WO2004006249A1

WO2004006249A1 - Digital language learning player

Info

Publication number: WO2004006249A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/001020
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hae-Kyung Kim
Original assignee: Hae-Kyung Kim
Priority date: 2002-05-24
Filing date: 2003-05-23
Publication date: 2004-01-15
Also published as: AU2003232648A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a digital language learning player, more particularly, for effective language learning, to a digital language learning player comprising a memory having a logical structure comprising data management table to class and manage learning contents.

Description

DIGITAL LANGUAGE LEARNING PLAYER

Technical field

The present invention relates to a digital language learning player, more particularly, for effective language learning, to a digital language learning player comprising a memory having a logical structure comprising data-managing table for classifying and managing a learning contents, and to a digital language learning player for a 1 earner t o 1 earn a 1 earning c ontents a ccording to r epetive 1 earning p eriod a nd relative difficulty of a learning contents by customizing repetitive leaming period and relative difficulty automatically or manually.

Background Art

Generally, a cassette tape recorder is used for learning language, which can play back a tape comprising pronounced learning contents recorded in analog manner sequentially or can repeat the designated section of a tape.

The cassette tape recorder, however, is not preferable, since the quality of sound of a tape would be worsen with repeating usage of the tape and an additional digital memory IC and an extra 'sentence back' button are required to repeat the designated section of a tape, which cause increase in production cost and vex a learner who must press the button to repeat the designated section of a tape.

Recently, digital language learning players adapting the technology transforming the voice into the digital signal are popularly used.

However, since the above digital language learning players simply convert learning contents into digitized form like mp3 and play it back sequentially, a learner should hear the already completed learning contents or search the learning contents manually with extra search button to learn.

Korean patent application No. 2000-0044311 disclosed a multimedia learning player including language dictionary therein and having the function that characters or R2003/001020

word of song can be displayed back in accordance with digital sound or music. The above-mentioned application, however, could not provide concrete method of embodying the functions, and moreover could not provide convenient means for learner to learn, but only mentioned the function of displaying the characters or word of sing on display unit in accordance with moving pictures or music files.

Korean patent application No. 1999-0034304 disclosed the method of digitalization and playback of the learning contents. That is, leaming contents is digitalized and classified into sentence, dialog consisting of several sentences and section consisting of several dialog in respective language, and the respective sentences are classified as audio or text file with respective language and stored in memory. The above application also disclosed digital data format comprising attribute information of sequence and language of digital data files. However, the above function is a simple addition of audio and character data of translated language to the data format of music file of mp3 player, which lacks detail attribute information and management method thereof Especially, a function of pronunciation correction, which is indispensable in learning foreign language, by comparing a learner's pronunciation with that of native speakers, is lacked in the above method. Further, the relative difficulty regulation function, which enables a learner to learn a learning content in accordance with learner's level, is not provided in the above method. The learner's memory is separated in two categories, short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory refers to a temporary memory, known to be convertible to long-term memory in case of periodic repetition of learning contents. Fig. 1 5 is the e planatory diagram describing the rocess of converting a learner's short-term memory to long-term memory of learning contents by periodic repetition. As shown in Fig. 15, the learned contents at TO is temporarily memorized and faded out from the learner's memory as time passes away. However, if the same contents is learned repetitively, the time for fading out from learner's memory becomes longer, and at last the short-term memory is converted to long-term memory. Generally, the T KR2003/001020

repetition period is kwon as below; for first repetition period Tl as a hour, for second repetition period T2 as a day, for third repetition period as a week, for fourth repetition period as a month and for fifth repetition period as 6 months.

However, former digital language learning players cannot provide the periodic repetition function considering characteristics of repetition period of memory.

Further, former digital language learning players did not provide relative difficulty regulation function which enables a learner to drill leaming contents in accordance with learner's level.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player comprising a memory having a logical structure comprising a data management table classifying learning contents and managing classified learning contents. It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of storing learner's pronounced voice as digital data, outputting learner's pronunciation and native speaker's pronunciation sequentially, which enable the learner to correct his own pronunciation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language player having the function of role playing, which enables a learner to play a role of a speaker in dialog by recording and replaying pronounced dialog of learner's side.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of precluding the learning contents, which is estimated not to be reiterated, from being played back repeatedly. It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of determining the number and range of replay.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of downloading/uploading of data from/to PC or T KR2003/001020

internet with wire or wireless.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of periodic repetitive and selective learning, which enables a learner to learn learning contents with predetermined repetition period. It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital language learning player having the function of relative difficulty regulation, which enables a learner to slow down the playback speed of difficult learning contents or to select learning contents in coincidence with learner's level.

