GB2441564A

GB2441564A - Apparatus for teaching synthetic phonics

Info

Publication number: GB2441564A
Application number: GB0617698A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gareth Davies
Original assignee: TTS Group Ltd
Current assignee: TTS Group Ltd
Priority date: 2006-09-11
Filing date: 2006-09-11
Publication date: 2008-03-12
Also published as: GB0617698D0

Abstract

Apparatus for reaching Synthetic Phonics comprising a plurality of modules 1, each having a visible indicia provided thereon. The apparatus further comprises means for recognizing the relative positions of modules placed adjacent to one another 7, means for associating a sound with each module according to the relative positions of the module, the sound relating to the indicia on the module; and sound generation means 6 for generating the sound associated with each module. The sound may be selected from one of a set of predetermined sounds, each predetermined sound being a phoneme.

Description

APPARATUS FOR TEACHING SYNTHETIC PHONICS

The present invention relates to apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics.

Devices that generate sound can be used to assist children's learning of letters, numbers and the names of different objects. Such devices typically display an indication of what they represent, for example a letter, and when activated they generate a sound relating to that letter.

US 5,188,533 discloses a "speech synthesizing indicia" that consists of a device in the shape of a letter that plays the sound of that letter when activated. Each device has its own power supply, voice synthesis chip and speaker. In another embodiment described in US 5,188,533, devices are attachable to a separate holder. In this configuration, devices may be attached to the holder so as to form a word. The holder recognizes the position of the devices relative to one another, and with its own speech synthesizer unit, can synthesize the word formed by the devices. Similar devices are disclosed in GB 2263186 and DE 19911194, although in each case the devices are attached to a board and the board recognizes the position of the devices relative to one another before synthesizing the word formed.

Devices such as those described above arc useful for teaching children the sound of individual letters, and spelling of words, but they have limited value in teaching children how words arc formed. Synthetic Phonics is a method of teaching reading that first teaches the letter sounds, and then teaches blending the sounds together to give the pronunciation of a word. A child is taught to pronounce the letter phonetically, so for example, "s" is pronounced as /ss/ and not "ess" or "sub". By teaching a child the pronunciation of, for example, the letter sounds La!, Ill, /p/ and Is!, the child can construct words such as "tap", "pat", "sat" and so on without previously being taught those words.

Of course, different letters can be pronounced differently depending on how they are used in a word. For example, "a" may be pronounced Ia/in the word "mat" but /ae/ in the word "mate". These sounds are known as phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest identifiable sound that can be used to form a word. For example, the letters "sh" represent a single phoneme, but the letters "sp" do not as they can be broken down into the sounds Is! and /pI. 44 phonemes are recognized, of which 19 are vowel sounds and are consonant sounds.

The teaching of the prior art documents is to synthesize either the name of the letter that an individual device represents, or to synthesize a whole word made up from a plurality of individual letters. In teaching Synthetic Phonics. it would be more useful to synthesize the individual phonemes formed by the letter or group of letters, and to show how those phonemes can be blended to form a word.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics comprising: a plurality of modules, each having a visible indicia provided thereon; means for recognizing the relative positions of modules placed adjacent to one another; means for associating a sound with each module according to the relative positions of the module, the sound relating to the indicia on the module; and sound generation means for generating the sound associated with each module.

Preferably, the means for recognizing the relative positions of modules placed adjacent to one another comprises a connection point disposed at each module for receiving information identifying at least one adjacent module.

It is preferred that the means for associating a sound with each module according to the relative positions of the module comprises a processor disposed at each module.

The sound generation means may comprise a speaker disposed at each module.

The apparatus preferably further comprises a memory disposed at each module, the memory for storing data used to generate a set of predetermined sounds. The sounds will typically be stored as a set of predetermined sounds files, each sound file correspond to a phoneme that is associated with the module.

In order for the modules to operate independently, each module of the plurality of modules preferably comprises a power supply.

It is preferred that each module of the plurality of modules further comprises means to affix each module to an adjacent module.

In order to teach Synthetic Phonics, it is desirable that each sound is a phoneme.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sound generating module comprising: a housing having a visible indicia provided thereon; a receiver for receiving information identifying at least one adjacent sound generating module; a processor for determining a sound to be generated according to the identifying information received; a sound generator for generating the determined sound; Preferably, the sound generating module fUrther comprises a connector for connecting the module to a corresponding connector of an adjacent module, wherein the receiver receives information identifying at least one adjacent sound generating module via the connector.

