Character input device, character input method, and character input program

Abstract

To appropriately determine and evaluate the knowledge and ability of a user with a written examination executed according to CBT.SOLUTION: A first character string acquisition unit acquires a first character string according to an input character string input thereto. A similar character extraction unit extracts similar characters similar in shape to characters belonging to the first character string. A second character string creation unit creates a second character string in which part or all of the characters belonging to the first character string are replaced with the similar characters extracted by the similar character extraction unit. A conversion candidate output unit outputs the first character string and the second character string as conversion candidates for the input character string.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for determining and evaluating a user's academic ability, skills, etc., by using a computer. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, CBT (Computer Based Testing) has become widespread, in which tests are conducted using a computer to judge and evaluate the knowledge and abilities of users (test takers). In CBT, questions are displayed on the display of a terminal (computer). Users answer the questions displayed on the display by operating input devices such as a mouse and keyboard attached to the terminal.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 describes a system for conducting a written test in a CBT using a tablet terminal capable of handwritten input. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-81024 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when conducting a written test in CBT, a handwriting input device is required for a user to input characters by handwriting.

[0006] Also, depending on the recognition accuracy of the characters handwritten by the user, the correct answer may be judged as an incorrect answer, or conversely, an incorrect answer may be judged as the correct answer. For example, when the correct answer is "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", even if the characters handwritten by the user are legitimate, the character "臣" may be misrecognized as "巨", resulting in an incorrect answer being judged. Conversely, even if the characters handwritten by the user are the incorrect answer "Toyotomi Hideto yoshi", the character "巨" may be misrecognized as "臣", resulting in a correct answer being judged. When misrecognition of the characters handwritten by the user occurs, the judgment and evaluation of the user's knowledge, ability, etc. cannot be properly performed.

[0007] Also, when conducting a written test with CBT, if a known kana-kanji conversion function is used, the above problems will not occur. However, if the kana character string input by the user as reading is "とよとみひでよし", "豊臣秀吉" will be output as a conversion candidate, but "豊巨秀吉" will not be output. Therefore, even for a user who mistakenly remembers the kanji representation of "とよとみひでよし" as "豊巨秀吉", "豊臣秀吉" will be selected as the answer. Thus, when conducting a written test with CBT, even if a known kana-kanji conversion function is used, the judgment and evaluation of the user's knowledge, ability, etc. may not be properly performed.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can properly judge and evaluate the knowledge, ability, etc. of a user who is a test taker when conducting a written test with CBT.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] The character input device of the present invention is configured as shown below in order to achieve the above object.

[0010] The first string acquisition unit acquires a first string according to an input string that has been input. The similar character extraction unit extracts characters that are similar in shape to characters that belong to the first string. The second string generation unit generates a second string by replacing some or all of the characters that belong to the first string with the similar characters extracted by the similar character extraction unit. Then, the conversion candidate output unit outputs the first string and the second string as conversion candidates for the input string.

[0011] In this configuration, a first character string is output as a conversion candidate, which is a kana character string (input character string) input by a user who is a CBT (Computer Based Testing) examinee by operating a keyboard or the like, and a second character string in which some characters of the first character string are replaced with characters similar in shape to the first character string. The kana character string input by the user may or may not be the reading of the second character string. For example, if the first character string input by the user is "TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI", "TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", and "TOYOTOMI TORUKI" are output as conversion candidates. In this example, "TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI" is the first character string, and "TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", "TOYOTOMI TORUKI", and "TOYOTOMI TORUKI" are the second character string.

[0012] As a result, if a user mistakenly remembers the kanji spelling of the kana string (reading) they entered, they may accidentally select the correct conversion candidate (first string), but in most cases they will select the incorrect conversion candidate (second string). Therefore, when conducting a written test using CBT, the knowledge, ability, etc. of the user who is the examinee can be judged and evaluated appropriately.

[0013] Furthermore, in this configuration, since users who are CBT examinees are not required to input handwriting, there is no need to provide a handwriting input device.

[0014] Also, for example, a sequence adjustment unit may be provided that adjusts the sequence of the first character string and the second character string output by the conversion candidate output unit as conversion candidates for the input character string. This allows the position of the correct answer for each question in the output conversion candidates to be changed, allowing for more accurate judgment and evaluation of the user's knowledge, ability, etc.

[0015] In addition, the first character string acquisition unit may be configured to acquire a predetermined character string as the first character string if the input character string is a specified character string, and to acquire a character string in which the input character string is a reading as the first character string if the input character string is not the specified character string.

