Listen once through and mark the difficult parts
Before speaking, listen through once for the general meaning. Note any parts that feel fast or where words run together. If you follow the audio without understanding it, you cannot tell whether you stopped because of the sound or the meaning.
Start by following short phrases
If a full sentence is difficult, start with a short unit ending at a breath or a natural break in meaning. Speak slightly behind the audio, then move on when you can say it comfortably. If you stumble or cannot keep speaking, pause. The phrase where you fell behind is today's starting point.
Shorten the section before slowing the audio
If restarting the sentence leaves you behind at the same words, begin just before the word where you lost pace and choose a manageable length. A shorter section may let you keep up without changing speed. Slow down if you still cannot follow the flow of the sounds.
When phrase boundaries are available, use Rehear to go back one phrase. You can replay it without repeatedly skipping back by seconds to find your position. If a boundary cuts through a difficult sound, try setting an A-B section.
Listen → speak slightly behind the audio → return to the phrase where you stopped. Resume from that section rather than from the beginning.
Use text only to check sounds you still cannot understand
If the same word remains difficult even in a shorter section, connected sounds may be making it sound like another word. Stop speaking, open the transcript, and compare the sounds with the text. Automatic transcripts can be wrong; use the course's original text when you have it.
Then close the text and follow the same phrase by ear again. Keeping the text open can draw your attention toward reading rather than listening. When to open the transcript also depends on your practice goal.
Return to a longer passage at the end
Once you can say the short section, replay it with the surrounding phrases. Follow the difficult sentence starting from the sentence before it. You may be able to say it alone yet fall behind again in context. If so, shorten the section again, then expand it once you can say it.
When you can move into the next sentence without falling behind, finish that part for now. If you want to pause the audio and reproduce a sentence, continue to repeating.
