Second Language Learning System

Abstract

To create motivation for native language learners to continue learning a second language. [Solution] A second language learning system that helps learners whose native language is a first language learn the sounds of a second language, comprising: a display unit that displays teaching materials for the first language; an input unit that allows the learner to select a specified range or portion of the teaching materials for the first language; an output unit that outputs audio in the second language that corresponds to the specified range or portion of the selected teaching materials for the first language; a calculation unit that cumulatively calculates the number of words or characters contained in the second language from which the audio is output, excluding duplicates; and a display unit that displays the calculated results.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a second language learning system in which a learner whose native language is a first language learns a second language. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the vocabulary acquisition goal for Japanese people learning a second language (such as English) has changed. According to the "Explanation of the Junior High School Curriculum Guidelines (Announced in 2017)" published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the vocabulary level by the time of junior high school graduation has risen from the 1,200-word level to 2,200-2,500 words. It has been organized to teach around 600-700 words in elementary school and around 1,600-1,800 words in junior high school. Adding the number of English vocabulary words learned in elementary school and junior high school equals 2,200-2,500 words.

[0003] As of 2025, elementary school English textbooks, such as "Let's Try! 1" (Non-Patent Document 1) for third graders by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, "Let's Try! 2" for fourth graders, "We Can! 1" for fifth graders, and "We Can! 2" for sixth graders, do not indicate the target number of English vocabulary words to be learned. Furthermore, while audio is supposed to be spoken in the "Let's Listen" section, the number of spoken words is not indicated. The "Junior High School Curriculum Guidelines" do not specifically indicate the target number of vocabulary words, approximately 600-700, for elementary school students, and English textbooks do not indicate the level of language proficiency to indicate the difficulty of the English. This makes it difficult for parents to praise or encourage their students' English improvement goals.

[0004] Meanwhile, an English learning method for adults (Patent Document 1) describes the number of English vocabulary words to be learned. In the table, "0054" (Figure 10(A)) lists 114 words in the first day's A) TV cooking program among a list of various learning materials. Also, "0054" states, "The number of acquired vocabulary words was automatically measured." However, this table summarizes the total vocabulary counts for learning materials of roughly the same difficulty level; it does not calculate each word individually, nor does it present the learner with a measure of progress. In particular, it does not present the learner with a cumulative number of words that they have listened to from the beginning, especially since the learning levels vary. Therefore, it is not possible to encourage the learner by showing them the total number of words learned, excluding duplicates. According to one English conversation learning book, Japanese people without experience of overseas assignments or study abroad need 300 hours of study to improve their English conversation skills. This requires daily self-study and English conversation practice. Without daily progress indicators and encouragement, they will not be able to practice consistently, and their poor English will not improve. It is also said that the difficulty in learning a second language lies in the fact that the academic ability levels of each individual vary. Krashen's input theory states that "the optimal learning method is for learning materials at [i] or slightly above [i+1] the individual's academic ability level" (Non-Patent Document 2). Therefore, it is desirable to be able to show progress in stages as individuals strive to improve their academic ability. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Let's Try! 1" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, published by Tokyo Shoseki Co., Ltd. on April 9, 2021 [Non-patent document 2] "Shadowing, Reading Aloud, and the Science of English Acquisition" by Shuhei Kadota [Non-patent document 3] "Ondoku-san" https: / / ondoku3.com / ja / [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6858913 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6449506 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As mentioned above, traditional Japanese second language learning methods have not calculated the cumulative number of words learned for materials of varying difficulty, both in print and audio, in the second language to be acquired. This has resulted in the problem that neither the learner nor their instructor can determine their level of improvement in their second language proficiency. In particular, it is not possible to assess the improvement in listening ability. This cumulative number of words, excluding duplicates, cannot be presented to the learner as a measure of their listening improvement as their listening ability improves depending on the difficulty of the materials, and this cannot serve as motivation for continuing to study for a long time.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a second language learning system that outputs audio in a second language, calculates the cumulative number of languages ​​learned by learners of a first language (native language), and displays this as a level of learning progress, thereby motivating learners whose native language is the first language to continue learning the second language. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The first aspect of the present invention is A second language learning system for teaching a learner whose native language is a first language the sounds of a second language, a display unit that displays the teaching materials in the first language; an input unit that allows a learner to select a predetermined range or a predetermined portion of the learning material in the first language; an output unit that outputs audio in the second language corresponding to the predetermined range or predetermined portion of the selected teaching material in the first language; a calculation unit that calculates the total number of words or characters included in the second language from which the speech is output, excluding duplicates; a display unit that displays the calculated results; The second language learning system is characterized by comprising:

[0010] The second aspect of the present invention is This is a second language learning system according to the first invention, in which phonetic symbols of the second language corresponding to the phrases are displayed adjacent to the phrases in the teaching material in the first language.

[0013] No. 3 The present invention is The predetermined range or predetermined portion of the teaching material in the first or second language is the entire teaching material, one page, one sentence, one phrase, one word, or one character. 1 This is a second language learning system of the present invention.

[0014] No. 4 The present invention is The display unit that displays the calculated results displays the results at predetermined intervals of the teaching material. 1 1 is a second language learning system according to the present invention.

[0015] No. 5 The present invention is The calculation unit performs calculations in response to start and stop instructions from the calculation instruction button. 1 This is a second language learning system of the present invention.

[0016] No. 6 The present invention is The calculation unit stores the cumulative calculation results for each learner, and for the same learner, performs cumulative calculation while eliminating overlaps even for different learning materials. 1 This is a second language learning system of the present invention.

[0017] No. 7 The present invention is The method is characterized in that an inter-character joining mark is inserted and displayed between the phrases of the plurality of first language teaching materials or between the characters of the phrases of the first language teaching materials, or between the phrases of the plurality of second language teaching materials or between the characters of the phrases of the second language teaching materials. 1This is a second language learning system of the present invention.

