 on its back side (shown in (b)). The face display Fc1 includes a vertically elongated oval mouth figure Mc1, evoking a state in which the lower jaw is lowered and the mouth is wide open. The face display Fc2 includes an oval mouth figure Mc2 that is similar to the mouth figure Mc1 but shorter in the vertical direction. The mouth figures Mc1 and Mc2 have similar shapes but different sizes. The vowel card 2c has an identification mark 21 on both its front and back sides. As shown in FIG. 4, the vowel card 2c may have a phonetic symbol Pc1 corresponding to the mouth figure Mc1 on its front side and a phonetic symbol Pc2 corresponding to the mouth figure Mc2 on its back side. The mouth figures Mc1 and Mc2 may be drawn in the same color, for example, orange.

[0025] The facial representation Fd of the vowel card 2d in Figure 5 includes a mouth shape Md that evokes an open mouth in the shape of an inverted triangle. To emphasize the state in which the upper teeth are visible, the mouth shape Md in Figure 5 has multiple vertical lines at the top of the inverted triangle that evoke the boundaries of each upper tooth and horizontal lines that evoke the bottom edges of each upper tooth. The vowel card 2d has an identification mark 21. As shown in Figure 5, the vowel card 2d may also have a phonetic symbol Pd that corresponds to the mouth shape Md. The mouth shape Md is drawn in, for example, golden yellow.

[0026] The vowel card 2e in FIG. 6 has a face display Fe1 on its front side (shown in (a)) and a face display Fe2 on its back side (shown in (b)). The face display Fe1 includes an oval mouth shape Me1, evoking a state in which the lips are apart and the mouth is wide open. The face display Fe2 includes a mouth shape Me2, which is a smaller version of the mouth shape Me1. The mouth shapes Me1 and Me2 are similar in shape but different in size. The mouth shapes Me1 and Me2 in FIG. 6 feature a double horizontal line representing the gap between the upper and lower teeth and multiple vertical lines reminiscent of the boundary between the left and right teeth to emphasize the visible teeth. The vowel card 2e has an identification mark 21 on both its front and back sides. As shown in FIG. 6, the vowel card 2e may have a phonetic symbol Pe1 corresponding to the mouth shape Me1 on its front side and a phonetic symbol Pe2 corresponding to the mouth shape Me2 on its back side. The mouth-shaped figure Me1 and the mouth-shaped figure Me2 are preferably drawn in the same color, for example, green.

[0027] The facial representation Ff of the vowel card 2f in Fig. 7 includes a circular mouth figure Mf that evokes a round, open mouth. The vowel card 2f has an identification mark 21. As shown in Fig. 7, the vowel card 2f may have a phonetic symbol Pf corresponding to the mouth figure Mf. The mouth figure Mf is drawn in blue, for example.

[0028] The vowel card 2g of FIG. 8 has a face display Fg1 on its front side (as shown in (a)) and a face display Fg2 on its back side (as shown in (b)). The face display Fg1 includes a heart-shaped mouth Mg1 that evokes a pointed, open mouth. The face display Fg2 includes a mouth Mg2 that is a smaller version of the mouth Mg1. The mouth Mg1 and the mouth Mg2 have similar shapes but different sizes. The vowel card 2g has an identification display 21 on both its front and back sides. As shown in FIG. 8, the vowel card 2g may have a phonetic symbol Pg1 corresponding to the mouth Mg1 on its front side and a phonetic symbol Pg2 corresponding to the mouth Mg2 on its back side. The mouth Mg1 and the mouth Mg2 may be drawn in the same color, for example, pink.

[0029] The facial display Fh of the vowel card 2h in FIG. 9 includes a mouth shape Mh that evokes an open mouth in an inverted triangle shape. The mouth shape Mh in FIG. 9 is roughly the same shape as the mouth shape Md in FIG. 5, and to emphasize the state in which the upper teeth are visible, multiple vertical lines are drawn at the top to evoke the boundaries of each upper tooth and horizontal lines to evoke the bottom edges of each upper tooth. The mouth shape Mh includes a triangular nose image Nh to evoke the image of air and sound escaping through the nose. The vowel card 2h has an identification mark 21. As shown in FIG. 9, the vowel card 2h may also include a phonetic symbol Ph corresponding to the mouth shape Mh. The mouth shape Mh is drawn in, for example, golden yellow.

[0030] The facial display Fm of the vowel card 2m in FIG. 10 includes a mouth shape Mc1 and a mouth shape Mb. The facial display Fm illustrated in FIG. 10 has a shape formed by overlapping the centers of two circles. When pronouncing the vowel "ar" on the vowel card 2m, it is recommended to change the shape of the mouth from the shape of the mouth shape Mc1 to the shape of the mouth shape Mb. Therefore, in the facial display Fm, the mouth shape Mc1 and the mouth shape Mb are arranged side by side so that a user viewing the vowel card 2m can easily visualize the change in the shape of the mouth. The vowel card 2m includes an identification mark 21 corresponding to the mouth shape Mc1 and an identification mark 24 corresponding to the mouth shape Mb. In the vowel card 2m in FIG. 10, a right-pointing arrow S is drawn between the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24 so that a user viewing the card can easily visualize the change in the position of the tip of the tongue. The rightward arrow S also visually affects the change from the mouth shape Mc1 to the mouth shape Mb. As shown in Fig. 10, the vowel card 2m may have a phonetic symbol Pm corresponding to the face display Fm.

