English learning devices

Abstract

The purpose of this invention is to provide a system for acquiring pronunciation of phonemes and pronunciation of sentences by utilizing phonemic awareness. [Solution] In one aspect of the present invention, the picture book device 1 has a game selection operation unit 34 that accepts a user's selection of a game with a pronunciation corresponding to a phoneme, a phoneme selection operation unit 35 that accepts a selection of one phoneme from among a plurality of phonemes, a control unit that determines the game selected by the user and instructs the pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme selected by the user to be output as sound, and a sound output unit that outputs the pronunciation as sound.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates primarily to an apparatus for learning English. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, picture books for young children to learn English have become popular, especially picture books that teach English pronunciation through visual and auditory means using picture books and cards with pictures and letters.

[0003] As an example of a picture book that teaches English words and pronunciations through sight and hearing, Patent Document 1 discloses a picture book that allows children to learn words and pronunciations by placing letters of the alphabet on cards that have pictures and words on them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3694525 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, while the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to a picture book that utilizes phonics, which enables learning pronunciation by matching the spelling and pronunciation of English words, the focus is on learning English by linking the name of an object, such as "CAT," with the sound of the spelling of the corresponding English word. No mechanism has yet been disclosed that enables learning English by relying more on hearing and utilizing phonemic awareness, which recognizes phonemes such as vowels and consonants that are elements of spelling and the pronunciation of each phoneme.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for acquiring the pronunciation of phonemes and the pronunciation of sentences by utilizing phonemic awareness. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the picture book device 1 has a game selection operation unit that accepts a user's selection of a game having a pronunciation corresponding to a phoneme, a phoneme selection operation unit that accepts a selection of one phoneme from among a plurality of phonemes in the mode, a control unit that determines the game selected by the user and instructs the pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme selected by the user to be output as sound, and a sound output unit that outputs the pronunciation as sound. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism for acquiring the pronunciation of phonemes and the pronunciation of sentences by utilizing phonemic awareness. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an external view of a picture book device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the picture book device of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of audio data stored in the picture book device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a sound production process executed by the picture book device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below does not unduly limit the contents of the present invention described in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the embodiment are necessarily essential components of the present invention.

[0011] <Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external view of a picture book device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the device 1 is configured, for example, in the shape of a picture book, and can include a mount section 10 forming the front and back covers of the picture book, a content display section 20 displaying a plurality of pages of content (including illustrations and characters) as a picture book, and an operation section 30 for receiving operations by a user. The operation section 30 further includes a button key section 31, which can include a power operation section 32 for switching the power of the operation section 30 on / off, a game 1 selection operation section 33 for enabling a mode (game 1) for outputting sounds of phonemes such as vowels and consonants of the alphabet, and a game 2 selection operation section 34 for enabling a mode (game 2) for outputting sounds for pronouncing a sentence. The operation section 30 can also include a phoneme operation section 35 for outputting sounds for reading aloud a phoneme or a sentence including a phoneme designated by the user after selecting the game 1 or game 2. In this example, a plurality of button keys 35 corresponding to phonemes are provided, and each phoneme is associated with each button key 35. In this example, each of the phonemes "a" through "j" is arranged to correspond to a button key, but in picture book devices for two or more books, the device may be configured to have button keys 35 corresponding to the remaining phonemes.

[0012] For example, the content display unit 20 displays content consisting of illustrations and letters corresponding to the phoneme "a." When the user presses the game 1 selection operation unit 33 to select the "game 1" mode and presses the button key corresponding to the phoneme "a," a pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme is output; alternatively, when the user presses the game selection operation unit 34 to select the "game 2" mode and presses the button key corresponding to the phoneme "a," a voice reading aloud the sentence (in this example, "Andy the apple had a chat with an ant") or English word (in this example, "astronaut," "alligator," etc.) corresponding to the phoneme is output.

[0013] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the picture book device 1 of Fig. 1. The picture book device 1 includes a sound output unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit .

[0014] The sound output unit 110 is, for example, a speaker, and outputs a voice corresponding to a phoneme designated by the user or a voice reading aloud a sentence.

[0015] The storage unit 120 stores programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 130, input data, etc., and is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The storage unit 120 also stores voice data of pronunciations corresponding to phonemes such as "a" and "b" and sentences or English words pronounced by native speakers.

[0016] The operation unit 130 is a user interface used by the provider to input instructions and to output voice in response to input data from the control unit 140, and in the picture book device 1, is configured in cooperation with the operation unit 30.

[0017] The storage unit 230 stores programs for executing various control processes and functions in the control unit 240, input data, etc., and is composed of a RAM, a ROM, etc. The storage unit 230 also temporarily stores the contents of communication with the server terminal 100.

