JP4457986B2 - Language learning system and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly control a balance between the monitor output volume of a headset and a network output volume in a language learning system. <P>SOLUTION: In a language learning system 1 where a plurality of terminals 101 and 102-1 to 102-n with which a headset 207 equipped with a headphone part and a microphone part is connected are connected through a network 104, each terminal is provided with gain adjusting parts 302a and 302b for changing the level of a voice output to the headphone part to a desired level value G2 by holding fixed rates &alpha; and G1 for changing the level of a voice output to the headphone part and the level of a voice output to the network to desired values for a voice signal 3a input from the microphone part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a language learning system, and more particularly, to a plurality of terminal devices each including a headset including a headphone unit and a microphone unit , and a language learning system having a configuration in which the terminal devices are respectively connected via a network. .

  As a language learning system used in school education or the like, conventionally, an LL (Language Laboratory) system has been widely used. In recent years, a language learning system called a CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) system using a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) connected to a network has been used.

  The CALL language learning system is configured such that a teacher-side PC can control a plurality of learner-side PCs based on, for example, a teacher's operation. Then, the teacher transmits teaching material data of multimedia data such as teaching / learning video, still image, audio, etc. from the teacher's PC to the PC of all the learners or the selected learner's PC via the network. be able to. Thereby, a learner learns using the teaching material data received with each PC.

  In such a language learning system, a headset including a microphone unit and a headphone unit is connected to each PC of the teacher and the learner, and the teacher and the learner wear the headset to perform teaching / learning. Is common. That is, the voice uttered by the headset wearer himself / herself is picked up by the microphone unit, converted into digital voice data by each PC, transmitted to the communication partner PC, and output from the communication partner PC. The received digital voice data is received by each PC, converted into voice, and listened to through the headphone unit to practice conversation. Language learning systems capable of such operations are disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  In such a conventional language learning system, not only the voice uttered by the teacher is immediately transmitted to the headset worn by the learner for listening, but also two or more learners can communicate with each other via the headset. It is also possible to conduct conversational learning (hereinafter, group lessons). Furthermore, it is possible to monitor how the teacher is doing group lessons, or to interrupt the group lessons and provide language instruction.

  By the way, when a teacher or learner wearing a headset, like a group lesson, speaks while listening to the other person's voice output from the headphone part, he / she speaks and the voice of the conversation partner. It is very important to adjust the volume of the headphone unit that outputs.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. 8 showing a part of the basic configuration of a conventional language learning system. For example, it is assumed that learners a and b wearing headsets perform group lessons using the PCs 82 and 83, respectively. In this case, the voice uttered by the learner a is picked up by a microphone unit (not shown), converted into digital voice data by the PC 82, and supplied to the PC 83 of the learner b via the network 84. At the same time, the voice uttered by the learner b is also converted into digital voice data by the PC 83 and supplied to the PC 82 of the learner a.

  In this case, as for the learner a side, the learner a's own voice is output together with the incoming learner b's voice from the headphone section of the learner a. At this time, if the balance of the volume of each of learners a and b is bad, the voice that learner a listens to may be when the voice of learner a itself is louder than the voice sent from learner b or The reverse case may occur and it may be very difficult to hear. The same applies to the learner b side.

Here, for example, when the volume is adjusted by the software of the PC 82 on the learner a side, conventionally, the volume (hereinafter referred to as monitor output volume) at which the learner a himself / herself listens to the uttered voice of the learner a through the headphone unit, and the network The volume (hereinafter referred to as network output volume) supplied to the learner b's PC 83 through 84 is changed at the same set value, or the ratio between the monitor output volume and the network output volume is changed at a fixed ratio. There were many.
JP 2002-132128 A JP 2003-323104 A

  By the way, in the language learning system by CALL, generally, a PC for learners is expensive because there are many installed PCs, and a PC for teachers is expensive because high performance is required. Often builds. In many cases, a PC to be used is specified according to a request of a system user, and a plurality of types of PCs may be mixed in the language learning system.

