WO1997016810A1

WO1997016810A1 - Method and apparatus for teaching english

Info

Publication number: WO1997016810A1
Application number: PCT/IL1996/000137
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rachel Luzann
Original assignee: Rachel Luzann
Priority date: 1995-10-31
Filing date: 1996-10-31
Publication date: 1997-05-09
Also published as: AU7330896A

Abstract

Method and apparatus are used for teaching English, using color and a few symbols to indicate the correct pronunciation. English text is displayed together with visual pronunciation clues, where the clues are added only to words which have either an irregular or ambiguous pronunciation, to achieve an easy to learn method. The visual pronunciation clues include color or symbols or a combination thereof, with a color or symbol for each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate. At least part of the colors are sound/color matched. At least part of the symbols are sound/symbol matched. The color clue comprises the writing in color of the entire word. The color-encoding method uses only ten colors to represent the vowel sounds. A method and apparatus for teaching the student to associate the colors and symbols to the specific sounds is disclosed.

Description

Method and apparatus for teaching English

Background of the invention

This invention relates to English pronunciation teaching systems, and more particularly to such systems which use color and symbols to indicate the correct pronunciation.

Heretofore, various devices and methods have been devised to indicate the correct pronunciation of English. Some languages are entirely phonetic, but English is a complicated, often unphonetic language, so clues are needed for correct pronunciation.

The five vowels, a, e, i, o and u, are multi- phonetic, and in many variations produce a total of 17 sounds, resulting in many irregularities to be mastered in sound/ spelling relationships.

There are variations in the pronunciation of consonants as well. The English language uses an alphabet of only twenty-six characters to represent more than forty sounds. There are many exceptions to every rule in spelling.

One method known in the art for indicating the pronunciation is to use pronunciation symbols, that is an enlarged alphabet with a specific sound assigned to each character thereof. Although used in dictionaries and useful to indicate the pronunciation of any desired word, this is a cumbersome method when used to teach English, since each word has to be included twice, as a word pair (as written and as spoken), and the student has to refer differently to each of the two words of each pair.

Another method known in the art uses color to indicate the correct pronunciation, with many shades of different colors assigned to the various sounds. Such a method uses a large number of colors which are difficult to remember.

Still another method known in the art uses a computer with multimedia technology, including animation, video and sound. This "brute force" approach requires huge amounts of memory to store all the sounds and video data and the digital links therebetween. And indeed, an advanced and high price computer has to be used, including a powerful processor, large memory and CD - ROM drives.

A method for teaching English faces the difficult task of conveying to the student the three aspects of each new word to be learned: its meaning, its spelling and its pronunciation; all performed simultaneously.

Summary of the invention

The aim of the present invention is to make the English language phonetic through the use of color for vowel sounds, and a few symbols. This method facilitates the teaching of English both to native English speakers and to those learning it as a foreign language Benefits of the invention:

1 It gives the English speaker a phonetic key to reading the words he/ she knows 2. It gives the foreign student an effortless and faithful guide through the maze that is English pronunciation.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and apparatus to display English text together with visual pronunciation clues, were the clues are added only to words which have either an irregular or ambiguous pronunciation This achieves an easy to learn method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the visual pronunciation clues include color or symbols or a combination thereof, with a color or symbol for each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least part of the colors are sound/color matched, that is the pronunciation of each color includes the sound it designates in the word it is attached thereto According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, at least part of the symbols are sound/symbol matched, that is the pronunciation of each symbol includes the sound it designates in the word it is attached thereto.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the color clue comprises, for each word which includes an irregular or ambiguous sound whose correct pronunciation it is desired to indicate therewith, the writing or display in color of that entire word. This facilitates the learning of English, in a "read at a glance" way, since complete words are in color such that there is clear indication of the pronunciation clue.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color- encoding method, using only ten colors to represent the vowel sounds. Using just a few colors makes it easier to remember the pronunciation of each.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, seven out of the ten abovedetailed colors are sound/ color matched using intuitive clues, for easy assimilation.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, only words with long vowel sounds are color - coded; the student knows that each word without pronunciation clues is to be read according to the rules. This results in a concise pronunciation representation, which does not confuse the student.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, consonants having an alternative pronunciation have been identified, and symbols for indicating their correct pronunciation have been defined.

This invention covers the use of all variations in vowel sounds and all variations of consonant sounds in the English language. The few exceptions are listed for ease of memory and learned separately.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a method and apparatus for teaching the student to associate the colors and symbols to the specific sounds is disclosed. The present invention facilitates the learning of English; it is based on the King's English pronunciation, but could be adapted for American English, or other pronunciations

Further objects, advantages and other features of the present invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth hereinafter.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a description of the method used to encode the pronunciation of vowels (long sounds) .