[0016] For example, if the first character string input by the user is not the correct answer "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" but the incorrect answer "Oda Nobunaga", "Oda Nobunaga" is acquired as the first character string. In this case, "Shoda Nobunaga", "Shoda Kinaga", "Oda Kinaga", "Oda Rikcho", "Shoda Rikcho", etc. are generated as the second character string. That is, with this configuration, the user is not made aware that the incorrect answer "Oda Nobunaga" has been input. This allows for more accurate judgment and evaluation of the user's knowledge, ability, etc.

[0017] The conversion candidate output unit may further include a scoring unit that scores a selected conversion candidate from among the conversion candidates output by the conversion candidate output unit as an answer. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, when a written test is conducted using CBT (Computer Based Testing), the knowledge, ability, and so on of the user who is the examinee can be appropriately judged and evaluated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network system for implementing CBT (Computer Based Testing) in a written test. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a server device; [Diagram 3]2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of a user terminal; [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing an operation of the server device. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a user terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0021] <1. Application Examples> Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network system for conducting a written test in a CBT (Computer Based Testing) system. As shown in Fig. 1, the network system in this example has a configuration in which a plurality of user terminals 2 are connected to a server device 1 via a network 5 so as to be able to communicate data with each other.

[0022] Each user terminal 2 is a personal computer or a tablet terminal operated by a user who is an examinee of the CBT. The server device 1 distributes questions for the written test to be conducted in the CBT to the user terminal 2 and grades the answers transmitted from the user terminal 2.

[0023] In this example, the character input device according to the present invention is applied to a server device 1.

[0024] The server device 1 distributes questions for a written test to be conducted in the CBT to the user terminal 2.

[0025] The user terminal 2 displays the questions distributed from the server device 1 on the screen of a display device. The user inputs the answer to the question by operating a keyboard, which is an input device. Here, the user inputs the answer in kana character strings.

[0026] For example, the server device 1 Whose character does the kyoka poem "If the cuckoo won't sing, I'll make it sing" describe? The problem is delivered to user terminal 2.

[0027] A user who is an examinee inputs a kana character string such as “Toyotomihideyoshi” or “Oda nobunaga” into the user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 outputs the input kana character string to the server device 1.

[0028] The server device 1 generates conversion candidates according to the kana character string received from the user terminal 2. The server device 1 returns the generated conversion candidates to the user terminal 2. For example, if the kana character string received from the user terminal 2 is "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", the server device 1 generates "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", and the like as conversion candidates. "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" is the correct answer for this problem. "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" corresponds to the first character string referred to in this invention. Also, "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", "Toyotomi Togiyoshi", and the like are conversion candidates in which some characters of the correct answer "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" are replaced with characters of similar shape. "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", etc. correspond to the second character string referred to in this invention.

[0029] The server device 1 may generate conversion candidates by replacing all the characters of the correct answer "TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi" with characters having a similar shape.

[0030] Furthermore, if the kana character string received from the user terminal 2 is "Oda no Bunaga", the server device 1 will return "Oda Nobunaga", "Shoda Nobunaga", "Shoda Kincho", "Oda Kincho", "Oda Kurumacho", "Shoda Kincho", etc. as conversion candidates to the user terminal 2. Although "Oda Nobunaga" is not valid for this problem, it is a conversion candidate that uses the reading of the kana character string entered by the user. "Oda Nobunaga" corresponds to the first character string referred to in this invention.

[0031] In addition, "Shoda Nobunaga", "Shoda Kincho", "Oda Kincho", "Oda Kurama", "Shoda Kincho", etc. are conversion candidates in which some characters of "Oda Nobunaga" are replaced with characters of similar shape. "Shoda Nobunaga", "Shoda Kincho", "Oda Kincho", "Oda Kurama", "Shoda Kincho", etc. correspond to the second character string referred to in this invention.

[0032] The user terminal 2 displays the conversion candidates returned from the server device 1 on the display screen. The user operates an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard to select his / her answer from the displayed conversion candidates. The user terminal 2 outputs the conversion candidate selected by the user to the server device 1 as the user's answer.

[0033] The server device 1 grades each user terminal 2 (that is, each user) to determine whether the user's answer to the question is correct or incorrect.

[0034] In this way, in this network system, if a user mistakenly remembers the kanji spelling of the kana string (reading) they entered, they may accidentally select the correct conversion candidate, but in most cases they will select the wrong conversion candidate. Therefore, when conducting a written test using CBT, the knowledge, ability, etc. of the user who is the examinee can be judged and evaluated appropriately.

