Auralog CJ User Manual

USER’S MANUAL

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Contents

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................................4

PRACTICAL INFORMATION...........................................................................................................................4

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.......................................................................................................................................4

DISPLAY SETTING.................................................................................................................................................4

Checking the display setting compatible with your computer.........................................................................4

Selecting a display setting...............................................................................................................................5

CHECKING THE SOUND .........................................................................................................................................5

Connecting the headset to the sound card inputs............................................................................................5

Testing your sound card..................................................................................................................................6

INSTALLATION ..................................................................................................................................................6

INSTALLING TELL ME MORE RUNNING TELL ME MORE UNINSTALLING TELL ME MORE

ACCESSING HELP .................................................................................................................................................9

BROWSING ..........................................................................................................................................................9

USER ID...............................................................................................................................................................9

MAIN MENU: THE FILM SET.................................................................................................................................9

TOOLBAR ...........................................................................................................................................................10

HELP ..................................................................................................................................................................11

Help...............................................................................................................................................................11

What's this? ...................................................................................................................................................11

CJ........................................................................................................................6

CJ............................................................................................................................9

CJ ...................................................................................................................9

CHOICE OF LESSON........................................................................................................................................11

CHOICE OF LESSON.............................................................................................................................................11

DIALOGUE.........................................................................................................................................................12

START-UP...........................................................................................................................................................12

DIALOGUE: EXPLORE - HOW IT WORKS..............................................................................................................12

DIALOGUE: EXPRESSION - HOW IT WORKS.........................................................................................................12

Some tips for answering questions................................................................................................................13

IMPROVING YOUR PRONUNCIATION.................................................................................................................... 13

AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Choice of Question........................................................................................................................................14

Helping you understand ................................................................................................................................14

OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................................................14

Speech recognition........................................................................................................................................14

PRONUNCIATION ............................................................................................................................................15

START-UP...........................................................................................................................................................15

PRONUNCIATION INDEX .....................................................................................................................................15

HOW THE PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES WORK ....................................................................................................16

Listen.............................................................................................................................................................16

Speak... ..........................................................................................................................................................16

Wait... ............................................................................................................................................................16

WAVEFORMS AND PITCH CURVES .......................................................................................................................16

DETECTING PRONUNCIATION ERRORS ................................................................................................................17

SCORING ............................................................................................................................................................17

COMPARATIVE LISTENING.................................................................................................................................. 17

PRONUNCIATION EXERCISE ON A PHONETIC POINT.............................................................................................18

Animation ......................................................................................................................................................18

GENERAL FUNCTIONS.........................................................................................................................................18

OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................................................18

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Transcription display.....................................................................................................................................18

Difficulty level ...............................................................................................................................................18

Pronunciation: display..................................................................................................................................18

VIDEO..................................................................................................................................................................19

ACCESSING THE VIDEO.......................................................................................................................................19

USING THE VIDEO...............................................................................................................................................19

OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................................................19

Audio .............................................................................................................................................................19

EXERCISES........................................................................................................................................................19

START-UP...........................................................................................................................................................19

PICTURE/WORD ASSOCIATION ...........................................................................................................................20

CHINESE/PINYIN ASSOCIATION – JAPANESE/RÔMAJI ASSOCIATION .................................................................. 20

CHINESE/ENGLISH ASSOCIATION – JAPANESE/ENGLISH ASSOCIATION..............................................................20

CHINESE/CHINESE ASSOCIATION – JAPANESE/JAPANESE ASSOCIATION ............................................................ 20

THE RIGHT WORD..............................................................................................................................................21

FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS.........................................................................................................................................21

MYSTERY PHRASE..............................................................................................................................................21

WORD ORDER ....................................................................................................................................................21

DICTATION .........................................................................................................................................................22

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ......................................................................................................................................... 22

AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 23

OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................................................23

Timer .............................................................................................................................................................23

Picture/Word Association..............................................................................................................................23

Crossword Puzzle..........................................................................................................................................23

Dictation........................................................................................................................................................23

REFERENCE WORKS......................................................................................................................................23

START-UP...........................................................................................................................................................23

GRAMMAR .........................................................................................................................................................24

GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................... .......................... 24

LESSON REPORT..............................................................................................................................................24

ACCESSING THE LESSON REPORT PANEL............................................................................................................24

OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................................................25

ACCESSING THE OPTIONS ...................................................................................................................................25

SELECTING AN OPTION .......................................................................................................................................25

OPTIONS: DIALOGU E AND EXERCISES................................................................................................................25

Timer .............................................................................................................................................................25

Crossword Puzzle..........................................................................................................................................25

Transcription display.....................................................................................................................................25

Dictation........................................................................................................................................................25

OPTIONS: AUDIO, VIDEO AND SPEECH RECOGNITION........................................................................................ 26

Audio .............................................................................................................................................................26

Speech recognition........................................................................................................................................26

Pronunciation: display..................................................................................................................................26

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOLUTIONS ..................................................................................................26

RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................................................................................26

Installing the headset.....................................................................................................................................26

Difficulty level ...............................................................................................................................................27

Speaking........................................................................................................................................................27

Imitating the model........................................................................................................................................27

SOLUTIONS.........................................................................................................................................................27

Installation/Start-up ......................................................................................................................................27

Sound and recording problems......................................................................................................................28

TECHNICAL SUPPORT..........................................................................................................................................29

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Introduction

PC or compatible: Pentium®, Windows® 95, 98, NT4, Millennium, 2000, XP or Vista 32/64 bits, 32 MB RAM (64 MB for NT4 and 2000, 128 MB for XP and 512 MB for Vista), 110 MB available on the hard disk, 1024x768 graphics card with 65,536 colors, 16-bit Windows®-compatible sound card, 12x DVD-ROM drive, microphone and speakers or headset.

RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION:

Introduction

Welcome to the world of The TeLL me More® Collection! The TeLL me More

success to consta ntly striving for innovati on in language learni ng. Thanks to its combination of technical and educational quality, you will learn to write and speak Chinese or Japanese efficiently. This manual will accompany you throughout your voyage of discovery of TeLL me More designed to answer as many of our users' frequently asked questions as possible. If, however, even after consultation, you should still have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our technical support department: it's there at your service. Contact details can be found on the back cover of this manual. Have fun exploring!

The TeLL me More Dutch, Chinese and Japanese. These products are all available in several different levels.

Collection, which has already attracted millions of users all over the world, owes its

. It has been

Collection includes software for learning English, German, Spanish, French, Italian,

Practical information

System requirements

TeLL me More® has the following system requirements:

Display setting

Checking the display setting compatible with your computer

• Check your computer display setting before beginning installat ion.

• For optimal display TeLL me More

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requires the following display settings:

1 MB graphics card resolution

800x600

with 65,536 colours (16-bit colours)

2 MB graphics card resolution

1,024x768

• For satisfactory use, the minimum display settings are: 512 KB

graphics card

1 MB graphi cs card

Warning!

We advise you to use the minimum resolution of 800 x 600 for the best textual readability.

resolution 800x600

resolution 1,024x768

with 65,536 colours (16-bit colours)

with 256 colours

Selecting a display setting

First check that your computer screen is compatible with your chosen resolution.

• To do this, with all applications closed, click on the desktop background with the right mouse button.

• Select Properties in the context-sensitive menu.

• Click on Configuration (or Settings).

• In the Desktop area (or Screen area), choose the resolution (800x600 or 1,024x768) and in the Colour

Box (or Colours), select the number of colours required: 256 colours or 65,536 colours (16-bit colours).

Checking the sound

Connecting the headset to the sound card inputs

These inputs are usually at the back of your computer.

• The microphone corresponds to the

input marked Mic or

• The headphones correspond to the ² plug of the headset. This plug must be connected to the sound card

input marked Spk/Line out or

Note.

You may listen to the sound output via the loudspeakers or your headphones. You must therefore connect the ² plug of the headset or the plug of the loudspeakers to the sound card input.

plug of the headset. This plug must be connected to the sound card

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Testing your sound card

Use the WindowsTM Sound recorder:

• Go to the Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ Multimedia (or Entertainment) \ Sound Recorder menu.

• Start recording by clicking on the red button.

• Stop recording by clicking on the black rectangle.

• Listen to your recording by clicki ng on the arrow.

If your sound card is correctly installed, your recording will be clear. If not, contact your supplier for more information.

Installation

Installing TeLL me More® CJ

• Put the TeLL me More® CJ installation CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. After a few seconds,

installation will start automatically. If it does not start automatically, refer to the I can't install TeLL me More® CJ! section.

• The installation program will ask you to choose an interface language. This is the language that will be used

to give you all the necessary instructions.

Note.

The choice of interface languages can vary depending on which version of installation CD-ROM you have.

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• The program will then ask you to choose the type of installation required. Your choice will determine the

graphics mode use d by TeLL me More

Þ If you select Minimum, TeLL me More

display. This installation takes up the least space on your hard drive.

Example: if your current resolution is 1,024x768 with 65,536 colours, TeLL me More resolution of 1,024x768 with 65,536 colours.

Þ If you choose Standard, TeLL me More

monitor, as well as the minimum resolution (800x600, 256 colours). This installation will allow TeLL me

CJ to function with an optimal display in the display configuration which is present during

installation, and to function with a minimal display if the configuration is changed.

Þ If you choose Maximum, TeLL me More

system. You should choose this type of installation if you often change display configuration.

Þ If you choose Personalised, TeLL me More

CJ.

CJ will choose the resolution best adapted to your current

CJ will install a

CJ will install the resolution which is best suited to your

CJ will install all the resolutions compatible with your display

CJ will allow you to choose the resolution you want to use.

Warning!

We advise you to use the minimum resolution of 800x600 for the best textual readability.

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• The program will give details, according to the type of installation chosen, of the space required on your

hard disk for the installation of TeLL me More

CJ, as well as the space actually available on your hard

disk.

• The installation program will ask you to choose the disk onto which you wish to copy the files necessary for

running TeLL me More

C:\TELL ME MORE

CJ. These files must be copied into a directory:

CJ is suggested by defa ul t.

• Click on the Next button and enter the licence number marked on the back of the box of the installation CD-

ROM.

• Once you have entered all the necessary data, click once more on Next. A summary of all the options you

have chosen will be displayed. You can now click on Install to start the installation of TeLL me More

CJ.

• When the installation is finished, remove the installation CD-ROM from your CD-ROM drive and insert the

CD-ROM containing the lessons.

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Running TeLL me More® CJ

The installation creates a group of programmes on your hard disk called TeLL me More® CJ, in which you will find the following icons: TeLL me More

To run TeLL me More menu, choose Programs, and then TeLL me

CJ, Help and Uninstall.

CJ, go to the Start

CJ. Finally click on the TeLL me CJ icon in the menu shown.

Uninstalling TeLL me More® CJ

To uninstall TeLL me More® CJ from your hard disk, click on the Uninstall icon in the group of programs called TeLL me More

CJ.

Accessing Help

For any information about TeLL me More® CJ, select the group of programs called TeLL me More® CJ and click on the Help icon.

Browsing

User ID

• The first time that you start up TeLL me More®, the computer will ask you to identify yourself. Enter your

name (or the name by which you wish to be identified).

Warning!

Your name must contain between two and twenty charac t ers.

This ID enables you to keep a record of your learning path in TeLL me More results in the Lesson report. For more information concerning this function go to the Lesson Report section.

