What are some ways to optimize the learning experience through Encore!!!?

• Begin by either selecting a Lesson Plan playlist or make a new Playlist choosing words and/or sentences from the Library content. You can customize the title of your own playlists. Use a name that reminds you of the content you have chosen for the playlist.
• If you are starting with a playlist that contains content that is new to you, choose 8-10 repetitions. Choose a “long” pause. This will give you time to articulate the word or sentence. Select “ON” for the breakdown choice. This will repeat some of the words in the sentences you have chosen.
• Choose a time when you have about 30-90 minutes to listen to Encore!!! (e.g. while commuting to work, taking a walk, exercising, cooking, etc.). As the playlist “Plays” you can change the speed of the audio (normal, slow and slower).
• Now listen to each entry as it is spoken and try your best to say aloud the word or sentence during the “Pause”. The first language will be heard once, and the second language will play as many times as you have chosen to repeat. Try to say the words aloud. A playlist with 60-70 entries will take about an hour to finish if you choose 4 repetitions. The more repetitions, the more time the playlist will last. At any time you can “Pause” the playlist in case you need to attend to some other task that requires your attention. You can continue to play the content from where you stopped by choosing “Play”. This will start the paused entry from the beginning of that entry.
• If a playlist contains entries that are completely new to you, it may take up to 100 repetitions of listening and speaking to memorize the content and be able to recall it rapidly so you can use it in a conversation. Start a new playlist with 8-10 repetitions. Then gradually reduce the number of repetitions to zero (1 vocalization per entry). 
• Once you think you have comprehended and can recall the entries in a playlist without much stress, you can do the following exercise: 
  • Start a playlist;
  • Listen to just the entry in the first language; 
  • Pause the playlist and say aloud the second language; 
  • Then Play to continue and to check if you were correct; 
  • You may also “Skip” an entry. Each tap skips ahead one entry.
• When you feel that you have mastered the content of a particular playlist you can use the “Test” function to test yourself. You can do the evaluation yourself or you can ask a friend to do the evaluation. The Test function will use a random order of selections from the Playlist. You can use it to test your accuracy and speed of recall for the entries in the playlist.
  • Tap Test and you will see a new screen with a “Begin” button. When you are ready, tap “Begin”. You will hear an entry from the playlist in the first language.  
  • Then say the equivalent form in the second language; 
  • Tap “Reveal” to hear and see the correct Foreign entry. Tap “Yes” if you believe that you recalled the word or phrase correctly. Otherwise choose “No”. Sometimes there may be more than one way to say the “Foreign” equivalent, so use your own judgment. The time that elapsed before you selected “Yes” or “No” will be noted.
  • The next entry in the “Native” language will appear (in random order). Continue until you are done. Tap the red “Stop” button when you have finished the Test. 
  • The correct answers (“Yes”) will be indicated in your playlist with a green colored background. The incorrect entries (“No”) will display a red colored background. Your goal is to get every entry green. 
  • Each entry will also display a number in seconds. The goal is to reduce this number (i.e. you should be able to answer with almost no time interval between hearing an entry in the first language and answering in the second language.

The Encore!!! lesson plans are organized according to beginner to intermediate fluency level. You can try to master one Lesson per week. This may require using the app (listening and articulating) for 20-25 hours for each Lesson. Since you can use Encore!!! while exercising, commuting to work, going shopping, cooking, etc. you may be able to devote this time over a week or so. At this pace you can master all of the Lessons in about 9 months.