  Furthermore, there is also a type of sound card as an audio data processing means for converting an analog audio signal input from the headset into digital audio data, or converting digital audio data into an analog audio signal and outputting it to the headset. Often not single. Thus, the type of PC used in the language learning system is not single, and the type of sound card built into each PC is often not single.

  For this reason, when adjusting the volume of the headphone unit, if the monitor output volume of the sound card and the network output volume are set to the same setting value or a fixed ratio setting value, the monitor output volume depends on the type of PC or sound card. If the ratio of the output to the network output volume varies significantly depending on the type and combination of PC and sound card, even if the headset wearer adjusts the volume appropriately while listening to the sound on the headphones, There were cases where the volume was too loud and uncomfortable, or it was too low to be heard. As described above, the conventional language learning system has a problem that it is difficult to properly set the sound volume of the sound card.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, a language learning system capable of easily and appropriately adjusting the volume of the headphone unit without depending on the type of PC or sound card , and An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device used in a language learning system .

In order to solve the above problem, in a terminal device connected to an external terminal device through a network and further connected to a headphone unit and a microphone unit, means for setting a first coefficient and audio input from the microphone unit A first gain adjustment unit that adjusts the gain according to the first coefficient, an audio signal adjusted by the first gain adjustment unit, and an audio signal supplied from the external terminal device. A mixer unit for mixing, a first supply unit for supplying the audio signal mixed by the mixer unit to the headphone unit, a unit for setting a second coefficient, and the audio signal input from the microphone unit The second gain adjusting unit that adjusts the gain according to the first coefficient and the second coefficient, and the second gain adjusting unit. An audio signal, via the network, to provide a terminal device; and a second supply means for supplying to said external terminal device.

  According to the present invention, when adjusting the volume of the headphone part of the headset of the terminal of the language learning system, while maintaining a constant balance between the sound level output to the headphone part and the sound level output to the network, Since it is possible to adjust the output volume to the headphone unit, it is easy to adjust the volume to make it easier to listen to the other party's voice while listening to the other party's voice through the headset. Can be realized.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the language learning system according to the present invention and the terminal device used in the language learning system will be described with reference to preferred embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is a system block diagram showing a basic configuration example of a language learning system in the first embodiment. According to the figure, the language learning system 1 stores a teacher terminal 101, learner terminals 102-1 to 102-n (n units), and a lot of teaching material data as multimedia data. A learning material server 103 that can read out desired learning material data by the reading control from 101 is connected to each other via a network 104. In each of the learner terminals 102-1 to 102-3, learners a101, a102, and a103 are shown, and other learners and teachers are not shown.

  The teacher terminal 101 and the learner terminals 102-1 to 102-n in the first embodiment are collectively referred to as terminals.

  Next, a block diagram showing a schematic internal configuration of the terminal is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the terminal includes a control unit 201 having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) for executing application software (hereinafter referred to as software) for language learning in the language learning system 1, software, and various data. A memory unit 202 for storing data, a recording unit 203 for recording / reproducing data such as a hard disk and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and software, and a network interface unit 204 for connecting the terminal to the network 104 , A monitor interface unit 205 for connecting a monitor 209 (described later) for displaying based on the operation of the software, and an audio data processing unit 206 for connecting a headset 207 (described later). It is equipped with a. Each block is connected to the bus 210.

  Also, in the terminal configured as described above, a monitor 209 having a touch panel 208 is connected to the monitor interface unit 205, and a headset 207 having a headphone unit and a microphone unit (both not shown) is an audio data processing unit 206. It is connected to the.

  Then, after the software previously recorded in the recording unit 203 at the time of activation is read into the memory unit 202 and the terminal is initialized, the terminal performs control based on the operation of the touch panel 208 of the teacher and the learner. The unit 201 controls each block connected to the bus 210.

  The terminal can be configured using a general PC. The above-described software is dedicated software for the teacher terminal for the teacher terminal 101, and is dedicated software for the learner terminal for the learner terminals 102-1 to 102-n.