Fig. 2 is a description of the method used to encode the pronunciation of vowels (short sounds)

Fig. 3 is a description of the method used to encode the pronunciation of consonants.

Fig. 4 details an apparatus for teaching the color- pronunciation encoding method and for preparing the encoded text

Description of the preferred embodiment

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Fιg.1 , an example of a text including pronunciation symbols according to the method pertaining to this invention, part of the words are printed in color (color not shown) to designate the proper pronunciation; for example, the word "All" 21 is pink, and the word "clothes" 41 is mauve

An additional symbol is the slash "/" 61 inserted after the character "s" in "suit"

Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus and method for facilitating the teaching of English pronunciation, using colors and special symbols Use of words printed in color teaches simultaneously how to write and pronounce each new word, since the words are written in regular English, and the color is added as a clue to pronunciation.

Additional pronunciation symbols are easily recognized as such, so that the student learns concurrently how to write each word and how to pronounce it. Each word is written only once, for a clear and concise presentation The spelling and pronunciation are learned simultaneously with the meaning of each new word

Thus, the present method and apparatus are used to display English text together with visual pronunciation clues The clues are added only to words which have either an irregular or ambiguous pronunciation

This method implements "guidance by exception" , giving help only where it is really needed, that is where the rules and phonetic/printed clues are ineffective. It gives the user a phonetic key to reading the words in English he/ she knows

Following is a description of the method used to encode the text in Fig 1 , including means for indicating the pronunciation of vowel sounds and that of consonants in English

The seventeen vowel sounds in the English language are divided into three groups: Short sounds, long sounds and diphthongs. 1 . Short sounds 2. Long sounds

Word Word Color

THAT PA red

PEN * MAY gray

IS * WE green

NOT ALL pink

MUCH * GO mauve

GOOD * TOO blue

3. Diphthongs

Word Color

* NOW brown

* l white

* CURL turquoise

JOY'S phonetic- no color

HAIR orange

According to the present invention, the visual clues include color coding, a color for each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.

For example, the sounds for long vowels and diphthongs may be encoded using colors as detailed above, wherein the asterisk * indicates that these pairs are sound/ color matched, i.e. the pronunciation of the color includes the sound which the color designates.

Therefore, as the majority of these colors, (seven out of ten) are sound/ color matched, this method provides intuitive clues for easier learning of the method. Referring to Fig. , an illustration of the abovedetailed method, the words 21 , 22, 23 are printed in pink (color not shown), to indicate the pronunciation of that long sound, as detailed above; similarly, the words 31 , 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 are in blue; the words 41 , 42 are mauve; the words 51 , 52 are turquoise; the letters 61 , 62, 63, 64 are hollow with a white inside; and the word 71 is gray. Thus, the whole word is printed in color to indicate the pronunciation of an irregular long sound or diphthong. This provides a clue which is easy to see, for "read at a glance" or fast reading indication of pronunciation.

The short sounds, when spelled as above, are written without color. When pronunciation is irregular, symbols are used, as detailed below.

In many instances, the English pronunciation is ambiguous.

For example, the following short sentence includes six variations of the vowel sound e:

"Any eggs for breakfast?" said Peter. 1 2 3 4 5 6

1. any = irregular short "e"

2. eggs= regular short "e"

3. breakfast= irregular short "e"

4. said= irregular short "e"

5. Peter= first "e" long ee- green sound

6. Peter= second "e" schwa

Accordingly, symbols in the present invention are used to eliminate guesswork when pronouncing short vowels with irregular spelling. In a preferred embodiment, the present method uses symbols which are associated with specific sounds. Sound Keyword/ symbol Example

Short a No symbol This is always regular Short e EGG any Short i IGLOO busy Short o ORANGE what Short u UMBRELLA some Short oo BOOK could

* With one exception - the word "plait"

Therefore, the method uses symbols which are readily associated with the vowel sounds, for ease of memorizing.

Other encoding methods can be used; for example, the same color (not shown) may be used to indicate a specific sound for both cases, for either a short vowel or a long vowel. The student is presumed to know that the sound is short or long, and only needs the clue as to the specific sound to be used.

In another implementation, other sound/color and/or symbol/sound matched pairs may be used, still according to the method and approach detailed above. In a wider sense, sound/color matching may include other clues which the user may use to attach a specific sound to each color in use.

It is also possible to use colors and/or symbols which are not directly related to the sounds represented thereby. The method detailed above, of using just a few different sounds to indicate the correct pronunciation, may be enough to facilitate the learning of the color/symbol pronunciation.