[0031] The facial display Fn of the vowel card 2n in FIG. 11 has a mouth shape Mf and a mouth shape Mb. The facial display Fn illustrated in FIG. 11 has a shape formed by overlapping the centers of two circles. When pronouncing the vowel "or" associated with the vowel card 2n, it is preferable to change the shape of the mouth from the mouth shape Mf to the mouth shape Mb. Therefore, in the facial display Fn, the mouth shape Mf and the mouth shape Mb are arranged side by side so that a user viewing the vowel card 2n can easily visualize the change in the mouth shape. The vowel card 2n has an identification mark 21 corresponding to the mouth shape Mf and an identification mark 24 corresponding to the mouth shape Mb. Like the vowel card 2m in FIG. 10, the vowel card 2n in FIG. 11 has a right-pointing arrow S between the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24. The right-pointing arrow S also visually affects the change from the mouth shape Mf to the mouth shape Mb. As shown in FIG. 11, the vowel card 2n may have a phonetic symbol Pn corresponding to a facial display Fn.

[0032] In the first embodiment, the vowels on the front and back of the double-sided vowel cards 2 are defined as belonging to the same system. Note that the vowel card 2c in FIG. 4, the vowel card 2e in FIG. 6, and the vowel card 2g in FIG. 8 are double-sided vowel cards 2. In the vowel set 20 of the first embodiment, one vowel card 2 is assigned to each vowel of a different system. That is, the vowel set 20 includes information on 13 vowels in 10 systems using the ten vowel cards 2.

[0033] The facial display Fb of vowel card 2b in FIG. 3 may have mouth shapes Ma and Mb arranged side by side in correspondence with the horizontally arranged identification marks 21 and 24. In this way, adding mouth shape Ma to vowel card 2b will lead to more accurate pronunciation. However, considering the high hurdle of making beginners aware of changes in mouth shape, vowel card 2b may be configured to include only mouth shape Mb, as in FIG. 3. Vowel card 2m (FIG. 10) and vowel card 2n (FIG. 11) may have associated image 28 of a baby lion printed on them, similar to vowel card 2b (FIG. 3).

[0034] As described above, it is preferable that the colors of the mouth-shaped figures M on the vowel cards 2a to 2h are different from each other. For the double-sided vowel cards 2c, 2e, and 2g, it is preferable that the colors of the mouth-shaped figures M on one side and the other side are the same. Regarding the vowel cards 2m and 2n, when the two mouth-shaped figures M are considered comprehensively, it can be interpreted that the colors of the mouth-shaped figures M on the multiple vowel cards 2 are different for each system. In other words, the different colors of the mouth-shaped figures M on the vowel cards 2 also include different color combinations of the mouth-shaped figures M.

[0035] Here, the vowel card 2m in FIG. 10 and the vowel card 2n in FIG. 11 will be summarized. On the face display F of the vowel card 2m and the vowel card 2n, the mouth shapes M of two vowel cards 2 of different systems are arranged side by side, and the identification marks (21, 24) corresponding to the mouth shapes M are also arranged side by side. The vowels in FIG. 3, the vowels in FIG. 10, and the vowels in FIG. 11 are sometimes described as a combination of vowels containing "r." The vowel cards 2m and 2n correspond to vowels that require changes in the shape of the mouth and the position of the tongue tip, and are somewhat more difficult to pronounce than the vowels on the other vowel cards 2. Therefore, the vowel set 20 may be configured without the vowel card 2m or the vowel card 2n, or may be configured to include only one of them.

[0036] Next, specific examples of multiple diphthong cards 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 19. The diphthong card 3a in FIG. 12 has a composite face display Wa that combines a face display Fc1 and a face display Fg2 side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3a has a mouth figure Mc1 and a mouth figure Mg2 arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to both the mouth figure Mc1 and the mouth figure Mg2. As shown in FIG. 12, the diphthong card 3a may have a phonetic symbol Ra corresponding to the composite face display Wa.

[0037] The diphthong card 3b in Fig. 13 has a composite face display Wb that combines a face display Ff and a face display Fg2 side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3b has a mouth figure Mf and a mouth figure Mg2 arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to both the mouth figure Mf and the mouth figure Mg2. As shown in Fig. 13, the diphthong card 3b may also have a phonetic symbol Rb corresponding to the composite face display Wb.

[0038] The diphthong card 3c in Fig. 14 has a composite face display Wc that combines a face display Fc1 and a face display Fe2 side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3c has a mouth-shaped figure Mc1 and a mouth-shaped figure Me2 arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to both the mouth-shaped figure Mc1 and the mouth-shaped figure Me2. As shown in Fig. 14, the diphthong card 3c may also have a phonetic symbol Rc corresponding to the composite face display Wc.