It is preferred that the processor is further used to determine signals sent to adjacent modules, the signals being determined according to the identifying information received.

The sound generating module preferably further comprises a memory for storing data used to generate the determined sound. This data I typically stored as files in a known format such as *.wav or *.mp3.

For the sound generating module to be used for teaching Synthetic Phonics, it is preferred that the determined sound is selected from a set of predetermined phonemes relating to the indicia.

Preferably, the receiver comprises means to collect information identifying all interconnected modules.

Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates schematically the components of a sound generating module.

Figure 2 illustrates schematically the sound generating module of Figure 1 attached to two adjacent sound generating modules; and Figure 3 illustrates schematically the sound generating module of Figure 1 attached to adjacent sound generating modules in a different configuration to that shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 illustrates schematically a second embodiment of the invention, in which individual sound modules communicate with a central processor.

Referring to Figure 1, a sound generating module 1 comprises a housing 2. Within the housing 2 there is a processor 3, a power supply 4 such as a battery, a trigger 5, a speaker 6 and connectors 7. The module is one of a set of modules, as will be discussed below.

The letter "A" is printed or embossed on to the top of the housing 2 to indicate that the sound generating module is associated with that letter. Other modules are associated with different letters or combinations of letters.

The connectors 7 of the module are used to connect the module to corresponding connectors on adjacent modules. These allow a transfer of information between modules via the connectors 7.

The processor 3 synthesizes the sound to be made. It can receive signals identifying adjacent modules through the connectors 7, and the particular sound synthesized is selected from a set of predelined sounds depending on the signals received through the connectors 7. The sound is produced using the speaker 6. The set of prcdefmed sounds associated with the sound generating module may be stored in digital form in a memory.

The memory may be coupled to the processor 3 or incorporated as part of the processor 3. Ii is most convenient if the processor is a Digital Signal Processor or Microcontroller Unit (MCU). An MCU incorporates the processor, the memory and the in/out connectors on a single chip.

The set of sounds associated with each module would, most conveniently, each be stored as a known sound file format, such as *.wav or *.mp3. The memory may store more than one set of sound files associated, each set of sound files being associated with a different modules. When the processor is fitted to a module it can be set to only access the predetermined set of sound files associated with that module. This reduces costs as different modules (e.g. "A" and "E") can use the same integrated processor and memory.

In this example, there are five connectors 7 disposed on each side of the module. This gives a total of 1024 possible connections. However, the number of connectors can be varied depending on the number of possible connections required. For example, if 6 connectors arc used at each side of the module, the total number of possible connections is 4096. Furthermore, efficient use of the connectors can be achieved by using non-binary signalling such that each connector can be used to both receive and transmit information.

Connectors 7 are used to both receive identifying information from adjacent modules and to send identifying information to adjacent modules. A further operation performed by the processor 3 is to determine, according to the received signals, the identifying signals that the module 1 sends to adjacent modules.

Playback of the sound is triggered either as a result of a user pressing the trigger 5, or as a result of a signal sent from an adjacent module.

The sound generating module need not be connected to any other sound generating modules, as the battery, processor and speaker make each module self-sufficient. If no inputs are received through the connectors 7, then the sound generating module will generate the basic sound of the letter with which it is associated. For example, sound generating module 1 is associated with the letter "A", and if the trigger 5 is pressed it generates the sound Ia!.

Referring to Figure 2, the "A" sound generating module 1 is connected on one side to a sound generating module 8 associated with the letter "M" and on the opposite side to a sound generating module 9 associated with the letter "T". The modules further comprise mechanical clips or connectors to ensure that they arc adequately fastened to each other.

The connectors 7 form a connection with the corresponding connectors on the adjacent modules 8, 9 and the processor 3 receives information identifying the adjacent modules 8, 9. When a trigger on any of the modules is pressed, each module generates its sound in turn. In this example, the sound /mI is generated first, then the sound lal, and finally the sound It!. These sounds are generated in order, such that the word "mat" is pronounced from the individual phonemes. One way to ensure that the sounds are generated in the correct sequence is to play the phoneme sound of the first module.

Once the first module has generated a sound, it then sends a signal to the second module to instruct the second module to begin playing its sound, and so on.