• Next click on Start to start learning with TeLL me More

. You can have a l ook at your

Main Menu: the Film Set

The Film Set is the main menu. Its film-set layout contains icons which link to different parts of the software.

- The TeLL me More

- the books to the Reference Works,

- the notebook to the Exercises,

- the trophies to the Lesson Report,

- the clapboard to the Dialogue,

- the microphone to the Pronunciation,

- the camera to the Video (only for learning Japanese),

- the Autocue to Help,

- and finally the mixing desk to the Options. The door allows you to exit TeLL me More

logo gives you access to the Choice of Lesson,

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Toolbar

While you are in an activity, the toolbar gives you access to all the other screens in TeLL me More®.

Click on the Previous icon to go back to the previous screen.

Click on the Film Set icon to go back to the main menu.

Click on the Video icon to run the Video. For further information on this activity, refer to the Using the video section.

Warning!

This activity is only available for learning Japanese.

Click on the Pronunciation icon to begin the pronunciatio n exercises. Choose the word, sentence or phonetic point that you wish to work on from those on offer. The phonetic points are only available for learning Japanese. You can also select a word or sentence from any other screen by clicking on the element and then the icon. This will take you directly to the pronunc iation exercise of your chosen element.

For further information about this activity, refer to the Pronunciati on section.

Click on the Dialogue icon to begin the Dialogue. To start at a particular point in the dialogue, click on the

Dialogue icon a second time to access the Choice of Question screen. Click on the picture corresponding

to the question required.

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For further information about this activity, refer to the Dialogue secti on. Click on the Exercises icon to access the different types of exercises. For further information about these activities, refer to the Exercises section. Click on the Reference Works icon to access the Grammar, or the Glossary. Click on the Grammar tab to choose a particular grammar point to work on. Click on the Glossary tab to access the translation and pronunci ation of a par ticular word.

Click on the Translation icon to display the translation of the text. Translations of the dialogue are available, as well as the translation of the grammar explanations. For Japanese, translations of the video texts are also available. Click on the Lesson Report icon to check your progress while working. For further information about this function, refer to the Lesson Report section. Click on the Options icon to adapt the activities to your needs. For further information about this function, refer to the Options section. Click on the Help icon for information about your current activity.

Help

For help with an activity click on the Help icon in the toolbar or click on the right mouse button and select

Help.

What's this?

For more information about the function of an icon, button or part of the screen, place your cursor on the part in question, click the right mouse button and choose What's this? from the context-sensitive menu.

Choice of Lesson

Choice of lesson

To choose a lesson, go to the Film Set and click on the costumes. You will access the Choice of Lesson screen. The direction of the arrow and the numbers show the order of difficulty of the different lessons (from the easiest to the most difficult). To load the selected lesson, click on the corresponding picture. Click on the Previous lessons or Next lessons arrows to access the other lessons (only available for Chinese).

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Dialogue

Start-up

To begin the Dialogue: From the Film Set, click on the clapboard.

From any other screen, click on the Dialogue icon in the toolbar.

Note.

You can choose to familiarise yourself with:

- Chinese writing, by displaying both the Chinese characters and their transcription in Pinyin, or

- Japanese writing, by displaying both the Japanese characters and their transcription in Rômaji or Furigana. You can, on the other hand, choose to learn in total immersion by displaying neither transcription. Click on the

Options icon, then on the tab Dialogue and Exercises, and choose your display settings in Transcription display.

Dialogue: Explore - How it works

The Dialogue: Explore activity does not use speech recognition. TeLL me More® speaks to you; the sentence which you hear is displayed at the top of the screen. Choose one of the responses shown by clicking on it. Your response is highli ght ed in green. TeLL me Mo re The explore mode allows you to discover the topic of the lesson and its associated vocabulary, and to immerse yourself in the accent and intonations of the Chinese or the Japanese language. It also allows you to become familiar with the dialogue activity.

Note.

To access Dialogue: Explore, click on the Audio, Video and Speech Recognition tab in Options and deactivate Speech recognition.

may provide a response.

Dialogue: Expression - How it works

Having listened carefully to the intonations partic ul ar to the Chinese or the Japane se language in Dialogue: Explore, put them into practice by pronouncing the responses in the Dialogue: Expression activity. Follow the

instructions given by the speech recognition panel in the top right-hand corner of the screen:

Listen...

TeLL me More

Speak...

Three possible responses are displayed in the box below. Choose one of them and say it into the microphone. The Speak... lamp flashes while the computer is recording your voice.

Wait...

TeLL me More

green. The dialogue will continue according to the response you chose. If TeLL me More your response, the Speak... lamp will flash again to prompt you to give your response again. Should you speak too slowly, TeLL me More To listen to the sentence spoken by TeLL me More the loudspeaker to the left of the sentence. The pronunciatio n of a word or sentence can also be accessed with the right mouse button.

speaks to you. The spoken text is displayed at the top of the screen.

evaluates your response. If the compute r understands you, your response is highlighted in

will indicate this with a message in the speech recognition panel.

again or to hear the pronunciation of a response, click on

doesn't understand

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Some tips for answering questions

• Wait for the beep before answering: TeLL me More® will not understand if you speak too soon.

• Do not leave any pauses when answering: as soon as TeLL me More

assumes that you have finished speaking and starts to evaluate your answer.

Warning!

For TeLL me More

• Your response time is also limited: you have a maximum of three seconds speaking time. In the case of

long sentences, you must speak quickly to avoid being interrupted by the computer.

• Choose only from the responses on the screen. Should you say something different, TeLL me More

will not understand your response.

, a silence of longer than half a second is a pa use.

detects a pause, it automatically

Improving your pronunciation

You can interrupt the dialogue at any time to practise your pronunciation. The pronunciation exercises allow you to work on:

• pronouncing words and sentences in Chinese,

• pronouncing words, sentences and phonetic points in Japanese.

