Guide for Learners

This guide is for learners using zinguist. For general app info like signing in and setting up your profile, see Getting Started.

Live sessions with your native speaker

When session scheduling is enabled for you, you can book a live session with a native speaker from the Progress tab, or join one they created for you.

Booking and upcoming sessions

If you have no upcoming session, a Book a session card appears at the top of Daily Activities. Tap it to choose a native speaker and one or more times. Times are in your local timezone. Each host sets how long their sessions last (the default is 30 minutes).

You can select multiple times with the same speaker, or add sessions from more than one speaker before you confirm. Tap Add to booking after choosing times, then Review when you are ready, and confirm to book them all.

If some times are no longer available when you confirm, the app books the ones that succeed and shows which ones failed so you can pick different times and try again.

If you already have a session coming up, the blue card shows who it is with and when. Tap the card to join, add it to your calendar, or see details. If you have more than one upcoming session, the card shows how many more are coming up. Tap See all upcoming to view the full list.

To book another session without changing an existing one, tap Book another session.

To get a range of voices, you cannot book the same native speaker for two sessions in a row. If a speaker's times are missing, it is usually because you had them for the session just before or after that time. Pick another speaker, or a time further from your last session with them. If no other speaker has times available, you can book the same one again.

To move an existing session or switch speaker, tap Find another time. You can do this until 24 hours before it starts. Booking a different speaker cancels your current session and notifies them. While you pick a new time, your current booking stays on screen. If that time is still free, it is marked Current. The update email includes the previous time.

In the last 24 hours, only your native speaker can move or cancel the session. Ask them if you need to change it.

Your availability

Open your Profile and tap Availability to say when you are usually free. Choose your timezone, add the hours you are free each week, and block out any dates you are away. This is saved to your account and is not used to book sessions yet, so you can set it now and change it whenever you like. The row only appears while Session scheduling (preview) is switched on for you.

Sharing a session with another learner

A session can have up to two learners. When someone has already booked a time, it appears in the list of times with Join Sam (their first name) under it. Pick it like any other time to share that session. If they have chosen to hide their name, it says Join another learner. Once two learners have booked, the time no longer shows as available.

Everyone on the session is told when someone joins or leaves. You only ever see the other learner's first name. Calendar invites list just you and your native speaker, never the other learner's email address.

You cannot move a shared session, because that would move it for the other learner too. Instead, open the session and tap Leave session (until 24 hours before it starts). It carries on for the other learner. To pick a new time, leave and book another. If you are the only learner left, Cancel session is shown instead. A seat you leave opens up again for someone else if the session is more than 24 hours away.

To hide your name from other learners, open your Profile and turn on Hide my name from other learners. They will see Another learner instead. Your native speaker always sees your name.

On a shared session, the phrases your native speaker covers are chosen per learner. You only see the ones covered for you.

Calendar invites are a reminder. Once you confirm your timezone on your profile, confirmation emails show the session time in that timezone. Until then, they show your native speaker's timezone. Change the session in the app, not by proposing a new time in Gmail or your calendar app. The confirmation email links to that session in the app, and the link only works on a device with zinguist installed.

Previous sessions

After a session has passed, it appears in the Previous Sessions section at the bottom of the Progress tab (below Past Courses if you have any). Each card shows the session name, when it was scheduled, and your attendance status (Attended, Missed, or Not marked).

Phrase learning goals

If you're enrolled on an 8-week course, the Your Progress section on the home screen includes a Phrase learning goals chart. It shows the target number of phrases for each week of your course as a goal line, with a dot marking where you are now based on your enrollment week.

Your total counts every phrase you've started learning: Learned, Needs Review, and Memorised (including Fluent). The card also shows how you compare to this week's target, for example whether you're ahead or behind.

Browsing your phrases

Tap the Phrases tab to see all the phrases available to you.

You can filter what you see using the tabs at the top:

• All — every phrase in your language
• My Phrases — only phrases assigned to you, with sub-filters:
  • Memorised — phrases you've started memorising in any way, including Fluent phrases (shown with a purple left border and a Fluent label)
  • Learned — phrases you've marked as learned, awaiting your native speaker's confirmation
  • Needs Review — phrases your native speaker has flagged for you to revisit
  • Not Learned — phrases you haven't started yet
  • Favourites — phrases you've saved to learn later (see below)

Use the search bar to find a phrase by name.

Each phrase has a play button -- tap it to hear the phrase spoken at natural speed. You can also switch to slow speed to hear it more clearly.

If a phrase was covered during one of your live sessions, a From [session name] line appears on the phrase card and at the top of the learning screen. This tells you which session the phrase was introduced in. If the phrase appeared in more than one session, you will see the most recent session name with a count of the others (for example, "From 14 Jun 2026 +2 more").

Saving phrases to favourites

On the All list, every phrase has a Save button instead of Learn. Tap it to add the phrase to Favourites, a sub-section of My Phrases. Saving does not open the learning screen, and your native speaker will not test you on a saved phrase until you learn it. Tap Saved to remove it again.

Favourites is a backlog of phrases you'd like to learn. You can only learn phrases from Favourites once you've learned every phrase assigned to you by a native speaker and finished the Connect phrases to places videos and quiz. Until then, the Learn button is hidden on your favourites. When you learn a favourite, it moves to your main My Phrases list and your native speaker can test you on it.

Changing your mind about an assigned phrase

If you no longer want to learn a phrase that was assigned to you and you haven't learned it yet, tap the three dots on the phrase and choose:

• Move to favourites — takes the phrase out of the phrases you're expected to learn, and keeps it in Favourites so you can learn it later
• Remove from my phrases — takes the phrase off My Phrases. It stays in All, and you can save it again from there

A phrase you moved to Favourites has a Move back to my phrases option. Phrases you saved from All don't have this option.

Your native speaker still sees these phrases in your list, marked Deprioritised by learner, so they know you're not working on them. If they assign the phrase to you again, it returns to My Phrases.

Learning a new phrase

If this is enabled on your account, tapping Learn asks you to finish the Connect phrases to places module first (the videos and the quiz). The Learn button stays visible, and the prompt takes you to the next video or quiz in your course, so you don't skip any videos that come before it. After you finish that module, Learn works as below.

1. On the home screen, tap "Learn a New Phrase"
2. You'll see the phrase text on screen
3. Listen to the recording. You can play it at natural or slow speed
4. Apply the memory technique to anchor the phrase to a location: sounds → associations → objects + actions → follow a geometric sequence
5. Repeat the sequence 3–6 times
6. Test yourself: can you recall all the sound-associations by looking at the objects around you?
7. When you feel confident, tap "I have learned this phrase"

Recording where you memorised it

After marking a phrase as memorised, you'll be asked to record some details about how you learned it. This information helps you during recall practice later.

1. "Where did you learn this?" — type in a location name (e.g. "Living room", "Park bench", "Kitchen table")
2. Add a photo (optional) — take a photo of the location or choose one from your library. This photo will appear during your recall challenge to help jog your memory.
3. How long did you spend learning? — choose one:
   • < 5 min
   • 5-10 min
   • 10-15 min
   • 15-30 min
   • 30+ min
4. Tap "Save Phrase" to finish

Daily Recall

The daily recall challenge is how you strengthen your memory over time. Each session gives you location cues and asks you to recall the phrase before you rate yourself.

How it works

1. On the home screen, tap "Daily Recall" (it shows how many phrases are ready to review)
2. You'll be given up to 7 phrases per session
3. For each phrase, you'll see:
   • The location where you memorised it
   • Your photo of the location (if you added one)
   • The instruction: "Recall the phrase you learned here"
4. Try to remember the phrase from the location cue
5. When you're done trying, tap "Done"
6. Listen to the correct pronunciation — hearing the phrase lets you check how close your recall was, and reinforces the memory before you rate
7. Rate how well you recalled it on a scale of 1 to 5:
   • 1 = couldn't recall at all → the phrase goes back to Not Learned (same as "I've forgotten this phrase")
   • 2 = poor recall → flagged as Needs Review
   • 3 = okay → if the phrase was in Needs Review, it moves back to Learned
   • 4 = good recall → if the phrase was in Needs Review, it moves back to Learned
   • 5 = perfect → if the phrase was in Needs Review, it moves back to Learned
8. The app then moves to the next phrase

The first 5 recall attempts after a phrase is memorised come back in about a day, for scores 2 to 5. After that, a 2 comes back within 4 hours, a 3 in about 1 day, a 4 in about 3 days, and a 5 in about 7 days.

Viewing your locations list

Every location you have ever typed when memorising a phrase is saved and browsable in one place. To open it:

1. Tap the profile icon in the top-right corner of any main tab
2. Scroll to the Learning section and tap My locations

The list shows each location name, a photo thumbnail (if you added one), and a count of how many phrases you anchored there. By default the most recently used location appears first. You can switch to Oldest first using the sort toggle, and you can search by location name using the search bar at the top. The list covers all your locations across every course enrollment you have been part of.

Practising specific phrases

In addition to the daily recall challenge, you can practice recall on a specific phrase:

1. Go to the Phrases tab, tap "My Phrases", then tap "Memorised"
2. Each memorised phrase shows the location name where you learned it
3. Tap the "Practice" button on any phrase to start a recall session for just that phrase
4. The recall works the same as the daily challenge — you'll see the location, try to remember, then rate yourself

This is useful when you want to review specific phrases rather than waiting for them to appear in the daily recall rotation. Practising a phrase this way still counts toward your recall practice.

When your native speaker asks you to review a phrase

Sometimes your native speaker will mark one of your phrases as needing review, for example if your pronunciation has drifted or they think you'd benefit from refreshing your memory of where you anchored it.

When this happens:

1. Open the Phrases tab and switch to the Needs Review filter to see the phrases waiting.
2. Re-listen to each one, optionally re-walk the location and re-anchor the phrase.
3. Your native speaker will mark it as memorised again next time they review your phrases together.

When you've forgotten a phrase

If a phrase has slipped out of your memory and you want to start fresh with it, you can mark it as forgotten without waiting for your native speaker.

1. Open the Phrases tab and switch to My Phrases.
2. Find the phrase you want to reset (it can be in the Memorised, Learned, or Needs Review filter).
3. Tap the · · · action button on the phrase, then choose I've forgotten this phrase.

The phrase moves back to Not Learned and you can learn it again from scratch, including anchoring it to a new location. Resetting also removes the location and photo you previously saved for that phrase, so you start with a clean slate.

When a phrase isn't sticking

If you've already had a phrase marked as memorised or fluent but you realise you're not as sure about it as you thought, you can flag it for review. The phrase moves to Needs Review and shows up in your faster phrase recall sessions again so you can practice it more. There are three places to do this:

• From the Phrases tab: tap the · · · action button on a memorised or fluent phrase and choose Mark as needs review.
• During a daily recall session: tap I need to review this on the recall screen if you look at the photo and know you've blanked.
• After rating a recall attempt: tap Mark this phrase for review on the rating screen, whatever score you gave yourself.

Marking a phrase for review keeps your location and photo intact — you're saying "I want more practice", not starting over.

Conversations

The Conversations tab shows conversation flows -- phrases arranged in the order you'd use them in a real conversation (e.g. ordering at a restaurant, asking for directions).

• Tap a conversation to see its phrases in order
• You can play audio for each phrase within the conversation

When your native speaker assigns a conversation to you, all its phrases are automatically added to your My Phrases list. Any new phrases they add to the conversation afterwards will also appear in My Phrases automatically. In the Phrases tab, phrases that belong to one of your assigned conversations show that conversation name underneath so you know where they came from.

Course videos

If course videos are enabled on your account, open the Courses tab to see the modules in order.

1. Tap a module to watch its videos. Each video in the list shows its length. You need to finish every video in a module before the next one unlocks.
2. Some modules show a Take the quiz button under the video list once every video is finished. You need every answer correct to pass. When you pass, the app says Amazing! and asks you to practice what you learnt. Memory modules offer Practice phrases, which opens the Phrases tab. Listening modules offer Open podcasts when the language you are learning has recommended podcasts. You can always tap Back to the course. If you do not pass, a popup tells you how many mistakes you made and asks you to check your answers, rewatch the videos, or contact your coaches. Wrong questions stay marked so you can try again. The app does not show the correct answers.
3. When a module has a quiz, the next module unlocks after you have finished the videos and passed the quiz.
4. After a module is cleared, tap Recap under the video list to read the summary. Courses also shows an Open to take the quiz tag, or a small recap icon, on the module card when those are ready.

When a quiz is ready, a Take quiz card on the Progress tab takes you to it. Quizzes need an internet connection.

If Learn is locked on your account until Connect phrases to places is finished, tapping Learn takes you into this course flow so you can complete that module first.

Daily Listening

Tracking your listening helps you build awareness of how much time you spend with your target language each day.

1. On the home screen, tap "Continue Listening"
2. Use the sliders to log how many minutes you spent listening in each category:
   • Film — watching films, TV shows, or videos in your target language
     • You can also use this category for podcasts you're trying to understand
   • Sounds — listening to environmental sounds in the language
     • Focus on clearly hearing each and every sound said
   • Words — listening for specific words
     • Focus on clearly hearing where words start and end; imagine subtitles for each individual word (if you can)
   • Tone — listening to speech patterns and intonation
   • Recall — listening back to phrases you've learned
     • Focus on recognising words that belong to your phrases and recalling each phrase
3. For Sounds and Words, you can also record what percentage you understood
4. The daily goal is 20 minutes, but you can log more if you like
5. Your progress saves automatically as you adjust the sliders — you'll see a green tick when it saves

When does a day start?

A listening day runs from 4am to 3:59am in your device's local time zone. If you log listening after midnight but before 4am, it counts toward the previous day. This is so late-night study sessions stay grouped with the day you were working on, not the calendar date that has just ticked over.

The home screen and listening screen both use this same rule, so the minutes shown on Continue Listening should always match the total for Today on the listening screen.

Logging for past days

• Use the day pills at the top to switch between the last 7 days
• Tap "Older dates" to pick a date further back

Recommended podcasts

When the language you are learning has recommended podcasts, a Recommended Podcasts card appears under Daily Activities on the Progress tab. Tap it to see shows and episodes chosen for the language you are learning.

Each row shows a title, whether it is a whole show or a specific episode, and a short description. Tap a row to open the link in your podcast app or browser.

Changing your email

Open your profile and tap Email. Enter the new address and your current password. A code is sent to the new inbox. Your current address keeps working until you enter that code. After it changes, sign in with the new address on your other devices.

Downloading for offline use

You can save phrase recordings to your device so you can practice without internet.

• On any phrase in the Phrases tab, tap the download icon to save its recordings
• In a conversation, open the menu (three dots) at the top and tap Download tree recordings
• To manage your downloads, tap the download icon in the Phrases tab header. That opens Offline Recordings, where you can search, play, or delete individual downloads, or clear everything at once