[0039] The diphthong card 3d in Fig. 15 has a composite face display Wd that combines a face display Fd and a face display Fe2 side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3d has a mouth-shaped figure Md and a mouth-shaped figure Me2 arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to both the mouth-shaped figure Md and the mouth-shaped figure Me2. As shown in Fig. 15, the diphthong card 3d may have a phonetic symbol Rd corresponding to the composite face display Wd.

[0040] The diphthong card 3e in Fig. 16 has a composite face display We, which is a horizontal combination of a face display Ff and a face display Fe2. That is, the diphthong card 3e has a mouth figure Mf and a mouth figure Me2 arranged horizontally, and has identification marks 21 corresponding to both the mouth figure Mf and the mouth figure Me2. As shown in Fig. 16, the diphthong card 3e may also have a phonetic symbol Re corresponding to the composite face display We.

[0041] The diphthong card 3f in Fig. 17 has a composite face display Wf that combines a face display Fd and a face display Fb side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3f has a mouth figure Md and a mouth figure Mb arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to the mouth figure Md and an identification mark 24 corresponding to the mouth figure Mb. The diphthong card 3f in Fig. 17 has a right-pointing arrow S drawn between the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24 so that a user viewing the card can immediately grasp the change in the position of the tip of the tongue. The right-pointing arrow S also visually affects the change from the mouth figure Md to the mouth figure Mb. As shown in Fig. 17, the diphthong card 3f may have a phonetic symbol Rf corresponding to the composite face display Wf.

[0042] The diphthong card 3g of Fig. 18 has a composite facial display Wg that combines a facial display Fe2 and a facial display Fb side by side. That is, the diphthong card 3g has a mouth figure Me2 and a mouth figure Mb arranged side by side, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to the mouth figure Me2 and an identification mark 24 corresponding to the mouth figure Mb. The diphthong card 3g of Fig. 18 also has a right-pointing arrow S drawn between the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24. The right-pointing arrow S also visually affects the transition from the mouth figure Me2 to the mouth figure Mb. As shown in Fig. 18, the diphthong card 3g may have a phonetic symbol Rg corresponding to the composite facial display Wg.

[0043] The diphthong card 3h in Fig. 19 has a composite facial display Wh, which is a horizontal combination of a facial display Fg2 and a facial display Fb. That is, the diphthong card 3h has a mouth figure Mg2 and a mouth figure Mb arranged horizontally, and has an identification mark 21 corresponding to the mouth figure Mg2 and an identification mark 24 corresponding to the mouth figure Mb. The diphthong card 3h in Fig. 19 also has a right-pointing arrow S drawn between the identification mark 21 and the identification mark 24. The right-pointing arrow S also visually affects the transition from the mouth figure Mg2 to the mouth figure Mb. As shown in Fig. 19, the diphthong card 3h may have a phonetic symbol Rh corresponding to the composite facial display Wh.

[0044] Next, specific examples of multiple consonant cards 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 44. The consonant card 4a in FIG. 20 has an image 7a reminiscent of the letter S on its front side, and a character representation 8a depicting the letter S, a reference image 9a illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter S, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant, on its back side. In FIG. 20, an image of an S-shaped snake is shown as the image 7a. The consonant card 4b in FIG. 21 has an image 7b reminiscent of the letter Z on its front side, and a character representation 8b depicting the letter Z, a reference image 9b illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter Z, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant, on its back side. In FIG. 21, an image of "zipper" is shown as the image 7b.

[0045] Consonant card 4c in Fig. 22 has on its front side an image 7c reminiscent of the English letter W, and on its back side a letter notation 8c depicting the English letter W, a reference image 9c illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter W, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4d in Fig. 23 has on its front side an image 7d reminiscent of the English letter Y, and on its back side a letter notation 8d depicting the English letter Y, a reference image 9d illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter Y, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

[0046] Consonant card 4e in Fig. 24 has on its front side an image 7e reminiscent of the letter R, and on its back side a letter notation 8e depicting the letter R, a reference image 9e illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter R, and an identification indicator 24 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4f in Fig. 25 has on its front side an image 7f reminiscent of the letter L, and on its back side a letter notation 8f depicting the letter L, a reference image 9f illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter L, and an identification indicator 22 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. In Fig. 25, an image of a lemon is shown as image 7f.

[0047] A consonant card 4g in FIG. 26 has an image 7g reminiscent of the letter M on its front side, and a character representation 8g depicting the letter M, a reference image 9g illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter M, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. In FIG. 26, an image of a melon is shown as the image 7g. A consonant card 4h in FIG. 27 has an image 7h reminiscent of the letter P on its front side, and a character representation 8h depicting the letter P, a reference image 9h illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter P, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. In FIG. 27, an image of popcorn is shown as the image 7h.

[0048] Consonant card 4i in Figure 28 has on its front side an image 7i reminiscent of the letter B, and on its back side a letter notation 8i depicting the letter B, a reference image 9i illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter B, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4j in Figure 29 has on its front side an image 7j reminiscent of the letter T, and on its back side a letter notation 8j depicting the letter T, a reference image 9j illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter T, and an identification mark 23 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

[0049] Consonant card 4k in Fig. 30 has on its front side an image 7k reminiscent of the letter D, and on its back side a letter notation 8k depicting the letter D, a reference image 9k illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter D, and an identification mark 23 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4l in Fig. 31 has on its front side an image 7l reminiscent of the letter N, and on its back side a letter notation 8l depicting the letter N, a reference image 9l illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter N, and an identification mark 23 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. In Fig. 31, an image of a nose is shown as image 7l.