  Next, audio signal processing of the audio data processing unit 206 and the control unit 201 of the terminal will be described. First, a schematic functional block configuration of the audio data processing unit 206 is shown in FIG. According to the figure, the analog audio signal 3a that has entered the audio data processing unit 206 from the microphone unit of the headset 207 passes through the amplifier unit 301 and is then supplied to the gain adjustment units 302a and 302b.

  The gain adjusting units 302a and 302b are configured such that respective gains are set based on predetermined gain setting values G1 and G2 supplied from software controlled by the control unit 201. It will be described later.

  The analog audio signal 3b output from the gain adjustment unit 302a is converted into digital audio data 3c by an A / D (Analog To Digital) conversion unit 303, temporarily buffered in the memory unit 304, and then the bus interface unit. It is supplied to the control unit 201 through 305.

  The analog audio signal 3d output from the gain adjustment unit 302b is converted from digital audio data 3e supplied to the bus interface unit 305 from the control unit 201 and buffered in the memory unit 304, and converted to D / A (Digital To Analog). The analog audio signal 3 f analog-converted by the unit 306 is mixed by the mixer unit 307 and output to the headphone unit of the headset 207 through the amplifier unit 308.

  Here, a software configuration in which the software controlled by the control unit 201 generates the gain setting values G1 and G2 and sets them in the gain adjustment units 302a and 302b will be described with reference to FIG. According to the figure, as described above, the software 401 that controls the audio data processing unit 206 is software dedicated to the teacher terminal for the teacher terminal 101 or the learner terminals 102-1 to 102-n. Software dedicated to the learner's terminal, or a part of the software. The control unit 201 executes the software 401 based on an operation of an operator (hereinafter referred to as an operator) for adjusting the volume, thereby generating predetermined parameters α and β corresponding to the gain adjustment units 302a and 302b, respectively. Is done.

  The parameters α and β generated by the processing of the software 401 are supplied to the device driver 402 for controlling the audio data processing unit 206. The device driver 402 is located between the software 401 and the hardware constituting the audio data processing unit 206, and has a function of executing data and control exchange mediation. The device driver 402 calculates predetermined gain setting values G1 and G2 based on the parameters α and β supplied from the software 401 and supplies the calculated gain setting values G1 and G2 to the audio data processing unit 206.

  Next, a method for determining the parameters α and β and the gain setting values G1 and G2 will be described. When the operator sets the terminal software 401 to the maintenance mode, that is, the monitor volume adjustment mode, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor 209. Here, the operator can operate the slide buttons 501 and 502 by operating the touch panel 208 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown) connected to the terminal.

  The slide button 501 is an adjustment button for changing the ratio of the output level between the monitor output volume and the network output volume, and the software 401 uses a parameter α with a numerical value obtained according to the position of the slide button 501 as a correction constant. To the device driver 402.

  The slide button 502 is an adjustment button for changing the output level of the monitor output volume, and the software 401 uses the numerical value obtained according to the position of the slide button 502 as a parameter β as a volume constant to the device driver 402. Supply.

  The device driver 402 calculates a gain setting value G1 for the network output volume and a gain setting value G2 for the monitor output volume based on the supplied parameters α and β.

Specifically, the relationship between the gain setting values G1 and G2 is as follows.
<Formula 1>
G1 = α × β
<Formula 2>
G2 = β

  The gain setting values G1 and G2 calculated by the device driver 402 are supplied to the audio data processing unit 206, the gain setting value G1 is set in the gain adjustment unit 302a, and the gain setting value G2 is set in the gain adjustment unit 302b. Is done. Then, the gain adjustment units 302a and 302b perform gain adjustment corresponding to the respective gain setting values on the analog audio signal 3a that has entered from the microphone unit of the headset 207.

Here, the gain adjustment units 302a and 302b (here, referred to as gain adjustment units) have gain characteristics when the input level of the analog audio signal is X and the output level is Y.
<Formula 3>
Y = f (X)
If the network output gain of the gain adjustment unit is Y1,
<Formula 4>
Y1 = G1 × f (X) = α × β × f (X)

If the monitor output gain of the gain adjustment unit is Y2,
<Formula 5>
Y2 = G2 × f (X) = β × f (X)
It becomes.