The above object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, which comprises: a non-volatile memory storing digital data of sounds and/or characters; an input part receiving orders for outputting said digital data of sounds and/or characters in predetermined sequence; a sound output part ; a display part; and a control part reading said digital data of sounds and/or characters respectively or simultaneously, outputting said digital data of sounds to said sound output part after converting said digital data of sounds into analog data of sound and said digital data of characters to said display part according to the received orders, wherein said non-volatile memory having a logical structure comprising a data storage storing learning contents classified in the form of sound and character, files; a data management table storing attribute information of said sound and character files including information about address, size, type of file, type of language, classification of learning contents, playback and correlation of files; a header storing information including address, size and storage format of said attribute information.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player further comprising: means for receiving analog sound data, converting the analog sound data into digital record data, and recording said digital record data in said memory, wherein said data storage further comprises record data storage for storing said digital record data in the form of sound files, and said data management table further comprises attribute information regarding files recorded in P T/KR2003/001020

said record data storage, and said header further comprises attribute information regarding address and size of said record data storage.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, wherein said attribute information regarding respective sound and character files stored in data management table of said nonvolatile memory is information indicating learning level and kind of information, i.e., word, phrase, dialog or sentence, and said information about correlation of files stored in data management table is information about arranged sequence of learning contents classification, and information about arranged sequence of learning contents is information distinguishing same dialogist.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language leaming player further comprising an interface part for downloading/uploading files having the logical structure of said memory from/to internet or PC with wire or wireless. Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, which comprises: a non-volatile memory storing digital data; an input part receiving orders for outputting said digital data of sound and/or character in predetermined sequence; a sound output part; a display part; and a control part reading said digital data of sound and/or character respectively or at the same time, outputting the digital character data to said display part and the sound digital data to said sound output part after converting the digital data into analog data according to the orders received, wherein said digital language learning player further comprises timer, which is connected to said control part, providing information about the playback time of said digital data of said memory, and said non- volatile memory stores learning contents as sound, character or image data files, respectively, and attribute information about address and size of said data files, replay date, repetitive learning period and leaming object; said control part further performs the steps of i ) recording the timer value in replay time attribute information and changing the repetitive learning period attribute information to predetermined value when specific data file is outputted to outputting device, ii) changing the attribute information of learning object to predetermined value in case that the difference between current timer value and the recorded attribute information value of replay time is greater than the changed attribute information value, and iii) outputting the data file having the attribute information of said learning objective in case that an order of replaying the data file having the changed attribute information is inputted.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital 1 anguage 1 earning p layer, w herein s aid i nput p art further c omprises 1 earning period selection button for inputting information in order to play back the data file having the predetermined repetitive leaming period selectively, and said control part further performs the step of outputting data file having attribute information of repetitive learning period selected through said leaming period selection button to outputting device. Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player further comprising an interface part for downloading/uploading files and attribute information from/to outside device with wire or wireless.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, wherein said input part further comprises relative difficulty input button for inputting information about relative difficulty of data file played back, said non- volatile memory further stores attribute information of relative difficulty of the specific data file, said control part further performs the step of outputting the designated data file having attribute information of relative difficulty in case that the order of playing back the data file having said attribute information of the specific relative difficulty is inputted through said input part.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, wherein said control part further performs the step of outputting the data file having said attribute information of relative difficulty and repetitive learning period to outputting device in case that order of playing back the data file having said attribute information of the specific relative difficulty and specific repetitive learning period is inputted through said input part.

Another object of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a digital language learning player, wherein said control part further performs the step of outputting the data with speed control according to attribute information of relative difficulty i n c ase t hat t he d ata file h aving s aid a ttribute i nformation o f t he s pecific relative difficulty is outputted to outputting device.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 represents the overall system structure of an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is the front view of the input part of an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is the explanatory diagram of the logical structure of the memory of an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is the detail explanatory diagram of the data management table (DMT) of an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention. Fig. 5 represents an exemplary classification of the learning contents played by an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 represents field values of the data management table structured according to the learning contents classified with the method represented in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is the flow chart of operation of an exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 represents the overall system structure of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is the front view of the input part of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention. Fig. 10 is the explanatory diagram of the logical structure of the memory of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 is the flow chart describing the operation of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention. Fig. 12 is the flow chart describing the operation of repetitive leaming period sub-routine of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 13 is the flow chart describing the operation of the relative difficulty selection sub-routine of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention.

Fig. 14 is the explanatory diagram of sub-menu displayed on the display part when the menu button of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention is pressed.

Fig. 15 is the explanatory diagram describing the process of converting a learner's short-term memory to long-term memory of leaming contents by periodic repetition.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Preferable example of the present invention is illustrated and described below with the attached drawings.

Fig. 1 to 7 are the diagrams to give more detail explanation on the digital language learning player in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 1 and 2 represent the overall system structure and the front view of the input p art o f a n e xemplary d igital 1 anguage 1 earning p layer i n a ccordance w ith the present invention, respectively.

As shown in Fig. 1, an exemplary digital language learning player in accordance with the present invention, which comprises a non- volatile memory(1300) storing digital data of sounds and/or characters; an input part(HOO) receiving orders for outputting said digital data of sounds and/or characters in predetermined sequence; a sound output part (1500); a display part; and a control part reading said digital data of sounds and/or characters respectively or simultaneously, outputting said digital data of sounds to said sound output part after converting said digital data of sounds into analog data of sound and said digital data of characters to said display part according to the received orders. An exemplary digital language learning player in accordance with the present invention can further comprises a sound input part in order to record learner's voice and a interface part connecting the digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention to a personal computer or internet with wire or wireless.