To prac tise a sentence from the dialogue in the pronunciation exercises, doub l e-click on the sentence or highlight it, then click on the right mouse button and choose Pronunciation exercise for the sentence. To prac tise a word from the dialogue in the pronunciation exercises, click once on the word and then on the

Pronunciation icon in the toolbar or highlight it. Then click on the right mouse button and choose Pronunciation exercise for the word.

Don't hesitate to use these functions on offer from TeLL me More For further info rmation about the pronunciation exercises, refer to the Pronunciation sectio n.

to improve your pronunciation.

Available functions

To start or interrupt the dialogue, click on the Play / Stop button.

To go back to the previous question, click on the Previous button.

To go to the next question, click on the Next button.

Note.

When TeLL me More automatically goes on to the next question. To see the translations of all the displayed questions and responses, click on the Translation icon in the toolbar. Click on this icon a second time to hide the translations and go back to the picture.

Ø Right mouse button

understands you, it

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You can use the right mouse button to access certain functions. Click on the right button to see the contextsensitive menu. Choose from the options shown and click on the left button to access them.

Note.

The functions available vary according to where you click on the screen. From the menu, you can:

• access the translation of a word or sentence;

• access the pronunciation of a word or sentence;

• access help for the current activity;

• get information about the function of an icon, button or part of the screen;

• exit the software.

Choice of Question

You can go stra ight to a particular part of t he dialogue using this function. When you are in the Dialogue screen, click on the Dialogue icon in the toolbar. A set of stills will appear on the screen. Each picture corresponds to one of the questions in the dialogue. Click on the picture corresponding to the question with which you wish to begin the dialogue.

Helping you understand

Glossary

To see the translation of a word or its pronunc i ation, you can click on the word and then o n the Reference Works icon in the toolbar. This allows you to access the translation and, should you wish, the pronunciatio n of

the chosen word.

Exercises

To go to the exercises linked to the Dialogue, click on the Links icon at the bottom of the screen. Then choose the type of exercise you would like to do.

Options

Click on the Options icon in the toolbar to adapt the dialogue to your level and needs.

Speech recognition

Click on the Audio, Video and Speech Recognition tab. You can activate or deactivate the speech recognition depending on whether or not you want to practise your pronunciation. You can also ask TeLL me More

You can also adapt the level of difficulty of the dialogue through speech recognition. This setting is an essential part of the activity. Its level ranges from 1 to 7: the higher the number, the more demanding the computer will be in assessing your pronunciation. If your score is lower than your chosen difficulty level (purple rectangles in the Pronunciation screen), TeLL me More sentence. If your score is higher than or equal to the difficulty level (dark blue rectangles in the Pronunciation screen), the dialogue will continue as normal. For further information about this option, refer to the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition section.

to notify you with a beep when you have to speak in the dialogue.

will not accept your answer; you will therefore have to repeat the

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Pronunciation

Start-up

To access the pronunciation exercises: From the Film Set, click on the microphone.

From any other screen, click on the Pronunciation icon in the toolbar.

Note.

You can also access the pronunciation exercises from either the Dialogue, by clicking on the word or sentence with the right mouse button or from the Glossary by clicking on the word and then on the icon Pronunciation in the toolbar.

The Pronunciation Index screen allows you to perfe ct your pronunciat ion of:

- sentences or words in Chinese,

- sentences, words or phonetic points in Japanese.

Pronunciation Index

TeLL me More® is based on the imitation of a pronunciation model. The software recreates a natur al learning

situation by offering you the possibility of listening to and repeating sounds, words and sentences as many times as you wish. For learning Japanese, you can also listen to and repeat words containing the selected phoneme.

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First choose the linguistic element you would like to wor k on a word, sentence o r phonetic poi nt (for Japanese learning only) and click on the corresponding icon. Then click on the arrow to the right of the screen.

How the Pronunciation exercises work

Follow the instructions in the speech recognition panel in the upper right corner of the screen.

Listen...

Listen to the pr onunciation of the phonetic point (only for Japanese), the word or the sentence you have selected.

Note.

You have the cho i ce of the pronunciation model:

• to be displayed in Chinese or pinyin, for learning Chinese,

• to be displayed in Japanese for words and phonetic points; in Japanese, Rômaji or Furigana for sentences.

Click on the Options icon in the toolbar, then on the Dialogue and Exercises tab and choose your display modes.

Speak...

Repeat what you hear, trying to imitate as best you can the rhythm and the intonation of the model. The Speak... lamp will flash while you speak.

Wait...

TeLL me More® analyses your pronunc iation and displays its waveform and/or pitch curve. It evaluates your

pronunciation and gives you a score between 1 and 7: t he better your pronunciation the higher the score.

TeLL me More

will let you hear the model as often as you want.

Some tips to help you answer correctly

• Wait for the beep before speaking: TeLL me More® will not understand you if you speak too soon.

• Do not leave any pauses when answering: as soon as TeLL me More

assumes that you have finished speaking and will start to

Warning!

For TeLL me More

• Your response time is also limited: you have a maximum of three seconds’ speaking time. In the case of

long sentences, you must speak quickly to avoid being interrupted by the computer.

, a silence of longer than half a second is a pa use.

evaluate your answer.

detects a pause, it automatically

Waveforms and pitch curves

Each sentence and word is displayed by a waveform and/or pitch curve. The waveform traces the amplitude of the voice according to the time spoken, while the pitch curve reproduces the frequency variations of the voice.

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Both display modes appear simultaneously by default, but you may choose to display only the waveform or only the pitch curve. For further information about this option, refer to the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition section. You can see your recording represented by the waveform and pitch curve, and compare them with the originals. These graphic represe ntations allow you to work on your pronunciation and intonation more efficiently. For more information about this function, refer to the Comparative listening section.

Detecting pronunciation errors

If you make a pronunciation error in a sentence pronunciation e xercise, it will be automatically detected by

TeLL me More

Note.

