Server device, learning support method and program

Abstract

To provide a server device with which a learning target language can be effectively and efficiently memorized and learned.SOLUTION: A retrieval history of an electronic dictionary 10 is transmitted to a WES server 30 by a user terminal 20. The WES server 30 acquires a word for each word with a retrieval history, explanatory information including a translation of the word, and a related image (which, if there is a quasi-synonym of the word, also includes the quasi-synonym and a quasi-synonym related image) from dictionary data in a dictionary database (DB), generates a word card associated therewith, and automatically generates and stores a user's original word book in a word book database (DB) by associating it with a dictionary <user> ID. The user forces the user terminal 20 to acquire the word book generated by the WES server 30, and display each of word cards in the word book while switching them by using an alphabetic word page, a related image page and a word translation page (which, if there is a quasi-synonym of the word, also include pages of the quasi-synonym and a quasi-synonym related image).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a server device, a learning support method, and a program for effectively supporting language learning. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are vocabulary books as a tool for learning English words. A vocabulary book is made by bundling together vocabulary cards, each of which has an English word on one side and its translation on the other. A user looks at the English word on the vocabulary card, answers the translation of the word, and then turns over the vocabulary card to check whether the translation is correct or not, thereby learning the English word.

[0003] In recent years, electronic dictionaries have come into widespread use, and when a user searches for an arbitrary word in dictionary data and displays explanatory information including the word and its translation, the history of searching the word is saved as a search history. Some electronic dictionaries have a wordbook function that operates to read and display explanatory information for the specified word from dictionary data when the user selects an arbitrary word from a list of words saved as the search history (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-292303 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional vocabulary book-based vocabulary study, users must repeatedly check and memorize words and their translations, which is a so-called rote memorization method. Although memorization ability differs from person to person, this method has the problem of being difficult to use efficiently.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a server device, a learning support method, and a program that enable a user to effectively and efficiently memorize and learn a target language. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A server device according to the present invention comprises: The Communications Department and A control unit; Equipped with The control unit is acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, obtain word information corresponding to the word from a dictionary database; generating wordbook data in which the word, explanatory information of the word included in the word information, and a first word-related image related to the word are associated with each other; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a first synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; It is configured as follows. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a learning support system 1 according to an embodiment of a server device, a learning support method, and a program of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of an electronic dictionary (electronic device) 10. [Diagram 3] 1 shows the contents of search history data stored in a search history data storage area 12d of the electronic dictionary 10. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of a user terminal (communication device) 20. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of a WES server (server device) 30. [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing the contents of dictionary data stored in a dictionary database storage area 32c of the WES server 30. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram showing the contents of user management data stored in a user management database storage area 32d of the WES server 30. FIG. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing the contents of the flashcard data stored in the flashcard database storage area 32e of the WES server 30. FIG. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing WES server synchronization processing of the electronic dictionary 10. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a WES usage process of the user terminal 20. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a wordbook generation process of the WES server 30. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing a wordbook usage process of the user terminal 20. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing a related image update process (part 1) of the user terminal 20. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing a related image update process (part 2) of the user terminal 20. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing a first part of a flashcard process of the WES server 30. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing a second part of the wordbook process of the WES server 30. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing a Web-related image list generation process included in the wordbook process of the WES server 30. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing a WES-related image list generation process included in the wordbook process of the WES server 30. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 shows a menu screen GW for WES usage in accordance with the WES usage process of the user terminal 20. [Figure 20] 13 is a diagram showing an English vocabulary page TCa corresponding to the vocabulary card “archive” when the vocabulary book is displayed in accordance with the vocabulary book usage process of the user terminal 20. FIG. [Figure 21] 13 is a diagram showing the switching state between an English word page TCa, a related image page TCb, and a word translation page TCc corresponding to the word card “archive” when the wordbook is displayed on the user terminal 20. FIG. [Figure 22] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing examples of display of a Web related image list RL1 and a WES related image list RL2 corresponding to the word card "archive" in accordance with the related image update process of the user terminal 20. [Figure 23] 13 is a diagram showing the operation of setting irrelevant related images RaN to not be displayed in accordance with the Web related image list generation process of the WES server 30. FIG. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a divided display of a Web related image list RL1 and a Web synonym related image list SLa corresponding to the word card "road" in accordance with the related image update process of the user terminal 20. [Diagram 25] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing an example of an operation for narrowing down related images in the display of the WES related image list RL2 in accordance with the related image update process of the user terminal 20. [Figure 26] A figure showing the display state of other users' English word page TCa, related image page TCb, and word translation page TCc by selecting an arbitrary WES related image Rb2 from the WES related image list RL2 corresponding to the word card "archive" in Figure 25. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] (Configuration of the embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a learning support system 1 according to an embodiment of a server device, a learning support method, and a program of the present invention.

[0011] The learning support system 1 includes an electronic dictionary (electronic device) 10, a user terminal (communication device) 20, and a WES (Worldwide Education Service) server (server device) 30 provided on a communication network N such as the Internet. Note that the WES (Worldwide Education Service) server here refers to a dedicated server that connects electronic dictionaries, electronic dictionary applications, and cloud services.

[0012] The electronic dictionary (electronic device) 10 may be configured as a dedicated electronic dictionary 10 described below, or as a smartphone, tablet terminal, PC (personal computer), mobile phone, e-book, portable game machine, or the like having a dictionary function.

[0013] The user terminal (communication device) 20 may be configured as a smartphone, tablet terminal, electronic dictionary, PC, mobile phone, electronic book, portable game machine, or the like having a communication function.

[0014] An application program that utilizes the WES server 30 (here, a WES utilization application) is installed in the user terminal 20.

[0015] The learning support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 has at least the following functions (10a), (20a), (20b), (20c), (20e), (30a), (30b), and (30c).

[0016] In the electronic dictionary 10, a function (10a) for encoding electronic dictionary information including a dictionary ID (dictionary identification information which may also serve as user identification information: dictionary <user> ID) and word search history into a two-dimensional code QR and displaying it.

[0017] In the user terminal 20, a function (20a) is provided for reading the two-dimensional QR code displayed on the electronic dictionary 10 in accordance with the WES usage application and decrypting it into electronic dictionary information (including dictionary ID and search history), and a function (20b) for sending data that includes the decrypted electronic dictionary information plus user information including user identification information to the WES server 30.

[0018] In the WES server 30, a function (30a) is provided for generating a vocabulary list for each word in the search history based on the electronic dictionary information (including dictionary ID and search history) received from the user terminal 20, in which the word translation and its explanatory information read from the dictionary data are associated with the related image of the same word (including synonyms and related images of the synonyms (synonym-related images) if there are synonyms of the same word), and storing the generated vocabulary list in association with the dictionary <user> ID.

[0019] The user terminal 20 has a function (20c) for receiving and displaying vocabulary list data corresponding to the user's own dictionary <user> ID stored in the WES server 30, a function (20d) for specifying a related image of any word included in the displayed vocabulary list and instructing the WES server 30 to update the related image, and a function (20e) for adding any memo data to the explanatory information of any word included in the displayed vocabulary list and instructing the WES server 30 to update the vocabulary list.

[0020] In the WES server 30, there is a function (30b) for updating the related images and / or updating the vocabulary book including adding memo data in response to an instruction from the user terminal 20 to update related images of a specified word or / and an instruction to update the vocabulary book by adding memo data to explanatory information of the specified word, and a function (30c) for updating the vocabulary book including adding synonyms and their related images (synonym-related images) if the specified word has synonyms when updating the related images.

[0021] According to the learning support system 1, a vocabulary book can be automatically generated for a user based on the word search history obtained by the electronic dictionary 10. Furthermore, since the vocabulary book is configured by associating a word with an image related to the word and / or any memo data in addition to the word and its explanatory information, the user can, for example, intuitively understand the meaning of the word by looking at the image related to the word, or intuitively remember the word by looking at the mnemonic for the pronunciation of the word added as memo data, thereby effectively and efficiently learning and memorizing words.

[0022] If the electronic dictionary 10 and the user terminal 20 have a short-range wireless communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), the electronic dictionary information of the electronic dictionary 10 (including the dictionary ID and search history) may be transmitted to the user terminal 20 via short-range wireless communication.