  Next, the volume adjustment operation of the headphone unit of the language learning system 1 will be described. Volume adjustment is performed by at least two operators using each terminal to adjust the volume while each operator actually emits sound. There are two types of adjustment: monitor output volume adjustment and network output volume correction adjustment. It consists of an adjustment process.

<Monitor output volume adjustment>
First, the operator operates the GUI screen shown in FIG. 5 displayed on the monitor 209 to adjust the output level of the headphone unit of the headset 207 so that it can be easily heard. Specifically, the slide button 502 is operated while inputting the voice uttered by the operator from the microphone unit of the headset 207. As a result of this operation, the parameter β, which is a volume constant, changes.

  As a result, since the setting of the gain adjustment unit 302a of the audio data processing unit 206 changes, the monitor output gain Y2 changes according to Equation 5. As a result, the operator can adjust the slide button 502 so that the monitor output sound volume is most easily heard and appropriate while listening to the sound output from the headphone unit.

<Network output volume correction adjustment>
After the monitor output volume adjustment is completed, the network output volume is corrected and adjusted together with the operator of the operator communication partner. Specifically, one operator operates the slide button 501 while inputting sound uttered from the microphone unit of the headset 207. As a result of this operation, the parameter α, which is a correction constant, changes.

  As a result, since the setting of the gain adjustment unit 302b of the audio data processing unit 206 changes, the network output gain Y1 changes according to Equation 4. This adjustment needs to be performed until the other operator determines that the sound volume is appropriate while listening to the audio data supplied via the network 104 with the headphone unit.

In this case, even if one operator operates the slide button 501, the parameter β does not change and the monitor output gain Y2 is constant. Therefore, the monitor output volume itself is in a state of being properly adjusted by the monitor output volume adjustment. It is characterized by being held.

  After the volume adjustment described above is completed, actual use is started. In actual use, the utterance volume varies depending on the speaker, so that the speaker moves the slide button 502 so that the speaker can easily listen while listening to the sound output from the headset 207. As a result, the gain setting values G1 and G2 change in conjunction with each other, so that the network output gain Y1 and the monitor output gain Y2 change in conjunction with each other. As a result, if the monitor output volume is adjusted optimally, the network output volume can also be set optimally, and the teacher and the learner can perform a comfortable mutual conversation using the language learning system 1.

  As described above, the language learning system according to the first embodiment described in detail has the sound level output to the headphone unit and the sound level output to the network 104 especially when adjusting the volume of the headphone unit of the headset 207 during setup. It is possible to adjust the output volume to the headphone unit while keeping the balance of the sound constant, so that it is easy to hear both voices in a mutual conversation in which the user speaks while listening to the other party's voice via the headset 207 This makes it easy to adjust the volume.

  In the first embodiment, an example of a language learning system has been described in which at least two operators can actually make a sound using each terminal and adjust the sound volume balance to an appropriate level. However, it is expected that the volume balance adjustment of the headset is most often performed at the initial setting when the language learning system is installed, and the volume adjustment is performed for each of the teacher terminal and the learner terminal. It takes a lot of man-hours to arrange the operator for the adjustment.

  Accordingly, a language learning system in which a single operator can adjust the volume using only one terminal will be described with reference to a second embodiment. The system configuration of the language learning system and the configuration of each device in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, instead of the operator himself speaking to the microphone part of the headset 207, the reference audio signal output device that outputs a predetermined reference audio signal is replaced with the headset 207, and the audio data processing is performed. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it is connected to the unit 206 and in terms of software processing. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation of the volume adjustment method of the headphone unit of the headset 207 in the language learning system of the second embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the operator sets the terminal software to the monitor volume adjustment mode, a GUI screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the monitor 209. Here, the operator can operate the correction button 601 and the slide button 602 by operating the touch panel 208 or a pointing device such as a mouse connected to the terminal.

  Next, when the operator selects and determines the correction button 601 (by pressing the touch of the selected predetermined area on the touch panel 208 or clicking the mouse determination button) (step S701), the reference audio signal output device. The reference audio signal is input to the amplifier unit 301 of the audio data processing unit 206 (step S702). The reference audio signal is an audio signal having a frequency in the audible band, and may be, for example, a 440 KHz sine wave signal or a voice synthesis signal uttered as a word.

