JP2004118849A - Interactive communication method and interactive communication system using communication line, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an interactive communication method using a communication line including a language learning method for making the best use of an advantage in interactive communication. <P>SOLUTION: This method includes a process (step 1) for mounting, on respective computers, softwares for displaying avatars of a user itself and the other person, and a sound regulating means 12a on monitor screens in respective terminals, and a process (step 2) for regulating sounds of the user itself and the other person in the respective or specified terminals, using the sound regulating means 12a in the monitor screens 10. This method has an advantage as communicated actually while present there. A sound is regulated by the each sound regulating means 12a provided in the each monitor screen 10 to easily provide favorable condition for the communication. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a two-way communication method using a communication line, a two-way communication system and a recording medium, and in particular, a two-way communication method using a communication line constructed so that language lessons can be performed on the Internet. The present invention relates to a two-way communication system and a recording medium.

Conventionally, language acquisition includes a method of taking a class lesson through a classroom, a method of playing and listening to a CD or tape while referring to a text, and a method of listening to a television or radio program. Each of these conventional methods has disadvantages and advantages. The first method of taking class lessons is to go to the classroom, the schedule is fixed, it is expensive for small groups, and for large groups, it is not possible to provide the finest instruction that suits the individual student's ability, There were various problems such as winning because the grasp of the learning acquisition status was neglected. It is also difficult to secure excellent teachers, and it is very difficult to hire native teachers at relatively low prices in Japan. Although tape learning with reference to the second text has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, it has little change, does not last long, and has insufficient verification of speech ability such as correctness of pronunciation. There were problems such as lack of communication skills. In addition, the third method using mass media has the following problems: one-way lessons do not have the ability to respond to the situation, are passive, have many fixed forms, and are not varied. there were.

Under such circumstances, some initiatives to sell learning materials using the Internet as a new language learning media have come to be seen. However, in this method, teaching materials that have been conventionally distributed using paper media or tapes are distributed online instead of electronic information. The learning method itself is such that the user displays the learning material on the monitor screen and reproduces the conversation of the learning material for learning, which is not different from the tape lesson or the learning through the television. In other words, at present, no word learning method or communication method utilizing the advantages of two-way communication, that is, lessons in a situation of one-to-one or almost one-to-one, has yet been provided.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a two-way communication method, a two-way communication system, and a recording medium using a communication line including a word learning method utilizing the advantages of two-way communication.

A first aspect of the present invention is a two-way communication method between terminals connected to each other via a communication line such as the Internet, and a user who uses the terminal is displayed on a monitor screen of each terminal. And a step of mounting software for displaying the avatar and voice adjustment means of the avatar and the incarnation of the other party communicating with the user via the communication line on each computer, and in communicating with each other, Or a step of adjusting the voices of the user and the other party at the specific terminal by using the voice adjusting means on the monitor screen, to provide a two-way communication method using a communication line.

(4) The video itself of the user and the other party communicating with the user via the communication line, or an avatar such as a person image, animation, or incarnation is displayed on each monitor screen, and communication is performed through such an avatar. In fact, there is an advantage of communicating at the place.

In each or specific terminals, the sound is adjusted by the sound adjusting means provided on the monitor screen for each avatar, thereby easily creating a favorable situation for communication.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the two-way communication method using the communication line according to the first aspect, the audio adjustment step includes any one of a volume, noise elimination, a cut range of a treble and / or a bass range. Or one or any combination thereof.
Voices that are easier to hear than or equal to actual conversations by adjusting the loudness of your voice and your own voice, removing noise, and adjusting the amount of cut in the treble and / or bass range through communication via communication lines. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the two-way communication method using the communication line according to the first or second aspect, the communication is performed in a one-to-one or a one-to-many connection between a teacher and one or more students. Communication related to each other, on each monitor screen, a communication area for displaying avatars and voice adjustment means of teachers and students, and a teaching material area for displaying educational materials and writing that teachers or students can freely write. And a content area including an area.
The two-way communication method using this communication line can be applied to a virtual classroom for language lessons via the Internet. In other words, the present invention can be applied to a lesson in a one-to-one (individual lesson) or one-to-many (small class lesson) connection between a teacher and one or more students. Each of the teacher and student monitor screens is provided with a communication area and a content area. In the communication area, avatars and voice adjustment means of teachers and students are displayed. The display content can be the same screen as that of the teacher and the student, or a special screen can be prepared for the teacher. The content area is provided with a teaching material area for displaying educational materials and a writing area where a teacher or student can freely write. The teaching material area is provided by the teacher and cannot be written by students. The teacher can also set so that he can write in this area. In the writing area, both students and teachers can write.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the two-way communication method using a communication line according to the third aspect, the teacher further selects a person who is proficient in the language and a standard time in each country. The method is characterized in that it includes a step of reasonably organizing classes in any time zone of 24 hours a day utilizing the difference.