[0050] Consonant card 4m in FIG. 32 has an image 7m reminiscent of the letter F on its front side, and a character representation 8m depicting the letter F, a reference image 9m illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter F, and an identification indicator 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. In FIG. 32, an image of a fan is shown as the image 7m. Consonant card 4n in FIG. 33 has an image 7n reminiscent of the letter V on its front side, and a character representation 8n depicting the letter V, a reference image 9n illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter V, and an identification indicator 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. In FIG. 33, the image 7n shows an example of a smartphone vibrating.

[0051] Consonant card 4o in Figure 34 has on its front an image 7o reminiscent of the English letter H, and on its back a letter notation 8o depicting the English letter H, a reference image 9o illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter H, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4p in Figure 35 has on its front an image 7p reminiscent of the English letter th, and on its back a letter notation 8p depicting the English letter th, a reference image 9p illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter th, and an identification mark 25 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

[0052] Consonant card 4q in Fig. 36 has on its front an image 7q reminiscent of the English letter TH, and on its back a letter notation 8q depicting the English letter TH, a reference image 9q illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter TH, and an identification mark 25 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4r in Fig. 37 has on its front an image 7r reminiscent of the English letter K, and on its back a letter notation 8r depicting the English letter K, a reference image 9r illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter K, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

[0053] Consonant card 4s in FIG. 38 has an image 7s reminiscent of the letter G on its front side, and a character representation 8s depicting the letter G, a reference image 9s illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter G, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. Consonant card 4t in FIG. 39 has an image 7t reminiscent of the letter SH on its front side, and a character representation 8t depicting the letter SH, a reference image 9t illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the letter SH, and an identification mark 26 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant on its back side. In FIG. 39, identification mark 26 is illustrated as a circled number 0, and FIG. 1 does not illustrate an identifier corresponding to identification mark 26. If an identifier corresponding to identification mark 26 were to be displayed on position identification member 10 in FIG. 1, the identifier would be positioned within space 19 in the oral cavity. The position identification member 10 may have an identifier corresponding to the identification indicia 26 .

[0054] The consonant card 4u in FIG. 40 has an image 7u evocative of the English letter CH on its front side, and a letter notation 8u depicting the English letter CH and a reference image 9u illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter CH on its back side. The consonant card 4u also has horizontally arranged identification marks 23 and 21 on its back side. On the consonant card 4u in FIG. 40, a right-pointing arrow S is drawn between the identification marks 23 and 21 to inform a user who views it that they should change the position of the tip of the tongue. The horizontally arranged identification marks 23 and 21 indicate the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter CH. The consonant card 4v in FIG. 41 has an image 7v evocative of the English letter J on its front side, and a letter notation 8v depicting the English letter J and a reference image 9v illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter J on its back side. Consonant card 4v further has horizontally arranged identification mark 23 and identification mark 21 on the back side. Consonant card 4v in Figure 41 also has a right-pointing arrow S drawn between identification mark 23 and identification mark 21. The horizontally arranged identification mark 23 and identification mark 21 indicate the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter J.

[0055] Consonant card 4w in Fig. 42 has on its front an image 7w reminiscent of the English letter ng, and on its back a character notation 8w depicting the English letter ng, a reference image 9w illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter ng, and an identification mark 21 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. Consonant card 4x in Fig. 43 has on its front an image 7x reminiscent of the English letter ts, and on its back a character notation 8x depicting the English letter ts, a reference image 9x illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter ts, and an identification mark 23 indicating the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant. The consonant card 4y in Figure 44 has on its front an image 7y that evokes the English letter ds, and on its back a character representation 8y that shows the English letter ds, a reference image 9y that illustrates the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing a consonant related to the English letter ds, and an identification mark 23 that indicates the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

[0056] Next, specific examples of multiple flashcards 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 45 to 47. Flashcard 5a in FIG. 45 has a word notation T1 that shows the English word "apple" and a pronunciation image H1 that expresses the pronunciation of the English word. The pronunciation image H1 is a combination of a face display Fh, an image image 7h, a face display Fa, and an image image 7f, arranged horizontally to match the English word "apple." The relative sizes of the face display Fh, the image image 7h, the face display Fa, and the image image 7f correspond to the strength of the pronunciation of the English word "apple."

[0057] The word card 5b in Figure 46 has a word notation T2 that represents the English word "elephant" and a pronunciation image H2 that represents the pronunciation of the English word. The pronunciation image H2 is a combination of a face display Fd, an image image 7f, a face display Fa, an image image 7m, a face display Fa, an image image 7l, and an image image 7j, arranged horizontally to match the English word "elephant." The relative sizes of the face display Fd, an image image 7f, a face display Fa, an image image 7m, a face display Fa, an image image 7l, and an image image 7j correspond to the strength of the pronunciation of the English word "elephant."