[0035] In addition, this network system does not require users to input answers by handwriting, so there is no risk of misjudging or evaluating the user's knowledge, ability, etc. due to the accuracy of recognition of handwritten characters. Also, users do not need to prepare a tablet for handwriting input.

[0036] <2. Configuration example> 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of the server device of this example. The server device 1 includes a control unit 11, a similar character database 12 (similar character DB12), a dictionary database 13 (dictionary DB13), and a communication unit .

[0037] The control unit 11 controls each part of the main body of the server device 1. The control unit 11 also has a first character string acquisition unit 11a, a similar character extraction unit 11b, a second character string generation unit 11c, an alignment adjustment unit 11d, and a scoring unit 11e. The first character string acquisition unit 11a, the similar character extraction unit 11b, the second character string generation unit 11c, the alignment adjustment unit 11d, and the scoring unit 11e of the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0038] The similar character DB 12 is a database in which characters similar in shape are grouped and stored. For example, the similar character DB 12 is a database in which a group of characters (characters having similar shape features) extracted as candidates for a recognized character are grouped and stored in character recognition using a known OCR (Optical Character Reader). The dictionary DB 13 is a database in which readings (kana notation), parts of speech, conversion character strings (kanji notation), etc. are registered in association with each other. The communication unit 14 communicates data with the user terminal 2 connected via the network 5.

[0039] The similar character DB 12 and the dictionary DB 13 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or other storage media. The similar character DB 12 and the dictionary DB 13 may be configured by dividing the storage area of ​​a single storage medium, or may be configured by different storage media.

[0040] Next, the first character string obtaining section 11a, the similar character extracting section 11b, the second character string generating section 11c, the alignment adjusting section 11d, and the marking section 11e included in the control unit 11 will be described.

[0041] The first character string acquisition unit 11a acquires conversion candidates that use the kana character string received from the user terminal 2 as a reading. If the kana character string received from the user terminal 2 is the reading of the correct answer to the question, the first character string acquisition unit 11a acquires the kanji notation of the correct answer to the question as the first character string. In addition, if the kana character string received from the user terminal 2 is not the reading of the correct answer to the question, the first character string acquisition unit 11a acquires a conversion candidate that uses the received kana character string as a reading as the first character string.

[0042] The similar character extraction unit 11b extracts characters having a shape similar to that of each character belonging to the first character string acquired by the first character string acquisition unit 11a. The similar character extraction unit 11b refers to the similar character DB 12 to extract characters having a shape similar to that of the character.

[0043] The second character string generating unit generates a second character string by replacing a part or all of the characters in the first character string acquired by the first character string acquiring unit 11a with the characters extracted by the similar character extracting unit 11b. The second character string generating unit generates one or more second character strings.

[0044] The order adjuster 11d adjusts the order of the first character string acquired by the first character string acquirer 11a and the second character string generated by the second character string generator 11c when they are displayed as conversion candidates on the user terminal 2.

[0045] The marking unit 11e marks the answer, including whether it is correct or incorrect, based on the conversion candidates selected in the user terminal 2.

[0046] The control unit 11 of the server device 1 is composed of a hardware CPU, a memory, and other electronic circuits. When the hardware CPU executes the character input program according to the present invention, it operates as a first character string acquisition unit 11a, a similar character extraction unit 11b, a second character string generation unit 11c, an alignment adjustment unit 11d, and a scoring unit 11e. The memory has an area for developing the character input program according to the present invention and an area for temporarily storing data generated during execution of the character input program. The control unit 11 may be an LSI in which the hardware CPU, the memory, and the like are integrated. The hardware CPU is a computer that executes the character input method according to the present invention.

[0047] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the user terminal of this example. The user terminal 2 includes a control unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, and a communication unit 24. The user terminal 2 is a general personal computer or a tablet terminal.

[0048] The control unit 21 controls the operation of each unit in the main body of the user terminal 2 .

[0049] The display 22 displays a screen according to the state of the main body of the user terminal 2. The operation unit 23 has input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The operation unit 23 accepts input operations by the user to the main body of the user terminal 2. The communication unit 24 performs data communication with the server device 1 connected via the network 5.

[0050] The control unit 21 of the user terminal 2 is configured with a hardware CPU, a memory, and other electronic circuits. The control unit 21 may also be an LSI that integrates the hardware CPU, memory, and the like.

[0051] <3. Example of operation> The following describes the operations of the server device 1 and the user terminal 2 when a written test is conducted in CBT. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server device, and Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the user terminal.

[0052] The server device 1 distributes questions for the written test to the user terminal 2 through the communication unit 14 (s1). The questions distributed by the server device 1 are received by the communication unit 24 of the user terminal 2 via the network 5. For example, the server device 1 Whose character does the kyoka poem "If the cuckoo won't sing, I'll make it sing" describe? The problem is delivered to user terminal 2.

