Teaching apparatus

Abstract: In a teaching apparatus a memory (6) contains a first plurality of data units and a second plurality of data units each of which is related to a unit of the first plurality. Switches (2, 7 to 10) are provided for switching between the first and second pluralities of data units and for switching between the units within the selected plurality. Reading means (1, 5) are provided for reading a designated unit of data from the memory (6), based on a signal from the switches (2, 7 to 10), thus making it possible to access and reproduce any desired programme or item related to the programme. A control memory (in) may hold the addresses of the data units, and the reading means (1, 5) then obtains the address of the selected data unit from the control memory (4) and reads the data at that address.

Description: This invention relates to teaching apparatus. In a language laboratory system, audio material is used as teaching material, and a tape recorder is used to record and playback the audio teaching material. Such audio teaching material is recorded on a tape in a one-dimensional sequential form, for example, as shown in Figure 1A, and a desired portion thereof is reproduced in response to an operation of the tape recorder such as forward or reverse. In Figure 1A, UA, UB, UC, UD and UE denote units of the audio teaching material recorded on the tape, and which form a linear teaching element T. However, the use of a tape recorder for recording and reproducing audio teaching material involves the following problems: (1)It is difficult to access notes and articles related to a certain reproduced portion where the related material is recorded at a distant position. For example, as shown in Figure 1C, when a user wants to access a related article UAO of the unit UA of the audio teaching material which is recorded elsewhere, access thereto takes time and may be troublesome. (2) On the other hand, where the notes and related articles are immediately adjacent to the appropriate teaching material, access to other units of audio teaching material is time consuming and troublesome. For example, as shown in Figure 1B, when a user wants to access the unit UB just after the unit UA of the audio teaching material, the related article UAO, which is recorded subsequently to the unit UA, interrupts the desired access, causing the user to expend time and effort to locate the next unit UB. (3) It is difficult to add notes and related articles to the teaching material. (4) In the case of language study, it is difficult to compare and make reference between a plurality of languages relating to the same item. The use of a memory as storing means is shown, for example, in our Japanese Patent Laid-open Publications 84/889 and 84/224897. However, these systems do not teach positioning a certain reproduced item of audio teaching material and notes or articles related thereto in a related manner so as to enable easy and quick access to each of them described above. Digital sound data storing devices for use in learning foreign languages are disclosed in EP-A-0294201 and EP-A-0294202. The first of these documents discloses a device having an IC memory for storing a number of foreign language sentences, and input means for inputting identification codes for sentences desired to be reproduced or sentences to be omitted on reproduction. The second of these documents discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1, having two memories. One stores sentences in a foreign language, and the other stores either corresponding sentences spoken by a user, or corresponding sentences in the user's mother tongue. The user can select any one of the sentences, or a corresponding pair of sentences, to be reproduced a desired number of times. According to the present invention there is provided teaching apparatus comprising: a memory containing a first plurality of data units forming a first sequence of data units, and a second plurality of data units forming a second sequence of data units, wherein each data unit of the second sequence contains data related to the data contained in the corresponding data unit of the first sequence to provide a notional two-dimensional array of data units in which the first and second sequences extend along one array direction and corresponding data units in the two sequences are aligned along the perpendicular array direction; and control means for controlling selection of the data units for reproduction from the memory; characterised by switching means comprising four user-operable switches for selecting respective ones of four progression directions through the two-dimensional array of data units corresponding to forwards and backwards along each of the two array directions; and in that the control means is responsive to the switching means to select for reproduction from the memory the next data unit in a selected progression direction from the previously selected data unit. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which like parts are referred to by like references, and in which: Figures 1A to 1C shows various known arrangements of teaching material; Figure 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the embodiment; and Figures 4A to 4C show one possible arrangement of teaching material with the embodiment. The audio teaching material shown in Figure 4A comprises a plurality of, for example, Japanese sentences, the material shown in Figure 4B comprises, for example, English sentences corresponding to the respective Japanese sentences, and the material shown in Figure 4C comprises English words or alternative expressions which form items related to the respective English sentences. In the audio teaching material shown in Figure 4A, respective Japanese sentences are indicated as units U11 to U61, and these units U11 to U61 are arranged sequentially in time to form a line teaching element T1. In the same way, the individual English sentences are indicated by units U12 to U62 in Figure 4B, and these units U12 to U62 are arranged sequentially in time to form a line teaching element T2. Finally, in Figure 4C, individual items related to the respective English sentences are indicated by units U13 to U63, and these units U13 to U63 are disposed sequentially in time to form a line teaching element T3. Any given unit can be designated by a mark UXY, where X indicates the number on a line of the unit U, and Y indicates the number of the line teaching element T. Since the audio teaching material is arranged two-dimensionally by a plurality of line teaching element T1 to T3 as explained above, it is desirable to allow the user access to a desired line teaching element T or to enable comparison and reference between the corresponding units of the different line teaching element T1 to T3. In the arrangement of Figure 2, a playback access switch (hereinafter called an access switch) 2 and an audio storage control switch section 3 provided with various switches for controls during audio storage are connected to a CPU 1. The CPU 1 controls the operation of the entire system, based on a signal supplied from the control switch section 3 during recording of audio teaching material. That is, under control by the CPU 1, an audio signal supplied from a terminal 11 through a low pass filter 12 is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converted 13, and stored in an audio memory 6. During playback of the audio teaching material, the CPU 1 reads a start address S and an end address E of a desired unit U in a desired line teaching element T from a control memory 4, based on the signal SPB supplied from the access switch 2, and supplies it to the audio memory 6 through an address controller 5. Data are read from the audio memory 6 based on the address read from the control memory 4 and, after they have been converted into an analogue audio signal by a D/A converter 14, the analogue audio signal is derived via a low pass filter 15 and a terminal 16. The access switch 2 includes four cursors 7 to 10 and is used by the user to select a desired line teaching element T and a desired unit U by referring to arrangement of the line teaching elements T and units U indicated in the form of, for example, a map. When the cursors 7 and 8 are operated, corresponding signals SPB are supplied to the CPU 1 and, under control by the CPU 1, units in the same line teaching element T, for example, U11, U21, U31, ... UX1, etc., are reproduced in the order of their numbers. Similarly, when the cursors 9 and 10 are operated, corresponding signals are supplied to the CPU 1, and, under control by the CPU 1, units having the same column number in different teaching elements T, for example, U11, U12, U13, ... U1Y, etc., are reproduced sequentially. The cursors 7 to 10 may be designed so that each depression thereof causes movement of one unit or a plurality of units U. The audio memory 6 stores the audio teaching material in order of numbers of the line teaching elements T. The audio teaching material comprises, as shown in Figure 4, the line teaching element T1 made of units U11, U21, U31, ... UX1, etc., of Japanese sentences, the line teaching element T2 made of units U12, U22, U32, ... UX2, etc., of English sentences corresponding to the Japanese sentences and the line teaching element T3 made of units U13, U23, U33, ... UX3, etc., of English words or alternative expressions which are items related to the respective English sentences. Other line teaching elements up to TY may be further stored, if necessary, as illustrated in Figure 2. The start address S and the end address E of each unit U forming the line teaching element T are stored in the control memory 4 for each line teaching element T. When the audio teaching material is reproduced in each sentence unit from the audio memory 6 storing the audio teaching material, the address at the start point of the sentence which is detected and acknowledged thereupon is determined as the start address S, and the address at the end point of the sentence is determined as the end address E. A cue signal may be inserted in each position where the unit U terminates, to create a pause time. Moreover, an address for the aforementioned pause time may be recorded in the control memory 4 in addition to the start address S and the end address E. As to preparation and division of the line teaching elements T, setting of start addresses S and end addresses E of line teaching elements T and units U, writing of the start addresses S and the end addresses E into the control memory 4 and writing of the audio teaching material into the audio memory 6, technology disclosed in our Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 88/2478 may be used. The flow chart of Figure 3 shows the method of operation. In step 101, it is determined whether the access switch 2 has been operated or not. When the access switch 2 has not been operated, the system is held in a stand-by condition. When operation of the access switch 2 is detected, it is judged which of the four cursors 7 to 10 has been operated. When the cursor 8 has been operated, the flow proceeds to a step 102. When the cursor 7 has been operated, it proceeds to a step to a step 103. When the cursor 9 has been operated, it proceeds to a step 104. When the cursor 10 has been operated, it proceeds to a step 105. The step 102 is chosen when the cursor 8 is operated and, in this case, the number X of the unit U in a certain line teaching element TY is incremented in a subsequent step 106. After this, the flow proceeds to a step 110. The step 103 is chosen when the cursor 7 is operated and, in this case, the number X of the unit U in a certain line teaching element TY is decreased in a subsequent step 107. After this, it proceeds to the step 110. The step 104 is chosen when the cursor 9 is operated. Operation of the cursor 9 indicates that the units U having the same number of X and belonging to different line teaching elements T having different numbers are reproduced and, in a subsequent step 108, the number Y of the line teaching element T is decreased. After this, the flow proceeds to a step 110. The step 105 is chosen when the cursor 10 is operated. Operation of the cursor 10 indicates that the unit U having the same number X and belonging to different line teaching elements T having different numbers are reproduced and, in a subsequent step 109, the number Y of the line teaching element T is incremented. After this, the flow proceeds to the step 110. In the step 110, playback of the audio teaching material is carried out by reading out a start address S, for example, SXY, from the control memory 4 and supplying it to the audio memory 6 via the address controller 5, based on the number Y of the line teaching element T and the number X of the unit U obtained in the foregoing steps 106 to 109 under control by the CPU 1. After this, the flow proceeds to a step 111. In the step 111, the aforementioned start address SCY is incremented and data in a new address are reproduced. After this, it proceeds to a step 112. In the step 112, it is judged whether the address of the audio teaching material now reproduced has reached the end address E, for example, EXY, or not. If it has not reached, the flow returns back to the step 111 and, if it has been reached, it proceeds to a step 113. In the step 113, playback of the audio teaching material is stopped. After this, the flow returns back to the step 101. In this manner, a user can readily and easily access a plurality of line teaching elements T or a plurality of related units U in a plurality of line teaching elements T. Whilst the embodiment has been explained using an example in which, as a language study, Japanese and English sentences and related items are stored in the audio memory 6, the teaching material is not limited to this. Various other languages may be used as the teaching material. Other examples of material suitable for use in an embodiment of the present invention include items which can be stored in the form of questions and answers, words and their antonyms, words and phrases, changes in tense (present tense and past tense), changes in voice (active voice and passive voice), alternative expressions, etc. Any such combinations may be employed as the audio teaching material. Moreover, any subject of study, not limited to languages may be chosen, as long as the material may be logically paired in some fashion.

Claims: Teaching apparatus comprising: a memory (6) containing a first plurality of data units (UX1) forming a first sequence (T1) of data units, and a second plurality of data units (UX2) forming a second sequence (T2) of data units, wherein each data unit (UX2) of the second sequence (T2) contains data related to the data contained in the corresponding data unit (UX1) of the first sequence (T1) to provide a notional two-dimensional array of data units in which the first and second sequences (T₁,T₂) extend along one array direction and corresponding data units (UX1,UX2) in the two sequences are aligned along the perpendicular array direction; and control means (1) for controlling selection of the data units (UX1,UX2) for reproduction from the memory (6); characterised by switching means (2) comprising four user-operable switches for selecting respective ones of four progression directions through the two-dimensional array of data units corresponding to forwards and backwards along each of the two array directions; and in that the control means (1) is responsive to the switching means (2) to select for reproduction from the memory (6) the next data unit (UX1,UX2) in a selected progression direction from the previously selected data unit. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control means (1) includes a control memory (4) which contains addresses of the data units (UX1,UX2) in said memory (6). Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the four switches are actuatable by manually operable switch actuating means (7 to 10) which means are shaped to indicate the progression directions corresponding to the switches. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim including a map indicating the relative positions of the data units (UX1,UX2) in the two-dimensional array. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each of said first and second pluralities of data units (UX1,UX2) consist of audio data.

Inventors: HIRAMATSU TAMIHEI C O PATENT D, HIRAMATSU, TAMIHEI, C/O PATENT DIVISION
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G09B5
IPC codes: G09B5