[0058] The word card 5c in Figure 47 has a word notation T3 that shows the English word "under" and a pronunciation image H3 that represents the pronunciation of the English word. The pronunciation image H3 is a combination of a facial display Fc2, an image image 7l, an image image 7k, and a facial display Fb, arranged horizontally to match the English word "under." The relative sizes of the facial display Fc2, the image image 7l, the image image 7k, and the facial display Fb correspond to the strength of the pronunciation of the English word "under."

[0059] Since each word card 5 making up the word set 50 is constructed as described above, a user who has completed studying the vowel set 20 and the consonant set 40 can accurately pronounce the corresponding English word simply by glancing at the pronunciation image H.

[0060] Next, a specific example of a grammar element card 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 48. The grammar element card 6a in FIG. 48 includes an image 7w and represents the pronunciation and image of "-ing" related to the present progressive tense. More specifically, the grammar element card 6a has an explanation section G1 containing information about grammar, and a compound image Z1 in which the image 7w is fitted onto the nose of a walking character. The characters "-ing" are written in the explanation section G1 in FIG. 48. The grammar element card 6 can be created to correspond to various grammars, not just the present progressive tense. Using the grammar element card 6 allows users to accurately grasp the pronunciation of various grammar elements along with the image of the grammar.

[0061] As described above, in the English language learning material 100 of the first embodiment, each of the plurality of vowel cards 2 has, on one side thereof, a facial display F that resembles a human face and one or two of the plurality of identification marks (21-25) that are similar in appearance to the plurality of identifiers (11-15) of the position identification member 10. The facial display F includes a mouth shape M that depicts the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the vowel corresponding to the vowel card 2. Therefore, at a glance, a user can intuitively grasp the shape of the mouth during pronunciation from the mouth shape M and can grasp the position of the tongue during pronunciation from the identification marks (21-25). This allows a user to intuitively acquire English pronunciation.

[0062] At least one of the multiple vowel cards 2 is double-sided, with one or both of a face display F and an identification display corresponding to a vowel of the same family as the vowel on one side on the other side. The double-sided vowel card 2 is configured so that the mouth shapes M on one side and the other side are similar in shape but different in size. Therefore, vowels of the same family can be explained or learned systematically.

[0063] The mouth shapes M of the multiple vowel cards 2 are different in color for each system. Therefore, the user can distinguish between the different systems of mouth shapes M not only by shape but also by color. In other words, each mouth shape M leaves a strong impression on the user and can be clearly remembered. At least one of the multiple vowel cards 2 has the mouth shapes M of two vowel cards 2 of different systems arranged side by side in the face display F, and the identification marks 21 and 24 corresponding to each of the mouth shapes M are arranged side by side. In this way, the pronunciation of vowels, which involve changes in mouth shape and tongue position, can be visually and easily conveyed.

[0064] The English language learning material 100 may have a plurality of diphthong cards 3 corresponding to different English diphthongs. Each of the diphthong cards 3 has, on one side, a composite face display W formed by combining face displays F of two vowel cards 2 of different systems side by side, and one or more identification displays corresponding to the composite face display W. Using a plurality of diphthong cards 3 allows students to intuitively grasp diphthongs that involve changes in mouth shape, thereby improving the efficiency of English pronunciation learning.

[0065] The English language learning material 100 may include multiple consonant cards 4 associated with different English consonants. Each of the multiple consonant cards 4 has, on one side, an image 7 evocative of the English letter associated with the English consonant. Each of the multiple consonant cards 4 also has, on the other side, a letter notation 8 depicting the English letter, a reference image 9 illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing the consonant, and an identification mark indicating the position of the tongue tip when pronouncing the consonant. The consonant cards 4 configured in this manner can provide practical inspiration through the image 7, while the reference image 9 and the identification marking allow the learner to recognize the shape of the mouth and the position of the tongue tip, thereby promoting and solidifying accurate pronunciation. The consonant cards 4 may also be configured without the letter notation 8.

[0066] The English language learning material 100 may include multiple vocabulary cards 5 associated with different English words. Each of the multiple vocabulary cards 5 includes, on one side, a word notation T depicting an English word and a pronunciation image H depicting the pronunciation of the English word. The pronunciation image H is a combination of one or more facial representations F and one or more image images 7 corresponding to the English word, arranged side by side in accordance with the English word. Therefore, a user who has completed learning the vowel set 20 and the consonant set 40 can accurately pronounce the corresponding English word simply by glancing at the pronunciation image H. Furthermore, in the pronunciation image H, the sizes of the facial representations F and the image images 7 correspond to the stress used when pronouncing the English word. This allows learners to pronounce English words more accurately.

[0067] The English language learning material 100 may have grammar element cards 6 that include image images 7 of consonant cards 4 and represent the pronunciation and image of an element of English grammar. The grammar element cards 6 can help students to be aware of the correct pronunciation of grammar elements that they tend to overlook, along with the images.