The automatic pronunciation error detection system is neither active when the sentence is pronounced especia l ly badly, nor when the whole sentence is pronounced well.

and highlighted i n red.

Scoring

TeLL me More® evaluates your pronunciation on a scale of 1 to 7 (7 being the highest score), according to the difference between your pronunciation and that o f t he model. The sc ore given to your r ecordings by TeLL me

is represented by blocks of rectangles. One rectangle equals one point. If your score is higher than your

chosen difficulty level, the rectangles are dark blue. If your score is lower than the difficulty level, the rectangles are purple.

The score box shows your results for all your recordings. You may repeat the exercise as often as you like. To improve your score, repeat the exercise several times, imitating the intonation and the rhythm of the model as closely as you can. You can listen to the model and your own recordings as often as you like by clicking on the loudspeaker to the left of the graph.

Comparative listening

You can compar e your record ings to improve your pronunciation. Use the cursor to select a previous recording in the score box and play it again. Click once on the corresponding row of rectangles to see the graphs and then click on the loud speaker to hear your voice. You can base an

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analysis of your pronunciation fault s on comparative listening. Locat e your pronunciation errors by comparing your recordi ngs and corresponding graphs to t he model.

Pronunciation Exercise on a phonetic point

Warning!

This activity is only available for learning Japanese.

From the Pronunciation Index screen, choose the phonetic point you wish to work on, and click on the arrow on the right of the screen. TeLL me More phoneme.

will then allow you to work on a word containing the chosen

Animation

On the right hand side of the screen, you will find an animation showing how to write the selected phoneme. The animation at the top corresponds to a hiragana character, and at the bottom, a katakana character. When you move the cursor over the animation, a hand appears and the window becomes yellow. If you click on this animation, it starts when the window becomes red. If you click again on the animation, it is shown at a slower speed, and the rest of the screen is greyed.

Note.

The animation is continuous. To deactivate it, click anywhere on the screen.

General functions

To run or st op the pronunci ation exercise, click on the Play / Stop button.

To return to a previous item (word, sentence or phonetic point), click on the Previous button.

To access the next item (word, sentence or phonetic point), click on the Next button.

To change from the Pronunciation screen to the

Pronunciation Index screen, click on the arrow.

Options

Click on the Options icon in the toolbar. Cl ick on the tabs to adapt the pr onunciation exercise to your level a nd needs.

Transcription display

You can choose to display the pronunciation model:

• for learning Chinese, in Chinese or in Pinyin,

• for learning Japanese, in Japanese for the words and the phonetic points, and in Japanese, Rômaji or

Furigana for the sentences.

Difficulty level

The difficult y level is an important variable in the pronunciation e xercises. It ranges from 1 to 7: the higher the number, the more demanding the computer will be about your pronunciatio n. If your score is lower than your chosen difficulty level (purple rectangles), TeLL me More repeat the sentence. If your score is higher than or equal to the difficulty level (dark blue rectangles), the exercise will continue as normal.

Pronunciation: display

You can displ ay the recording of your pronunciation in three different ways. You can choo se to display the waveform of your pronunc iation, the pitch curve that represents your into nation, or both of them at the same time. You can then improve your pronunc iation by comparing the graphical display of your pronunciation with that of the models. For further information about this option, refer to the Waveforms and pitch curves section.

will not accept your answer and you will have to

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Video

Accessing the video

Warning!

This activity is only available for learning Japanese and can only be found in the 6 (revision lesson) of each CD-ROM.

To run the video: From the Film set, click on the camera. From all other screens, click on the Video icon in the toolbar.

Using the video

The video lasts approximately three minutes. If you wish to display the simultaneous translation of the commentary, click on the Translation icon in the toolbar.

lesson

Once the video has finished, TeLL me More® will move automatically to the Right Word exercise, which is linked directly to the video. For further information on the Right Word exercise, refer to the Exercises section.

To move about within the video, place the mouse arrow at the top of the Video scrolling button, click on it, hold down the left button of the mouse and move the button. This allows you to move about the video at your own leisure. To pause or play the video, click at the bottom of the Video scrolling button on Play / Pause. To go forwards or backwards from one sequence of the video to another, click on Next or Previous.

To enlarge the video to full-screen size, click on Full-screen video. To reduce the video to its original size, click anywhere on the screen. To go to the exercises and grammar

oints linked to the video, click on the

Links icon.

Options

Click on the Options icon in the toolbar to adapt the video to your level and objectives.

Audio

Click on the Audio, Video and Speech Recognition tab. You can adjust the volume.

Exercises

Start-up

To start an exercise: From the Film set, click on the notebook.

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From any other screen, click on the Exercises icon in the toolbar. To choose a type of exercise click on the corresponding tab. To begin another exercise of the same kind, turn the page by clicking on the bottom right corner of the page.

Picture/Word Association

The Picture/Word Association exercise allows you to enrich your vocabulary. It also allows you to work on your written comprehension skills. The aim of this exercise is to find the word corresponding to the picture displayed on the screen. Click on the word with the mouse. For further details about the options available for this exercise, refer to the Options: Dialogue and Exercises section.

Chinese/Pinyin Association – Japanese/Rômaji Association

The Chinese/Pinyin Association or the Japanese/Rômaji Association exercise allows you to enrich your vocabulary and become familiar with the Chinese or Japanese characters. It also allows you to work on your written comprehension skills. For learning Chinese: The aim of the exercise is to find the word transcribed in Pinyin that has the same or the opposite meaning as the word in Chinese characters. For learning Japanese: The aim of the exercise is to link each Japanese word to its transcription in Rômaji. Place the mouse arrow on the ‘word’ you wish to match with its transcription. Click on the left mouse button, hold the button down while moving the cursor and release the mouse button once on the answer you believe to be correct. For further details about the options available for this exercise, refer to the Options: Dialogue and Exercises section.