[0053] When the user terminal 2 receives a question distributed from the server device 1 at the communication unit 24, it displays the received question on the display 22 (s21, s22). The user operates an input device such as a keyboard provided on the operation unit 23 to input the answer to the question displayed on the display 22 in a kana string (reading). The user inputs, for example, "TOYOTOMIHIDEYOSHI" or "ODANOBUNAGA". In this example, "TOYOTOMIHIDEYOSHI" is the correct answer and "ODANOBUNAGA" is the incorrect answer.

[0054] The user terminal 2 transmits the input reading to the server device 1 at the communication unit 24 (s23, s24). The user terminal 2 waits to receive conversion candidates from the server device 1 (s25).

[0055] After delivering the question to the user terminal 2 in the above-mentioned s1, the server device 1 waits to receive the reading from the user terminal 2 (s2). When the server device 1 receives the reading transmitted by the user terminal 2 in s24 in the communication unit 14, it acquires a first character string (s3). If the reading received in s3 is the correct answer reading of the question delivered in s1, the server device 1 acquires the kanji notation of the correct answer as the first character string. On the other hand, if the reading received in s3 is not the correct answer reading of the question delivered in s1, the server device 1 acquires the kanji notation of the currently received reading as the first character string. For example, if the reading received is the correct answer "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", the server device 1 acquires the kanji notation of the correct answer "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" as the first character string. On the other hand, if the received reading is "Oda no Bunaga", which is not the correct answer, the server device 1 acquires one of the currently received readings, such as "Oda Nobunaga", "Oda Nobunaga", or "Oda Nobunaga", as the first character string. If the received reading is not the correct answer, the server device 1 acquires the first character string using the dictionary DB 13. The first character string acquisition unit 11a performs the process related to s3.

[0056] The server device 1 extracts characters having a similar shape for each character belonging to the first character string acquired in s3 (s4). For example, if the first character string acquired in s3 is "TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi", characters having a similar shape to "TOYO", characters having a similar shape to "ONI", characters having a similar shape to "HIDE", and characters having a similar shape to "YOSHI" are extracted. If the first character string acquired in s3 is "ODA Nobunaga", characters having a similar shape to "ORI", characters having a similar shape to "TA", characters having a similar shape to "SHI", and characters having a similar shape to "NAGA". The server device 1 extracts similar characters related to s4 using the similar character DB 12. The similar character extraction unit 11b performs the process related to s4.

[0057] The server device 1 generates a predetermined number (predetermined number) of second character strings by replacing a part or all of the characters of the first character string acquired in s3 with characters having a similar shape extracted in s4 (s5). For example, when the first character string acquired in s3 is "Toyotomi Hideyoshi" and the predetermined number is 5, the server device 1 generates "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", "Toyotomi Tokichi", and "Toyotomi Tokichi" as second character strings. When the first character string acquired in s3 is "Oda Nobunaga" and the predetermined number is 5, the server device 1 generates "Shoda Nobunaga", "Shoda Kinaga", "Oda Kinaga", "Oda Rokucho", and "Shoda Kinaga" as second character strings. The second character string generating unit 11c performs the process related to s5.

[0058] The server device 1 sets the first character string acquired in s3 and the predetermined number of second character strings generated in s5 as conversion candidates for the answer to the current question. Note that if the user inputs an incorrect reading, the conversion candidates for the answer to the current question do not include the correct answer.

[0059] The server device 1 adjusts the order of the conversion candidates for the answer to the current question (s6). The order here refers to the order in which they are displayed on the display 22 of the user terminal 2. In s6, the order is adjusted so that the order in which the correct answers are displayed for each question changes randomly. The order adjustment unit 11d performs the process related to s6.

[0060] The server device 1 transmits the conversion candidates for the answer to the current question to the user terminal 2 that is the sender of the reading received in s2 (s7). At this time, the server device 1 instructs the user terminal 2 to display the conversion candidates for the answer to the current question in the order adjusted in s6.

[0061] When the user terminal 2 receives the conversion candidates for the answer to the current question at the communication unit 24, it displays the received conversion candidates on the display 22 in the order instructed by the server device 1 (s25, s26). When the user terminal 2 accepts an operation to select one of the conversion candidates displayed on the display 22 at the operation unit 23, it transmits the currently selected conversion candidate to the server device 1 as the answer to the current question (s27, s28), and returns to s21.

[0062] When the server device 1 receives the answer from the user terminal 2, it scores the question (s8, s9) and returns to s1.

