SPOKEN LANGUAGE GRAMMAR IMPROVEMENT TOOL AND METHOD OF USE

• US 20090089057A1
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: BATOT, Fronz F., Johnson, Randy S., Northway, Tedrick N., Smallowitz, Howard N.
• Application Number:
  US11/865,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089057A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/251
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/06 Foreign languages with audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method of improving language skills and, more particularly, a spoken language grammar improvement tool and method of use is provided. The method includes monitoring and analyzing a user'"'"'s speech pattern; matching a stored undesirable phrase and/or word with the user'"'"'s speech pattern; and providing feedback to the user when a match is found between the stored undesirable phrase and/or word and the user'"'"'s speech pattern. A system for monitoring spoken language includes a computer infrastructure being operable to: detect a user'"'"'s speech pattern; compare the user'"'"'s speech pattern with stored undesirable words and/or phrases; and provide a notification type to a user that the user'"'"'s speech pattern matches with at least one of the stored words and/or phrases.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

monitoring and analyzing a user'"'"'s speech pattern;

matching a stored undesirable phrase and/or word with the user'"'"'s speech pattern; and

providing feedback to the user when a match is found between the stored undesirable phrase and/or word and the user'"'"'s speech pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is at least one of a visual notification, an audio notification and a physical notification.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback is a recommendation of an alternative word and/or phrase.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report comprising at least one:

a number of times certain undesirable words and/or phrases were detected;

a listing of the matched words and/or phrases;

a comparison of suggested corrections with the undesirable words and/or phrases; and

types of notifications and/or intensity of notifications provided to a user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing factory set words and/or phrases for matching with the user'"'"'s speech pattern.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising continually monitoring the user'"'"'s speech pattern and notifying the user when the match is found between the stored undesirable phrase and/or word and the user'"'"'s speech pattern.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically activating the monitoring by voice activation or voice recognition and switching off the monitoring when it is determined that the user is no longer speaking for a predetermined amount of time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the user'"'"'s speech pattern.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating a report based on the stored user'"'"'s speech pattern.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising uploading the user'"'"'s speech pattern and the match with the stored undesirable phrase and/or word to a website.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a computer infrastructure implementing the steps of claim 1, the computer infrastructure being at least one of created, deployed, maintained and supported by a service provider.

12. A system for monitoring spoken language, comprising:

a computer infrastructure being operable to;

detect a user'"'"'s speech pattern;

compare the user'"'"'s speech pattern with stored undesirable words and/or phrases; and

provide a notification type to a user that the user'"'"'s speech pattern matches with at least one of the stored words and/or phrases.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is configurable to record user suggested words and/or phrases.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the notification type is at least one of a visual, audio and physical notification.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is operable to generate reports based on the user'"'"'s speech pattern with the stored undesirable words and/or phrases.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is operable to connect with another computer infrastructure to upload data associated with at least one of the user'"'"'s speech pattern, the stored undesirable words and/or phrases and the notification type.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is operable to provide a certain intensity level for the notification type.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is created, maintained, deployed and supported by a service provider.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer infrastructure is provided to an end user on a fee or subscription basis.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer program product includes at least one component operable to:

continually monitor a user'"'"'s speech pattern which includes words and/or phrases spoken by the user;

compare the words and/or phrases spoken by the user with undesirable words and/or phrases stored in a database; and

provide feedback to the user when the words and/or phrases spoken by the user match with at least one of the words and/or phrases stored in the database.