User Guide — StoryLingo
Table of Contents
Getting Started #
Download and install #
StoryLingo is available free on the App Store (iOS 15.0+) and Google Play (Android 5.0+).
No account, no sign-up, no email required. Open the app and you are ready.
Your first story in 5 minutes #
- Open StoryLingo and tap Add Story
- Browse the Prompt Templates — choose a topic and difficulty that suits you
- Tap Copy Prompt to copy the template to your clipboard
- Open ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini and paste the prompt
- Copy the AI’s full response
- Return to StoryLingo, paste the response in the text field, and tap Import
That’s it — your first story is ready. One sentence will arrive tomorrow morning. You’ve already done the hardest part.
Tip: Use the topic and level selectors in the template to control difficulty. A2/B1 is a good starting point for most learners.
Importing Stories #
Understanding the prompt format #
StoryLingo’s prompt templates instruct the AI to use a specific tag format:
[S]sentence[/S]— each sentence to study[N]note[/N]— grammar or cultural note for that sentence[STORY]full paragraph[/STORY]— the complete story for full-review mode
The app validates this format on import. If the AI’s response is missing these tags, you will see a clear error message with instructions.
What to do if import fails #
“Invalid format” error: The AI omitted the structured tags. Add this line at the end of your prompt: “Important: use exactly the tag format shown above. Do not add markdown formatting.”
Formatting characters in the story: If the AI added asterisks or # symbols, ask it to “respond in plain text without markdown formatting” and re-generate.
Very long responses: The app handles up to several hundred sentences, but responses over ~50 sentences may take a moment to process. Aim for 15–30 sentences per story for the best daily experience.
Choosing the right story length #
| Story length | Days to complete | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 10–15 sentences | 2 weeks | Busy schedules, quick experiments |
| 20–30 sentences | 3–4 weeks | Standard monthly stories |
| 40–50 sentences | 6–7 weeks | Deep dives into a topic |
Daily Study #
How the daily sentence works #
Each calendar day, StoryLingo surfaces one sentence from your active story. A push notification arrives at your chosen reminder time containing the sentence text.
Tap the notification (or open the app) to reach the Sentence Study screen:
- The sentence is displayed prominently, with bold markers on key vocabulary
- Below it is the AI-generated grammar note explaining structure and vocabulary
- You can add, edit, or delete your own personal annotations per sentence
- When you are ready, rate your understanding with one of four recall buttons
Rating your recall #
| Button | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Again | Didn’t remember | Had to look it up or guessed |
| Hard | Remembered with effort | Got it, but it took a moment |
| Good | Recalled comfortably | Normal, expected recall |
| Easy | Instant recall | It was obvious, barely needed to think |
Be honest with your ratings — the algorithm learns from you, and so does your memory.
Studying more than one sentence #
After completing your daily sentence, you can tap Review Vocabulary to practice vocabulary cards from any story at any time. New sentence deliveries are capped at one per day, but vocabulary reviews are unlimited.
Spaced Repetition #
How does review scheduling work? #
StoryLingo uses a science-backed scheduling algorithm built on decades of memory research. It models your personal forgetting curve for each item and calculates the optimal moment to review — just before you are likely to forget it.
Reviewing at the right time requires less effort and produces far stronger long-term memory than cramming or fixed-interval review.
How review scheduling works in StoryLingo #
StoryLingo applies smart scheduling at two levels:
Story level: After all sentences in a story have been delivered, the complete story is scheduled for periodic review. You re-read the story and rate how well you understood it.
Vocabulary level: Any word you save to My Vocabulary gets its own independent review schedule. Words you find easy appear less often; words you struggle with appear more.
The daily review limit #
The app respects a configurable daily limit to avoid overwhelming you. On days when both new sentences and vocabulary reviews are due, the app interleaves them intelligently within the limit.
You can adjust the daily limit in Settings → Daily Limit.
What affects your schedule #
- Ratings: The most important input. Rate honestly.
- Consistency: Missing a day pushes some reviews to the next day, which is fine. The algorithm adapts.
- Story count: More active stories = more daily material. Add new stories when you feel ready.
Story Library #
Managing your stories #
The Story Library shows all your imported stories with their status:
- Active: Currently being delivered sentence by sentence
- Reviewing: All sentences delivered; story is in spaced repetition review
- Completed: Fully reviewed and retired
- Paused: Manually paused — no notifications until resumed
Tap any story to see details: sentences, completion percentage, difficulty level estimate, and next review date.
Difficulty level estimate #
When you import a story, the app estimates its CEFR difficulty level (A1 Beginner – C2 Mastery) based on vocabulary complexity and sentence structure. This is an approximation — treat it as a guide, not a precise measurement.
Story review modes #
When reviewing a completed story, you can toggle between:
- Full paragraph view: The complete story as a single coherent text — good for checking overall comprehension
- Sentence-by-sentence view: Walks through each sentence with its note — good for detailed review
Vocabulary Notebook #
My Vocabulary #
To add a word to your vocabulary list, long-press any bolded word in the Sentence Study screen and tap Add to Vocabulary. You can also add words manually from the My Vocabulary screen.
Each vocabulary entry shows:
- The word and its definition/translation
- The story it came from
- Review status (new / learning / review)
- Next review date
Searching and filtering #
Use the search bar at the top of My Vocabulary to find words. Filter by:
- Status: New / Learning / Review / Mastered
- Story: Words from a specific story only
- Due today: Only words scheduled for review today
Deleting vocabulary #
Swipe left on any word and tap Delete to remove it from your vocabulary list. This does not affect the story it came from.
Notifications #
Setting up daily reminders #
Go to Settings → Notifications and enable daily reminders. Choose your preferred time. Notifications are scheduled locally on your device — no external server is involved.
Not receiving notifications #
- Check device Settings → Notifications → StoryLingo — notifications must be allowed
- On iOS, check that Focus Mode is not blocking StoryLingo
- On Android, check that Battery Optimization is not restricting the app
- Restart the app to re-register scheduled notifications
Notification content #
Each daily notification contains:
- The sentence text (visible directly in the banner)
- A “Tap to study” call to action
Tapping the notification opens directly to the Sentence Study screen for that sentence.
Streaks #
How streaks work #
Your streak counts the number of consecutive calendar days you completed at least one study session. The count resets if you miss a full day.
Streaks are tracked in your device’s local time zone. If you travel across time zones, the streak date is based on your current device clock.
Streak reminders #
If you have not studied by late evening, the app sends a gentle reminder notification. You can disable this in Settings → Notifications → Streak reminder.
Settings Reference #
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily reminder time | When to receive your daily sentence notification |
| Streak reminder | Evening reminder if you haven’t studied yet |
| Daily limit | Max vocabulary reviews per day (default: 20) |
| Theme | Light / Dark / Auto |
| Clear All Data | Permanently removes all stories, vocabulary, and history |
Tips for Better Learning #
Match difficulty to your level. If every sentence needs re-reading three times, the story is too hard. Use the prompt template’s level selector to drop to A1/A2 first.
Short stories beat long ones. 20 sentences reviewed well for a month beats 200 sentences skimmed in a week.
Rate honestly. If you tap “Easy” on everything, the algorithm will show things too infrequently and retention will suffer. “Good” is almost always the right button.
Add your best words. Don’t add every word to My Vocabulary — just the ones you want to truly own. A focused list of 100 excellent words is better than 1,000 half-remembered ones.
Stay consistent. One sentence a day doesn’t feel like much — until you look back three months later and realize the language has become a part of you.
Contact & Support #
Can’t find what you need here? Email [email protected] — we respond within 24–48 hours.
You can also view the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.