As shown in Fig. 2, the input part of an exemplary digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention consists of numbers of button switches to input orders operating said digital language leaming player. It is obvious to the skilled person in the art that the touch screen of LCD panel can perform the same function of the button switches of the input part of the digital language learning player. Examples of orders inputted through the input part are such as playback/pause(1110), stop(llll), fast-forward(lllla), rewind(llllb), mark(1112), block repetition(1113), auto-repetition(1113a), speed control(1114), set(l 115), listen and repeat(1116), record and repeat(l 117), pronunciation role(l 118) and recording role(l 119). The functions of the digital language learning player in accordance with the present invention are explained below in detail.

The sound input part(1400) has a function of inputting the learner's or the other's voice and converting it to electric signal, wherein said sound input part consists of a microphone converting a voice to electrical signal and an amplifier amplifying said electrical signal to predetermined extent. The degree of amplification of the converted electrical signal is adjustable with variable resistance.

The sound output part( 1500) outputting audible sound signal by converting electrical signal into analog data in decoder part(1240), consists of an amplifier R2003/001020

10

consisting of variable resistance amplifying the electrical sound signal to an appropriate degree and adjusting the base and/or treble and speaker(earphone is preferable) converting the amplified electrical signal into audible sounds.

The display part(1600) is a device displaying characters and/or pictures thereon, usually an LCD. The characters corresponding to leaming contents, the operating status of the digital language leaming player, the contents selection icons etc., are displayed on the display part.

The control part(1200) consists of the microprocessor(1210), A/D converter part(1220), encoder part(1230), decoder part(1240) and speed control part(1250). The A/D converter part(1220) converts the signal inputted from the sound input part(1400) into corresponding digital signal. The encoder part(1230) stores the digital data converted in said A D converter part(1220) into memory(1300) in compressed form like mp3. The decoder part(1240) performs the function of restoring the compressed data converted by said encoder part(1230) or downloaded through the interface part(1700) into the original uncompressed status. Also, the decoder part(1240) performs restoring the data to uncompressed form according to the restored data bit(for example, 32 or 64kbps) and converting the digital data into corresponding analog signals in order to output them to sound output part(l 500).

The speed control part(1250) regulates the playback frequency controlling the speed of the voice file played back by the decoder part(1240) or replays data using DSP. The sound conversion speed of the decoder part(1240) is controlled according to the control signal of the speed control part(1250).

The interface part(1700) comprises means for connecting to PC or internet with wire or wireless. The jack or connecting unit such as USB port can be used for connecting the digital language learning player to PC or intemet with wire. For connecting the digital language learning player to PC or internet wireless, means for wireless internet connecting such as Bluetooth chip can be used.

An audio file and/or data file can be stored in memory of the digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention after being downloaded through said interface part(1700) from PC or internet.

When the file downloaded through the interface part(1700) is not the compressed form , it can be stored in memory after converting the cmde data format into compressed form by the encoder part( 1230).

The microprocessor(1210) performs function of recording or playback of the sounds and/or characters according to the orders inputted through the input part(1100). Further, the microprocessor^ 210) includes the algorithm to perform the specific order from the input part(HOO) such as pause(llll), mark(1112), block repetition(1113), speed control(1114), set(1115), listen and repeat(1116), record and repeat(1117), pronunciation role(lllδ) and recording role orders. Further, the microprocessor can upload or download a file to or from PC or internet by controlling the interface part(1700).

Fig. 3 and 4 are the explanatory diagram of the logical structure of the memory and the detail explanatory diagram of the data management table (DMT) of an exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention, respectively.

It is preferable that the memory(1300) has a characteristic of non- olatile like flash-memory that the data should be reserved in the time of power-off and the new data could be written therein when required. As shown in Fig. 3, the memory(1300) has a logical structure comprising data storage(1330), data management table(1320) and header(1310).

The data storage(1330) comprises a compressed audio data storage part(1331) and text data storage part(1332) in order to store the leaming contents in the form of audio and text file, respectively. The data management table part(1320) stores a lot of attribute information such as the address, size and type of the respective sound and/or character file, type of language, classification of learning contents, playback and the correlation between files. The header(1310) stores information such as size, address and type of the attribute information stored in data management table(1320). The data storage(1330) can further comprises record data storage(1332) storing voice information inputted by learner and the data management table(1320) can further comprises information about the file saved at the record data storage(1332), while the header can further comprises information of the size and address of the record data storage(1332).

As shown in Fig. 4, the data management table(1320) stores the attribute information needed for language learning and effective management of memory(1300) with classification. The attribute information of the respective sound and/or characters file saved in the data management table is classified by word or phrase unit with plural fields.

The attribute information of learning contents comprises the unit information(a) denoting a learning unit or leaming date, the classification information of learning(b) indicating that the saved information is word, phrase, dialog or description, and the information about leaming level(i)(low, middle or high). The attribute information of learning contents can further comprises the language information(e), file type information(f), mark information(h), class sequence number(c) and class serial number(d) information, which regard to the sequence of the leaming contents, the information of starting address(j) and size(k) of the file, recording information(l) and address(m) where learner recording file is located.

The class sequence number(c) can be a serial number of word or phrase present in the learning unit in case of word, while it can be a serial number of the separate sentence and paragraph in the leaming contents in case of dialog leaming and s entence for 1 istening, r espectively. The c lass s erial number can b e a s erial number of an example sentence, synonym or derivative when the learning contents is words or phrases, while it can be a serial number of a separate sentence or paragraph when the leaming contents is dialog or text for reading. The class serial number can include the sub-attribute information regarding the meaning of the sentence structure.

Fig. 5 and 6 represent an exemplary classification of the learning contents played back by an exemplary digital language leaming player of the present invention and a field number of the data management table structured according to the leaming contents classified with the method described in Fig. 5, respectively.

As shown in Fig. 5, the classification can be made like this; words and phrases of learning contents of chapter 1 are classified as class 1, and dialogs and sentence for listening of leaming contents of chapter 1 are classified as class 2 and 3, respectively. The classification can be done according to the leaming contents type, though the leaming contents or structure of the learning contents would be not fixed.

For example, the attribute value of the data management table of the respective leaming class is determined as shown in fig. 6. In the case of class 1, the four separate audio and text files, Dcelebrate

meaning of 'celebrate' in Korean) ©People celebrated him for his glorious victory. ©

$

meaning of sentence 'People celebrated him for his glorious victory' in Korean), are stored in data storage(1330) of the memory(1300) and have the attribute value as shown in lines 1 to 4 of Fig. 6. h the case of class 2, the four separate audio and text files, ©A: You look like a million bucks. ©B: That's very nice of you to say so. ©A: Do you exercise everyday? ®B: I try to., and four correspondingly translated audio and text files are stored in data storage(1300) and have the attribute value including the attribute value distinguishing respective speaker and the sequence of the dialogs as shown in lines 9 to 12 of Fig. 6. In the case of class 3, the four separate audio and text files, ©Ladies and gentlemen, welcome abroad Flight 007 bound for Paris, ©I'm your pilot, Gregory Peck, ©We'll be flying at an altitude of 19,000 feet and should arrive in Paris at 9:20 after a brief stopover in London, @We hope you'll have an enjoyable, and four correspondingly translated audio and text files are stored in data storage(1300) and have the attribute value of the sequence of the sentences as shown in lines 13 to 16 of Fig. 6.

Especially, the recording information(l) whether the learner has recorded and the address(m) of recorded file are stored in data management table(1320) when the learner has recorded his own pronunciation. The operation of the exemplary digital language leaming player comprising a memory having the logical structure in accordance with the present invention is illustrated and described in detail as below with the flow chart of Fig. 7. Especially, since it is obvious to the skilled person in the art that the setting up the variables, for example, duration setting, block setting, classification of leaming and the method for selection of the contents displayed on the screen, for performing the orders, is made by operating combination of the buttons on the input part(HOO), the detailed description on the above is not described herein.

Fig. 7 is the flow chart describing the basic playback operation of the digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention. The classified menu is displayed on the screen after the player's power-on. A learner can choose the desiring leaming contents class after pressing the set button(1115) or separate move buttons. After selecting appropriate leaming contents, the k value of Fig. 7 is set a nd, according t o t he s equence o f F ig. 7 , t he s elected a udio a nd/or t ext files i s played back and/or displayed on the screen by pressing the playback/pause button(lllθ). When the data management table(DMT) of the specific leaming contents has mark information, the leaming contents is skipped and the next leaming contents is played back. When a learner does not need repetition of the leaming contents being played back, he shall press the mark button(1112). The microprocessor(1210) reverses the current status of attribute of DMT of playing audio file. The attribute reversed file will not be played back in next time. If a learner wants to restore the reversed status of attribute of DMT, he can do it by using the set button or the other order(s).

Also, a learner can control the speed of the playback arbitrarily by using the speed control button(1114).

Also, a learner can establish a block repetition(1113) by pressing the set button(1115) twice at the starting point and end point sequentially. In determining the starting and end points, a learner can use the fast-forward(lllla) or rewind(llllb) button. The number of repetition is adjustable using set button after designating the start point and end point of the block. After establishing the repetition block, a learner can repeat the designated block by pressing the block repetition(1113) button.

On the other hand, the orders of auto-repetition(1113a), listen and repeat(1116), record and repeat(1117), pronunciation role(1118) and recording role(1119) are operated differently according to the class of leaming.

When the auto-repetition(1113a) button is pressed, the currently playing audio and/or text file will be replayed over again until the auto-repetition(1113a) button is pressed again. In the case the leaming contents of class 1 is played back, total contents including the interpretation of the word or phrase and the sentence would be repeated automatically when the auto-repetition(1113a) button is pressed. That is, the audio and text files corresponding to φ+ ©+ ©+ ® of the class 1 in Fig. 5 are outputted and repeated infinitely. In the case the learning contents of class 2 is played back, the currently playing sentence would be repeated automatically when the auto-repetition(1113a) button is pressed. That is, for example, the auto- repetition(1113a) button is pressed when the ® sentence is played back, the above sentence is repeated infinitely. When the auto-repetition(1113a) button is pressed once more, play mode is restored and the ® sentence will be played back. The auto- repetition function in class 3 case, however, is different from the former two cases. If the auto-repetition button is pressed when a sentence is played back, the device find the p ointplayed b ackpredetermined time(for example, 4 s econds) before and play back the 4 seconds blocked contents infinitely. If the auto-repetition button is pressed once more, the operation of the device turns back original status and the residual leaming contents will be played back continuously. The time duration of the auto-repetition in class 3 can be predetermined through set button or the other ordering button.

On the other hand, if the listen and repeat button(1116) is pressed in the case of class 1 or 2, the time duration needed for playback of the currently playing back word, phrase or sentence is given mutely in order to provide a learner with the chance to pronounce the played word, phrase or sentence. The operative function of the listen and repeat button in the case of class 3, however, is different from the former two cases. The time duration is determined for preset time, and the predetermined mute time is given to a learner to listen and repeat when the listen and repeat button is pressed. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the continuing leaming contents will be played back. The iteration number of listen and repeat function may be predetermined, which help a learner practice the pronunciation. The listen and repeat function is desirable in that a learner can compare the learner's own pronunciation and speech speed with those of native speakers. The record and repeat(1117) function is the summation of the listen and repeat function, auto-recording and auto-repetition function. That is, in case that record and repeat button(1117) is pressed, the time, the same time needed for replay of the objective word or sentence or predetermined, is given to a learner to listen and repeat replayed word or sentence without sound as was the case of listen and repeat function. During the time, however, the learner's voice is recorded on memory. Therefore, the learner can compare the recorded learner's own pronunciation with that of native speakers by listening two consecutively and be provided with the chance to correct his own pronunciation.

Below is the detail description of the set(1115) button. With regard to the leaming contents of class 1, the function of the set(1115) button is that sequentially change the structure of the possible combinations of the title word or phrase(φ), the explanation of said word or phrase(©), example sentence including said title word or phrase(©), and translation thereof(@). For example, the combinations of the above four elements are circularly changed from φ+© to φ+@ , from φ+® to ©+Φ and the like with repetitive pressing the set button. The sequence and species of the combinations can be predetermined. In the case of class 2, the set button performs the selection function of the role in role playing function described below. That is, the set button specifies a part for a learner to pronounce, speaker A or B whose part is not replayed in class 2 of the Fig. 5. If the button is pressed one time, learner part is set to the second speaker automatically. If the button is pressed once more, the roles will be exchanged. In the case of class 3, the function of the set button is setting the time duration in the auto-repetition function or listen and repeat function. The time of duration increases by predetermined time with repetitive pressing the set button.

The pronunciation role(1118) function and recording role(1119) function are described below. The 'role' functions are only effective in class 2. If the pronunciation role button is pressed, the language learning player in accordance with the present invention operates like below: plays back the sentence ©", stop for the time for playing bake sentence ©; and plays back the sentence ©. The learner can practice his own pronunciation while the language learning player does not operate. The function of recording role(1119) button is different from the pronunciation role button in that the recording of pronunciation of the learner is performed and the learner can listen recorded his own pronunciation after recording completion.

Since the fast-forwarding and rewind function is well-kwon in the art, the detailed description thereof is skipped herein.

Fig. 8 to 15 are the diagrams for explaining another exemplary digital language learning player in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 8 represents the overall structural diagram of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention, Fig. 9 is the front view of the input part of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention, and Fig. 10 is the explanatory diagram of the logical structure of the memory of another exemplary digital language learning player according to the present invention, respectively.

As shown in Fig. 8, another exemplary digital leaming language player in accordance with the present invention comprises a non-volatile memory(2300) storing digital data file; an input part receiving orders for outputting said digital data from said memory; a sound output part; a display part; a control part reading said digital d ata a nd o utputting s aid d igital d ata t o s aid s ound o utput p art a nd/or s aid display part; a timer providing said control part with the output time of said digital data, and optionally an interface part for downloading or uploading a digital data from or to PC or internet.

As shown in Fig. 9, the input part of another exemplary digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention consists of numbers of button switches to input orders operating said digital language learning player. It is obvious to the skilled person in the art that the touch screen of LCD panel can perform the same function of the button switches of the input part of the digital language leaming player. Examples of orders inputted through the input part are such as play/pause(2110), stop(2120), fast-forward(2130), rewind(2140), set(2150), relative difficulty(2160), menu(2170) and speed control(2180). The functions of the respective button will be described in detail in the description of the digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 8, the sound output part(2500) performs the function of outputting the sound signal, which is audible by converting the digital sound signal stored in the memory(2300) to an analog data in sound decoder part(2230). The sound output part comprises an amplifier amplifying the electrical sound signal and a sound output part such as speaker or earphone which converts the electrical signal amplified in said amplifier into audible sound. The display part (1600) is a device which can display characters and or pictures thereon, preferably an LCD. The sub-menu, as shown in Fig. 14, including the operating status of the digital language learning player and the contents selection icons as well as the leaming contents such as characters or moving pictures are displayed on the display part(2600).