[0018] The control unit 240 controls the overall operation of the user terminal 200 by executing the programs stored in the storage unit 230, and is composed of a CPU, a GPU, and the like.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the structure of audio data stored in the picture book device 1. As shown in FIG.

[0020] The voice data shown in Fig. 3 stores, for each phoneme of the alphabet, the corresponding pronunciation, the corresponding sentence, and the corresponding word as voice data. For example, for the phoneme "a", voice data of "a" pronounced by a native speaker, voice data pronounced for the sentence "Andy the apple had a chat with an ant", and further voice data pronounced for words such as "Astronaut" and "Alligator" are stored. This structure allows the user to learn the pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme "a" by hearing based on various examples.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the sound generation process executed by the picture book device.

[0022] First, as a preliminary process to step S101, a user of the picture book device 1 opens a desired page of the content displayed on the content display unit 20 of the picture book device 1 (for example, a page relating to the phoneme "a"), and when attempting to learn the pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme, turns on the power by operating the power operation unit 32, which is one of the button key unit 31 of the operation unit 30 and switches the power of the picture book device 1 on and off.

[0023] First, in the process of step S101, the user can select a mode called "Game 1" by pressing the game 1 selection operation unit 33, or select a mode called "Game 2" by pressing the game selection operation unit 34, depending on whether the user wants to hear the pronunciation of a phoneme (in this example, "a") displayed as content on the double-page spread (game 1) or the pronunciation of a sentence or word (game 2). The control unit 140 of the picture book device 1 receives a control signal from the game selection operation unit 33 or the game selection operation unit 34, which have been pressed by the user to select a mode, via the operation unit 130, and determines whether the mode selected by the user is game 1 or game 2.

[0024] When the mode selected by the user is game 1, the user presses one of the multiple button keys constituting the phoneme operation unit 35 to hear the pronunciation corresponding to a single phoneme (in this example, the phoneme "a" is selected). In the process of step S102, the control unit 140 of the picture book device 1 receives a control signal from the phoneme selection operation unit 35, which has been pressed by the user to select a phoneme, via the operation unit 130, and determines which phoneme the user has selected.

[0025] Next, in the processing of step S103, the control unit 140 of the picture book device 1 refers to the audio data stored in the memory unit 120 mode based on the phoneme selected by the user (in this example, "a"), and performs processing to output the pronunciation corresponding to the single phoneme by voice, and when it instructs the sound output unit 110 to output voice, the sound output unit 111 (in this example, a speaker) outputs voice corresponding to the single phoneme (in this example, "a").

[0026] When the mode selected by the user is Game 2, the user presses one of the multiple button keys constituting the phoneme operation unit 35 to listen to the pronunciation of the sentence or word corresponding to the phoneme (in this example, the phoneme "a" is selected). In the process of step S104, the control unit 140 of the picture book device 1 receives a control signal from the phoneme selection operation unit 35, which has been pressed by the user to select a phoneme, via the operation unit 130, and determines which phoneme the user has selected.

[0027] Next, in the processing of step S105, the control unit 140 of the picture book device 1 refers to the audio data stored in the memory unit 120 mode based on the phoneme selected by the user (in this example, "a") and performs processing to output the pronunciation of the sentence or word corresponding to the phoneme by voice, and when it instructs the sound output unit 110 to output voice, the sound output unit 111 (in this example, a speaker) outputs voice corresponding to the sentence or word (in this example, "Andy the apple had a chat with an ant" or "Astronaut" or "Alligator" corresponding to "a")

[0028] In this way, while enjoying the content as a picture book, the user can listen to the pronunciation corresponding to the phonemes embodied in the content in various ways, and can firmly learn pronunciation through hearing. In particular, by repeatedly listening to the pronunciation of individual phonemes, sentences, and words while switching between modes, the user can learn and solidify the pronunciation through hearing.

[0029] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they can be embodied in various other forms and can be implemented with various omissions, substitutions, and modifications. These embodiments and modifications, as well as omissions, substitutions, and modifications, are included in the technical scope of the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Picture book device

Claims

1. A picture book device, comprising: a game selection operation unit that accepts a selection of a game of pronunciation corresponding to a phoneme by a user; a phoneme selection operation unit for accepting selection of one phoneme from among a plurality of phonemes in the game; a control unit that determines a game selected by the user and instructs outputting a pronunciation corresponding to the phoneme selected by the user as a voice; A picture book device having a sound output unit that outputs the pronunciation as voice.

2. 2. The picture book device according to claim 1, The picture book device includes a first game in which the user listens to the pronunciation corresponding to the single phoneme, and a second game in which the user listens to the pronunciation of a sentence or word corresponding to the phoneme.

3. 2. The picture book device according to claim 1, The picture book device further comprises a content display unit for displaying content.

Images