[0023] In addition, if the electronic dictionary 10 has a communication function with a communication network N such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), a WES utilization application may be installed in the electronic dictionary 10, and the electronic dictionary 10 may also have each of the functions (20a), (20b), (20c), and (20e) of the user terminal 20 described above.

[0024] Furthermore, if the user terminal 20 has a dictionary function, the word search history may be generated and stored by the user terminal 20 itself. Furthermore, if the user terminal 20 does not have a dictionary function and searches dictionary data using the dictionary function of the WES server 30, the word search history may be generated and stored by the WES server 30.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of the electronic dictionary (electronic device) 10. As shown in FIG.

[0026] An electronic dictionary (electronic device) 10 includes a control unit (CPU: Central Processing Unit) 11, which is a computer.

[0027] The control unit 11 controls the operation of each part of the circuit in accordance with a dictionary control program (12a) stored in a memory unit 12. The dictionary control program (12a) may be stored in advance in the memory unit 12, read from an external storage medium 14 such as a memory card by a storage medium reading unit 14 and stored in the memory unit 12, or downloaded from a Web server (here, a program server) 40 on a communication network N via a communication unit 15 and stored in the memory unit 12.

[0028] The dictionary control program (12a) includes a system program for controlling the entire electronic dictionary 10, as well as a program for searching dictionary data (12c) in response to user operations, a program for generating search history data (12d), and a program for executing the above-mentioned functions (10a).

[0029] The control unit 11 is connected via a system and data bus to a memory unit 12, a recording medium reading unit 14, a communication unit 15, a key input unit 16 including character input keys and a [Translate / Confirm] key, and a touch panel type display unit 17.

[0030] The memory unit 12 has a program memory area 12a for storing a dictionary control program (12a), as well as a dictionary ID memory area 12b for storing a dictionary ID (dictionary identification information) (12b), a dictionary data memory area 12c for storing dictionary data (12c), a search history data memory area 12d for storing search history data (12d), etc.

[0031] The dictionary ID storage area 12b stores, as a dictionary ID, dictionary identification information unique to the electronic dictionary 10. The dictionary ID may also serve as user identification information (in this case, it is referred to as "dictionary <user> ID").

[0032] In the dictionary data storage area 12c, various dictionary data such as an English-Japanese dictionary, a Japanese-English dictionary, and a Japanese dictionary are stored as dictionary data that associates words that are headwords with explanatory information including word translations, example sentences, and example sentence translations that correspond to the headwords.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the search history data stored in the search history data storage area 12d of the electronic dictionary 10. As shown in FIG.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 3, the search history data storage area 12d stores, for each type of dictionary data (12c), the entry words (words) that the user has searched for in the dictionary data (12c) and the search date and time in association with each other. Note that Fig. 3 shows an example of search history data for an English-Japanese dictionary.

[0035] In the electronic dictionary 10 configured in this manner, the control unit 11 controls the operation of each part of the circuit in accordance with the instructions written in the dictionary control program (12a), and the software and hardware operate in cooperation to realize various functions as described in the operation explanation below.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of the user terminal (communication device) 20. As shown in FIG.

[0037] The user terminal (communication device) 20 includes a control unit (CPU) 21 which is a computer.

[0038] The control unit 21 controls the operation of each circuit unit in accordance with a terminal control program (22a) and a WES-utilizing application program (WES-utilizing app) (22b) stored in the storage unit 22. The terminal control program (22a) may be pre-stored in the storage unit 22, read from an external storage medium 24 such as a memory card by a storage medium reading unit 24 and stored in the storage unit 22, or downloaded from a Web server (here, a program server) 40 on the communication network N via the communication unit 25 and stored in the storage unit 22.

[0039] The WES-utilizing application (22b) is downloaded from a Web server (here, a program server of an application store) 40 on the communication network N via the communication unit 25 and stored in the storage unit 22.

[0040] The terminal control program (22a) includes a system program that controls the entire user terminal 20, as well as a program for linking with various application programs stored in the memory unit 22 and establishing communication connections at any time with external communication devices including a WES server 30 and a Web server 40 on the communication network N.

[0041] The WES usage application (22b) includes a program for executing the above-mentioned functions (20a), (20b), (20c), and (20e).

[0042] The control unit 21 is connected via a system and data bus to a memory unit 22, a recording medium reading unit 24, a communication unit 25, as well as a key input unit 26 including a power key and a volume adjustment key, a touch panel display unit 27, and an imaging unit 28.

[0043] The memory unit 22 has program memory areas 22a, 22b for storing a terminal control program (22a) and a WES usage application (22b), as well as a terminal data memory area 22c for storing terminal data (22c), a dictionary information memory area 22d for storing dictionary information (22d), and the like.

[0044] The terminal data memory area 22c stores data such as a terminal device number for communicating with external communication devices including the WES server 30 and Web server 40 on the communication network N, as well as a telephone number, email address, and other data as terminal data specific to the user terminal 20.

[0045] In the dictionary information storage area 22d, data including the dictionary <user> ID and search history obtained by decoding the two-dimensional code QR read from the electronic dictionary 10 is stored as dictionary information.

[0046] In the user terminal 20 configured in this manner, the control unit 21 controls the operation of each part of the circuit in accordance with commands written in the terminal control program (22a) and the WES usage application (22b), and the software and hardware operate in cooperation to realize various functions as described in the operation explanation below.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic circuit of the WES server (server device) 30. As shown in FIG.

[0048] The WES server (server device) 30 includes a control unit (CPU) 31 which is a computer.

[0049] The control unit 31 controls the operation of each part of the circuit in accordance with a server control program (32a) and an image recognition program (including an AI learning function) (32b) stored in the storage unit 32.

[0050] The server control program (32a) and / or the image recognition program (32b) may be pre-stored in the memory unit 32, or may be read from an external recording medium 34 such as a CD-ROM by a recording medium reading unit 34 and stored in the memory unit 32, or may be downloaded from a Web server (here, a program server) 40 on the communication network N via a communication unit 35 and stored in the memory unit 32.

[0051] The server control program (32a) includes a system program for controlling the entire WES server 30, as well as a program for establishing a communication connection with external communication devices including the user terminal 20 at any time, and a program for cooperating with the image recognition program (32b) at any time to execute the above-mentioned functions (30a), (30b), and (30c).

[0052] The image recognition program (32b) includes, for example, a program for recognizing whether one or more related images of a word obtained by a web search (searched by a web server 40 on the communication network N through text matching with the word or image recognition, etc.) corresponding to an entry word (word) of dictionary data in the dictionary database (32c) are related to the meaning of the word.

[0053] The image recognition program (32b) has, for example, a characteristic image database that stores characteristic images highly related to the meaning of each entry word (word) included in the dictionary data, and targets related images of a word searched on the Web, and quantifies the degree of relationship with the word as a probability of "0" to "1" depending on the degree of match between the characteristic images of the word. For example, an image with a probability of "0.8" or more is recognized as a related image related to the meaning of the word, and an image with a probability of "0.7" or less is recognized as a related image unrelated to the meaning of the word.

[0054] The control unit 31 is connected to a storage unit 32, a recording medium reading unit 34, a communication unit 35, an input unit 36 ​​including a pointing device and a keyboard, a display unit 37, and the like via a system and a data bus.

[0055] The memory unit 32 has program memory areas 32a, 32b for storing a server control program (32a) and an image recognition program (32b), as well as a dictionary database memory area 32c, a user management database memory area 32d, a vocabulary list database memory area 32e, a working data memory area 32f, etc.

[0056] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of the dictionary data stored in the dictionary database storage area 32c of the WES server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0057] In the dictionary database storage area 32c, for each type of dictionary data, a headword (word), explanatory information including the word translation, example sentences, and example sentence translations of the word, related images of the word, synonyms of the word, and related images of the word (synonym-related images) are stored in advance in correspondence with each other.

[0058] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of the user management data stored in the user management database storage area 32d of the WES server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0059] The user management database memory area 32d stores, in association with each other, the dictionary <user> ID of the electronic dictionary 10 of a user who has downloaded and is using the WES usage application (22b), the terminal device number of the user terminal 20, user attributes such as the user's occupation (for example, school and year in the case of a student, or type of job in the case of a working adult), image characteristics that the user prefers as related images for words (related image characteristics: illustrated images, photographic images, images that sound like the word, etc.), and the user's search history of the electronic dictionary 10.