[0063] Therefore, in this network system, if a user mistakenly remembers the kanji spelling of the reading inputted in the user terminal 2, the user will most likely select the wrong conversion candidate, even if the correct conversion candidate is selected by chance. Therefore, when a written test is conducted in CBT, the knowledge, ability, etc. of the user who is the examinee can be properly judged and evaluated.

[0064] In addition, in this example of the network system, the user is not required to input answers by handwriting, so there is no risk of misjudging or evaluating the user's knowledge, ability, etc. due to the recognition accuracy of handwritten input characters. In addition, the user does not need to prepare a tablet for handwriting input.

[0065] In the above explanation, the server device 1 distributes questions to the user terminal 2 one by one, but the server device 1 may also be configured to distribute multiple questions to the user terminal 2 at once and receive readings and answers from the user terminal 2 for each question.

[0066] <4. Modifications> The configurations related to the first character string acquisition unit 11a, the similar character extraction unit 11b, the second character string generation unit 11c, the alignment adjustment unit 11d, and the scoring unit 11e of the control unit 11 of the server device 1 shown in the above example may be provided in the control unit 21 of the user terminal 2. With this configuration, the user terminal can also be used as a learning terminal for the user to prepare and review.

[0067] In addition, in the above example, similar character extraction unit 11b is configured to extract characters that are similar in shape from existing characters, but it may also be configured to extract characters (which may not exist) generated by, for example, replacing the radical of a character, adding or deleting dots to the structure of a character, or adding or deleting horizontal or vertical bars, as characters that are similar in shape.

[0068] Furthermore, the present invention can be used to implement written tests using CBT, regardless of the type of qualification test or subject.

[0069] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and that the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

[0070] Furthermore, the correspondence between the configuration according to the present invention and the configuration according to the above-mentioned embodiment can be described as follows. <Additional Notes> a first character string acquisition unit (11a) that acquires a first character string according to an input character string; a similar character extraction unit (11b) that extracts characters having a similar shape from among the characters belonging to the first character string; a second character string generating unit (11c) that generates a second character string by replacing a part or all of the characters belonging to the first character string with the similar characters extracted by the similar character extracting unit; A character input device (1) comprising: a conversion candidate output unit (14) that outputs the first character string and the second character string as conversion candidates for the input character string. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1. Server device 2. User terminal 5. Network 11…Control unit 11a...First character string acquisition part 11b...Similar character extraction part 11c...Second string generation section 11d...Adjustment section 11e…Judgment Department 12...Similar Character Database (Similar Character DB) 13...Dictionary database (Dictionary DB) 14…Communications Department 21...Control unit 22...Indicator 23...Operation unit 24…Communications Department

Claims

1. a first character string acquisition unit that acquires a first character string according to an input character string; a similar character extraction unit that extracts characters having a similar shape from among characters belonging to the first character string; a second character string generating unit configured to generate a second character string by replacing a part or all of the characters belonging to the first character string with the similar characters extracted by the similar character extracting unit; a conversion candidate output unit that outputs the first character string and the second character string as conversion candidates for the input character string; a marking unit that marks a selected conversion candidate from the conversion candidates output by the conversion candidate output unit as an answer.

2. The character input device according to claim 1 , further comprising an alignment adjustment unit that adjusts an alignment of the first character string and the second character string that are output by the conversion candidate output unit as conversion candidates for the input character string.

3. A similar character storage unit that groups and stores characters that are similar in shape, The character input device according to claim 1 , wherein the similar character extraction unit refers to the similar character storage unit and extracts characters having a similar shape for each character belonging to the first character string.

4. a first character string acquisition step of acquiring a first character string according to an input character string that has been input; a similar character extraction step of extracting characters having a similar shape from among the characters belonging to the first character string; a second character string generating step of generating a second character string by replacing a part or all of the characters belonging to the first character string with the similar characters extracted in the similar character extracting step; a conversion candidate output step of outputting the first character string and the second character string as conversion candidates for the input character string; a marking step of marking a selected conversion candidate from the conversion candidates output in the conversion candidate output step as an answer.

5. a first character string acquisition step of acquiring a first character string according to an input character string that has been input; a similar character extraction step of extracting characters having a similar shape from among the characters belonging to the first character string; a second character string generating step of generating a second character string by replacing a part or all of the characters belonging to the first character string with the similar characters extracted in the similar character extracting step; a conversion candidate output step of outputting the first character string and the second character string as conversion candidates for the input character string; a marking step of marking a selected conversion candidate from the conversion candidates output in the conversion candidate output step as an answer.

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