Chinese/English Association – Japanese/English Association

The Chinese/English Association or the Japanese/English Association exercise allows you to enrich your vocabulary and widen your knowledge of Chinese or Japanese writing. It also allows you to work on your written comprehension skills. For learning Chinese: The aim of the exercise is to find the English word that has the same or the opposite meaning as the word in Chinese characters. For learning Japanese: The aim of the exercise is to link each Japanese word to its translation in English. Place the mouse arrow on the ‘word’ you wish to match with the English word. Click on the left mouse button, hold the button down while moving the cursor and release the mouse button once on the answer you believe to be correct. For further details about the options available for this exercise, refer to the Options: Dialogue and Exercises section.

Chinese/Chinese Association – Japanese/Japanese Association

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The Chinese/Chinese Association or the Japanese/Japanese Association exercise allows you to evaluate your knowledge of Chinese or Ja panese characters through total immersion in Chinese or Japanese writing. It also allows you to work on your written comprehension skills. Join each ‘word’ from the left-hand column with its synonym or antonym in the right-hand column. Place the mouse arrow on the ‘word’ you wish to match with its synonym or antonym. Click on the left mouse button, hold the button down while moving the cursor and release the mouse button once on the answer you believe to be correct. For further details about the options available for this exercise, refer to the Options: Dialogue and Exercises section.

The Right Word

For learning Chinese: The Right Word exercises allow you to work on the vocabulary and grammar you came across in the dialogue. They help you develop your written comprehension skills. For learning Japanese: The Right Word exercises are directly linked to the video and test your knowledge of it. The exercise then appears only in the 6 choosing one of the answers given. Click on the answer with your mouse. To return to the video, click on the Links icon.

lesson, along with the video. You have to complete the sentence by

Fill-in-the-Blanks

The Fill-in-the-Blanks exercise allows you to build on the vocabulary and grammar structures you saw in the dialogue. It works on your written comprehension skills. You must complete the sentences with the words shown at the bottom of the screen. Place the mouse arrow on the word you wish to move and click on the left button of the mouse. Hold down the button and drag the word to where you want it to go, then let go of the button.

Note.

You can also automatically move a word to the first incomplete sentence by double-clicking on it.

Mystery Phrase

The Mystery Phrase allows you to improve your command of vocabulary and spelling. These exercises allow you to work on your written comprehension skills and written expression skills. For learning Chinese: The aim of this exercise is to find the Chinese ‘word’ corresponding to a definition given in English. Click on the letters shown at the bottom of your screen to display the word in Pinyin. For learning Japanese: For Beginner and Advanced levels, the aim of this exercise is to find the Japanese ‘word’ transcribed in Rômaji corresponding to a definition given in English. For Advanced+ and Business levels, the aim of this exercise is to find the Japanese ‘word’ transcribed in Rômaji that corresponds to the definition in Japanese. Click on the letters displayed on the screen to enter the word in Rômaji.

Warning!

You are allowed a maximum of seven wrong letters before failing the exercise.

Word Order

Word Order helps you to enrich your vocabulary and knowledge of the syntax of the la nguage. This exercise

allows you to work on your written comprehension skills and your written expression skills.

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Here you need to reconstruct a sentence from the words shown, not in their proper order, in the square at the bottom. You must move the words using your mouse. Place the mouse arrow on the word which you wish to move; click on the word with the left mouse button; move it to where you want it to go; let go of the mouse button.

Note.

Double-clicking on a word puts it in the first unoccupied blank space.

Dictation

The Dictation allows you to work on your listening comprehension skills and your written expression skills. In this exercise you must listen carefully and type the texts you hear.

If your sentence is correct the first time, it appears in green and the solution appears in the square opposite. If the sentence is correct but you asked for help by clicking on Correction, your answer will appear in blue. If it is wrong, it appears in red.

Warning!

The Dictation is in difficult mode by default. You must pay attention to punctuation and capital letters for the sentence to be accepted. If you would like to try this exercise in easy mode, it is necessary to change the settings in the Options screen.

Click on the loudspeaker to hear the entire text. Once the entire text has been played, click on the loudspeaker again to listen to the sentences one at a time. For learning Chinese: Type out in Pinyin each sentence as you hear it. Where necessary, click on the special characters shown on your screen. For learning Japanese: For Beginner level, type each phrase that you hear in Rômaji. For Advanced, Advanced+ and Business levels, click on the Japanese characters at the bottom of the screen in order to put together the sentence you hear.

Crossword Puzzle

The Crossword Puzzle exercises allow you to test your vocabulary. These exercises allow you to work on your written comprehension skills and written expression skills, as well as listening comprehension skills when completed using the recordings of the words. Complete the Crossword Puzzle with the help of the translations or the recordings of the missing words. For further information about the types of clues available, refer to the Options: Dialogue and Exercises section. Place the mouse arrow on the first box of the missing word. Make the word in Pinyin (for learning Chine s e) or in Rômaji ( for learning Ja panese) appear by clicking on the letters shown on the screen. You can change a letter by clicking on the appropriate square and choosing another letter.

Note.

To move from one square to another inside the puzzle, you can use either your mouse or the arrows on the keyboard. You can change the size of the puzzle in the Options: Dialogue and Exercises screen. The puzzle can be between five by five squares and eleven by eleven squares. Move the blue cursor to the desired number of squares.

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Available functions

To check your answers, click on the Correction icon. Your correct answers appear in green and those which are incorrect in red.

ote.

The Dictation exercise has a specific function. To know more about it go to the Dictation section. To see the solution, click on the Solution icon.

Warning!

Once you have asked for the solution, you can no longer change your answers.

Click on the Options icon in the toolbar to adapt the exercises to your own level and needs.

Options

Click on the Dialogue and Exercises tab.