[0060] The dictionary <user> ID, terminal device number, user attributes, and related image features in the user management database storage area 32d may be input and stored from the user terminal 20, for example, when the user terminal 20 initializes the WES usage application (22b). The search history of the electronic dictionary 10 is stored by the user transmitting it to the WES server 30 using the user terminal 20 as needed.

[0061] The related image features may be input and stored by the user himself / herself from the user terminal 20, or the features of the related images contained in the user's vocabulary data stored in the vocabulary database memory area 32e may be obtained by image recognition processing and stored.

[0062] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of the flashcard data stored in the flashcard database storage area 32e of the WES server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0063] In the vocabulary database memory area 32e, for each user's dictionary <user> ID stored in the user management database memory area 32d, the following are stored as vocabulary data: words in the search history, explanatory information for the word (word translation, example sentence, example sentence translation), related images for the word (including update date and time, whether it is shareable or not), memo data entered by the user corresponding to the word (including whether it is shareable or not), synonyms for the word, and related images for the synonymous words (synonym-related images), all of which are associated with each other.

[0064] In the working data storage area 32f, various data generated or acquired in response to the control of the operation of each part by the control unit 31 is temporarily stored as necessary.

[0065] In the WES server 30 configured in this manner, the control unit 31 controls the operation of each part of the circuit in accordance with commands written in the server control program (32a) and the image recognition program (32b), and the software and hardware operate in cooperation to realize various functions as described in the operation explanation below.

[0066] (Operation of the embodiment) Next, the operation of the learning support system 1 according to the embodiment will be described.

[0067] <Process for Synchronizing Search History of Electronic Dictionary 10 with WES Server 30 (FIGS. 9 and 10)> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the WES server synchronization process of the electronic dictionary 10. As shown in FIG.

[0068] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the WES usage process of the user terminal 20.

[0069] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a menu screen GW for using the WES in accordance with the WES usage process of the user terminal 20. As shown in FIG.

[0070] When the WES utilization application (22b) is started in the user terminal 20 (step T1 (Yes)), the control unit 21 causes the touch panel display unit 20 to display a menu screen GW for WES utilization, as shown in FIG.

[0071] The menu screen GW for using WES displays, for example, an item M1 "Synchronize dictionary with WES server" for sending the search history data (12d) of the electronic dictionary 10 to the WES server 30 for synchronization, and an item M2 "Use vocabulary list" for using the vocabulary list generated by the WES server 30.

[0072] When the user selects the item "Synchronize dictionary with WES server" M1 on the menu screen GW (step T2 (Yes)), the control unit 21 causes the touch panel display unit 27 to display instructions for obtaining search history data (12d) from the electronic dictionary 10, for example, "Please read the two-dimensional code of the search history from the electronic dictionary."

[0073] In electronic dictionary 10, when the user designates an item for synchronizing electronic dictionary 10 with WES server 30 on a menu screen displayed on touch panel display 17 in response to pressing of the [Menu] key on key input unit 16 (step D1 (Yes)), control unit 11 generates a two-dimensional code QR by encoding the dictionary ID (dictionary <user> ID) stored in dictionary ID storage area 12b and the search history data stored in search history data storage area 12d (step D2). Control unit 21 causes touch panel display 17 to display the generated two-dimensional code QR (step D3).

[0074] When the two-dimensional code QR displayed on the electronic dictionary 10 is captured by the imaging unit 28 in the user terminal 20 (step T3), the control unit 21 decodes the two-dimensional code QR and transmits the decoded dictionary <user> ID and search history data to the WES server 30 (step T4).

[0075] When the screen on which the two-dimensional code QR is displayed in the electronic dictionary 10 is closed (step D4 (Yes)), the control unit 11 ends the WES server synchronization process in the electronic dictionary 10.

[0076] When the screen on which the two-dimensional code QR is captured in the user terminal 20 is closed (step T5 (Yes)), the control unit 21 ends the WES usage process in the user terminal 20.

[0077] <Process of generating a word book by the WES server 30 (Fig. 11)> Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the word book generation process of the WES server 30.

[0078] When the dictionary <user> ID and search history data transmitted from the user terminal 20 are received in the WES server 30 (step S1 (Yes)), the control unit 31 stores the received search history data in the user management database storage area 32d (see Fig. 7) in association with the received dictionary <user> ID, and sequentially acquires the words in the search history included in the search history data from the beginning (step S2).

[0079] The control unit 31 acquires explanation information including the word translation, example sentence, and example sentence translation of the acquired word, and a related image from the dictionary data corresponding to the acquired word stored in the dictionary database storage area 32c (for example, an English-Japanese dictionary in the case of an English word: see Fig. 6), and generates a word card in which the related image and the explanation information are associated with the word. Further, if there are synonyms for the acquired word, the synonyms and the related images of the synonyms are added to the word card. (Step S3).

[0080] The control unit 31 determines whether all words contained in the search history data have been acquired (step S4), and if it is determined that there are words that have not yet been acquired (step S4 (No)), it acquires the next word from the search history data and generates a word card (steps S2, S3).

[0081] Then, when it is determined that all words included in the search history data have been obtained and flashcards corresponding to all of the words have been generated (step S4 (Yes)), the control unit 31 stores the data of each generated flashcard as a flashcard in the flashcard database memory area 32e (see Figure 8) in association with the received dictionary <user> ID (step S5).

[0082] This makes it possible to automatically generate a wordbook that associates explanation information for each word in the user's unique word search history with related images.

[0083] <Processing for using the wordbook via the user terminal 20 (FIGS. 10, 12, and 15)> In accordance with the WES usage process of the user terminal 20 (FIG. 10), when the user selects the item “Use the vocabulary book” M2 on the menu screen GW of the WES usage application (22b) displayed on the touch panel display unit 27 as shown in FIG. 19 (step T6 (Yes)), the control unit 21 proceeds to the vocabulary book usage process (FIG. 12) (step TA).

[0084] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flashcard usage process of the user terminal 20. As shown in FIG.

[0085] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flashcard processing (part 1) of the WES server 30.

[0086] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flashcard processing (part 2) of the WES server 30.

[0087] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an English vocabulary page TCa corresponding to the word card “archive” in the display of the vocabulary book in accordance with the vocabulary book use process of the user terminal 20. As shown in FIG.

[0088] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a switching state between an English word page TCa corresponding to the word card “archive” and a related image page TCb and a word translation page TCc in association with the display of the wordbook on the user terminal 20. In FIG.

[0089] Control unit 21 establishes a communication connection with WES server 30 based on the dictionary <user> ID, and transmits a signal requesting the flashcard (step TA1).

[0090] When the WES server 30 receives a signal requesting the vocabulary list sent from the user terminal 20 along with the dictionary <user> ID (step S6 (Yes)), the control unit 30 transmits the vocabulary list data corresponding to the dictionary <user> ID stored in the vocabulary list database memory area 32e to the user terminal 20 that requested the vocabulary list, based on the terminal device number stored in the user management database memory area 32d (step S7).

[0091] When the user terminal 20 receives the vocabulary book data sent from the WES server 30 (step TA2 (Yes)), the control unit 21 displays the English vocabulary page TCa of any vocabulary card (here, "archive" is specified) included in the received vocabulary book on the touch panel display unit 27 (step TA3), as shown in Figure 20, for example.

[0092] Here, for example, when the user swipes the screen on the touch panel display unit 27 on which the English vocabulary page TCa of the specified word is displayed to turn the page, the control unit 21 switches between displaying the English vocabulary page TCa of the specified vocabulary card in the received vocabulary book, the related image page TCb, and the word translation page TCc, as shown in (A), (B), and (C) of Figure 21 (step TA3).

[0093] The English word page TCa displays the English word "archive" from a specified word card, the related image page TCb displays a related image (here, a file storage shelf) associated with the English word "archive," and the word translation page TCc displays explanatory information and memo data Me including a Japanese translation Ya, example sentence Re, and example sentence translation Ry associated with the English word "archive."

[0094] In addition, the memo data “The red part is in the archive…” Me of the word translation page TCc corresponding to the English word “archive” shown in (C) of Figure 21 is entered and added to the vocabulary book by the user as, for example, a mnemonic for the English word “archive” in the process of using the vocabulary book, as will be described later.

[0095] This allows the user to intuitively understand the meaning of a word by looking at an image related to the word in the vocabulary book, and intuitively memorize the word by looking at a mnemonic for the pronunciation of the word added as memo data, thereby enabling the user to effectively and efficiently memorize and learn words.

[0096] In the display example of the word card of the wordbook shown in FIG. 21, synonyms and synonym-related images are not associated with each other.

[0097] <Processing for updating the wordbook according to the user terminal 20 (FIGS. 12 to 18)> FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a display example of a Web related image list RL1 and a WES related image list RL2 corresponding to the word card “archive” following the related image update process of the user terminal 20. In FIG.

[0098] For example, as shown in FIG. 21(B), when the related image page TCb of the specified word card "archive" is displayed on the touch panel display unit 27 of the user terminal 20 (step TA3), in order to update the currently displayed related images to, for example, a related image preferred by the user by searching for images on the Web, when the [Web] button BT1 displayed in the margin of the related image page TCb is pressed (step TA4 (Yes)), as shown in FIG. 22(A), the control unit 21 transmits the specified word "archive" and a press signal of the [Web] button BT1 to the WES server 30 (step TA5).

[0099] When the WES server 30 receives the specified word “archive” and a press signal of the [Web] button BT1 sent from the user terminal 20 (step S8 (Yes)), the control unit 31 proceeds to the Web-related image list generation process (FIG. 17) (step SE).

[0100] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a Web-related image list generation process included in the flashcard process of the WES server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0101] The control unit 31 stores the specified word "archive" as an initial value in the list of search target words secured in the working data memory area 32f (step SE1), and determines whether the search target word "archive" stored in the list of search target words has any synonyms based on the dictionary data stored in the dictionary database memory area 32c (see Figure 6) (step SE2).

[0102] For example, if it is determined that the search target word "archive" has no synonyms (step SE2 (No)), the control unit 31 searches for and obtains a preset number (20 in this case) of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... related to the search target word "archive" from Web servers 40 ... on the communication network N, as shown in Figure 22 (B) (step SE5).

[0103] The control unit 31, in accordance with the image recognition program (32b), quantifies the degree of relationship between each related image obtained in step SE5 and the search target word "archive" as a probability of "0" to "1", and determines whether the probability is "0.7" or less, i.e., whether the related image is unrelated to the meaning of the search target word (step SE6).

[0104] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the operation of setting irrelevant related images RaN to not be displayed in accordance with the Web related image list generation process of the WES server 30. In FIG.

[0105] Here, if it is determined that the related image is unrelated to the search target word "archive" (step SE6 (Yes)), the unrelated related image RaN is set to be hidden (step SE7), for example, as shown in FIG. 23.

[0106] When the process of determining related images RaN that are not related to the search target word "archive" and setting them as hidden is performed for each related image (here, 20 images) obtained in step SE5 (step SE8 (Yes)), the control unit 31 determines whether there are any search target words in the list of search target words secured in the working data memory area 32f for which related images have not been searched for from the Web server 40... (step SE9).

[0107] Here, since only the specified word "archive" in the vocabulary book being displayed on the user terminal 20 is stored as a search target word in the list of search target words, it is determined that there are no search target words for which related images have not been searched for from the Web server 40... (step SE9 (No)).

[0108] Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines whether or not there are two or more search target words (step SE10), and it is determined that there are not two or more search target words (step SE10 (No)).

[0109] The control unit 31 then transmits data of a list of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, . . . corresponding to the specified word "archive" to the user terminal 20 as Web related image list data (step SE11).

[0110] When the user terminal 20 receives the Web related image list data corresponding to the specified word "archive" sent from the WES server 30 (step TA6 (Yes)), the control unit 21 proceeds to the related image update process (FIG. 13) (step TB).

[0111] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a related image update process (part 1) of the user terminal 20. As shown in FIG.

[0112] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the related image update process (part 2) of the user terminal 20.

[0113] When the control unit 21 receives Web-related image list data from the WES server 30 (step TB1 (Yes)), it determines whether or not the Web-related image list data includes synonyms and synonym-related images of the specified word (step TB2).

[0114] Here, if it is determined that synonyms and synonym-related images of the specified word are not included (step TB2 (No)), the control unit 21 displays a list of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... of the specified word ``archive'' received from the WES server 30 on the touch panel display unit 27 as a Web related image list RL1, as shown in (B) of Figure 22 (step TB3).

[0115] If the list of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... for the specified word "archive" includes a related image RaN that is not related to the specified word "archive" and that has been set to hidden (step SE7) in accordance with the Web related image list generation process (FIG. 17) in the WES server 30, the control unit 21 causes the touch panel display unit 27 to display a Web related image list RL1 in which a related exclusion mark Nd has been added to the related image RaN that has been set to hidden, as shown in FIG. 23 (step TB3). The related image RaN that has been set to hidden may be hidden.

[0116] Here, for example, when a related image Ra3 preferred by user H is specified in the Web related image list RL1 corresponding to the specified word "archive" displayed as shown in FIG. 23 (step TB4 (Yes)), the control unit 21 displays a designation frame W around the specified related image Ra3 and transmits data of the specified related image Ra3 to the WES server 30 (step TB5).

[0117] In addition, in the Web related image list RL1 displayed on the user terminal 20, if user H is willing to share the related image Ra3 specified by the user in the vocabulary list of other users, he / she presses the [Shareable] button BCy displayed together with the Web related image list RL1 to specify the related image Ra3, and if he / she does not want the related image Ra3 to be shared, he / she presses the [Cannot be shared] button BCn to specify the related image Ra3.

[0118] As a result, data of the related image Ra3 specified from the Web related image list RL1 on the user terminal 20 is transmitted to the WES server 30 together with information on whether the image can be shared or not (step TB5). Note that the data of the specified related image Ra3 transmitted to the WES server 30 may be identification information (such as an index) that identifies the image data, rather than the image data itself.

[0119] When the WES server 30 receives data of the specified related image Ra3 (including whether it can be shared or not) sent from the user terminal 20 (step S9 (Yes)), the control unit 31 updates the related image corresponding to the word card "archive" of the relevant wordbook in the wordbook database memory area 32e (see Figure 8) that was sent to and displayed on the user terminal 20, as shown in Figure 22 (A), to the received related image Ra3, including the update date and time and the information on whether it can be shared or not (step S10).

[0120] This allows a user to update the related image associated with any word in his / her own vocabulary book generated by the WES server 30 to the specified related image Ra3 by selecting a related image Ra3 preferred by user H from a Web related image list RL1 searched for from Web servers 40... on the communication network N.

[0121] <Process of updating the vocabulary book by adding synonyms and images related to the synonyms> Furthermore, in the wordbook usage process of the user terminal 20 (Figure 12), when a related image page TCb (see (A) of Figure 22) displaying related images associated with a specified word "road", for example, is displayed (step TA3), and the [Web] button BT1 is pressed, the specified word "road" and a press signal of the [Web] button BT1 are sent to the WES server 30 (steps TA4, TA5), the wordbook process of the WES server 30 executes a Web related image list generation process including the synonym "street" of the specified word "road" and synonym-related images as follows (step S8 (Yes) → SE).

[0122] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a divided display of a Web related image list RL1 and a Web synonym related image list SLa corresponding to the word card "road" in accordance with the related image update process of the user terminal 20. In FIG.

[0123] The control unit 31 stores the specified word "road" as an initial value in the list of search target words secured in the working data memory area 32f (step SE1), and determines whether the search target word "road" stored in the list of search target words has any synonyms based on the dictionary data stored in the dictionary database memory area 32c (see Figure 6) (step SE2).

[0124] For example, if it is determined that the search target word "road" has the synonym "street" (step SE2 (Yes)), the control unit 31 determines whether the synonym "street" is included in the search history stored in the user management database memory area 32d (see Figure 7) in association with the dictionary <user> ID of the user terminal 20 that is the sender of the specified word (search target word) "road" (step SE3).

[0125] Here, if it is determined that the synonym "street" of the search target word "road" is included in the search history of the corresponding user (step SE3 (Yes)), the control unit 31 adds the synonym "street" to the list of search target words in the working data memory area 32f and stores it therein (step SE4).

[0126] Then, the control unit 31 searches for and obtains a preset number (20 in this case) of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... related to the first search target word (specified word) "road" in the list of search target words from the Web servers 40... on the communication network N, as shown in (A) of Figure 24 (step SE5).

[0127] Then, as described above, the control unit 31 determines whether or not there are any related images unrelated to the meaning of the search target word “road” among the 20 related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... obtained in step SE5 (step SE6), and if it is determined that there are any related images unrelated to the meaning of the search target word “road” (step SE6 (Yes)), it sets the unrelated related images RaN to not be displayed (steps SE7, SE8).

[0128] The control unit 31 determines that the list of search target words contains the next search target word (synonym) "street" for which related images have not been searched for from the Web servers 40... (step SE9 (Yes)), and similarly to the above, searches for and obtains a preset number (20 in this case) of related images (synonym related images) SR1, SR2, SR3... related to the search target word "street" from the Web servers 40... on the communication network N, as shown in, for example, (A) of Figure 24 (step SE5).

[0129] Then, as described above, the control unit 31 determines whether or not there are any related images unrelated to the meaning of the search target word “street” among the 20 related images SR1, SR2, SR3, ... obtained in step SE5 (step SE6), and if it is determined that there are any related images unrelated to the meaning of the search target word “street” (step SE6 (Yes)), it sets the unrelated related images RaN to not be displayed (steps SE7, SE8).

[0130] After that, when it is determined that there are no search target words in the list of search target words for which related images have not been searched for from the Web server 40... (step SE9 (No)), and it is also determined that there are two or more search target words, the specified word ``road'' and its synonym ``street'' (step SE10 (Yes)), the control unit 31 transmits data on the list of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3,... corresponding to the specified word ``road'' and data on the list of related images SR1, SR2, SR3,... corresponding to the synonym ``street'' to the user terminal 20 as Web related image list data (step SE12).

[0131] When the user terminal 20 receives the Web related image list data corresponding to the specified word "road" and the synonym "street" sent from the WES server 30 (step TA6 (Yes)), the control unit 21 proceeds to the related image update process (Figure 13) (step TB).

[0132] The control unit 21 receives Web-related image list data from the WES server 30 (step TB1 (Yes)) and determines that the Web-related image list data includes the synonym "street" of the specified word "road" and synonym-related images (step TB2 (Yes)).

[0133] As shown in (A) of Figure 24, the control unit 21 displays on the touch panel display unit 27 the list of related images Ra1, Ra2, Ra3, ... of the specified word "road" received from the WES server 30 and the list of related images SR1, SR2, SR3, ... of the synonym "street" as a related image list screen GL divided into a Web related image list RL1 and a Web synonym related image list SLa (step TB6).

[0134] Here, user H's preferred related image Ra3 is specified from the Web related image list RL1 corresponding to the specified word "road," and user H's preferred synonym related image SR1 is specified from the Web synonym related image list SLa corresponding to the synonym "street," and when the [Create Image] button BM is pressed (step TB7 (Yes)), the control unit 21 displays a designation frame W around the specified related image Ra3 and synonym related image SR1, and transmits data of each related image Ra3, SR1 to the WES server 30 (step TB8).

[0135] As described above, here too, in the Web related image list RL1 and the Web synonym related image list SLa displayed on the user terminal 20, if user H is willing to allow the related image Ra3 (SR1) specified by the user H to be shared in other users' vocabulary lists, he or she presses the [Shareable] button BCy and then specifies the related image Ra3 (SR1), as shown in FIG. 23, and if he or she does not want the related image to be shared, he or she presses the [Cannot share] button BCn and then specifies the related image Ra3 (SR1).

[0136] As a result, data of the related image Ra3 (synonym related image SR1) specified from the Web related image list RL1 (Web synonym related image list SLa) on the user terminal 20 is transmitted to the WES server 30 together with information on whether it can be shared or not (step TB8). Note that the data of the specified related image Ra3 transmitted to the WES server 30 may be identification information (such as an index) that identifies the image data, rather than the image data itself.

[0137] When the WES server 30 receives the data of the specified related image Ra3 and the synonym-related image SR1 (including whether or not it can be shared) transmitted from the user terminal 20 together with a pressing signal of the [Create image] button BM (step S11 (Yes)), the control unit 31 updates the related image corresponding to the word card "road" of the corresponding wordbook in the wordbook database storage area 32e (see FIG. 8) transmitted to and displayed on the user terminal 20 in step S7, to the received related image Ra3, including the update date and time and the information on whether or not it can be shared. The control unit 31 also updates the word card "road" of the same wordbook by adding the received synonym "street" and its synonym-related image SR1 (including the update date and time and the information on whether or not it can be shared) (step S12).

[0138] This allows the user to update the related image associated with any word (here, "road") in his / her own flashcard generated by the WES server 30 to the specified related image Ra3 by specifying the user H's preferred related image Ra3 from the Web related image list RL1 retrieved from the Web servers 40... on the communications network N. Then, if the user H's search history includes a synonym "street" for the word "road," the user can update the flashcard for the word "road" by adding the synonym "street" and the user H's preferred synonym related image SR1 specified from the Web synonym related image list SLa.

[0139] In this case, when the user terminal 20 displays the flashcard for the specified word (here, "road") in the user's own flashcard received from the WES server 30 as shown in Figure 21 (steps TA1 to TA3), the related image page TCb displays, for example, the related image Ra3 specified by the user for the word "road" and the related image SR1 specified by the user for the synonym "street" side by side for comparison, as shown in Figure 24 (B).

[0140] Therefore, the user can easily and deeply understand the difference in meaning between the word "road" and the synonym "street" (for example, "road" is a road that cars use that runs from town to town, and "street" is a road in a city lined with buildings and roadside trees), and can effectively and efficiently learn not only the word "road" but also its synonym "street". In this embodiment, when a synonym is in the user's search history, that is, when the synonym itself is registered separately and independently in the vocabulary book, it is set as a search target for related images, so that it is easier to remember and it is possible to learn efficiently. On the other hand, it is also possible for the synonym to not be included in the search history. In this case, the synonym is a word that the user has not looked up, but it is a word related to a word included in the vocabulary book, and furthermore, related images are displayed for the synonym, so that it is possible to effectively and efficiently increase the number of words to be learned.

[0141] <Process to add and update memo data Me to the vocabulary book> Furthermore, in the wordbook usage process (FIG. 12) of the user terminal 20, when a word translation page TCc corresponding to a specified word "archive" is displayed (step TA3) as shown in FIG. 22(C), for example, and a field of memo data Me on the word translation page TCc is specified (step TA10 (Yes)), the control unit 21 displays a soft keyboard (not shown) and sets the field of the specified memo data Me to a state in which text can be input (step TA11).

[0142] Here, the user operates to input and display any memo (here, "The red part is in the archive...", which is a play on the Japanese translation of the word "archive"), and then presses the [Shareable] button BCy or the [Not Shareable] button BCn (see Figure 23) to specify whether the memo can be shared or not.

[0143] The control unit 21 transmits the specified word "archive" and the input memo data "The red part is in the archive..." Me together with information on whether sharing is permitted or not to the WES server 30 (step TA12).

[0144] When the WES server 30 receives the specified word "archive" and the memo data "The red part is in the archive..." Me (including whether it can be shared or not) sent from the user terminal 20 (step S20 (Yes)), the control unit 31 stores the received memo data Me, including the information on whether it can be shared or not, in association with the word "archive" in the corresponding vocabulary book in the vocabulary book database memory area 32e, and updates the memo data Me (step S21).

[0145] This allows the user to associate any word in his / her vocabulary book with any memo data Me that he / she thinks will help him / her to remember the word, thereby enabling the user to learn words effectively and efficiently.

[0146] When an operation to close the displayed screen is performed on the user terminal 20 (step TA7 (Yes)), the control unit 21 ends the series of the flashcard use processing.

[0147] <Process of searching for and updating related images of the vocabulary book from within the WES server 30> For example, as shown in FIG. 21(B), when the related image page TCb of the specified flashcard "archive" is displayed on the touch panel display unit 27 of the user terminal 20 (step TA3), in order to update the currently displayed related image to, for example, a related image preferred by the user by searching another user's flashcard in the WES server 30, when the [WES] button BT2 on the related image page TCb is pressed (step TA8 (Yes)), as shown in FIG. 22(A), the control unit 21 transmits the specified word "archive" and a press signal of the [WES] button BT2 to the WES server 30 (step TA9).

[0148] When the WES server 30 receives the specified word “archive” and the press signal of the [WES] button BT2 sent from the user terminal 20 (step S13 (Yes)), the control unit 31 proceeds to the WES related image list generation process (Figure 18) (step SF).

[0149] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a WES related image list generation process included in the wordbook process of the WES server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0150] The control unit 31 searches and acquires a preset number of related images Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, ... associated with the specified word "archive" from the data of the vocabulary books of other users stored in the vocabulary book database storage area 32e, as shown in, for example, FIG. 22(C) (step SF1).

[0151] The control unit 31 transmits data of the list of related images Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, . . . corresponding to the acquired specified word "archive" to the user terminal 20 as WES related image list data (step SF2).

[0152] When the user terminal 20 receives the WES related image list data corresponding to the specified word "archive" transmitted from the WES server 30 (step TA6 (Yes)), the control unit 21 proceeds to the related image update process (FIG. 13) (step TB).

[0153] When the control unit 21 receives the WES related image list data from the WES server 30 (step TB9 (Yes)), it displays the list of related images Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, ... of the specified word "archive" received from the WES server 30 on the touch panel display unit 27 as a WES related image list RL2, as shown in (C) of Figure 22 (step TB10).

[0154] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for narrowing down related images in the display of the WES related image list RL2 in accordance with the related image update process of the user terminal 20. In FIG.

[0155] In the WES related image list RL2, for example, as shown in FIG. 25, when a [Narrow] button PD for narrowing down related images Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, ... is pressed, the control unit 21 causes a pull-down menu to be displayed with the following: a [Recent] button BX for searching and narrowing down related images to be searched from the vocabulary database (32e) in order of most recent update date and time, a [Popular] button BY for searching and narrowing down from the vocabulary books of other users who have the same user attributes as the user, and a [Recommended] button BZ for searching and narrowing down from the vocabulary books of other users who have the same related image characteristics as the user.

[0156] In response to pressing of the displayed [Recent] button BX, [Popular] button BY, or [Recommended] button BZ, control unit 21 transmits a pressing signal of the button BX, BY, or BZ to WES server 30 (step TB11).

[0157] In the WES server 30, when a press signal of the [Recent] button BX is received from the user terminal 20 (step SF3 (Yes)), the control unit 31 searches and obtains related images of the specified word "archive" from the data of other users' vocabulary books in the vocabulary book database (32e) in order of most recent update date and time (in order of posting) (step SF4), and transmits the obtained list data of related images to the user terminal 20 as "recent" WES related image list data (step SF5).

[0158] Furthermore, when a press signal of the [Popular] button BY is received from the user terminal 20 (step SF6 (Yes)), the control unit 31 obtains user attributes (e.g., a third-year high school student) associated with the user's dictionary <user> ID from the user management database (32d) (step SF7).

[0159] Then, related images of the specified word "archive" are searched and obtained from the vocabulary books of other users in the vocabulary book database (32e) who have the same user attribute (third year high school student) as the obtained user attribute (step SF8), and the list data of the obtained related images is sent to the user terminal 20 as "popular" WES related image list data (step SF9).

[0160] In addition, when a press signal of the [Recommended] button BZ is received from the user terminal 20 (step SF10 (Yes)), the control unit 31 retrieves related image features (e.g., a mnemonic image of a word) associated with the user's dictionary <user> ID from the user management database (32d) (step SF11).

[0161] Then, related images of the specified word "archive" are searched and obtained from other users' vocabulary books in the vocabulary book database (32e) that have the same related image features (word-mnemonic images) as the obtained related image features (step SF12), and the list data of the obtained related images is sent to the user terminal 20 as "recommended" WES related image list data (step SF13).

[0162] When the user terminal 20 receives the "recent", "popular", or "recommended" WES related image list data that has been narrowed down and sent from the WES server 30 (step TB9 (Yes)), the control unit 21 displays the list of related images Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, ... after narrowing down the received specified word "archive" on the touch panel display unit 27 as a WES related image list RL2, as shown, for example, in Figure 22 (C) (step TB12).

[0163] When a related image Rb2 that user H likes (here, a related image that is a pun on the word "archive" and the Japanese translation "red pig storage") is specified in the WES related image list RL2 of the specified word "archive" displayed in step TB10 or TB12, the control unit 21 displays a designation frame W around the specified related image Rb2 and transmits data of the specified related image Rb2 to the WES server 30 (step TB13). The data of the specified related image Rb2 transmitted to the WES server 30 may not be the image data itself, but may be identification information (such as an index) that identifies the image data.

[0164] When the WES server 30 receives the specified related image Rb2 (here, a related image which is a pun on the word "archive" and means "store a red pig") sent from the user terminal 20 (step S14 (Yes)), the control unit 31 transmits data of the word card (including the word "archive", related image Rb2, explanatory information, and notes) to which the specified related image Rb2 is associated in the wordbook of another user from whom the specified related image Rb2 was searched, together with information on whether the related image Rb2 and the notes can be shared or not, to the user terminal 20 (step S15).

[0165] In the user terminal 20, the control unit 21 receives data of the flashcard of the other user's flashcard corresponding to the specified related image Rb2 (including information on whether the related image Rb2 and the memo can be shared or not) transmitted from the WES server 30. Then, as shown in (A), (B), and (C) in Fig. 26, for example, the control unit 21 causes the touch panel display unit 27 to switchably display the English flashcard page TCa, the related image page TCb, and the word translation page TCc of the received flashcard "archive" of the other user (step TB14).

[0166] At this time, if information indicating that sharing is permitted has been added to the related image Rb2 of the received flashcard of another user, a download mark DL indicating that sharing is permitted is added and displayed on the related image page TCb, as shown in (B) of Fig. 26. Also, if information indicating that sharing is permitted has been added to the memo data of the received flashcard of another user, a copy mark CP indicating that sharing is permitted is added and displayed on the word translation page TCc, as shown in (C) of Fig. 26.

[0167] Here, as shown in (B) of Figure 26, when a related image of the related image page TCb displayed with a download mark DL added (here, a related image that is a pun on the word "archive" and means "store the red pig") is specified (step TB15 (Yes)), the control unit 21 transmits data of the specified related image (which can be shared) (the data of the specified related image may be identification information of the related image) to the WES server 30 (step TB16).

[0168] When the WES server 30 receives data of the specified related image (which can be shared) sent from the user terminal 20 (step S16 (Yes)), the control unit 31 updates the related image corresponding to the word card “archive” of the relevant word card in the word card database (32e) that was sent to and displayed by the user terminal 20, as shown in (A) of Figure 22, to the related image Rb2 of the received word card of another user (the related image is a pun on the word “archive,” meaning “storing a red pig”), including the update date and time and information on whether it can be shared (step S17).

[0169] This allows a user to update the related image associated with any word in his or her own vocabulary book generated by the WES server 30 to a related image Rb2 that user H prefers, for example a related image Rb2 that the user thinks will make it easier to remember the word than the previous related image in user H's vocabulary book, from the WES related image list RL2 searched through the data of other users' vocabulary books in the WES server 30, and to the specified related image Rb2.

[0170] Furthermore, the user can update the related images associated with words in his / her own vocabulary book by specifying the related image Rb2 preferred by user H from the WES related image list RL2 searched by narrowing down the search to "recent," "popular," or "recommended." In the case of "recent," the search targets recently updated related images. In the case of "popular," the search targets related images in the vocabulary books of other users who have the same attributes as the user, and in the case of "recommended," the search targets related images in the vocabulary books of other users who have the same characteristics as the related images in the user's vocabulary book.

[0171] <Process to update the memo data Me of the vocabulary book using another user's vocabulary book> Furthermore, following the processing of step TB14 of the user terminal 20, when memo data Me (here, a pun on the word "archive," meaning "to store a red pig") of the word translation page TCc, which is displayed with a copy mark CP added as shown in FIG. 26(C) among the English word page TCa, related image page TCb, and word translation page TCc of another user's word card "archive" that are displayed in a switchable manner as shown in FIG. 26(A), (B), and (C) is specified (step TB17 (Yes)), the control unit 21 sends the specified memo data (which can be shared) Me to the WES server 30 (step TB18).

[0172] When the WES server 30 receives the specified memo data (which can be shared) Me sent from the user terminal 20 (step S18 (Yes)), the control unit 31 updates the memo data “The red part is in the archive…” Me corresponding to the word card “archive” of the relevant word card in the word card database (32e) that was sent to and displayed on the user terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 21 (C), to the memo data “The red pig is kept in the archive” Me of the received word card of another user, by including the information on whether it can be shared (step S19).

[0173] This allows a user to update memo data Me associated with any word in his / her own vocabulary book generated by the WES server 30 to memo data Me from another user's vocabulary book in the WES server 30 that has an associated image that the user likes (a memo that the user finds easier to remember words from than the memo in the user's own vocabulary book) by specifying the specified memo data Me.

[0174] In step TB14 of the related image update process of the user terminal 20 (Figure 13), when the English word page TCa, related image page TCb, and word translation page TCc of another user's vocabulary book received from the WES server 30 are displayed in a switchable manner, as shown in Figure 26, if the control unit 21 has performed a narrowing-down operation in step TB11, it returns to the processing of step TB12 and displays the narrowed-down WES related image list RL2 (step TB20 (Yes) → TB12), and if a narrowing-down operation has not been performed, it returns to the processing of step TB10 and displays the WES related image list RL2 before narrowing-down (step TB20 (No) → TB10).

[0175] (Summary of the embodiment) According to the learning support system 1 of the embodiment, when search history data of a word searched for using the electronic dictionary 10 is transmitted to the WES server 30 by the user terminal 20, which is a communication device, the WES server 30 generates a flashcard for each word included in the search history data by retrieving the word, explanatory information including the word translation, and an image related to the word (including synonyms and images related to the synonyms, if there are synonyms of the word) from the dictionary data in the dictionary database (32c), and automatically generates a flashcard according to the user and stores it in the flashcard database (32e) in association with the dictionary <user> ID.

[0176] The user acquires the vocabulary book automatically generated by the WES server 30 into the user terminal 20, and studies by switching between displaying each word card in the vocabulary book on the user terminal 20 between the English word page TCa, the related image page TCb, and the word translation page TCc.

[0177] At this time, by specifying the memo data Me column of the word translation page TCc and inputting any memo data Me that is thought to help remember the word (such as a memo that is a mnemonic between the pronunciation of the word and the word translation), the memo data Me is added to and updated in the word card of the corresponding wordbook in the WES server 30, and from then on, the memo data Me is added to the word translation page TCc displayed on the user terminal 20.

[0178] This allows the user to intuitively understand the meaning of a word by looking at an image related to the word in the vocabulary book, and intuitively memorize the word by looking at a mnemonic for the pronunciation of the word added as memo data, thereby enabling the user to effectively and efficiently memorize and learn words.

[0179] Furthermore, according to the learning support system 1 of the embodiment, when the [Web] button BT1 is pressed on the related image page TCb of any flashcard displayed on the user terminal 20, a list of related images related to the word on the flashcard, which have been searched for on the Web by the WES server 30, is displayed as a Web related image list RL1. Then, when any related image is specified from the Web related image list RL1, the WES server 30 updates the related image of the flashcard of the corresponding flashcard in the flashcard database (32e) to the related image specified by the user.

[0180] This allows the user H to update the related image associated with any word in his / her vocabulary book by specifying a related image Ra3 preferred by the user H from a list of Web related images RL1 retrieved from the Web.

[0181] When the WES server 30 searches the Web for related images related to a word on any flashcard displayed on the user terminal 20, if a synonym for that word is in the dictionary database (32c) and is included in the user's search history, the WES server 30 also searches the Web for related images for that synonym, and displays a list of the searched synonym-related images as a Web synonym-related image list SLa on a separate screen from the Web related image list RL1 on the user terminal 20. When an arbitrary related image is specified from each of the Web related image list RL1 and the Web synonym-related image list SLa, the WES server 30 updates the related image of the flashcard for the corresponding flashcard in the flashcard database (32e) to the related image specified by the user, and updates the flashcard by adding the synonym and the synonym-related image specified by the user.

[0182] This allows the user to deeply and easily understand the difference in meaning between the word on the word card displayed on the user terminal 20 and its synonyms from the difference in content between the related image of the word and the related image of the synonyms, and to effectively and efficiently learn not only the word but also its synonyms.

[0183] Furthermore, according to the learning support system 1 of the embodiment, when the [WES] button BT2 is pressed on the related image page TCb of any word displayed on the user terminal 20, the WES server 30 displays a list of related images related to the same word, which are searched for in the vocabulary books of other users in the vocabulary book database (32e), as a WES related image list RL2. When any related image is specified from the WES related image list RL2, the WES server 30 updates the related image of the flashcard of the vocabulary book of the user of the same user terminal 20 in the vocabulary book database (32e) to the specified related image.

[0184] This allows a user to update the related image associated with any word in his / her own vocabulary book to the specified related image Rb2 in the WES related image list RL2 searched from other users' vocabulary books in the WES server 30, which the user thinks will make it easier to remember the word than the previous related image in the user's own vocabulary book.

[0185] The WES related image list RL2 searched for from other users' vocabulary books by the WES server 30 and displayed on the user terminal 20 can be narrowed down to a list of related images sorted by most recent update date and time, to a list of related images searched for from the vocabulary books of other users who have the same user attributes as the user of the user terminal 20, or to a list of related images searched for from the vocabulary books of other users who have the same related image characteristics as the same user, by operating the [Recent] button BX, the [Popular] button BY, or the [Recommended] button BZ. A user can update the related images associated with words in his or her own vocabulary book by specifying a more appropriate related image Rb2 from the vocabulary books of other users that is closer to the user's preferred learning style.

[0186] Furthermore, according to the learning support system 1 of the embodiment, when a user specifies an arbitrary related image Rb2 in the WES related image list RL2 corresponding to a specified word displayed on the user terminal 20, the WES server 30 transmits data of a word card in the wordbook of another user that is the search source for the specified related image Rb2 to the user terminal 20, and causes the English word page TCa, the related image page TCb, and the word translation page TCc to be switchably displayed. When the memo data Me of the word translation page TCc is specified by the user, the WES server 30 updates the current memo data Me corresponding to the specified word in the user's wordbook to the memo data Me of the specified other user.

[0187] This allows a user to designate memo data Me of another user's vocabulary book in the WES server 30 that has an associated image that the user likes as memo data Me that the user finds easier to remember the word from the current memo data Me associated with any word in the user's vocabulary book, and update the data to the designated better memo data Me.

[0188] (Other embodiments) In addition, the process of narrowing down related images according to the [Popular] button BY in the WES related image list generation process of the WES server 30 stores data of related images in the flashcard in association with the selection time from when the related image is displayed in the Web related image list RL1 or the WES related image list RL2 until the user selects and specifies the related image. Related images with a selection time shorter than a predetermined time may be narrowed down on the assumption that they are easy for the user to remember.

[0189] In addition, related images with clear overall contrast, related images in which the characteristic parts corresponding to the meaning of a word are clearly visible against the background, and related images in which the size of the characteristic parts is larger than a specified size may be analyzed through image recognition, and these may be used as targets for narrowing down the results according to the [Popular] button BY.

[0190] In addition, the process of narrowing down related images in response to the [Recommended] button BZ may also be a method of narrowing down the related images in the vocabulary books of other users who have updated past related images by specifying their preferred related images based on the WES related image list RL2.

[0191] In addition, in the Web-related image list generation process, for related images that are prohibited from being downloaded from the Web, the Web URL of the related image may be obtained and displayed in the Web-related image list RL1 in place of the related image that is prohibited from being downloaded.

[0192] In addition, when the WES server 30 generates a vocabulary list based on search history data, the related images to be associated with a word are the related images of that word in the dictionary data of the dictionary database (32c), but this is not limited to this and related images searched for on the Web may also be used.

[0193] Furthermore, the words in the search history described in the embodiment may of course be phrases such as phrases, compound words, and abbreviations that exist as head words in dictionary data.

[0194] Therefore, according to the learning support system 1 of the embodiment, it becomes possible to remember and learn the target language effectively and efficiently.

[0195] The processing methods of the learning support system 1 described in each of the above embodiments, i.e., the WES server synchronization processing in the electronic dictionary 10 shown in the flowchart of Figure 9, the WES utilization processing in the user terminal 20 shown in the flowchart of Figure 10, the vocabulary book generation processing in the WES server 30 shown in the flowchart of Figure 11, the vocabulary book utilization processing in the user terminal 20 shown in the flowchart of Figure 12, the related image update processing in the user terminal 20 shown in the flowcharts of Figures 13 and 14, the vocabulary book processing in the WES server 30 shown in the flowchart of Figures 15 and 16, the Web-related image list generation processing in the WES server 30 shown in the flowchart of Figure 17, and the WES-related image list generation processing in the WES server 30 shown in the flowchart of Figure 18, can all be distributed as programs that can be executed by a computer, stored on an external storage device such as a memory card (ROM card, RAM card, etc.), a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), or a semiconductor memory. The control unit (CPU) of the electronic device then loads the program recorded on the medium of this external recording device into the storage device, and by having its operation controlled by this loaded program, it is possible to realize the various functions described in each embodiment and execute similar processing using the methods described above.

[0196] In addition, the program data for realizing each technique can be transmitted over a communication network (N) in the form of program code, and the program data can be imported into an electronic device from a computer device (program server) connected to this communication network (N) and stored in a storage device to realize the various functions described above.

[0197] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and can be modified in various ways in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. The embodiments may be implemented in appropriate combinations, in which case the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the embodiments include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from the multiple constituent elements disclosed. For example, if the problem can be solved and the effect can be obtained even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiments, the configuration from which the constituent elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0198] The invention as originally claimed in the present application is set forth below.

[0199] [Appendix 1] The Communications Department and A control unit; A storage unit for storing a dictionary database, The control unit is acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, word information corresponding to the word is obtained from a dictionary database stored in the storage unit; generating wordbook data in which the word, explanatory information of the word included in the word information, and a first word-related image related to the word are associated with each other; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a first synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A server device configured as follows.

[0200] [Appendix 2] The control unit is transmitting said vocabulary book data to said user's communication device; 2. The server device according to claim 1, configured as follows:

[0201] [Appendix 3] The control unit is When receiving information on one word or phrase designated by the user in the transmitted vocabulary book, obtaining data of a second word-related image list related to the specified word from another server device and transmitting the data to the communication device of the user; When receiving information on one second word-related image selected by the user from the transmitted list of second word-related images, updating the first word-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received second word-related image information; 3. The server device according to claim 2, configured as follows:

[0202] [Appendix 4] The control unit is If there is a synonym associated with the specified term, acquiring data of a second synonym-related image list related to the synonym from the other server device; Transmitting data of the second synonym-related image list to the communication device of the user; When the user receives information on one of the second synonym-related images selected from the transmitted list of second synonym-related images, updating the first synonym-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received information of the second synonym-related image; 4. The server device according to claim 3, configured as follows:

[0203] [Appendix 5] The control unit is If a synonym of the specified phrase is included in the search history data, acquiring data of a second synonym-related image list related to the synonym from the other server device; Transmitting data of the second synonym-related image list to the communication device of the user; When the user receives information on one of the second synonym-related images selected from the transmitted list of second synonym-related images, updating the first synonym-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received information of the second synonym-related image; 4. The server device according to claim 3, configured as follows:

[0204] [Appendix 6] The control unit is receiving and acquiring the search history data from a communication device of the user; 6. The server device according to claim 1, configured as follows:

[0205] [Appendix 7] The Communications Department and A control unit; A storage unit that stores a dictionary database; The control unit of the server device acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, word information corresponding to the word is obtained from a dictionary database stored in the storage unit; generating wordbook data in which the word is associated with explanatory information of the word included in the word information and a word-related image related to the word; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A learning support method like this.

[0206] [Appendix 8] The Communications Department and A control unit; A storage unit that stores a dictionary database; The control unit of the server device acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, word information corresponding to the word is obtained from a dictionary database stored in the storage unit; generating wordbook data in which the word, explanatory information of the word included in the word information, and a word-related image related to the word are associated with each other; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A program to make it function like this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0207] 1. Learning support system 10. Electronic dictionary (electronic device) 11...Control unit (CPU) 12...Storage section 12a...Program storage area (dictionary control program) 12b…Dictionary ID storage area 12c…Dictionary data storage area 12d…Search history data storage area 15 … Communications Department 16 …Key input section 17 …Touch panel display 20...User terminal (communication equipment) 21...Control unit (CPU) 22...Storage section 22a...Program storage area (terminal control program) 22b…Program storage area (WES application) 22c…Terminal data storage area 25 … Communications Department 27 …Touch panel display 28 … Imaging section 30 ... WES server (server device) 31...Control unit (CPU) 32...Storage section 32a...Program storage area (server control program) 32b...Program memory area (image recognition program) 32c…Dictionary database storage area 32d...User management database storage area 32e… Vocabulary database storage area 32f…Work data storage area N…Communication network QR...2D code TCa…English Vocabulary Page TCb…Related image page TCc...word translation page Me...Memo data BT1…[Web] button BT2…[WES] button RL1…Web related image list RL2…WES related image list BCy…[Shareable] button BCn…[Cannot share] button SLa…Web Synonym Related Image List GL … Related image list screen BM …[Create Image] button PD …[Refine] button DL...Download mark CP...Copy mark

Claims

1. The Communications Department and A control unit; Equipped with The control unit is acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, obtain word information corresponding to the word from a dictionary database; generating wordbook data in which the word, explanatory information of the word included in the word information, and a first word-related image related to the word are associated with each other; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a first synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A server device configured as follows.

2. The control unit is transmitting said vocabulary book data to said user's communication device; 2. The server device according to claim 1, configured to:

3. The control unit is When receiving information on one word or phrase designated by the user in the transmitted vocabulary book, obtaining data of a second phrase-related image list related to the specified phrase from another server device and transmitting the data to the communication device of the user; When receiving information on one second word-related image selected by the user from the transmitted list of second word-related images, updating a first word-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received second word-related image information; 3. The server device according to claim 2, configured as follows.

4. The control unit is If there is a synonym associated with the specified term, acquiring data of a second synonym-related image list related to the synonym from the other server device; Transmitting data of the second synonym-related image list to the communication device of the user; When the user receives information on one second synonym-related image selected from the transmitted list of second synonym-related images, updating the first synonym-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received second synonym-related image information; 4. The server device according to claim 3, configured as follows.

5. The control unit is If a synonym of the specified phrase is included in the search history data, acquiring data of a second synonym-related image list related to the synonym from the other server device; Transmitting data of the second synonym-related image list to the communication device of the user; When the user receives information on one second synonym-related image selected from the transmitted list of second synonym-related images, updating the first synonym-related image associated with the specified word to an image corresponding to the received second synonym-related image information; 4. The server device according to claim 3, configured as follows.

6. The control unit is receiving and acquiring the search history data from a communication device of the user; 6. The server device according to claim 1, further comprising:

7. The Communications Department and A control unit; The control unit of the server device acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, obtain word information corresponding to the word from a dictionary database; generating wordbook data in which the word is associated with explanatory information of the word included in the word information and a word-related image related to the word; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A learning support method like this.

8. The Communications Department and A control unit; The control unit of the server device acquiring, via the communication unit, a search history of at least one word or phrase searched by a user; For each word included in the search history, obtain word information corresponding to the word from a dictionary database; generating wordbook data in which the word, explanatory information of the word included in the word information, and a word-related image related to the word are associated with each other; if the word information includes a synonym of the word, the synonym and a synonym-related image related to the synonym are added to data of the wordbook data corresponding to the word; A program to make it function like this.

Images