先生 Using the Internet eliminates the need for teachers to live in the country. Therefore, it is possible to broadly seek the world or human resources having language skills equivalent to natives or natives. More excellent human resources can be secured at low cost. Students can also learn the language in a more natural way. Classes can be reasonably organized at any time of the day, 24 hours a day, using the difference in the standard time of each country.

A second aspect of the present invention is a two-way communication system between terminals connected to each other via a communication line such as the Internet, and a computer of each terminal uses the terminal on a monitor screen. A recording device for recording software for displaying avatars and voice adjustment means of the user and the other party communicating with the user via the communication line, and a display software for calling and displaying the display software from the recording device Avatar and voice adjustment means display control means in the CPU for displaying the avatar and voice adjustment means on the screen, and voice adjustment control means in the CPU for adjusting the voices of the user and the other party in accordance with the adjustment of the voice adjustment means by the user And a two-way communication system using a communication line configured to include:

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the two-way communication system using the communication line according to the fifth aspect, the voice adjustment control means is configured to control a volume, a noise elimination, and a cut range value of a treble and / or a bass range. A two-way communication system using a communication line, wherein one or any combination thereof is adjusted.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the two-way communication system using the communication line according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the communication is a one-to-one or one-to-multiple connection between a teacher and one or more students. Communication related to each other, on each monitor screen, a communication area for displaying avatars and voice adjustment means of teachers and students, and a teaching material area for displaying educational materials and writing that teachers or students can freely write. And a content area including an area.

The present invention according to claim 8 is a two-way communication system using the communication line according to claim 7, wherein the teacher further selects a person who is proficient in the language and resides in a foreign country. It is characterized in that classes are reasonably organized in any time period of 24 hours a day using the difference.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the two-way communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is recorded.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, on the monitor screen of each terminal, the avatar of the user who is using the terminal, the video of the other party communicating with the user via the communication line, the incarnation, and the like are displayed. A step of mounting software for displaying the sound adjustment means on each computer, and, at the time of communication, at each or a specific terminal, the sounds of the user and the other party are used by using the sound adjustment means on the monitor screen. And the step of adjusting the position, there is an advantage that communication is actually performed at the place.

Also, there is an advantage that it is possible to easily create an optimum situation for communication by adjusting the sound by the sound adjusting means provided on the monitor screen for each avatar.

Hereinafter, a two-way communication method, a two-way communication system, and a recording medium using a communication line according to the present invention will be described in more detail based on the illustrated preferred embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a two-way communication method using a communication line.

The first aspect of the present invention is a two-way communication method between terminals 3 and 4 mutually connected via a communication line 5 such as the Internet. This communication method can be applied, for example, to a virtual classroom for language lessons via the Internet. That is, the present invention can be applied to a one-to-one (individual lesson) or a one-to-many (small-group class lesson) connection between a teacher and one or more students. The two-way communication method generally includes a step (step 1) of mounting software for displaying an avatar and a voice adjusting means on each computer, and the voice adjusting means of the user and the other party on the monitor screen. (Step 2). In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the user terminals 3 and 4 used by the teacher and the student adjust the voices of the user and the other party using the voice adjustment means on the monitor screen. At the teacher's terminal (or the host server 2), the voices of all the participants can be adjusted using the voice adjusting means, and the voices of the adjusted individuals can be transmitted through the Internet 5.

The system captures the video itself of the user and the other party communicating with the user via the communication line using a video camera or the like, performs predetermined video processing, and displays the video on the monitor screen of each terminal. can do. The advantage of human images is that they can be more intimate and have more natural communication. On the other hand, in a language lesson for a shy person, a life consultation, or a communication in which it is better not to directly understand the race, etc., an animation or incarnation is selected as an avatar rather than an actual image. The avatar can also be constructed so that the user selects and combines the components from a plurality of parts as appropriate. This avatar can be stored in the recording device and used any number of times.