[0068] The English language learning material 100 is composed of the position identification member 10 and a plurality of vowel cards 2, and may not include other cards. The English language learning material 100 may be composed of the position identification member 10, a vowel set 20, and at least one of a diphthong set 30, a consonant set 40, a word set 50, and a grammar set 60. However, the English language learning material 100 may be composed of only a plurality of vowel cards 2.

[0069] In the above description, an example was shown in which the vowel set 20 includes double-sided vowel cards 2, but this is not limiting. The vowel set 20 may be composed entirely of single-sided vowel cards 2. In this case, the double-sided vowel cards 2 are divided into two vowel cards 2. In other words, when such a configuration is adopted, the vowel set 20 is composed of a plurality of vowel cards 2 that correspond to different English vowels. Each of the plurality of vowel cards 2 has, on one side thereof, a face display F including a mouth shape M and one or two of a plurality of identification displays (21 to 25).

[0070] Embodiment 2 An English language learning material 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 49 and 50. Components similar to those of the English language learning material 200 according to the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted or simplified.

[0071] The English language learning material 200 of the second embodiment is composed of a position identification member 10 and an information terminal 80. The information terminal 80 has a display unit 84b that displays various information. That is, the English language learning material 200 is configured so that the display unit 84b of the information terminal 80 displays images (virtual cards) similar to the various cards of the first embodiment. The display unit 84b displays, for example, a plurality of vowel cards 2 that correspond to English vowels of different systems.

[0072] The information terminal 80 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) used by an English pronunciation instructor or learner. PCs include tablet PCs, smartphones, notebook PCs, and desktop PCs. In the second embodiment, the plurality of vowel cards 2, the plurality of diphthong cards 3, the plurality of consonant cards 4, the plurality of word cards 5, and one or more grammar element cards 6 are collectively referred to as virtual cards. The virtual cards displayed on the display unit 84b of the information terminal 80 may be displayed by screen sharing or the like while using a web conference system.

[0073] Next, with reference to FIG. 50 , an example of the functional configuration of the information terminal 80 will be described. The information terminal 80 is configured with, for example, a communication unit 81, an information processing unit 82, a storage unit 83, and an input / output unit 84. The communication unit 81 is an interface for wired or wireless communication between the information terminal 80 and external devices. The storage unit 83 stores various information in addition to the operating program of the information processing unit 82. In addition to information on a plurality of vowel cards 2, the storage unit 83 also stores information on a plurality of diphthong cards 3, information on a plurality of consonant cards 4, information on a plurality of vocabulary cards 5, information on at least one grammar element card 6, and the like. The format of the information on the various virtual cards stored in the storage unit 83 is not important. The storage unit 83 is configured with a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an embedded multi-media card (eMMC), a solid-state drive (SSD), a hard disk drive (HDD), or the like.

[0074] The input / output unit 84 is configured, for example, by a touch panel in which an input unit 84a and a display unit 84b are stacked. The input unit 84a accepts an input operation by the user and outputs a signal corresponding to the input operation to the information processing unit 82. More specifically, the input unit 84a detects the position touched by the user and outputs information about the detected position to the information processing unit 82. The display unit 84b is configured, for example, by a liquid crystal display (LCD) and displays characters, images, etc. However, the input / output unit 84 is not limited to a touch panel. For example, the input unit 84a may be a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard, or the like; that is, the input unit 84a and the display unit 84b may be configured separately from each other.

[0075] The information processing unit 82 reads out information about a virtual card from the storage unit 83 in response to a user's operation on the input unit 84a, and displays the virtual card on the display unit 84b. The display unit 84b in FIG. 49 illustrates a display screen 84G on the assumption that the information processing unit 82 performs operations based on an English learning program. The English learning program is an operating program incorporating information about various virtual cards, and is stored in the storage unit 83 or the like. The information processing unit 82 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

[0076] The display screen 84G displayed by the information processing unit 82 has a card area CE in which a virtual card is displayed. The display screen 84G may have a type display area C1 that indicates the category of the virtual card being displayed. The display screen 84G may have a left transition button B1 that indicates that the virtual card can be switched to the left, and a right transition button B2 that indicates that the virtual card can be switched to the right. For example, when the information processing unit 82 receives a left swipe action on the input / output unit 84, it causes the display unit 84b to display a virtual card that is later in the English learning program. When the information processing unit 82 receives a right swipe action on the input / output unit 84, it causes the display unit 84b to display a virtual card that is earlier in the English learning program.

[0077] The display screen 84G illustrated in FIG. 49 relates to a double-sided vowel card 2c. Therefore, the display screen 84G has a system transition button B3 that indicates that there are other vowel cards 2 of the same system as the currently displayed vowel card 2, that is, that the currently displayed vowel card 2 is double-sided. By looking at the system transition button B3, the user can confirm that the vowel card 2 is double-sided. When the information processing unit 82 receives an upward or downward swipe operation on the input / output unit 84, it switches the display of the vowel card 2 within the same system.

[0078] The left transition button B1, the right transition button B2, and the system transition button B3 may have a function of receiving an instruction to switch virtual cards. That is, the information processing unit 82 may be configured to perform a virtual card switching process in response to a tap operation, a click operation, or the like, on the left transition button B1, the right transition button B2, or the system transition button B3. The information processing unit 82 may display, on the display unit 84b, a type selection screen that allows the user to select the type of virtual card to be displayed, and may display, on the display unit 84b, virtual cards of the selected type in response to a selection operation on the type selection screen.