  Next, as in the first embodiment, the audio data processing unit 206 adjusts the gain of the incoming reference audio signal with the gain setting value G2 obtained based on the parameter β as a volume constant corresponding to the slide button 602. Monitor output is performed (step S703).

  At the same time, the audio data processing unit 206 adjusts the gain of the reference audio signal with the gain setting value G1 obtained based on the parameter α set as the initial value, and outputs it to the bus interface 305 (step S704).

  Next, the software compares the level of the monitor output output in step S703 with the level of the network output output in step S704 (step S705), and sets the value of the parameter α as a correction constant so that the levels match. It changes (step S705 No, step S706).

  When the value of the parameter α is changed until the levels match (Yes in step S705), the network output gain setting value G1 set by the device driver 402 changes, and the monitor output volume of the audio data processing unit 206 changes. As a result, the adjustment is executed so that the monitor output volume and the network output volume match. After this adjustment, the software stores the value of the parameter α in the memory unit 202 (step S707), and uses the stored parameter value in the subsequent processing.

  After the volume adjustment described above is completed, the reference audio signal output device is removed, the headset 207 is connected to the terminal, and actual use is started. In actual use, since the utterance volume varies depending on the speaker, the speaker moves the slide button 502 so that the speaker can easily listen while listening to the sound output of the headphone unit from the headset. As a result, the gain setting values G1 and G2 change in conjunction with each other, so that the network output gain Y1 and the monitor output gain Y2 change in conjunction with each other. As a result, if the monitor output volume is adjusted optimally, the network output volume can also be set optimally, and the teacher and the learner can perform a comfortable mutual conversation using the language learning system 1.

  In particular, in the volume adjustment method shown in the second embodiment, since one operator needs to adjust the terminals one by one, the volume can be adjusted easily without requiring many people. Can do.

  The present invention is particularly useful for a CALL system that performs language learning using a headset.

1 is a system block diagram showing a basic configuration example of a language learning system in a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the outline of a terminal in 1st Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic functional block configuration diagram of an audio data processing unit included in a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a software block diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement which produces | generates the gain setting values G1 and G2 and sets to the gain adjustment parts 302a and 302b in 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the GUI screen displayed on the monitor screen for performing the volume adjustment of a headphone part in 1st Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the GUI screen displayed on the monitor screen for performing the volume adjustment of a headphone part in 2nd Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of the sound volume adjustment of a headphone part in 2nd Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed a part of basic composition of the conventional language learning system.

Explanation of symbols

1 language learning system 101 teacher terminal 102-1 to 102-n learner terminal 103 learning material server 104 network a101, a102, a103 learner 201 control unit 202 memory unit 203 recording unit 204 network interface unit 205 monitor interface unit 206 audio Data processing unit 207 Headset 208 Touch panel 209 Monitor 210 Bus 301, 308 Amplifier unit 302a, 302b Gain adjustment unit 303 A / D conversion unit 304 Memory unit 305 Bus interface unit 306 D / A conversion unit 307 Mixer unit 3a, 3b, 3d , 3f Analog audio signal 3c, 3e Digital audio data

Claims (2)

In a terminal device connected to an external terminal device over a network, and further connected to a headphone unit and a microphone unit,
Means for setting a first coefficient;
A first gain adjusting unit that adjusts a gain according to the first coefficient for an audio signal input from a microphone unit;
A mixer unit that mixes the audio signal adjusted by the first gain adjustment unit and the audio signal supplied from the external terminal device;
A first supply means for supplying the audio signal mixed by the mixer unit to the headphone unit;
Means for setting a second coefficient;
A second gain adjusting unit that adjusts the gain of the audio signal input from the microphone unit according to the first coefficient and the second coefficient;
  Second supply means for supplying the audio signal adjusted by the second gain adjustment unit to the external terminal device via the network;
The terminal device characterized by having. A language learning system in which a plurality of terminal devices according to claim 1 are connected to a network.

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