Timer

You can activate the timer to restrict the time available to complete each exercise. The timer indicates the time you have spent on each exercise and the time remaining.

Picture/Word Association

You can decide how many words you want to appear on the screen (two, three or four).

Crossword Puzzle

You can choose the type of clue that you want to help you fill in the crossword puzzle: an oral clue (the recording of the word) or a written clue (the translation of the word). You can also decide on the size of the puzzle. This can range from five by five squares to eleven by eleven squares.

Dictation

You can vary the difficulty level of the dictation transcribed in Pinyin (for learning Chinese) or in Rômaji (for learning Jap anese). If you ask TeLL me More punctuation mistakes. If, however, you wish TeLL me More not be able to make a single capitalisation or punctuation mistake.

to be lenient (easy mode), it will not mark any capitalisation or

to be more demanding (difficult mode), you will

Reference Works

Start-up

To consult the Grammar and Glossary: From the Film Set, click on the books.

From any other screen, click on the Reference Works icon in the toolbar.

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Grammar

Click on the Grammar tab to access the grammar explanations. In the summary, choose the grammar point that you wish to wo rk on. To see the other pages of the summary, click on the corners of the pages on the bottom right or left. Within a grammar explanation, to move backwards or forwards from one page to another, click on the right or left corner of the page. If you wish to immerse your self totally in the Chinese or the Japanese language, click on the Translation icon in the toolbar to see the grammar explanations in Chinese or in Japanese.

Glossary

If you want to check the meaning or pronunciation of a word, you can access the Glossary by clicking on the Glossary tab or squares.

To find a word in the Glossary, click on the tab corresponding to the first letter of the word transcribed in Pinyin (for learning Chinese) or in Rômaji (for learning Japanese). The Rômaji transcription will app ear when you move the cursor over the word. To turn the page, click on the bottom right or left corner. You can access the Glossary from any activity. Click on the word and then on the Reference Works icon in the toolbar. You can then access the translation, in context, of the word in question. By clicking on the word, you can hear a recording of it. You can also access its pronunciation exercise by selecting it and clicking on the right mouse button or by clicking on the Pronunciation icon in the toolbar.

Lesson Report

Accessing the Lesson Report panel

From the Film Set, click on the trophies. From any other screen, click on the Lesson Report icon in the toolbar.

Note.

A dialogue carried out in explore or expression mode is fully completed only when you have restarted it several times and exhausted all the possible responses.

Your total score for the activities completed in a lesson is displayed at the top of the screen. This score is calculated using several evaluation criteria: the number of activities completed, the number of exercises completed within each activity and the results of these exercises. The maximum score obtainable varies according to the number of exercises contained in each lesson.

Each tube gives the results of a single activity. The figure above the tube is the total number of exercises in the category. The figure above the light blue area shows the number of exercises completed, and the figure next to the dark blue shows the number of those that were correct.

Note.

If the tube is not full you have not yet co mpleted all the exercises in that category. Try modifying the options to access the exercises that you haven't yet done, or starting the dialogues in explore or expression mode to exhaust all the possible re sponses. You can replay the dialogue exercise you have already done by clicking on Play back dialogue in the Dialogue part of the screen.

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To cancel your results and start the exercises again, click on the Fresh start button in the upper right corner of the screen.

Options

Accessing the options

From the Film Set, click on the mixing desk. From any other screen, click on the Options icon in the toolbar.

Selecting an option

Click on the tab corresponding to the activity whose settings you wish to modify: Dialogue and Exercises or Audio, Video and Speech Recognition.

To activate or deactivate an option, click on its corresponding button. To adjust a level (difficulty level, volume, etc.), click on the blue cursor, then holding the left mouse button down, slide the blue cursor left or right and release the mo use button when you have set the level.

Note.

If you are a first-time user of TeLL me More been set by default.

Options: Dialogue and Exercises

, you are strongly advised not to change t he options that have

Timer

You may choose to complete the exercises with or without the timer. Activate the timer to change the time allowed to complete the exercises. The further to the left yo u move the blue cursor, the shorter the time available, and vice versa.

Crossword Puzzle

You can choose the type of clue you wish to use to help you fill in the Crossword Puzzle: choose between an oral clue (a recording of the word) and a written clue (the translation of the word). You can also decide on the size of the puzzle. This can range from five squares by five to eleven squares by eleven. Move the blue cursor around according to the number of squares desired.

Transcription display

For learning Chinese: If you want, you can have the Pinyin transcription of the Chinese words in the dialogue or the pronunciation exercises. For learning Japanese: If you want, you can choose the Rômaji or the Furigana transcriptions of the Japanese words in the dialogue, the video text or the sentences in the pronunciation exercise.

Dictation

You can vary the difficulty level of the dictation. If you ask TeLL me More® to be lenient (easy mode), it will not mark any capitalisation or punctuation mistakes. If, however, you wish TeLL me More demanding (difficult mode), you will not be able to make a single capitalisation or punctuation mistake.

to be more

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Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition

Audio

You can change the volume and speech delivery. It’s up to you if you want to keep the sound effects which come with the exercises.

Speech recognition

Click on the Speech recognition button to activate this option in the activities where it is available. Activate the Background noise test option to check that your microphone is working properly. You can also ask TeLL me More with speech recognition. The difficulty level is an essential variable for the activities that use speech recognition. The level ranges from 1 to 7: the higher the number, the more demanding the computer is about your pronunciation. If your score is lower than the difficulty level that you have chosen (purple rectangles), TeLL me More answer; you will therefore have to say the word or sentence again. If your score is higher than or equal to the difficulty level (dark blue rectangles), the activity will continue as normal.