[0018] No. 8 The present invention is a display unit that displays a predetermined phrase from the learning material in the second language and also displays a plurality of answer phrases in the first language including a correct phrase from the learning material in the first language that corresponds to the predetermined phrase; an output unit that outputs a voice of a phrase of the second language teaching material when the learner selects the phrase of the second language teaching material that is being displayed; When the learner selects a correct phrase from the first language teaching material from the plurality of answer phrases, the phrase is displayed as the correct answer, and further, a display unit is provided which accumulates the number of correct answers up to that point and displays the result. 1 This is a second language learning system of the present invention.

[0019] No. 9 The present invention is a display unit that displays a portion of the second language teaching material; a display unit that, when the learner pronounces the part of the second language teaching material, recognizes the pronunciation and displays the result in the second language; a display unit that compares the displayed part of the second language teaching material with the second language of the speech recognition result and displays a result of whether the pronunciation is correct; Equipped with 1 This is a second language learning system of the present invention. The tenth aspect of the present invention is A second language learning system for teaching a learner whose native language is a first language the sounds of a second language, a display unit that displays the second language teaching material; an input unit that allows a learner to select a predetermined range or a predetermined portion of the second language teaching material; an output unit that outputs audio in the second language corresponding to the predetermined range or predetermined portion of the selected teaching material in the second language; a calculation unit that calculates the total number of words or characters included in the second language from which the speech is output, excluding duplicates; a display unit that displays the calculated results; Equipped with a display unit that displays a predetermined phrase from the learning material in the second language and also displays a plurality of answer phrases in the first language including a correct phrase from the learning material in the first language that corresponds to the predetermined phrase; an output unit that outputs a voice of a phrase of the second language teaching material when the learner selects the phrase of the second language teaching material that is being displayed; When the learner selects the correct phrase from the first language teaching material from the plurality of answer phrases, this is displayed as the correct answer, and the second language learning system is equipped with a display unit that cumulatively calculates the number of correct answers up to that point and displays the result. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] The present invention can realize a second language learning system that outputs audio in a second language, calculates the cumulative number of languages ​​learned by learners of a first language (native language), and displays this as their learning progress, thereby motivating learners whose native language is the first language to continue learning the second language. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second language learning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] A second language proficiency learning network system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 3] A 4th grade SL sentence and line database according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] A speech database of 4th grade SL sentences according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] A 4th grade SL phrase database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 6] Small 4SL ruby ​​voice database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 7] Small 4SL ruby ​​Japanese translation database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 8] Small 4SL Rubicana DB according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 9] First grade Hiragana character database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 10] First grade SL sentence line speech database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 11] First grade Hiragana phrase database according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 12] 1st grade ruby ​​voice DB according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 13] Small ruby ​​Japanese translation according to the embodiment of the present invention [Figure 14] Small 1 Rubicana according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 15] First grade guide screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 16] First grade learning screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 17] First grade listening improvement screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 18] 4th grade guide screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 19] A fourth grade learning screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 20] Fourth grade listening improvement section screen according to the embodiment of the present invention [Figure 21] Speaking improvement screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 22] Chinese listening learning screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 23] Korean listening learning screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 24] An American's Japanese listening learning screen according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 25] Second Language (SL) Learning Progress Display Method 1 According to an Embodiment of the Present Invention [Figure 26] Second Language (SL) Learning Progress Display Method 2 According to an Embodiment of the Present Invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a second language learning system according to the present invention will be described in detail. Here, the second language for Japanese learners whose first language (native language) is Japanese will be described mainly in terms of English, a typical inflected language among Western European languages, but examples of second languages ​​will also be given, including Chinese, a typical isolating language, and Korean, an agglutinative language. Furthermore, the second language for American learners whose first language (native language) is English will be described in terms of Japanese.

[0023] Hereinafter, the first language may be abbreviated as FL (First Language) and the second language as SL (Second Language). In the first half of this specification, the operation of the second language (SL) learning system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained assuming that SL is English, and in particular, a method for learning English phrases and words used in English conversations and an indication of the progress of the learning results to encourage the learner will be explained.

[0024] First, a second language learning system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a second language learning system (abbreviated as device 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned above, in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the second language will be represented as English (SL), the sentences will be English (SL) sentences, and the speech corresponding to the sentences will be English (SL) speech. Of course, another second language may be used instead of English.

[0025] The device 1 includes a CPU 2 (control unit) that controls the device 1, a main memory unit 3 that stores a control program 3-1 that controls the device 1, a database program 3-2, a page configuration program 3-3, a voice recognition program 3-4, a word count calculation program 3-5, and a progress display program 3-6, a learning material sentence and audio input / output unit 4, a sentence and audio database 5, a page configuration database 6, an input unit 7 that inputs language and operation commands, an audio input unit 8 that includes an input terminal such as a microphone connection terminal and inputs voice and voice operation commands, a learner operation input unit 9, a display output unit 10, an audio output unit 11, and an external communication unit 12 that communicates via wired or wireless connections, all of which are connected to a bus 13. Here, the word count calculation program may also be a program that calculates the number of characters in addition to the number of words, depending on the type of language. That is, in the present invention, the number of words and the number of characters are examples of the number of languages.

[0026] Figure 2 shows a second language learning proficiency display network system 100 in which a smartphone 103, a tablet PC 104, an embedded PC 105, a laptop PC 106, a desktop PC 107, and a second language (SL) learning proficiency display server 102 are connected to each other via a wired or wireless network 101.

[0027] All of the devices are equipped with device 1. These are a network system used by multiple students and instructors such as teachers as a second language (SL) learning progress display network system 100 (hereinafter abbreviated as network system 100). Of course, the network configuration also includes a cloud system.

[0028] Also, an embodiment is conceivable in which the entire SL learning progress display program is installed on the terminal device, or an embodiment is conceivable in which a portion of the SL learning is installed on the SL learning progress display server 102, with the remaining portion of the SL learning progress display program installed on the terminal device. In the former embodiment, each terminal device can independently perform the operations required for SL learning, so only an additional function for managing the learning progress status of the terminal device may be installed on the SL learning progress display server 102. In the latter embodiment, an auxiliary program for learning using a portion of the SL learning program installed on the SL learning progress display server 102 may be downloaded and installed on each terminal device.

[0029] First, we will explain the closely related listening learning method devised by the inventor of the present invention, known as the "Ruby Phrase Translation Method" or "Phrase Pincer Attack Learning Method," which is the basis for the word count calculation program 3-4 and the progress display program 3-5 in the device 1 of the present invention. This learning method is particularly focused on listening and speaking in English (SL), a second language.

[0030] Here, we use a sample of a student whose first language is Japanese and whose second language (English) learning materials vary in difficulty. We will cover a wide range of vocabulary, from the listening vocabulary learned in first grade to the vocabulary required for sixth graders, and then the vocabulary required for adults, covering a wide range of vocabulary, from approximately 30,000 to over 30,000. This learning method is also applicable to multiple foreign languages, such as Chinese and Korean, in addition to English. It is also applicable to students whose first language is a foreign language and whose second language is Japanese. This learning method also displays progress and encourages students. For Japanese people, the three biggest barriers to learning English conversation, a typical second language, are: 1) the lack of appropriate materials that improve in line with academic ability (especially listening ability); 2) the difficulty of listening to Japanese, the different word order, the high number of liaison frames, and the high number of vowels and consonants; and 3) the insufficient time available for continued listening practice. According to the Estimation of Learning Time (Non-Patent Document 2, p. 21), the time it takes for Japanese people to learn their first language (FL) is approximately 35,000 hours, while the time it takes for Japanese people to learn English in schools is approximately 3,000 hours. Furthermore, there is no environment in which they can hear English around them, so they do not have the motivation to continue learning every day.

[0031] The first issue is the scarcity of learning materials that satisfy the input theory, which posits that improvement plus (i+1) is appropriate depending on academic ability (i). This input theory is a hypothesis proposed by Krashen, who proposed second language acquisition (SLA) theory (Non-Patent Document 2, p. 24). The structure of school English textbooks perfectly satisfies this gradual input theory, which aims to improve academic ability unit by unit. For example, "Let's Try! 1," published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and intended for third graders, consists of Units 1 through 6, with each Unit gradually increasing in difficulty for learning improvement. Similarly, grade-specific learning materials such as "Let's Try! 2" for fourth graders, "We Can! 1" for fifth graders, and "We Can! 2" for sixth graders are structured according to academic ability levels, with the difficulty level gradually increasing (i+1) for improving academic ability. However, the audio for the [Let's Listen] section in the Unit is from Let's Try! 1 (Non-Patent Document 1) published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. According to the Let's Listen audio data, the audio data is sentence-level, not phrase-level. Therefore, learners cannot practice listening comprehension at the phrase level. For this reason, it is impossible to theoretically verify input theory in listening comprehension practice. However, the basis of the "Ruby Phrase Translation Method" is that by having learners touch or click (hereafter referred to as "touch operation") on a vocalization mark on a display device using the vocalization time input unit 9, the listening results for the phrase can be assessed, thereby actually completing input theory for each academic level. Furthermore, a feature of the present invention is that it displays to learners a learning progress scale based on the cumulative number of words contained in the phrase. To achieve this, phrases must be studied that are lower than the textbook academic level of a third-grade elementary school student (essentially for beginners) and are therefore below the second-grade elementary school student level (essentially for preschoolers), and the cumulative number of words must be calculated including those phrases. In other words, we have created teaching materials for six levels of difficulty, for first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Below, we will cover the materials for first through sixth graders.

[0032] The audio data for "Let's Try! 1" for third-grade elementary school students in Non-Patent Document 1 contains approximately 200 words, but does not include English suitable for young children, such as "Good Morning, Mom." The number of words is too large, making it unsuitable for young children who know no English at all. Therefore, the inventors created versions for first- and second-grade elementary school students that are easier than the third-grade version of "Let's Try! 1," as the easiest teaching material for mother-child conversation. For this, it is best to use touch controls in hiragana to listen to English for the first time.

[0033] Therefore, the display for hiragana operation was the sentence-sound text S1 in the first grade hiragana sentence-line DB in Figure 9. S11 indicates a line of sentence, with S representing the small number in first grade, the next 1 representing the number 1 in first grade, and the final 1 representing sentence number 1. S110 is sentence number 10 in first grade. The audio corresponding to this sentence is S1s, S11s to S110s in the first grade SL sentence-line audio DB in Figure 10. Specific examples of teaching materials for second grade are omitted. Teaching materials for third to sixth grade use excerpts from the [Let's Listen] section in each unit of "Let's Try! 1" for third grade, "Let's Try! 2" for fourth grade, "We Can! 1" for fifth grade, and "We Can! 2" for sixth grade, as well as audio from the text-to-speech synthesis software "Ondoku-san" (Non-Patent Document 3). For example, for fourth graders, the example of the sen-on text for the fourth grade teaching material page in Figure 3 is in the fourth grade SL Bun-gyo DB, and its audio is in the fourth grade SL Bun-gyo Audio DB as shown in Figure 4. Therefore, sen-on texts for complete beginners from first grade to sixth grade can be created.

[0034] Furthermore, the target number of unique cumulative words, which indicates each level of improvement described below, can be set as follows, for example: the learning goal can be the cumulative number of words for first grade (30), second grade (100), third grade (200), fourth grade (300), fifth grade (700), and sixth grade (1,000 cumulative words). When studying materials of this level of difficulty, the most appropriate material based on the theory of input improvement is the Plus 1 (i+1) for improving academic ability at each academic level according to listening ability (i).

[0035] Next, the input of the learning materials will be explained. For each of the above-mentioned learning materials for first through sixth grades, which are divided by difficulty level, text is input from the input unit 7 of the device 1, and audio is input from the audio input unit 8, and these are stored in the learning material page sentence-speech memory unit 4-1 in the sentence-speech input / output unit 4. The learning materials for first and second grades are in the hiragana touch display style, while those for third through sixth grades are in the English spelling touch display style. It is assumed that first and second graders will not be able to read English spelling when they first learn, and these differ from the learning materials for third through sixth grades, which are assumed to be able to read English spelling. In this embodiment, the learning materials for third through sixth grades are in the same style, so the explanation will begin with a representative learning material for fourth grade.

[0036] The contents of the sentence and audio for 4th grade elementary school students in the sentence and audio memory section 4-1 of the teaching material page are converted into a database by the database program 3-2, and are stored in the sentence and audio database 5 as SL sentence and line database 5-1, SL sentence and line audio database 5-2, SL phrase database 5-3, SL ruby ​​audio database 5-4, FL ruby ​​translation database 5-5, pronunciation symbols (kana or romaji) database 5-6, and quiz database 5-7.

[0037] Here, the "listening symbols" are specifically special katakana or romaji strings. Kana text is a kana sentence assigned to a foreign language, but it is usually written as a "phonetic symbol." This pronunciation differs significantly from the pronunciation of the foreign language and is often not permitted in textbooks. However, it is useful as a "listening symbol" for listening. Patent Document 2 proposes a string consisting of a first Japanese string with stress (bold) and a second Japanese string with kanji and hiragana (kanji with a strong pronunciation). However, this is not sufficient for Western-style inflected languages, which often have multiple words strung together (liaison). Here, a midpoint or slash between multiple words represents liaison, forming a listening symbol (listening symbol). Furthermore, when foreigners with a different proficiency in Japanese learn Japanese, it is expressed using romaji ruby ​​or suffixes rather than kana. Therefore, the listening symbols here are kana or romaji strings with midpoints. In other words, the pronunciation symbols are kana sentences or roman letters with a dot or slash and stress indication.

[0038] Next, the fourth grade SL sentence and line DB in Figure 3 will be explained. S4 indicates the entire 10 lines of English text, and S41 to S410 are the English text for each of the 10 lines. S4s in Figure 4 indicates the audio for the entire 10 lines, and S41s to S410s are the audio for each line. This English text is displayed on the learning screen, which will be described later. Each time the learner touches an English spelling on this learning character screen, the corresponding audio shown in Figure 4 is spoken. This pair of touch sentence display and audio output is the basis of the learning screen according to the present invention. However, in the case of first and second grade, as shown in the illustrations below, the English spelling of the upper fourth grade SL sentence line is changed to "first grade hiragana sentence line," as in the first grade hiragana sentence and line DB in Figure 9, and the hiragana display style is used. In other words, it has changed from SL (second language) to FL (first language, Japanese hiragana).

[0039] Figure 5 is a 4th grade SL phrase DB. In Figure 5, the S41p phrase is made up of three phrases divided into S41p1 (How's the weather?), S41p2 (It's rainy.), and S41p3 (Let's play cards.). Similarly, the S42p phrase is divided into S42p1 (It's sunny.), S42p2 (Let's go outside), and S42p3 (and play dodgeball.), as are the S43p to S4310p phrases. Furthermore, Figure 6 is a 4th grade SL ruby ​​audio DB. This is the ruby ​​audio DB corresponding to the above phrases, and S41rsp1, S41rsp2, and S41rsp3 are the ruby ​​audio. This is a second foreign language listening and speaking display (output) method that uses a new ruby ​​phrase translation method that uses phonetic ruby ​​notation, following the tradition since the Meiji era of making kanji easier to read by adding kana to kanji.

[0040] Next, we will explain the 4th grade SL ruby ​​Japanese translation DB in Figure 7. By having the learner touch the display of the English phrase, the Japanese translation of the following phrase (ruby Japanese translation of the phrase translation) is displayed.

[0041] S41p p1 How's the weather? p2 It's rainy. p3 Let's play cards ····(1) S41w p1How is the weather? p2It's raining p3Let's play cards (2) The S41p phrase sentence of this formula (1) is displayed on the following learning page screen, excluding S41p, p1, p2, p3 and S41w, p1, p2, p3, which have names with "p" in the DB. How's the weather? It's rainy. Let's play cards How is it? It's raining. Let's play cards. (Show / hide with controls) In the learning screen above, S41w's "Doudeshou Tenki no" is a Japanese translation of the ruby ​​phrase translation that corresponds to a literal translation of "How's the weather?". Also, "How's" and "Doudeshou" and "The weather" and "Tenki wa" are close to each other, as if they have ruby ​​on a one-to-one basis, and are also ruby ​​phrase translations, so it is called a ruby ​​Japanese translation. In other words, the English phrases are arranged in an easy-to-remember way. It can be displayed or hidden by operation.

[0042] Furthermore, while the usual Japanese translation of "How's the weather?" is "How about the weather?", the ruby ​​translation reverses the word order to "How about the weather?", conforming to the English. To make this reversal easier for learners to understand, the connecting marker "·" is inserted between the phrases "How about the weather?" and "How about the weather?" The ability to translate each of these phrases with ruby ​​is a feature of second language learning that cannot be achieved with conventional learning methods.

[0043] Figure 8 shows the 4th grade SL ruby ​​kana DB (also called the ruby ​​mnemonic DB). This shows the following kana sentences that are displayed on the learning screen for each English phrase S41p to S410p in the 4th grade SL phrase DB in Figure 5. S41p p1How's the weather? p2 It's rainy. p3 Let's play cards ···(3) S41k p1 How the Weather p2 It's Rainy p3 Let's Play Cards (4) The English sentences above are written in kana for easy listening, and are therefore called ruby ​​kana sentences. Also, kana is written for each word to make counting easier—for example, "how" for "how," "the" for "za," and "weather" for "weather." Strong syllables are emphasized in bold, and a dot (·) is placed between katakana words for easier listening. Learners can choose to display or hide these kana sentences as they like. The phrases above, p1 "How's the weather?" p2 "It's rainy." p3 "Let's play cards," are sequences of three to four words, but are pronounced in a single voice. This is also known as a liaison phrase. While English has phonetic symbols for single words, it does not have phonetic symbols for sequences of multiple words. However, katakana or romaji are phonetic symbols, or rather, omniphonetic symbols, for phrases of multiple words.

[0044] Next, we will explain first grade teaching materials with different display styles. The sentence and audio content (text and audio) of the first grade of elementary school in the teaching material page sentence and audio memory section 4-1 are separately stored in a database by the database program 3-2, and are stored in the sentence and audio database 5 as SL sentence line database 5-1, SL sentence line audio database 5-2, SL phrase database 5-3, SL ruby ​​audio database 5-4, FL ruby ​​Japanese translation database 5-5, and ruby ​​kana database 5-6.

[0045] Figure 9 is the first grade hiragana sentence line DB in the SL sentence line DB5-1. The meaning of "first grade hiragana sentence line" is that what would normally be expressed in the spelling of the second language, SL, is expressed in the first language, hiragana. This is because it is assumed that when first and second graders touch the things displayed on this first grade page for the first time, they will not be able to read the English spelling. S1 shows the entire 10 lines of hiragana sentences, and S11 to S110 are the English sentences for each of the 10 lines. S1s in Figure 10 shows the audio for the entire 10 lines, and S11s to S110s are the audio for each line.

[0046] Figure 11 is a first grade hiragana phrase DB. In Figure 11, the S11p phrase is made up of two separate phrases: S11p1 (Good morning) and S11p2 (Mom). Similarly, the S12p phrase sentences are S12p1 (Hello) and S12p2 (How are you?), and the same goes for S110p. Furthermore, Figure 12 is a first grade SL ruby ​​audio DB. This is a ruby ​​audio DB corresponding to the above phrases, with S11rsp to S110rsp being the ruby ​​audio.

[0047] Figure 13 is a ruby-Japanese translation DB for first grade elementary school students, and has the same content as the lines in Figure 9. Figure 14 is a ruby-kana DB that converts the sentences in Figure 12, which are first grade elementary school SL ruby ​​audio, into kana text.

[0048] The above learning material input has been converted into a sentence and sound database by the database program 3-2. The page configuration database 6 created by the page configuration program 3-3 for the learning screen using this database content will now be explained.

[0049] In the case of the listening page, the learning page is composed of three screens, each consisting of the data in the guide section DB6-1, SL learning section DB6-2, and listening improvement section DB6-3 in Figure 1. For example, the learning page for first grade of elementary school is composed of three screens: the first grade guide screen in Figure 15, the first grade learning section screen in Figure 16, and the first grade listening improvement section screen in Figure 17, and the first grade learning page screen consists of Figures 15, 16, and 17 lined up vertically on the same page.

[0050] Here, we will explain the first half of the first grade listening screen, which consists of Figures 15 and 16. The first grade guide screen shown in Figure 15 contains learning content and operation instructions for learners. The instructions are given while viewing the first grade learning screen shown in Figure 16 on the same page. Figures 15 and 16 contain common instructions 1 to 5 that are given by having the learner perform touch operations according to control program 3-1.

[0051] In Figure 16, explanation 1 tells the control program 3-1 that when the "Start / Pause" button for language count calculation is pressed from the learner operation input unit 9, a cumulative calculation is started, excluding any overlaps of speech in the second language that is subsequently output. If the "Start / Pause" button for language count calculation is pressed again at an appropriate time thereafter, the cumulative calculation is stopped, and no further cumulative calculation is performed even if speech in the second language is subsequently output. The action of pressing this "Start / Pause" button for language count calculation corresponds to the start instruction and stop instruction of the calculation instruction button of the present invention.

[0052] It is also possible to not display this "Start / Pause" button on the screen, and instead set the start and stop times to when the learner opens or closes the system, or when they open or close a page or book, so that the learner does not have to press the "Start / Pause" button each time.

[0053] In this way, the total number of English words uttered without overlapping between the start and pauses is calculated by the word count calculation program 3-5, and is displayed next to the sentences S11 to S110 in the "Number of words so far" column. If the learner does not intend to pause, the "Number of words so far" column can be displayed at the end of the page or at the end of studying the material.

[0054] Furthermore, when a learner starts learning from the sixth grade of elementary school, it is also possible to display the number of words in other, easier learning materials that the learner studied from the first to fifth grade of elementary school. To do this, the system needs to store the learner's ID and the cumulative number of languages ​​each learner has studied up to that point.

[0055] In explanation 2, when the learner touches above S11, the s11s voice (s11s Good Morning Mom) in Figure 10 is spoken. In explanation 3, when the learner touches above the hiragana characters S11p1 "yoi asa (good morning)" and S11p2 "mama" individually, the voices S11rsp1 (Good morning) and S11rsp2 (Mom) in Figure 12 are spoken, respectively. This is to make it easier for the learner to remember the phrase "yoi asa" by hearing the audio phrase without a dictionary, and is one of the features of the present invention's ruby ​​phrase translation method.

[0056] Explanation 4 shows the bold kana representation of the strong syllable in the ruby ​​kana for grade 1 in Figure 14, S11k (Good Morning Mom). Liaison can also be expressed in katakana as "Good Morning" to express listening and speaking styles, but another feature of the "Ruby Phrase Translation Method" is the insertion of the inter-character join mark "·" between words as a liaison between two words. This not only indicates liaison but is also effective in calculating the number of words. The above strong syllable can also be changed to the bold kana representation of the strong word.

[0057] In Explanation 5, as mentioned above, the "number of words so far" without duplication is automatically calculated and displayed by the word count calculation program 3-5 on the right side of Figure 16. Since S11 is the first learning method that young children learn, it is written as "number of words 3," but S12 is displayed as "number of words so far 7." The number of words in the learning sentences from this point onwards is the number of words so far without duplication.

[0058] For learning materials of varying difficulty levels, for example, from first grade to sixth grade, the number of words learned can be automatically displayed for each phrase, from "easy" to "difficult." This is the best and most optimal method for improving listening comprehension, satisfying the gradual input theory of academic ability (i) gradually improving to academic ability (i+1). Displaying and showing the learner the number of words learned thus far increases the learner's motivation. This is particularly encouraging daily study and can encourage continued self-study. Furthermore, not only elementary school students, but also junior high school students and advanced learners with a vocabulary of over 30,000 words can determine their own level of progress by knowing their own vocabulary count. This is a feature of the present invention and the "ruby phrase translation method" that provides a display device for English (second language) listening proficiency in Japanese native speakers (first language). In other words, providing a device that displays learners' progress can improve their foreign language conversation skills. The first half of the listening page, Figures 15 and 16, has been explained above.

[0059] Next, we will explain the first-grade listening improvement screen (Figure 17), which is the second half of the first-grade listening screen. Figure 17 has a quiz screen at the top and an improvement results screen at the bottom. We will start with the quiz screen. In explanation 7, the learner touches the parentheses in explanation 8 to speak the English phrase, and then touches the answer to the multiple-choice question in explanation 9 to answer. While there are only three quizzes on the screen, there can be many. The above quiz screen is composed of data from quiz databases 5-7. The parentheses in explanation 8 display an English phrase in the second language, which is often indecipherable to first-grade learners. However, even if they do not understand the meaning of this English phrase, the quiz is still valid because it is a listening test. It also serves as a way to practice the spelling of the English phrase. Furthermore, multiple first-language answer phrases are displayed as answer options, including the correct phrase from the first-language teaching materials that corresponds to the phrase. In this case, the incorrect options do not have to be phrases from the learning materials; any confusing first-language phrases are acceptable.

[0060] The number of correct answers is displayed to the learner as an accurate measure of progress. In this way, the learner can memorize the pronunciation of English words. Furthermore, they can also memorize their spelling. Even if they make a mistake, as explained in explanations 3 and 4 of Figure 16 above, by touching "good morning" and "mom," the learner will immediately recognize the sounds of "good morning" and "Mom," and by practicing repeatedly, they can get a perfect score.

[0061] Therefore, this quiz is called a perfect score praise quiz, as can be seen on the progress results screen. If the learner gets a perfect score on the quiz in explanation 9, it will encourage the learner in explanation 10. This encouragement will motivate the learner to continue with the next slightly more difficult daily study, helping the learner to improve. In other words, by providing the learner with a device that displays their progress, they can improve their foreign language conversation skills.

[0062] As explained above, the cumulative number of words learned so far (Figure 16) is automatically calculated for each word studied by the word count calculation program 3-5, and displayed on each study page by the progress display program 3-6. Furthermore, as explained in explanation 11 of the first-grade listening improvement screen in Figure 17, the number of words memorized from the learning materials can be displayed. This can encourage learners to study. This is called the perfect praise word count. In other words, providing learners with a device that displays this progress can improve their foreign language conversation skills. It should be noted that in the survey in explanation 12, the item "Do you wish to study for the next second-grade class?" was overwhelmingly popular in the inventors' demonstration experiments.

[0063] Next, we will explain the listening practice page for the fourth grade materials, which has a different display style instead of the first grade material page. The content of the materials changes from first grade to fourth grade: from first grade Diagram 9 to fourth grade Diagram 3, from first grade Diagram 10 to fourth grade Diagram 4, from first grade Diagram 11 to fourth grade Diagram 5, from first grade Diagram 12 to fourth grade Diagram 6, from first grade Diagram 13 to fourth grade Diagram 7, and from first grade Diagram 14 to fourth grade Diagram 8. However, the learning method is the same. The only difference is the display style: the first and second grade materials use the hiragana touch display style described above, while the third through sixth grade materials use the English spelling touch display style. This change results in changes to the fourth grade guide screen (Figure 18), the fourth grade study screen (Figure 19), and the fourth grade listening improvement screen (Figure 20).

[0064] In explanation 3 of the first grade guide screen in Figure 15, it says, "Touch the hiragana and katakana words 'Ohayo' and 'Mama' to hear the word." This is different from explanation 3 in Figure 18, which says, "If you come across a word you don't understand, touch it and it will give you a Japanese translation and audio. Please memorize the meaning of the audio by pairing this touch with a Japanese translation." The guide method is the same for first and second graders and third to sixth graders.

[0065] In the explanation 3 of the learning screen for the fourth grade of elementary school in Figure 19, the display style is English spelling, but in the explanation 3 of the learning screen for the first grade of elementary school in Figure 16, the display style is hiragana and hiragana is displayed.

[0066] Figure 19 illustrates the basics of the second language learning method used in the system of the present invention. Explanation 3 is a second language phrase (a four-word English liaison phrase) called "How's the weather?" Touching this phrase outputs a ruby ​​voice. Explanation 6 displays the first language translation of the second language (the touch ruby ​​Japanese translation, "How is the weather?"). Explanation 4 is the pronunciation symbol for the second language katakana sentence (or the romaji sentence, described below). This katakana sentence is selected in advance by the beginner using the "with kana" button. In other words, when the learner operates (touches), the second language phrase is spoken aloud, and the touch translation and katakana or romaji are displayed above and below, allowing the learner to learn the second language phrase (word) while listening. This katakana is more effective as a pronunciation symbol than a phonetic symbol. In other words, this is a novel "phrase pincer attack learning method" in which a second language phrase is sandwiched between a first language translation and a pronunciation symbol.

[0067] Next, we will explain the fourth grade listening improvement screen in Figure 20, which is the second half of the fourth grade listening screen. This has the same explanation format as the first grade, but the content is different, but in Figure 20 there is a quiz screen at the top and an improvement results screen at the bottom. Explanation 7 is the quiz number, and if the learner touches within explanation 8 (How's the weather?), they will speak the English phrase, and if they touch the answer to the multiple-choice quiz in explanation 9, they will answer. There are only three quizzes on the screen, but there can be many more. The number of correct answers can be displayed to the learner as an accurate measure of their improvement.

[0068] By practicing repeatedly, learners will be able to get a perfect score. Therefore, this quiz is called a perfect score quiz, as can be seen on the progress results screen. If the learner gets a perfect score on this quiz, it will encourage the learner. This encouragement will motivate them to continue studying the next slightly more difficult quiz every day, and help them improve. In other words, providing learners with a device that displays their progress is the greatest way to improve their foreign language conversation skills.

[0069] In addition, the "Number of words learned so far" on the 4th grade learning screen in Figure 19, as well as the cumulative number of words learned for each word learned in the 1st grade learning screen in Figure 16, is automatically calculated by the word count calculation program 3-5 and displayed on each learning page by the progress display program 3-6. Also, as mentioned above, as explained in the explanation 11 on the 4th grade listening improvement screen in Figure 20, the number of words learned in the learning materials can be displayed as progress. This can encourage learners to continue learning.

[0070] In other words, by providing learners with a device that displays their progress, they can improve their foreign language conversation skills. It should be noted that in the questionnaire in Explanation 12, the item "Do you wish to study for the next second grade of elementary school?" was overwhelmingly popular in the inventors' demonstration experiment.

[0071] Next, we will explain how to display speaking improvement levels using data from the Speaking Improvement DB6-4. The Speaking Improvement Screen in Figure 21 shows whether a learner successfully spoke S41, "How's the weather? It's rainy. Let's play cards," from the 4th grade SL sentence-line database. Figure 21 shows an example of only S41, but S42 through S410 are similar, so we will omit their explanation. First, display the sentence S41, and then touch S41 as shown in explanation 13 to output the audio for S41s, "How's the weather? It's rainy. Let's play cards." from the 4th grade SL sentence-line audio database. After listening to it, the learner pronounces the sentence through a microphone as shown in explanation 14. The pronunciation is recognized by speech recognition program 3-4, and the recognition result is displayed as shown in explanation 14. In the case of Figure 21, the sentence is "How the weather, it's rainy. Let's play cards." In this case, "How" is a mistake for "How's," and "card" is "cards," making six words correct (two incorrect). Therefore, the accuracy rate is 75%. According to one book, a native speaker can understand a test if 60% is correct. As explained in explanation 16, the inventors considered a pass to be 70% or higher, in this case, a 75% accuracy rate. As a result, a "Congratulations" message was displayed to the learner. Such a high accuracy rate is likely due to the appropriateness of the listening practice described above. Passing as a measure of progress is a joy for the learner, and it encourages them to "continue practicing," which will help them overcome difficulties in foreign language learning. Providing a device that allows learners to see, or display, their progress can help second language learners improve their speaking skills.

[0072] Above, we explained the cumulative word count and perfect score quiz display for listening, and the speech recognition word recognition accuracy display for speaking in the first and fourth grade teaching materials. Next, we will explain how to replace English with Chinese and Korean as the second foreign language. Figure 22 shows the Chinese listening learning screen. Figure 23 shows the Korean learning screen. In other words, these are screens for Japanese learners of the first language (native language) to study their second languages, Chinese and Korean. For example, the language count calculation start button in explanation 1 and the sentence button in explanation 2 are the same. However, explanations 3 through 6 only differ in the content from the second language being studied; the learning method (frame pincer attack) and the method of expressing progress, such as explanation 5 (word count so far), remain the same. Note that for Chinese and Korean, the cumulative character count is calculated, not the cumulative word count.

[0073] The learning method is to sandwich the second language with the first language. For example, explanation 3 is Chinese and Korean, explanation 6 is the Japanese translation of the first language (Ruby Japanese translation), explanation 4 is the Japanese translation of the first language It is a phonetic symbol (kana text) of words. In other words, it is a learning method that attacks a second language between the first language translation and phonetic symbol, and is the fastest way to memorize a second language. It is an unprecedented learning method. In other words, it can provide a system for Japanese people to learn a variety of foreign languages, that is, second languages.

[0074] Furthermore, we will explain how to learn Japanese as a second language and how to express improvement, using an American learner whose first language is English (native language). Figure 24 shows an American's Japanese listening study screen. The method of expressing improvement is the same, but we will particularly explain the differences in expressions between Chinese, an isolating language, English, an inflected language, and Japanese, an agglutinative language. For example, in Korean, which is an agglutinative language like Japanese, The ruby ​​Japanese translation of "TIFF0007743663000002.tif421" has the same word order, "How's the weather?" However, in Figure 4, the fourth grade learning screen, the inflected English word order is completely different, and the ruby ​​Japanese translation of "How's the weather?" is "Doudesuka·Tenki wa." In other words, the word order is the same as in the second language. To express a different word order, this invention uses a midpoint "·" between "Doudesuka" and "Tenki wa." Furthermore, the romanized text in Explanation 4 is "Tenki / wa· doudesuka." This romanized representation is not phonetic symbols, but rather a listening symbol that is effective for Americans to understand. This is a pincer attack method for learning Japanese as a second foreign language using the upper ruby ​​translation and listening symbol.

[0075] Next, FIG. 25 illustrates a method (1) for displaying a level of progress in learning a second language (SL), and FIG. 26 illustrates a method (2) for displaying a level of progress in learning a second language (SL). FIG. 25 describes a method for displaying a level of progress among the processes of 1) to 6). First, regarding 1), when a learning material creator inputs learning materials, such as sentence pronunciation materials for a second foreign language (English) for grades 1 to 6 of elementary school (Chinese, Korean, and Japanese are omitted), into a second language learning system (device 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention, control program 3-1 stores the learning material in learning material page sentence pronunciation storage unit 4-1. In 2), this sentence pronunciation material for grades 1 to 6 of elementary school is compiled into a database by database compilation program 3-2, and stored in sentence pronunciation DB 5 as SL sentence line DB 5-1, SL sentence line audio DB 5-2, SL phrase DB 5-3, SL ruby ​​audio DB 5-4, FL ruby ​​Japanese translation DB 5-5, pronunciation symbols DB 5-6, and quiz DB 5-7. In 3), each DB data in the sentence sound DB5 is configured by the page configuration program 3-3 to create the page configuration DB6. This includes the guide section DB6-1, SL learning section DB6-2, listening improvement section DB6-3, and speaking learning improvement section DB6-4. In 4), the page configuration program 3-3 creates the guide screens for grades 1 to 6. In 5), the page configuration program 3-3 creates the learning screens (grades 1 to 6) from the learning screen data and learner operation buttons linked to the operations. In 6), the page configuration program 3-3 creates the listening improvement section screens (grades 1 to 6) from the quiz data, listening improvement result data, and learner operation buttons linked to operations from the learner operation input section 9. Figure 26 further explains this. In 7), the page configuration program 3-3 links the speaking improvement learning data, learner operation buttons (sentence number, microphone, voice recognition), and voice recognition program to create a speaking improvement learning screen. In 8), the progress display program 3-6 displays page-turning instructions for learning materials from grades 1 to 6 and the first guide page of each material, and in the next learning scene, the word count program displays "From now on, all words will be counted" to indicate progress. In 9), the progress display program 3-6 displays "Congratulations on passing the quiz with a perfect score" and "total word count" on the listening improvement screen. The speaking improvement screen displays the result sentence of the voice recognition and the number of correct answers.The above is the method for indicating second language (SL) learning progress.

[0076] Note that a computer is not limited to pure hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also include firmware, an OS (Operating System), and even peripheral devices.

[0077] Furthermore, the configuration of the present invention may be realized in software or hardware. [Industrial Applicability]

[0078] The second language learning system of the present invention is useful for language learning, as it can increase the results of learning by displaying the level of progress when, for example, a Japanese person who speaks a first language (native language) learns many second languages ​​such as not only English but also Chinese, and when many foreigners who speak a first language learn Japanese as a second language. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1. Second Language Learning System 2CPU (control unit) 3 Main memory 4 Textbook input / output section 5 Bunon DB 6-page database 7 Input section 8 Audio input section 9. Learner operation input section 10 Display output section 11 Audio output section 31 control programs 32DB conversion program 33-page program 34 Voice Recognition Program 35 Word count display program 36 Progress Display Program 51SL sentence line DB 52SL sentence line audio database 53SL Phrase DB 54SL Ruby Audio DB 55FL Ruby Translation DB 56 Sound DB 57 Quiz DB 61 Guide Department DB 62 Learning Department DB 63 Listening Improvement DB 64 Speaking Improvement DB 71 Second Language (SL) Learning Progress Indication Method (1) 72 Second Language (SL) Learning Progress Indicator (2)

Claims

1. A second language learning system for teaching a learner whose native language is a first language how to speak a second language, comprising: a display unit that displays the teaching materials in the first language; an input unit that allows a learner to select a predetermined range or a predetermined portion of the learning material in the first language; an output unit that outputs audio in the second language corresponding to the predetermined range or predetermined portion of the selected teaching material in the first language; a calculation unit that calculates the total number of words or characters included in the second language from which the speech is output, excluding duplicates; a display unit that displays the calculated results; A second language learning system comprising:

2. 2. The second language learning system according to claim 1, wherein the second language phonetic symbols corresponding to the phrases in the first language are displayed adjacent to the phrases in the teaching material in the first language.

3. 2. The second language learning system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined range or portion of the first or second language teaching material is an entire teaching material, one page, one sentence, one phrase, one word, or one character.

4. 2. The second language learning system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit that displays the calculated results displays the results at predetermined intervals of the learning material.

5. 2. The second language learning system according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit performs calculations in response to start and stop instructions from a calculation instruction button.

6. 2. The second language learning system according to claim 1, wherein said calculation unit stores the cumulative calculation results for each learner, and performs cumulative calculation for the same learner while eliminating overlaps even for different learning materials.

7. A second language learning system as described in claim 1, characterized in that an inter-character combining mark is inserted and displayed between multiple phrases in the teaching materials of the first language or between multiple characters in a phrase in the teaching materials of the first language, or between multiple phrases in the teaching materials of the second language or between multiple characters in a phrase in the teaching materials of the second language.

8. a display unit that displays a predetermined phrase from the learning material in the second language and also displays a plurality of answer phrases in the first language including a correct phrase from the learning material in the first language that corresponds to the predetermined phrase; an output unit that outputs a voice of a phrase of the second language teaching material when the learner selects the phrase of the second language teaching material that is being displayed; 2. A second language learning system as described in claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a correct answer when the learner selects a correct phrase from the first language teaching material from the plurality of answer phrases, and further comprises a display unit that cumulatively calculates the number of correct answers up to that point and displays the result.

9. a display unit that displays a portion of the second language teaching material; a display unit that, when the learner pronounces the part of the second language teaching material, recognizes the pronunciation and displays the result in the second language; a display unit that compares the displayed portion of the second language teaching material with the second language of the speech recognition result and displays a result of whether the pronunciation is correct; 2. The second language learning system of claim 1, comprising:

10. A second language learning system for teaching a learner whose native language is a first language the sounds of a second language, comprising: a display unit that displays the second language teaching material; an input unit that allows a learner to select a predetermined range or a predetermined portion of the second language teaching material; an output unit that outputs audio in the second language corresponding to the predetermined range or predetermined portion of the selected teaching material in the second language; a calculation unit that calculates the total number of words or characters included in the second language from which the speech is output, excluding duplicates; a display unit that displays the calculated results; Equipped with a display unit that displays a predetermined phrase from the learning material in the second language and also displays a plurality of answer phrases in the first language including a correct phrase from the learning material in the first language that corresponds to the predetermined phrase; an output unit that outputs a voice of a phrase of the second language teaching material when the learner selects the phrase of the second language teaching material that is being displayed; The second language learning system is provided with a display unit that displays the correct phrase of the teaching material of the first language as the correct answer when the learner selects the correct phrase from the plurality of answer phrases, and further cumulatively calculates the number of correct answers up to that point and displays the result.

Images