Thus, in the present communication method, communication is performed in a state where the avatar of the user and the avatar representing the communication partner are displayed on the monitor screen. Therefore, there is an advantage that the user can feel as if they are actually communicating at the place.
Also, by adjusting the sound by the sound adjusting means provided on the monitor screen for each avatar, it is possible to easily create an optimum situation for communication.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the audio adjustment step is to adjust any one or any combination of volume, noise reduction, treble and / or bass cut thresholds. I do. The first problem in communication over a communication line is the loudness of the other party and one's own voice. By adjusting the sound adjustment means on the monitor screen, for example, a volume knob provided adjacent to each avatar, it is possible to adjust the loudness of the voices of the user and the other party to an appropriate level. Similarly, by removing the noise picked up by the microphone and adjusting the cut amount of the high frequency range and / or the low frequency range, it is possible to make the voice more audible than or equal to the actual conversation.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is a system diagram of the present communication method in which a teacher and four students are connected via the Internet.
The system 1 roughly comprises a host server 2, a teacher terminal 3, and a plurality of student terminals 4, which perform various managements such as production of teaching materials, recruitment and schedule management of virtual language lessons, and a database of teachers and students. 5 connected.

As shown in FIG. 6, the computer 20 of each terminal is provided with a CPU 22, a recording device 24, an input device 26 such as a keyboard, a sound generating device 27 such as a speaker, and a monitor 28.
In the recording device 24, on the screen 10 of the monitor 28, the avatars T and S of the user who is using the terminal and the person who is communicating with the user via the communication line, and the avatars T and S and the audio adjustment. The software displaying the means 12a is recorded. The avatar / sound adjusting means display control unit 22a of the CPU 22 calls display software from the recording device 24 and displays the avatars T and S and the sound adjusting means 12a on the monitor screen 10. The sound adjustment control unit 22b of the CPU 22 adjusts the sound of the user and the other party according to the adjustment of the sound adjustment means 12a by the user of each terminal 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, each monitor screen 10 has a communication area 12 and a content area 14. In the communication area 12, the avatars of the teacher T and the four students S are displayed. The avatar can be a three-dimensional character, and performs an operation assigned in advance according to the voice. For example, an action is taken such that the mouth starts to move simultaneously with the generation of the voice. Also, the design should be such that if the student S does not speak or react for a long time, the facial expression of the eyes becomes sluggish, and if such a state continues beyond a certain time limit, the subject sleeps. You can also. Thereby, it is possible to inform the teacher of the degree of interest of the student S in the lesson.

Each avatar is provided with a volume control knob 12a for adjusting the volume in connection with it. The volume control knob 12a may employ various types other than the illustrated one. Examples include a numeric input, a rotary volume knob, and a button type with a plurality of different volume levels. Not only the volume of the object to be adjusted, but also the environment beyond the actual conversation can be prepared by removing noise, adjusting the cut range of the high frequency and / or low frequency region, and the like.

The content area 14 is provided with a teaching material area 14a for displaying educational materials and a writing area 14b in which teachers and / or students can freely write. Basically, teaching materials can be written only by teachers. The teaching materials are carefully planned and prepared by the school that holds the language lessons, and should not be changed randomly. On the other hand, when the student S or the teacher T needs to write in a class, such as spelling an English word, the writing area 14b is used. In the teaching material area 14a, not only text information but also a scene that is a scene of English conversation can be indicated by a moving image, and a conversation to be pronounced like karaoke lyrics can be indicated by a telop. If necessary, the writing area 14b can be used as an area for displaying such auxiliary teaching materials.
As the monitor screen 10, a special screen can be prepared for a teacher. For example, columns such as the number of questions to the student S, genre information of questions, and scores for answers can be provided. These pieces of information are subjected to data processing for each student S after the class ends, and are made into a database.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 4, furthermore, a step of compressing voice data from one student to a teacher and another student at the terminal of the one student (step 10), and transmitting the compressed data to a communication line And transmitting the compressed data to the teacher's terminal via the terminal (Step 11). The compressed data is decompressed at the teacher's terminal, and is generated as audio in synchronization with the movement of the avatar on the monitor screen. A step of transferring the data via a communication line without decompressing the data (step 12), and then, at another student's terminal, the compressed data is decompressed for the first time and output as audio in synchronization with the avatar movement of each monitor screen. Generating step (step 13).
Communication using a communication line has a drawback in that sound reproduction is extremely slow or cannot be performed depending on the time spent for data transfer. That is, when voice data is transferred from one student to another student via the teacher, the above-mentioned drawbacks are hard to ignore because the data transfer path is long and the compression transfer is repeated. Therefore, in this embodiment, the compressed data is decompressed at the teacher's terminal and generated as audio in synchronization with the movement of the avatar on the monitor screen, but the compressed data is not decompressed for transfer to other students. The data is transferred as it is via the communication line. Thereby, it is possible to avoid a time delay required for decompression and recompression and a situation in which reproduction is impossible.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the teacher further selects a person who is proficient in the language abroad (step 20), and uses the difference in the standard time of each country to select any one of the 24 hours a day. It also includes a step (step 21) of organizing classes without difficulty even in the time zone. This is because using the Internet eliminates the need for teachers to live in the country. Therefore, it is possible to broadly seek the world or human resources having language skills equivalent to natives or natives. More excellent human resources can be secured at low cost. In addition, students can learn the language in a more natural way, and there is an advantage that there is no adverse effect such as the familiarity of language lessons in Japan. In addition, classes can be reasonably organized in any time zone of 24 hours a day by utilizing the difference in the standard time of each country.