In still another implementation, a common color or symbol (not shown) may be used as a warning sign, to indicate that the pronunciation of that word is either irregular or ambiguous. The student should then find by other means the correct pronunciation for that word. It is possible to provide visual color clues not by printing the word in color, but by using a color line (not shown) above or below or otherwise near the word in question. This allows for printing the words all in the same color, that is usually black.

Fig. 2 (a) describes the symbols used in this method to encode the pronunciation of vowels (short sounds).

The unstressed vowel sound "schwa" , a neutral sound used in unstressed syllables, can be represented by each of the five vowels, e.g. alone, cancel, pupil, obtain, locust. This is represented to adults as the schwa and to children as the "lazy" letter. Its sign is 1= lazy under the unstressed vowel.

Silent vowels as in "rolled" are underlined. This is an intuitive symbol explained as the silent letter being "asleep" on its mattress.

Fig. 2 (b) illustrates the use of symbols to indicate pronunciation for the sentence:

"Any eggs for breakfast?" said Peter.

As an aid in remembering the l=schwa and the silent underlined vowel, the word "chocolate" can be used as an example, as detailed in Fig. 2 (c).

CONSONANTS - Variations in pronunciation

Fig. 3 details the method used to encode the pronunciation of consonants, according to the following description.

1. Silent consonants are underlined 2, 3 in the same way as unstressed vowels, e.g. island, numb. 2. The GH is always silent and therefore not underlined. The seven exceptions where GH is pronounced "f" - cough, laugh, draught, rough, trough, enough, must be learned as exceptions.

3. The silent "y" sound appearing after a consonant as in beauty, duty, a slash 4, 5 is inserted between the letters thus: b/eauty, d/uty.

At the beginning of a word such as "united" the slash 6 precedes the first letter: /united.

4. The letter "c" before "e" is always pronounced "S" as in proceed, receive, and no special marking is needed.

4a. Where a double C occurs before e, the pattern is regular i.e. in accent or accident, therefore no symbols are used for this letter in the present invention.

5. A line above the letter or brackets may be used as follows:

a. Soft "s" as in rose - a line 7 above the s b. Soft "th" as in those - a line 8 above the th c. Soft "g" as in barge - a line 9 above the g d. Soft "x" as in example - a line above the x e. Soft "j" whatever the spelling - bracketed 10 , e.g. mea(s)ure, a(z)ure, conclusion, gara(g)e

6. "sh" whatever the spelling - denoted by capitals 11 , e.g.

Sugar anCient preSSure naTion PerSia gauCHe conSCious

7. The "ch" sound as in children is sometimes a "t" as in "feature" or "creature" , or a "c" as in "cello". The letter in question 12 is written in bold - feature, creature, cello.

8. "U" is pronounced as "W" as in the following words: Guatemala, guava, language and its derivatives, languish, persuade, sanguine, suave.

9. "ph" is always pronounced "f" and therefore needs no symbol.

Again, a common color or symbol (not shown) may be used as a warning sign, to indicate that the pronunciation of that word is either irregular or ambiguous. The student should then find by other means the correct pronunciation for that word.

In another implementation of the present invention, colors (not shown) may be used to indicate the correct pronunciation of the consonants as well.

The language was rigorously combed for other exceptions and only seven words were found: one, eye, choir, lieutenant, reveille, xylophone, hiccough.

These words defy classification according to the method in the present invention, and will still have to be learned the hard way. Thus, the present invention includes a thorough and systematic method for indicating the pronunciation of all the majority of the words in English, with only a few exceptions.

In other embodiments, only part of the pronunciation clues may be presented, for example for advanced students or where simplicity is preferred to completeness.

Words from other languages which have been accepted into the English language and for which there is no approximate vowel equivalent are written in italics.

Thus, according to the present invention, all consonants having more than one pronunciation have been identified, and symbols for the alternative pronunciation have been defined.

Thus, the present invention requires a minimal effort by the student, and the overall pronunciation presentation is kept simple and clear.

Until now, the two main methods for teaching English were at two extremes: one method was teaching by example, by presenting each new word to the student who then had to memorize each and every word accordingly; the other method used symbols for each and every sound required for each word pronunciation.

Both methods have their disadvantages: the former presents no logic or framework for learning, but requires great effort at dumb memorizing; the latter so clutters the text with a multitude of symbols, as to obfuscate the logic that does exist.

The rationale for the method in the present invention is to take the best of the two abovedetailed methods to achieve a simple, logical and intuitive pronunciation representation.