Pronunciation: display

You can see your recording represented in three different ways. You can choose to display the waveform of your pronunciation, the pitch cur ve representing the intonation of your recording, or both at the same time. You can then improve your p ronunciation b y comparing your recording as repr esented by the graphs with those of the model shown. For further details about this option, refer to the Waveforms and pitch curves section.

to indicate the moment when you should speak with a beep in the activities

will not accept your

Recommendations and solutions

Recommendations

Installing the headset

Connect the headset to the inputs corresponding to the sound card. These inputs can usually be found at the back of your computer.

The microphone corresponds to the marked Mic or the sound card input marked Spk/Line out or

. The headphones correspond to the ² plug of the headset. This plug must be connected to

plug of the headset. This plug must be connected to the sound card input

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Note.

Sound may be played through either the loudspeakers or the headphones. You must ther efore connect to the sound card either the ² plug of the headset or the loudspeaker plug.

Difficulty level

The difficulty level you choose is an essential element in all the activities that function with speech recognition. The level ranges from 1 to 7 (7 being the highest le vel). The higher the level, the mor e demanding the computer will be about your pronunciation. The difficulty level can be modified at any time in the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition screen. If you are just be ginning, set this level to 2. TeLL me More You can increase this level as soon as you feel more at e ase in the dialo gue and your pronunc i ation has improved.

will not be too demanding about your response.

Speaking

Wait for the Speak... lamp to light up before beginning to speak. Only speak after the beep (if this option is activated). The Speak... lamp will begin to flash, indicating that TeLL me More Take your time, speak clearly and try to avoid hesitating. Do not give any response other than those that appear on the screen. When the sentence is long, try to speak fairly rapidly as you only have three seconds in which to respond. Do not hesitate when speaking. If you pause at all, the computer will think that you have finished speaking.

is recording your answer.

Imitating the model

Try to imitate the model as closely as possible. This imitation will allow you to pick up the rhythm, intonation and correct pronunciation of each sentence. Think about varying your way of speaking even if this seems artificial. The more closely you imitate the model, the higher your score will be. Don't hesitate to concentrate on the pronunciation of a pho ne me or word if you encounter difficulties. TeLL me

will show you your pronunciation mistakes thanks to SETS technology. For further details about this

function, refe r to the Pronunciation section.

Solutions

Installation/Start-up

I can't install TeLL me More® CJ!

Check that you have put the installation CD-ROM into the drive.

Note.

If installation does not begin automatically, it will be necessary to run the setup.exe program which can be found at the root of the installation CD-ROM. To do this, click on Start in the Windows Programs \ WindowsääääExplorer and click on the letter corresponding to your CD-ROM drive. Double-click on the setup.exe or setup files represented by the software icon.

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toolbar. Then go to

Check that your computer has the minimum system requirements. For further details, refer to the System requirements section. Be especially careful to check the space available on your hard disk: double-click on My computer, then, from the Display menu, the Details option. If Windows than 20 MB of space available on the Windows

is to function correctly then there must be always more

installation disk (C: \ by default). You should also check that

the space available on the disk chosen for the installation of the software is greater than the space required. For more information, refer to the Installing section.

I can't run TeLL me More® CJ!

Uninstall the software using the Start \ Programs \ TeLL me More® CJ \ Uninstall menu and try installing TeLL me More

Check that your computer has the minimum system requirements. For more information, see the System requirements section.

CJ again. For more information, refer to the Installation section.

The display quality is poor!

Refer to the Installing TeLL me More® CJ section. If the display mode installed by default does not suit your system, you will have to uninstall the software using the Start \ Programs \ TeLL me More menu, manually configure the Windowsä display settings, and reinstall the software in an appropriate mode.

CJ \ Uninstall

Sound and recording problems

The sound is barely audible!

Adjust the volume in the Options screen by clicking on the Audio, Video and Speech Recognition tab. For more information, refer to the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition section. Check that the head set is correct l y plugged in. To do this, refer to the Checking the sound section. Check the Windows Go to Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ Multimedia (or Entertainment) \ Volume control. Go to the Options \ Properties menu. Choose Play and tick the boxes of the connected devices. Click on OK. Adjust the Sound or Wave column. Check that this Sound or Wave column has correctly been set to Play. Perhaps your so und card is not working properly. Test it on other software. If the sound quality is bad only when you play back your rec ordings during the pro nunciation exercises, the problem is due to the microphone. For more information, refer to the Checking the sound section.

The computer can't hear me at all!

Check that the microphone is plugged i n correctly. Try to speak more loudly to see if the computer can't hear you at all, or if reception is simply bad. Check the Windows Go to Start \ Programs \ Accessories \ Multimedia (or Entertainment) \ Volume Control. Go to the Options \ Properties menu. Choose Recording and tick all the boxes of the connected devices. Click on OK. Check that the microphone is switched to record (selected and not mute). Your sound card may not be working. Check that it can record your voice via the Windows For more information, refer to the Checking the sound section.

The computer can't hear me very well!

Make the same checks as for the Checking the sound section. If the recording is good via WindowsTM, it should also be good in TeLL me More Try varying the distance between your mouth and the microphone. Depending on the level of amplification of your sound card, the optimum distance can vary between two and twenty centimetres. If the recording level is at saturation point the automatic volume level adjustment which TeLL me More to improve speech recognition must be deactivated. Analyse the backgro und noise by going to the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognition screen. The computer will adapt speech recognition to the background noise of your environment.

TeLL me More® won't accept my responses in the dialogue!

Check the difficulty level. The higher the difficulty level, the more demanding the computer is with your pronunciation. For more information, refer to the Options: Audio, Video and Speech Recognitio n section. Try a pronunc i ation exercise to compare your pronunciation with that of the model. For more information, r efer to the Waveforms and pitch curves section.

volume control settings:

Sound Recorder.

uses

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Technical support

If you have probl ems using TeLL me More®, contact the technical support team; they will help you find a solution. You will find the contact details on the back of this manual.

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Auralog CJ User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual