WO2017115302A1

WO2017115302A1 - Method for learning foreign languages

Info

Publication number: WO2017115302A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/058056
Authority: WO
Inventors: Massimo GUERZONI
Original assignee: Guerzoni Massimo
Priority date: 2015-12-29
Filing date: 2016-12-28
Publication date: 2017-07-06
Also published as: ITUB20159392A1; EP3398188A1

Abstract

A method for learning foreign languages, which comprises the steps of: recording two analog audio signals of which one is the translation into a foreign language of the other; converting the analog signals to digital signals and preparing for the playback thereof on two respective audio channels; the two audio signals are synchronized and combined into a single audio track, listening to which enables the foreign language to be learned.

Description

METHOD FOR LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The present invention relates to a method for learning foreign languages.

Learning foreign languages often requires intense and prolonged activities over time, which usually consist of following the lessons of a mother-tongue teacher, taking regular exams to test one's abilities, and being subjected to additional activities such as listening to multimedia content, optionally subtitled to make it simpler to understand foreign words. Although helpful, traditional learning methods require time and do not make full use of the potential of the human brain, owing to the manner in which the information is delivered. For example, in the known art there are systems that entail making the user listen to an audio track, for example while sleeping. Other systems entail making a user listen, in a phased manner over time, an audio in a foreign language and, immediately afterward or immediately before, the translation into the native language of the user. Such conventional systems have been found to be rather ineffective because the human brain is not able to synergistically process and to correlate two items of information provided in separate time intervals, so grasping their connections.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks of the known art, by providing a new method capable of enabling the learning of foreign languages by taking full advantage of the cognitive and cerebral activity of the user.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to make the learning of foreign languages faster and more effective.

Another object of the invention is to integrate with conventional methods, thus making it possible to learn a language in less time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple configuration that is easy and practical to implement, safe in use and effective in operation, and low cost. This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a method according to claim 1 and a digital platform according to claim 9.

Advantageously, the method supplements and completes the existing teaching methodologies.

Conveniently, the method does not require the simultaneous comprehension of messages expressed in different languages.

Preferably, carrying out the method does not require costly equipment and it can be used with devices that are generally available to the average user.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows, which is given in the form of an illustrative and non-limiting example, accompanied by Figure 1 which is a flowchart of the method according to the present invention.

With reference to the flowchart in Figure 1 , the operation of the method according to the invention will now be explained.

In step 10, the method begins with the voice recording of a first analog audio signal i.e. a voice message in one language and a second analog audio signal i.e. a second voice message which corresponds to the respective translation of the first message into another language. Preferably such operation is carried out with the use of a DAW platform (Digital Audio Workstation). Below it will be assumed, solely for the purposes of non- limiting example, that the first audio signal is in Italian and the translation is in English, but it is understood that other languages can also be used, one of which is known to the user. It will likewise be assumed that the user is Italian and wants to learn or improve his/her knowledge of the English language.

In step 1 1 , the first and second analog audio signals are converted respectively to a first and a second digital audio signal. More precisely, by way of a condenser microphone and a multichannel audio card, the acoustic pressure emitted for example by the voice emitted by loudspeakers but also of users such as singers is converted to an electrical signal and subsequently to a digital signal. Advantageously the audio signal can be modified at will, from the point of view both of sound quality and of the need to move portions, words or phrases in time.

In substance, a portion of phrase or words in a language must be made to coincide in time with the duration of the corresponding portion in the other language.

The example given below clarifies the concept of synchronization, in which the lines of a famous song are given in Italian and in the corresponding translation into English.

"Quante s trade I deve percorrere un uomo I

How many roads / must a man walk down /

prima che I lo sipossa chiamare uomo I

before / you can call him a man /

Si, e quanti mari I deve sorvolare una bianca colomba I

Yes, and how many seas / must a white dove sail / prima che I possa riposare I nella sabbia? I

before / she sleeps / in the sand? / "

Each portion of phrase separated by the "/" symbol in Italian must correspond in time with the corresponding portion in English.

In step 12, the playback of the first and of the second digital signal is prepared on two respective audio channels. In particular, after the digital acquisition of the signals, the signal in the Italian language and the signal that corresponds to the translation into English are arranged on two separate audio channels which are distributed, preferably by way of an operation called "panning" with optional use of a "pan pot" device, respectively on a first channel (for example "Left") and on a second channel (for example "Right") so as to make clear the audio of the Italian language in the left ear and the audio of the English language in the right ear. In step 13, the two digital audio signals are synchronized. In particular, the two audio signals are subjected to an editing step, where, preferably with the use of the digital platform, the two voices of the two signals are synchronized in a precise manner so as to make them coincide in time.

In step 14, the first and second digital audio signals are processed so as to eliminate the background noise acquired during recording. In particular, with the use of equalizers and dynamic range processors the voices of the two signals are made more comprehensible, also with the elimination of any background noise that occurs during the recording.

In step 15, the volume of the first and of the second digital audio signals are changed so that they have the same value. In particular, the volumes of the two signals/audio tracks are substantially brought to the same level, so that one does not drown out the other.

In step 16, the first and second digital audio signals are combined into a single audio track, defined the final track, encoded in a digital format. In particular, preferably by performing a "bounce", a stereo file is obtained which can be in various formats according to requirements (such as for example AIFF, WAV, MP3 etc.) and can be played by any audio device (MP3 players, mobile phones, household audio systems etc.).

In step 17 the final audio track is delivered to a user who wants to learn and/or listen to the English language. In essence the user is simultaneously given, for example by way of the left earphone of the headphones, a first information stream which corresponds to the voice message in Italian and, for example by way of the right earphone of the headphones, a second information stream which corresponds to the voice message in English.

In other words, the user simultaneously hears the message in his/her native language, or in a language that is in any case known to him/her, and simultaneously the second voice message in the second language, which is synchronized with the first.

Advantageously, the applicant has identified the surprising effect that this synchronization takes maximum advantage of the capacity of the brain to process two information streams simultaneously, given that the brain is capable of actively constructing/correlating the sound information, but also the visual information, that it perceives, interpreting it. In this manner, advantageously, the learning of a foreign language is favored.

In practice it has been found that the method according to the invention achieves the set aim and objects. In particular, it has been seen that the method thus conceived makes it possible to overcome the qualitative limitations of the known art by providing an audio track that comprises two voice messages that, differently from those of the known art, are not out of phase, but are synchronized.

The operations of the method, in particular the operations of editing, synchronization and generation of an audio track, can be carried out with a digital audio platform, so as to arrive at the simultaneous gradual comprehension of both the messages expressed in different languages. The audio track obtained can be listened to for example on a conventional smartphone provided with headphones.

Clearly, numerous modifications are evident and can be readily executed by the person skilled in the art without extending beyond the scope of protection of the present invention. For example, it is obvious for the person skilled in the art that the two digital audio signals could also, if not combined in a single audio track, be listened to alternately.

Also, the digital signals could be provided directly in MP3 format.

Furthermore such signals can be reprocessed using parsing and/or chunking algorithms, for example of the Earley or CHOI algorithm type. Moreover, this automatic mode of processing the signals makes it possible to listen to the two languages live.

Hence, the scope of protection of the claims shall not be limited by the explanations or by the preferred embodiments illustrated in the description by way of examples, but rather the claims shall comprise all the patentable characteristics of novelty that reside in the present invention, including all the characteristics that would be considered as equivalent by the person skilled in the art.

The disclosure in Italian patent application no. 102015000088254 (UB2015A009392), the priority of which is claimed in the present application, are incorporated as a reference.

Claims

1. A method for learning foreign languages, which comprises the steps of:

- recording (10) a first and a second analog audio signal; the first analog audio signal being expressed in a first language that is intelligible to a user, the second analog audio signal being the translation of said first signal into a second language;

- converting (1 1) said first and second analog audio signals into a first and a second digital audio signal, respectively;

- preparing (12) for the playback of said first and second analog audio signals on two respective audio channels;

- synchronizing (13) the two digital audio signals;

- processing (14) said first and second digital audio signals so as to eliminate the background noise acquired during recording;

- changing the volume (15) of said first and second digital audio signals so that they have the same value;

- combining (16) the first and second digital audio signals into an audio track; said audio track being encoded in a digital format;

- delivering (17) said audio track to a user; said delivery step comprising the simultaneous administration to said user of a first information stream which corresponds to said first digital audio signal and a second information stream which corresponds to said second digital audio signal; said simultaneous administration causing the correlation, by said user, of said information streams and the learning of said second language.

2. The method according to claim 1 , characterized in that said recording step (10) comprises acquiring said first and second analog audio signals by way of a condenser microphone and a multichannel audio card that belong to a platform of the digital audio workstation (DAW) type.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said recording step (10) comprises detecting the acoustic pressure applied by said analog audio signal and converting said detected acoustic pressure to an electrical signal adapted to be converted to said digital signal.

4. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said combining step (16) comprises configuring said audio track so that a user perceives said first information stream which corresponds to said first digital audio signal from one ear, for example the left ear, and said second information stream which corresponds to said second digital audio signal from the other ear, for example the right ear.

5. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said combining step (16) comprises encoding said digital track in a stereophonic track preferably of the AIFF, WAV or MP3 type.

6. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said processing step (14) further comprises subjecting said first and second digital audio signals to one or more dynamic range processors or equalizer devices.

7. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said preparing step (12) is carried out by way of a potentiometer or "pan pot".

8. The method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said recording step comprises reprocessing said first and second analog or digital audio signals using a parsing and/or chunking algorithm, for example of the Earley algorithm type.

9. A digital audio platform for learning foreign languages, characterized in that it comprises means adapted to perform the steps (10, 1 1 , 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) of the method according to one or more of the preceding claims.