Thus, only long vowels and diphthongs are color - coded; only irregular short vowels have symbols; regular short vowels are uncoded.

Words having irregular or ambiguous pronunciation are color- coded; the student knows that each word without pronunciation clues is to be read according to the rules.

Thus, the present invention results in a concise audiovisual sound/color/word association which does not confuse the student.

The method for preparing a symbol / sound pronunciation encoding table, according to the present invention, as detailed above, includes the following steps:

a) Prepare a list (List A) with all the words in English having irregular or ambiguous pronunciation; b) Prepare a table (Table T) of all the letters or letter groups in the words in List A, which have irregular or ambiguous pronunciation, and their corresponding pronunciation sound or sounds; c) Count the occurrence of each pair of letter or letter group and its corresponding pronunciation; identify those pairs which occur just a few times, then eliminate them from List A and Table T and transfer them to an exceptions list, List B; d) Prepare a table (Table S) of symbols to represent each of the sounds or sound groups in Table T, the symbols including figures and / or colors whose pronunciation includes, as far as possible, the sounds which they represent, or being intuitively related to these sounds.

The abovedetailed method lends itself to a computer- based implementation, in a system as detailed below with reference to Fig. 4.

An alternate method for preparing List A, Table T and Table S is to use a manual method for scanning the words in the English language and adapting each word to the present method, as illustrated above by way of example.

A similar method for sound representation with color and/ or figures can be used.

The method for adding symbols indicating the sound/ pronunciation to a printed text, using the abovedetailed list and tables, includes the following steps:

e) For each word in the printed text, check whether the word pertains to List A (has irregular or ambiguous pronunciation); f) If the word is not found in List A, then go to the next word (go to e) ; g) In the word as abovedetailed found, find the letter or letter group having irregular or ambiguous representation in Table S; insert a symbol to represent the required pronunciation as per Table S.

Fig. 4 details an apparatus for teaching the color- pronunciation encoding method and for preparing the encoded text.

Computer 91 includes a digital memory 913, like a solid state memory and/ or a magnetic memory (diskettes or hard disk), a processor (not shown) and related logic and timing (not shown); analog- to- digital converter 91 1 converts analog signals from microphone 94 to digital signals which can be analyzed in the processor and stored in memory 913. Thus, memory 913 stores signals representative of sounds; upon request, these or related signals can be transferred to digital- to- analog converter 912 to be converted to analog signals, which are applied to loudspeaker 96 to generate sounds as desired. Alphanumeric input device 92 may be implemented using a keyboard, and graphic input device 93 may be a mouse or digitizer. Color display 95 may be a VGA or super-VGA or a similar display device capable of displaying alphanumeric characters and graphics, all in color.

To prepare the required material for teaching the student, a text is entered using the keyboard 92 or other computer input means; the data is stored in memory 913.

The operator uses the microphone 94 to enter the required pronunciation for selected words, the words being chosen as per method detailed above. The pronunciation sounds, in digital words form, are stored in memory 913 as well. Using the keyboard 92 and the graphic input device 93, the operator indicates the links, or relationships, between the chosen words and their pronunciation, which links are also stored in memory 913.

Computer 91 may be implemented using a personal computer, or a special purpose computer; in the former case, a system including all the components as detailed in Fig. 4 can be used both to prepare the encoded text (text including pronunciation symbols) and for training the student in this method; in the latter case, a system including all the abovedetailed components can be used to prepare the encoded text, and a smaller, lower cost system can be used for student training, the lower cost system not to include the microphone 94 and the analog-to-digital converter 91 1 .

To teach the student to associate the colors and symbols to the specific sounds, computer 91 presents on display 95 a text with pronunciation symbols as detailed in Figs. 1 , 2, or 3; loudspeaker 96 "reads" the text, using sound data in memory 913, as detailed above. The student can hear the pronunciation of the whole text, or of specific words; in the latter case, computer 91 may change the display to present more words in context together with their spelling, to adapt the presented material to the student's pace.

The present invention facilitates the learning of English, using one of several dialects, since the letter- sound table can represent any dialect desired. Similarly, a video tape can be used to teach the method of sound/symbol linkage. Other audiovisual means can be used as well. The computer has the advantage of adapting to the student's pace.

After the sound/symbol learning stage using a computer or similar means, a printed text can be used to further enrich the student's vocabulary. The text is prepared using the present method, to include pronunciation symbols. One method to prepare the text is to prepare the computer files including the text and the pronunciation symbols, and to transfer these files to a printer with color/ graphics printing capability, like a color laser printer. The resulting text can be included in a book or similar means for English teaching.