[0079] However, images of various virtual cards may be provided to the information terminal 80 from a management device 90 such as a server via a network N such as the Internet. In this case, the management device 90 cooperates with the information terminal 80 to display various virtual cards on the display unit 84b. The English language learning material 200 may be composed of the position identification member 10, the information terminal 80, and the management device 90. The position identification member 10 may be displayed as one of the virtual cards on the display unit 84b of the information terminal 80.

[0080] FIG. 49 shows an example in which single-sided vowel cards 2 and double-sided vowel cards 2 are distinguished on the display screen 84G, but this is not limiting. Multiple vowel cards 2 may all be registered as single-sided in the English learning program. In this case, the display of the same vowel cards 2 also switches in response to left-right operations. In other words, with this configuration, the vowel set 20 is made up of multiple vowel cards 2 associated with different English vowels. However, the switching direction of the virtual cards is not limited to left-right, and may also be up-down. Other configurations and alternative configurations of the English language learning material 200 are the same as those of the English language learning material 100 of the first embodiment.

[0081] As described above, the English language learning material 200 of the second embodiment has, on one side of each of the multiple vowel cards 2, a face display F that resembles a human face and one or two of the multiple identification displays (21-25) that are similar in appearance to the multiple identifiers (11-15) of the position identification member 10. The face display F includes a mouth shape M that depicts the shape of the mouth when pronouncing the vowel corresponding to the vowel card 2. Therefore, at a glance, a user can intuitively grasp the shape of the mouth during pronunciation from the mouth shape M and can understand the position of the tongue during pronunciation from the identification displays (21-25). This allows a user to intuitively acquire English pronunciation.

[0082] At least one of the plurality of vowel cards 2 may be double-sided, with one or both of a face display F and an identification display corresponding to a vowel of the same family as the vowel on one side on the other side. More specifically, information on two vowels of the same family may be arranged so that they are respectively assigned to one side (front side) and the other side (back side) of the virtual vowel card 2 on the display screen 84G. In this way, vowels of the same family can be explained or learned systematically. Other effects of the English language learning material 200 are the same as those of the English language learning material 100 of the first embodiment.

[0083] The above-described embodiments are merely specific examples of English language teaching materials, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the arrangement and size of the phonetic symbols, facial representation F, and identification markings on the vowel cards 2 are not limited to the examples shown in the figures and can be adjusted as appropriate. However, it is preferable to draw the facial representation F relatively large and in the center of the entire card. Furthermore, it is preferable to link the identification markings to the arrangement of the identifiers (11-15) on the position identification member 10. Since the mouth of the position identification member 10 in Figures 1 and 49 faces left, it is desirable to arrange it to the left of the identification markings. The arrangement and shape of each part of the vowel cards 2, diphthong cards 3, consonant cards 4, word cards 5, and grammar element cards 6 can also be adjusted as appropriate.

[0084] Although the identifiers (11-15) shown in Figures 1 and 49 are solid circles with white letters, the form of the identifiers is not limited to this. The identifiers may be numbers surrounded by circles, or may include letters or symbols instead of numbers. The outer shape of the identifiers is not limited to circles, but may be ovals, polygons, etc. The identifiers may be simple numbers, letters, symbols, etc. Multiple identifiers may be distinguishable from one another by shape or color without including numbers, letters, symbols, etc. However, identifiers that include numbers allow learners to more intuitively recognize the position of the tip of the tongue. In the examples of each figure, the number "1" is assigned to the identifier corresponding to the position where the tip of the tongue is most often placed when pronouncing English. The forms of the identification marks (21-26) are similar to those of the identifiers (11-15).