The control part(1200) comprises a microprocessor(2210) controlling the operation of the digital language leaming player, sound and picture decoder part(2230, 2240) converting the sounds, characters and moving pictures digital data stored in the memory into appropriate analog signal in order to output and a speed control part(2220) controlling the decoding rate. The sound decoder part(2230) performs the function of restoring the compressed digital sound data to uncompressed original digital sound data form, converting uncompressed digital sound data into analog sound signal in order to output them to sound output part(2500).

The picture decoder part(2240) performs the function of restoring the compressed digital picture or image data to uncompressed original digital data form.

The speed control part(2220) regulates the decoding rate of the sound decoder part and picture decoder part(2230, 2240) according to the orders of the control part(2210), which enables to regulate the replay speed of the played back a learning contents having the form of sound, character or picture. The speed regulation is done by regulation of the frequency servicing to the decoder part or using DSP. The control signals provided from the speed control part(2220) to control the respective decoder parts(2230, 2240) not only control playback speed and convert sound or picture data but also can motivate sound or picture signals.

It is preferable that the memory(2300) has a characteristic of non-volatile like flash-memory that the data should be reserved in the time of power-off and the new data could be written therein when required. The leaming contents stored in memory as digitally converted data comprises information of sound, character and picture. The reserved information is a converted digital data of learning contents classified by word, sentence or chapter of text, audio or video teaching materials. As shown in Fig. 10, the memory(2300) has the logical structure comprising data storage(2330), data management table(2320) and header(2310).

The data storage(2330) comprises a audio data storage part(2331), text data storage part(2332) and video data storage part(2333) in order to store the learning contents in the form of audio, text and video, respectively. The digital file can be compressed for effectiveness of memory. The data management table part(2320) stores a lot of attribute information of information such as the address and size of the respective data files, attribute information of information about date of replay, repeat learning period and learner, and information about relative difficulty of specific data file. In the example of the digital language learning player, the data management table having the attribute information field is set up in memory(2300) in order to manage the digital file including leaming contents. The leaming contents including digital file management can be possible by saving the attribute information into another file.

As shown in Fig. 15, timer(2400) value representing the replay time of the specific data file(regarded as learning time) is stored in replay data attribute field and the repetition period to memorize the leaming contents effectively according to the repetition number. For example, repetition period stored in repetition period attribute field is Tl in case of first learning time, T2 in case of second leaming time, T3 in case of third leaming time, T4 in case of fourth leaming time and T5 in case of fifth leaming time. That is, repetition period should be set up to be short in case that the leaming contents is apt to be forgotten, whereas repetition period should be set up to be long in case that the learning contents is easily memorable. The repetition period can be adjusted by a learner according to leaming contents. The repetition period of first leaming file is set up as TO, indicating no leaming.

In the case that the difference between current timer value and reserved timer value stored in date attribute information is greater than repetition period value, the attribute information of leaming contents indicates leaming contents as repetition objective. For example, in case that the current time is a.m. 9:30 October 4^th, 2002, the recent replay time stored in attribute information is a.m. 9:00 October 1^st, 2002, and the repetition period Tl is set up as 1 day(24 hours), the difference of two times is 36 hours and half, which is greater than the repetition period. Therefore, the learning contents is indicated as 'repetition objective '(indicated as '1 ' in display unit). The leaming contents being not over the repetition period is indicated as '0'.

The relative difficulty of the leaming contents can be adjusted by learner with pressing the relative difficulty button(2160) on the input part(2100). The relative difficulty is set up to have three level, difficult(D), normal(N) and easy(E). The initial relative difficulty of all learning contents is set up as normal. When a learner feels difficulty in studying a leaming contents, he can adjust the relative difficulty by pressing the D button. Also, when a learner feels easy in studying a learning contents, h e can a djust t he r elative d ifficulty b y pressing t he E b utton. When the leaming contents whose relative difficulty is N or D is played back again, the relative difficulty is automatically adjusted to lower level. Although the relative difficulty of digital language leaming player has only three level, D, N and E, it is obvious to the skilled person in the art that the change or modification of relative difficulty adjustment is possible.

Fig. 11 is the flow chart describing the operation of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention, Fig. 12 is the flow chart describing the operation of repetition period sub-routine of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention, Fig. 13 is the flow chart describing the operation of the relative difficulty level selection sub-routine of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention, and Fig. 14 is the explanatory diagram of sub-menu displayed on the display part in case that the menu button of another exemplary digital language leaming player according to the present invention is pressed.

The operation of another exemplary digital language leaming player in accordance with the present invention is illustrated and described below with the attached drawings, Fig. 11 to 13. As shown in Fig. 11, the microprocessor(2210) reads the attribute information in data management table storing the attribute information of the digital file stored in memory(2300) to search the objective file for periodic repetition learning. As shown in Fig. 12, the process of searching the objective file for periodic repetition is performed in sub-routine, which can be inserted in flow chart of Fig. 11. A learner can select the file for repetitive leaming from the objective files through the input part(2100) after the search is completed(S310). If the order inputted from the input part is play back the objective files for periodic repetition, the objective files are played back sequentially(S320). In case that the relative difficulty button is pressed in the process of replay of the specific file, the relative difficulty input(S200) sub- routine ns, as shown in Fig. 13. Then, the process of the judgment whether said specific file is played back completely is performed, and renewal of attribute information of replay time to the point of replay completion and repetition period from Ti to T₍i₊₁₎(S340). Then, the processor of judgment whether the next file is final of the objective files mns. If the next file is not final, the above process continues. If the order inputted from the input part is menu(2170), the objective file selection process(S360) will be performed. The objective file selection process(S360) is sub-menu display, as shown in Fig. 14, on display part(2600). The way of submenu selection can be made by using fast-forward(2130), rewind(2140) or set(2150) button on the input part. The sub-menu shown in Fig. 14 is an example of the sub- menu of, which consists of four sub-menu, automatic/manual sub-menu(2610), relative difficulty selection sub-menu, repetition period selection sub-menu and logic selection sub-menu. The structure of the sub-menu can be changed or modified according to the attribute information of the file to be learned. When the automatic mode is chosen in automatic/manual sub-menu, the playback speed of file is automatically regulated according to the attribute information of relative difficulty of the file. For example, if the relative difficulty of a file is D, the replay speed is regulated by 75% level compared to the normal speed(when the relative difficulty is N). When the manual mode is chosen in automatic/manual sub-menu, the playback speed of file can be regulated with the speed control(2180) button. The relative difficulty selection sub-menu is used in selecting a file with modification of the relative difficulty thereof, and the repetition period selection sub-menu is used in selecting a file having specific repetition period. The logic selection sub-menu is used in selecting a file having specific relative difficulty and repetition period with a logical correlation. The logical correlation can be altered diversely according to the attribute information of the DMT.

After the files have been selected in the process of the objective file selection(S360), the objective files are played back sequentially(S370) by pressing the play(2110) button on the input part(2100). In case that the relative difficulty button(2160) on the input part(2100) is pressed in the process of replay of the specific file, the relative difficulty input(S200) sub-routine runs, as shown in Fig. 13. Then, the process of the judgment(S380) whether said specific file is played back completely is performed, and renewal of attribute information of replay time to the point of replay completion and repetition period from Ti to T₍i_+i)(S390). Then, the processor of judgment(S400) whether the next file is final of the objective files mns. If the next file is not final, the above process continues(S410). It is possible that the replay time is solely renewed without renewal of the repetition period when the replayed file is not the objective file for repetition. The below description is to describe the sub-routine of searching the objective file for periodic repetition illustrated in Fig. 12. As shown in Fig. 12, microprocessor(2210) reads the attribute information of the DMT sequentially firstly(SHO). Then, microprocessor compares the difference between current timer value and reserved timer value stored in date attribute information with repetition period value. If the difference between current timer value(TMR) and reserved timer value stored in date attribute information is greater than repetition period value, the repetition period is overdue. Then, the learning contents is indicated as 'repetition objective'(indicated as '1' in display unit)(S130). For all files, the process of judgment whether the file is the repetition objective is performed sequentially(S140). After the processing is completed, main menu restores(S150). The file number or the leaming contents is displayed on the display part in case that the sub-routine of searching the objective file for periodic repetition is completed.

The relative difficulty input sub-routine shown in Fig. 13 is described as below. As shown in Fig. 13, if the relative difficulty button(2160) on input part(2100)is pressed in the process of playing back a specific file(S210), microprocessor changes the relative difficulty of the file(S220). If the changed relative difficulty is D, the microprocessor(2210) sends a predetermined signal to the speed control part(2220). The speed control part controls sound or image decoder part(2230, 2240) to control the replay speed of the digital file. Then microprocessor checks whether the playback of the specific file is completed. If the playback of the specific file is not completed, the above steps are repeated until the playback is completed. In case that no order is inputted from the relative difficulty button in step S210, the relative difficulty attribute regulation step(S260) can optionally be added. The relative difficulty attribute regulation step(S260) is a step that the file attribute of higher level relative difficulty is changed to that of lower level relative difficulty when no signal is inputted from the relative difficulty button(2160). For example, if a file attribute of relative difficulty is D and there is no signal input, the relative difficulty attribute of file is change to N. The initial relative difficulty attribute of all files are set up as N. If there is not the relative difficulty attribute regulation step(S260), S 250 step wil be performed. Industrial Applicability

As mentioned previously, according to the present invention, a digital language learning player comprising a memory having a logical stracture comprising a data management table classifying leaming contents and managing classified learning contents is provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a digital language learning player storing learner's pronounced voice as digital data, outputting learner's pronunciation and native speaker's pronunciation continuously is provided, which enable the learner to correct his own pronunciation. Also, accordmg to the present invention, a digital language player having the function of role playing, which enables a learner to play a role of a speaker in dialog by recording and replaying pronounced dialog of learner's side, is provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a digital language learning player having the function precluding the leaming contents, which is estimated not to be reiterated from being played back repeatedly, is provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a digital language leaming player having the function of determining the number and range of replay is provided.

Also, according to the present mvention, a digital language leaming player having the function of downloading/uploading of data from/to intemet or PC with wire or wireless is provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a digital language leaming player having the function of periodic repetition learning, which enables a learner to learn leaming contents with predetermined repetition period, is provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a digital language learning player having the function of relative difficulty regulation, which enables a learner to slow down the playback speed of difficult learning contents or to select a learning contents in coincidence with learner's level, is provided.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in the above specific embodiment, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It should be recognized that various modifications and changes may be made to the invention by R2003/001020

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those skilled in the art which also fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

P T/KR2003/00102027CLAIMS

1. Digital language leaming player, which comprises: a non-volatile memory storing digital data of sounds and/or characters; an input part receiving orders for outputting said digital data of sounds and/or characters in predetermined sequence; a sound output part ; a display part; and a control part reading said digital data of sounds and/or characters respectively o r s imultaneously, o utputting s aid digital d ata o f s ounds t o s aid s ound output part after converting said digital data of sounds into analog data of sound and said digital data of characters to said display part according to the received orders, wherein said non-volatile memory having a logical stracture comprising a data storage storing leaming contents classified in the form of sound and character files; a data management table storing attribute information of said sound and character files including information about address, size, type of file, type of language, classification of leaming contents, playback and correlation of files; a header storing information including address, size and storage format of said attribute information.

2. Digital language leaming player of claim 1 further comprising: means for receiving analog sound data, converting the analog sound data into digital record data, and recording said digital record data in said memory, wherein said data storage further comprises record data storage for storing said digital record data in the form of sound files, and said data management table further comprises attribute information regarding files recorded in said record data storage, and said header further comprises attribute information regarding address and size of said record data storage.

3. Digital language leaming player as in claim 1 or 2, wherein said attribute information regarding respective sound and character files stored in data management table of said non-volatile memory is information indicating leaming level and kind of information, i.e., word, phrase, dialog or sentence, and said information about correlation of files stored in data management table is information about arranged sequence of leaming contents classification, and information about arranged sequence of leaming contents is information distinguishing same dialogist.

4. Digital language leaming player as in claim 3, wherein said attribute information regarding respective sound and character files stored in data management table of said non- volatile memory is information indicating leaming level and kind of information, i.e., word, phrase, dialog or sentence, and said information about correlation of files stored in data management table is information about arranged sequence of leaming contents classification, and information about arranged sequence of leaming contents is information distinguishing same dialogist.

5. Digital language learning player as in claim 3, further comprising an interface part for downloading/uploading files having the logical structure of said memory from/to intemet or PC with wire or wireless.

6. Digital language leaming player, which comprises: a non-volatile memory storing digital data; an input part receiving orders for outputting said digital data of sound and/or character in predetermined sequence; a sound output part; a display part; and a control part reading said digital data of sound and/or character respectively or at the same time, outputting the digital character data to said display part and the sound digital data to said sound output part after converting the digital data into analog data according to the orders received, wherein said digital language leaming player further comprises timer, which is connected to said control part, providing information about the playback time of said digital data of said memory, and said non-volatile memory stores leaming contents as sound, character or image data files, respectively, and attribute information about address and size of said data files, replay date, repetitive leaming period and leaming object; said control part further performs the steps of i ) recording the timer value in replay time attribute information and changing the repetitive leaming period attribute information to predetermined value when specific data file is outputted to outputting device, ii) changing the attribute information of leaming object to predetermined value in case that the difference between current timer value and the recorded attribute information value of replay time is greater than the changed attribute information value, and iii) outputting the data file having the attribute information of said leaming objective in case that an order of replaying the data file having the changed attribute information is inputted.

7. Digital language leaming player as in claim 6, wherein said input part further comprises leaming period selection button for inputting information in order to play back the data file having the predetermined repetitive learning period selectively, and said control part further performs the step of outputting data file having attribute information of repetitive leaming period selected through said learning period selection button to outputting device.

8. Digital language leaming player as in claim 7, further comprising an interface part for downloading/uploading files and attribute information from/to outside device with wire or wireless.

9. Digital language leaming player as in any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein said input part further comprises relative difficulty input button for inputting information about relative difficulty of data file played back, said non- volatile memory further stores attribute information of relative difficulty of the specific data file, said control part further performs the step of outputting the designated data file having attribute information of relative difficulty in case that the order of playing back the data file having said attribute information of the specific relative difficulty is inputted through said input part.

10. Digital language leaming player as in claim 9, wherein said control part further performs the step of outputting the data file having said attribute information of relative difficulty and repetitive leaming period to outputting device in case that order of playing back the data file having said attribute information of the specific relative difficulty and specific repetitive leaming period is inputted through said input part.

11. Digital language leaming player as in claim 10, wherein said control part further performs the step of outputting the data with speed control according to attribute information of relative difficulty in case that the data file having said attribute information of the specific relative difficulty is outputted to outputting device.