The abovedetailed method, by using symbols added to the printed text, can concurrently convey the meaning of each word, its spelling and its pronunciation, using a simple, intuitive, easy to learn method.

Other implementations are possible; for example, the symbols to indicate vowel and consonant pronunciation can consist of colors only or of figures only. Colors can be used for whole words or parts thereof, for example to indicate specific sounds. The letters may be black, with color used for the background. Figures may be added before the word they describe, below or above the said word.

The same colors can be used for the short and the long sounds, with an additional clue to indicate short / long sound, like the width of the letters or background.

The abovedetailed embodiment included PA= red, ALL= pink and HAIR= orange; these are not sound/ color matched. Another implementation would use PA= scarlet, ALL= fawn and HAIR= fair hair i.e. blond or a similar association.

This would make the system completely sound/ color matched. The light brown ALL=fawn would have to be a color that is easily distinguishable from the NOW=brown and the "fair hair" idea i.e. yellow would be easier to remember. A preferred implementation will be chosen so that the colors are not difficult to print.

The color/sound and/or symbol/sound association detailed in the present invention can be used to create a "pronunciation dictionary" as an addition to existing computer programs, in the same way as one finds spelling and thesaurus additions.

For example, this dictionary may be added to word processing programs or to graphic software packages.

The present invention is flexible, that is it is adaptable to various dialects of English, by adapting the color/sound and/or symbol/sound pairs to the desired dialect.

The display of text with visual pronunciation clues may include presentation to the user, either as printed medium ("hard copy") or an electronic display ("soft copy"), for example a computer display.

The above method may be used for teaching English by simultaneously conveying to the student the meaning of each word, its spelling and its pronunciation. This method includes (not shown) the text with visual pronunciation clues, together with means for indicating the meaning of the words to the user.

It will be recognized that the foregoing is but one example of an apparatus and method within the scope of the present invention and that various modifications will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth hereinbefore.

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for teaching English, comprising means for displaying English text together with visual pronunciation clues, wherein said clues are attached only to words in said text which have either an irregular or ambiguous pronunciation.

2. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , wherein said visual clues include a color and/or symbol attached to a word as warning sign, that the pronunciation of that word is irregular or ambiguous.

3. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , wherein said visual clues include color coding, using a color for each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.

4. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , wherein said visual clues include symbols each attached to a word, wherein each of said symbols indicates a specific sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.

5. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , wherein said visual clues include a combination of color coding and symbols attached to various words as required, with one of said color or said symbol used to designate each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.

6. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 3 or 5 wherein at least part of said colors are sound/color matched.

7. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 4 or 5 wherein at least part of said symbols are sound/symbol matched.

8. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 3, 5 or 6 wherein said color clue comprises, for each said word which includes an irregular or ambiguous sound whose correct pronunciation it is desired to indicate therewith, the writing or display in color of that said word in its entirety.

9. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 3 or 5 wherein vowel color coding includes sound/color matched pairs as gray color for the vowel sound like in "may" and/or green color for the sound like in "we" and/or mauve color for the sound in "go" and/or blue color for the sound in "too" and/or brown for the sound in "now" and/or white for the sound in "I" and/or turquoise for the sound in "curl".

10. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 4 or 5 wherein symbol coding for vowels includes sound/symbol matched pairs as egg symbol for the vowel in "egg" and/or igloo symbol for the vowel in "busy" and/or orange symbol for the vowel in "what" and/or umbrella for the vowel in "some" and/or book for the sound in "could".

11. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 4 or 5 wherein the symbol coding for consonants includes intuitive symbols as an underline for silent consonants and/or a slash 7" for the silent "y" like in "beauty" and/or a line above a soft letter like above "s" in "rose" and "g" in "barge" and/or capital letters to denote the sound of "sh".

12. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 2 or 3 wherein said color coding comprises a color background to said word, or a color line above or below said word, or a colored area before/around said word.

13. Apparatus for teaching English according to claim 1 , 2 or 3 wherein said display means include a printed medium or an electronic display means.

14. A method for teaching English by simultaneously conveying to the student the spelling of each word and its pronunciation, including the steps of:

(A) preparing a list of visual clues to indicate each the pronunciation of a sound in English; and (B) preparing a message including text in English with visual pronunciation clues according to the list prepared in step (A), wherein said clues are attached only to words in said text which have either an irregular or ambiguous pronunciation.

15. A method for teaching English according to claim 14, wherein said visual clues include color coding, using a color for each separate sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate, and/or symbols each attached to a word, wherein each of said symbols indicates a specific sound whose pronunciation it is desired to so indicate.