[0085] The facial display F is not limited to the configuration shown in each figure. For example, the position and configuration of the eyes may be changed as appropriate, and eyebrows may or may not be present. The reference image 9 of the consonant card 4 is not limited to a photograph, but may also be a drawing or illustration. The various cards are preferably rendered in full color. In this specification, in order to render pale colors in monochrome, unnecessary outlines and the like are added to the various cards. The above description illustrates an example of color variations of the mouth shapes M on the multiple vowel cards 2. However, the color combinations of the multiple mouth shapes M may be adjusted as appropriate. While FIG. 10 illustrates a facial display Fm in which a facial display Fc1 including a mouth shape Mc1 is superimposed on a facial display Fb including a mouth shape Mb, the configuration of the facial display Fm is not limited thereto. Similarly, FIG. 11 illustrates a facial display Fn in which a facial display Ff including a mouth shape Mf is superimposed on a facial display Fb including a mouth shape Mb, the configuration of the facial display Fn is not limited thereto. In the face display Fm and the face display Fn, the degree of overlapping of the two face displays F can be adjusted as appropriate. The right-pointing arrow S shown in each drawing may be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 2, 2a-2h, 2m, 2n Vowel cards, 3, 3a-3h Diphthong cards, 4, 4a-4y Consonant cards, 5, 5a-5c Word cards, 6, 6a Grammar element cards, 7, 7a-7y Image images, 8, 8a-8y Character notation, 9, 9a-9y Reference images, 10 Position identification member, 11 First identifier, 12 Second identifier, 13 Third identifier, 14 Fourth identifier, 15 Fifth identifier, 18 Two jaw display, 19 Space, 20 Vowel set, 21-26 Identification display, 30 Diphthong set, 40 Consonant set, 50 Word set, 60 Grammar set, 80 Information terminal, 81 Communication unit, 82 Information processing unit, 83 Memory unit, 84 Input / output unit, 84G Display screen, 84a Input unit, 84b Display unit, 90 Management device, 100, 200 English language learning materials, B1 left transition button, B2 right transition button, B3 system transition button, C1 type display section, CE card area, F, Fa, Fb, Fc1, Fc2, Fd, Fe1, Fe2, Ff, Fg1, Fg2, Fh, Fm, Fn face display, G1 explanation section, H, H1 to H3 pronunciation image, M, Ma, Mb, Mc1, Mc2, Md, Me1, Me2, Mf, Mg1, Mg2, Mh mouth shape, N network, Nh nose image, Pa, Pb, Pc1, Pc2, Pd, Pe1, Pe2, Pf, Pg1, Pg2, Pm, Pn, Ra, Rb, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg, Rh pronunciation symbol, S right arrow, T, T1 to T3 Word notation, W, Wa~Wh composite face display, Z1 composite image.

Claims

1. a position identification member including a bimanual representation that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimanual representation and identify a plurality of positions of the tongue tip during pronunciation; a plurality of vowel cards corresponding to different English vowels; The plurality of vowel cards each have the following on one side: The English language teaching material has a face display including a mouth shape that imitates a human face and illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing a corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are in the same form as each of the plurality of identifiers.

2. a position identification member including a bimanual representation that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimanual representation and identify a plurality of positions of the tongue tip during pronunciation; an information terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of vowel cards associated with different English vowels; The plurality of vowel cards each have the following on one side: The English language teaching material has a face display including a mouth shape that imitates a human face and illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing a corresponding vowel, and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are in the same form as each of the plurality of identifiers.

3. a position identification member including a bimanual representation that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimanual representation and identify a plurality of positions of the tongue tip during pronunciation; a plurality of vowel cards corresponding to English vowels of different systems; The plurality of vowel cards each have the following on one side: a face display including a mouth shape that imitates a human face and illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing a corresponding vowel; and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are in the same form as each of the plurality of identifiers, At least one of the plurality of vowel cards is a double-sided design having one or two of the facial display and the identification display corresponding to a vowel of the same type as the vowel on one side on the other side, The double-sided vowel cards are: The mouth-shaped figures on one side and the other side have similar shapes but different sizes.

4. a position identification member including a bimanual representation that roughly represents a side cross section of both jaws of a person, and a plurality of identifiers that correspond to the bimanual representation and identify a plurality of positions of the tongue tip during pronunciation; an information terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of vowel cards associated with English vowels of different systems; The plurality of vowel cards each have the following on one side: a face display including a mouth shape that imitates a human face and illustrates the shape of the mouth when pronouncing a corresponding vowel; and one or two of a plurality of identification displays that are in the same form as each of the plurality of identifiers, At least one of the plurality of vowel cards is a double-sided design having one or two of the facial display and the identification display corresponding to a vowel of the same type as the vowel on one side on the other side, The double-sided vowel cards are: The mouth-shaped figures on one side and the other side have similar shapes but different sizes.

5. The plurality of vowel cards include:

5. The English language teaching material according to claim 3, wherein the mouth-shaped figures are of different colors for each group.

6. At least one of the plurality of vowel cards comprises: In the face display, 5. The English language teaching material according to claim 3, wherein the mouth-shaped figures of the two vowel cards of different systems are arranged side by side, and the identification marks corresponding to the respective mouth-shaped figures are arranged side by side.

7. a plurality of diphthong cards corresponding to different English diphthongs; The diphthong cards each have one side with The English language teaching material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a composite face display that combines the face displays of two vowel cards of different systems side by side, and one or two of the identification displays corresponding to the composite face display.

8. a plurality of consonant cards corresponding to different English consonants; The plurality of consonant cards include: Each of the cards has an image on one side that is reminiscent of an English letter associated with an English consonant, The English language teaching material described in any one of claims 1 to 4, having, on the other side of each, a character notation showing the English letter, a reference image illustrating the appearance of the mouth and its surroundings when pronouncing the consonant, and the identification marking showing the position of the tip of the tongue when pronouncing the consonant.

9. A plurality of word cards corresponding to different English words are provided, The plurality of word cards each have on one side: A word notation that shows the English word, a pronunciation image representing the pronunciation of the English word; The sound image is 9. The English language teaching material according to claim 8, wherein one or more of the facial expressions and one or more of the image images corresponding to the English words are arranged side by side in accordance with the English words.

10. 9. The English language teaching material according to claim 8, further comprising a grammar element card that includes the image of the consonant card and represents the pronunciation and image of an element of English grammar.

Images