A PC-based audio-visual alphabet learning system

International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education, Jan 1998 by Rahman, M Sairu, Uddin, N H M Sharif

Abstract The process of learning the alphabet of a language can be made interesting to the young learners by adopting an audio-visual approach. This paper describes the development of an audiovisual alphabet learning system using a sound card in a PC. The advantages of this approach are outlined, and some possible extensions to this work are suggested.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the present era of multimedia applications, people having computers are enjoying the benefits of multimedia extensively. An audio adapter card, also known as a sound card, is one of the multimedia cards. For a long time the internal speaker was the only sound source for PCs. However, the internal speaker was used to play a few simple beeps. After 1987, PC users started creating real-life sounds by PCs, using the introduced sound cards. The internal speaker of the Apple Macintosh computer has had this capability since 1982. In 1987, the AdLib Music Synthesizer card was put on the market. The year 1989 saw the first release of the Sound Blaster card from Creative Labs. With the Sound Blaster one can digitally record and play the sound. Thus, speech and sound effects can easily be produced by computer programming1,2. The original release of Sound Blaster was followed in succession by Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster MCV, and Sound Blaster 16. Following Sound Blaster, other brands of sound cards were also put on the market, for example, the Sound Galaxy NX Pro, the Laser Wave Supra 16 etc. These sound cards are available in the market, and the price of each of them is quite reasonable compared to the price of a PC. Those who can afford to buy a PC, can also add a sound card to it.

Once the sound card is installed, one can connect various external audio devices (microphone, speakers, etc.) to it. Fig. 1 shows a typical connection of these devices on a sound card. The Sound Card Package usually includes a complete collection of bundled software and utilities3,4. One can record speech or music and store it in the hard disk of a PC using the microphone, and play the recorded speech back through the speaker(s), when required.

This work reports the results of a project to enhance the alphabet learning process using a PC programming facility and sound card, and to make the learning process more interesting. The letters of an alphabet are introduced to the young learners at the age of about 3 to 5 years. Usually, the parents have to shoulder this responsibility. At times, a house-tutor is appointed to teach the alphabet to the young learner. To draw the proper attention of the young learners, one has to provide them with colourful books. Sometimes, it becomes very difficult on the part of a parent or a teacher to make the alphabet learning process interesting to a young learner. The proposed computer-based learning system may replace the conventional tutor-based learning process to make the task easier.

In the developed system reported in this paper, a letter of an alphabet appears on the monitor of a PC by pressing an appropriate key on the keyboard, and a pre-recorded sound is played in a sweet voice describing that particular letter. This method appears very interesting to a young learner for the following reasons: (1) the young learner would think that the computer is talking to him, (2) as no parent or teacher is present to criticise, therefore, he is no longer afraid of anybody, and (3) he would not think that he is reading, rather, he would think that he is playing with something new.

Some educational software has been developed in the English language3-5 and people are enjoying the benefits of multimedia applications these days. However, there is ample scope for working in this area in other languages as well. The current work is a gesture towards this end.

2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALPHABET LEARNING SYSTEM

Developing an alphabet learning system for other languages using a sound card in a PC, would be a bit different from the English alphabet learning system. A problem would occur for the young learners if this system were implemented using the conventional English keyboard. The problem of using the standard English keyboard for the alphabet learning system is described in section 2.1. Section 2.2 describes the methodology for the implementation, and section 2.3, the implementation and operation of the developed software.

2.1 Problem of using the standard English keyboard for developing the alphabet

learning system

A few alphabet learning systems have been developed in the English language1,2,3 using a Sound Card. In this process, if one presses an 'A' on the keyboard, an 'A' appears on the monitor followed by the sound corresponding to 'A' through the speaker. Thus, there is a one to one correspondence between the key pressed on the keyboard and the letter displayed on the monitor of a PC.

Nowadays, word processors in other languages are being used extensively by the users of those languages, using the PC programming facility. The main problem of developing the alphabet learning system in other languages is posed by the use of a standard English keyboard. To comprehend the problem of using a standard English keyboard in developing the alphabet learning system in other languages, the authors wish to take 'Bangla' (the language spoken by the people of Bangladesh and some part of India), as an example. However, this problem equally applies to other languages. Therefore, the word 'Bangla' in the subsequent discussion may be replaced by the name of any other language.