説明 Taking English lecturers as an example, there are many countries and regions in the world where English is the official language. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, United States, etc. Even in countries where English is not an official language, some countries or regions use English as daily or commercial English and have abundant human resources with high English proficiency. For example, Singapore, Philippines, India, etc. The present invention seeks to efficiently use these highly literate human resources scattered around the world for language lessons and the like by utilizing the abilities of people living in other countries or regions. Since these human resources are scattered all over the world, virtual lessons via the Internet in specific countries and regions can be easily handled at any time of the day. On the other hand, the student can freely choose a class that is convenient for him from many classes having different contents, levels, start times, and the like. This also has the advantage of being able to participate at any time, not only from a specific time, such as in April and September, as in the past.

Specifically, each student is given an ID symbol for identifying the person from the lesson institution, and the student registers his or her personal identification symbol in the lesson institution. . Various credit cards, cash cards, and debit cards can be used as they are. Settlement of lesson fees becomes easier.
All communication between the student and the lesson institution is performed for each student while confirming the student using the ID symbol and the password. For example, manage lesson appointments, record student proficiency levels during the lesson, assess performance, pay for lessons taken, etc.

生 徒 Each student is given the ability of the member as a grade by a level test conducted when he / she became a member, or by taking a lesson or a promotion test, and is recorded in the storage device of the lesson institution. When the student enters his or her ID and password to reserve a lesson, the lesson institution calls the member's grade recorded in the storage device, and then the lesson corresponding to the grade, ie, the student, Displays a list of lessons that can be reserved on the student's monitor. You can limit the number of lessons that can be booked at one time, such as up to 10, limit the range that can be booked within one month, or book a lesson each time You can also If there is a request for the next lesson entered by the student at the end of the previous lesson, the lesson reservation list can be preferentially displayed when there is a request for the next lesson. For example, when there is a request for an advanced class by the same instructor or a request to change from a daily conversation lesson to a business English lesson, a list according to such a request can be made. In addition, when the weakness of the student is discovered through the lesson or the like, a special lesson, a supplementary lesson, a review lesson, or the like that supplements the weakness from the lesson institution can be optionally added to the list.

Various methods can be used to display the lesson list. The number of lessons envisioned in the present invention is on the order of thousands, tens of thousands, or even more. The list is selected from the vast number of lessons as being suitable for the student, but tens or hundreds of lessons are still displayed on the student's monitor as selectable lessons. For example, suppose a student of English language level 3 (TOEIC 500-550) wants to take intermediate daily conversation lessons. The Intermediate Daily Conversation includes 70 topics that can be completed in about 15 minutes. Then, these topics 2 to 3 and free conversation time are combined to constitute one class (referred to as “frame”). Of course, the method of constructing one frame is not limited to this, and one frame can be composed of one topic, or more topics, free conversation, debate (discussion), presentation (presentation), etc. You may comprise. In addition, a plurality of frames can be continuously processed for one topic.

For example, Intermediate Day 1 of the Daily Conversation covers three topics: “1. Using the London Underground”, “2. Visiting the British Museum in London”, and “3. Using a Taxi in London”. Such a selection method is also possible. Alternatively, you can learn the theme of "Let's use the London Underground like a London child" in a series of 10 times.

The payment to the instructor is calculated by the number of frames x hourly wage (salary per unit time) x correction coefficient for a certain period, for example, from the first day to the last day of January. The correction coefficient is determined by taking into account the difference in living standards between the country or region where the instructor belongs and the country where the institution that determines the salary belongs.For example, the ratio of the national average annual income can be used as is, or a predetermined weighting can be used. The post-imposed ratio can be used.

As an example, as an English instructor, as mentioned above, the United States and Canada in North America, the United Kingdom in Europe, South Africa in Africa, India, Singapore and the Philippines in Asia, and English in Australia and New Zealand in Oceania And Therefore, people in these countries can be instructors even if they do not have special qualifications. Under the theme of "Let's use the London Underground like a London child", the fun lesson is that if you are a high school student living in London as a teacher, you can go to various places while sandwiching raw information that is not in the teaching materials. It becomes. The London Underground is a means of transportation that travels around the city and its suburbs due to its precise network. The terminals of each railway are also conveniently connected by subway. However, the subway system is so different from Japan that it is difficult to get on for the first time. Therefore, set a destination and plan a station to get off or a transit station, purchase a ticket, check ticket structure, and learn basic knowledge such as fares and ticket types. , And go to downtown to buy your favorite jeans. In the British Museum, it is also possible to have a high-level class with teachers such as volunteer explainers and curators.

In addition, there are many people who can speak English fluently, not only in specific countries or regions, but all over the world. When recruiting these talents as instructors, use different correction factors between those in developed countries and those in developing countries, or in the same country, people in urban areas and people living elsewhere. It can be set so that a different correction coefficient is given between the two. In addition, this correction coefficient can be changed according to certain needs, such as securing instructors during a specific time zone, mass training of instructors in a country where labor costs are relatively low, and the like.

4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a two-way communication method using a communication line. It is a system diagram of this communication method which connected a teacher and four students via the Internet. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration of a monitor screen. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment when data is transmitted from one student to a teacher and another student. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a two-way communication method using a communication line in a language lesson in which a person who is proficient in a specific language as a teacher is abroad. It is a block diagram of one embodiment of a two-way communication system using a communication line.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Two-way communication system 2 Host server 3 Teacher side terminal 4 Student side terminal 5 Internet 10 Monitor screen 12 Communication area 12a Volume control knob 14 Content area 14a Teaching material area 14b Writing area 20 User terminal 22 CPU
22a Avatar / audio adjustment means display control unit 22b audio adjustment control unit 24 recording device 26 input device 27 audio generation device 28 monitor

Claims (9)

A two-way communication method between terminals connected to each other via a communication line such as the Internet,
On the monitor screen of each terminal, software for displaying the avatar and voice adjusting means of the user who is using the terminal and the other party communicating with the user via the communication line, respectively, is provided. The process of mounting it on a computer, and
In performing communication, at each or specific terminal, adjusting the voice of the user himself and the other party, using the voice adjustment means of the monitor screen,
A two-way communication method using a communication line comprising: A two-way communication method using a communication line according to claim 1,
The sound adjustment step includes using a communication line characterized by adjusting one or any combination of cut volume values of a volume, a noise removal, a high frequency range, and / or a low frequency range. Communication method. A two-way communication method using a communication line according to claim 1 or 2,
The communication is communication in a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship connecting the teacher and one or more students, and each monitor screen has a communication area for displaying teacher and student avatars and voice adjustment means. A two-way communication method using a communication line, comprising a teaching material area for displaying educational materials and a content area including a writing area where a teacher or a student can freely write. The two-way communication method using a communication line according to claim 3, further comprising:
The teacher will select a person who is good at the language and live abroad, and make use of the difference in the standard time of each country to form a class without difficulty at any time of the day, 24 hours a day. A two-way communication method using a communication line, comprising: A two-way communication system between terminals connected to each other via a communication line such as the Internet, wherein a computer of each terminal includes:
A recording device for recording on a monitor screen software for displaying the user himself / herself who uses the terminal and the avatar and voice adjusting means of the image, incarnation, etc. of the other party communicating with the user via the communication line; and ,
An avatar and audio adjustment means display control means in the CPU for calling display software from the recording device and displaying an avatar and audio adjustment means on a monitor screen; and
Voice adjustment control means in the CPU for adjusting the voices of the user and the other party according to adjustment of the voice adjustment means by the user;
A two-way communication system using a communication line configured to include: A two-way communication system using a communication line according to claim 5,
The voice adjustment control means uses a communication line characterized by adjusting one or any combination of a cut threshold value of a volume, a noise removal, a high-frequency sound and / or a low-frequency sound area. Two-way communication system. A two-way communication system using the communication line according to claim 5 or claim,
The communication is communication in a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship connecting the teacher and one or more students, and each monitor screen has a communication area for displaying teacher and student avatars and voice adjustment means. A two-way communication system using a communication line is provided with a teaching material area for displaying educational materials and a content area including a writing area where a teacher or a student can freely write. The two-way communication system using a communication line according to claim 7, further comprising:
The teacher selects students who are proficient in the language, and organizes classes without difficulty at any time of the day, 24 hours a day, using the difference in the standard time of each country. A two-way communication system using lines. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the two-way communication method according to claim 1 is recorded.

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