In the example where the word formed is "mat", each module generates the same sound as it would if it were not connected to adjacent modules. However, it will be appreciated that the sound of a letter can change according to the word in which it is used.

Referring to Figure 3, the sound generating module I is used as part of the word "mate".

The letter "A" no longer has the short Ia! sound, but is changed to a longer /ae/ sound.

The processor 3 of the module I receives information from the adjacent modules that an "E" module 10 is in contact with the "1" module 9, and the processor 3 uses this information to modify the sound generated by the "A" module 1 such that the "A" module I generates an lad sound rather than an Ia/ sound. In this way, as the phoneme associated with the module has changed owing to the use of the letter in the word, the "A" module 1 generates the correct sound to ensure that the word "mate" is pronounced correctly. Similarly, the "E" module 10 will receive information identifying the other modules that will indicate to the processor of the "E" module that the "E" module should not generate a sound.

The set of words that can be synthesized in this way is limited only by the memory and processing capability of each module.

In a second embodiment, the modules do not communicate with each other via connectors, but via a wireless means such as radio frequency (RF) signals, infra-red signals, or Bluetooth . In this case, each module requires a receiver and a transmitter in order to send and receive signals to identify adjacent modules.

In a third specific embodiment, the modules need not be self sufficient. Referring to Figure 4 herein, there is illustrated a plurality of modules that communicate with a central processor. The apparatus of the second embodiment comprises a plurality of sound modules II, each comprising an RF transmitter to communicate their identity. A receiver 12 for receiving the communicated signals from the sound modules 11 is also provided, which is connected to a processor 13. The processor 13 is used to ascertain the relative positions of each module, and also the phoneme associated with each module depending upon the ascertained relative positions. The processor may select phonemes from a database and use a speaker 14 for producing the sound of each phoneme in turn.

In the third embodiment, the modules 11 communicate with the receiver 12 using radio frequency signals. Alternatively, a board may be provided to which the modules 11 may be attached connected. The central processor can identify the relative position of the modules by their position on the board.

In the third embodiment, the modules do not require a power supply, a processor or a speaker, but merely means for identifying themselves to the receiving means.

It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the examples given each module is associated with a letter. However, modules may be associated with groups of letters, especially those that form single phonemes such as /shl and /thJ. Furthermore, whilst modules have been described as having physical contacts through which information is passed between modules, it will be appreciated that any means for sending information between modules can be used.

For example, each module could contain a radio frequency transceiver.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics comprising: a

plurality of modules, each having a visible indicia provided thereon; means for recognizing the relative positions of modules placed adjacent to one another; means for associating a sound with each module according to the relative positions of the module, the sound relating to the indicia on the module; and sound generation means for generating the sound associated with each module.
2. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics according to claim 1, wherein the means for recognizing the relative positions of modules placed adjacent to one another comprises a connection point disposed at each module for receiving information identifying at least one adjacent module.
3. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the means for associating a sound with each module according to the relative positions of the module comprises a processor disposed at each module.
4. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the sound generation means comprises a speaker disposed at each module.
5. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a memory disposed at each module, the memory for storing data used to generate a set of predetermined sounds.
6. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each module of said plurality of modules further comprises a power supply.
7. Apparatus for generating sound according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each module of said plurality of modules further comprises means to affix each module to an adjacent module.
8. Apparatus for generating sound according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each sound is a phoneme.
9. A sound generating module comprising: a housing having a visible indicia provided thereon; a receiver for receiving information identifying at least one adjacent sound generating module; a processor for determining a sound to be generated according to the identifying information received; a sound generator for generating the determined sound;
10. A sound generating module as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a connector for connecting the module to a corresponding connector of an adjacent module, wherein the receiver receives information identifying at least one adjacent sound generating module via the connector.
11. A sound generating module as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the processor is further used to determine signals sent to adjacent modules, the signals being determined according to the identifying information received.
12. A sound generating module as claimed in claim 9, 10 or 11, further comprising a memory for storing data used to generate the determined sound.
13. A sound generating module as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the determined sound is selected from a set of predetermined phonemes relating to the indicia.
14. A sound generating module as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13 wherein the receiver comprises means to collect information identifying all interconnected modules.
15. Apparatus for teaching Synthetic Phonics substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
16. A sound generating module substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.