Playback controls
Pause, step line by line, repeat a sentence, auto-pause after each line, loop a phrase, slow the video down and hear a line read aloud in PlayLingo.
PlayLingo’s controls work in lines, not seconds: you move from sentence to sentence, repeat the one you missed and slow down the hard ones.
Panel at the bottom
- Play / Pause — in the centre.
- Previous line and Next line — the arrows on both sides jump to the start of a sentence.
- Repeat sentence — plays the current line again from its very start.
- Speed — the button with the current speed, for example 1x. It opens the speed settings.
Above the buttons is the video timeline. You can also tap any line in the subtitles to jump to it.
Under the current line
- Auto-pause — the video stops after every line, so you have time to read it. Tap again to turn it off.
- Loop — the current line keeps coming back until you move on.
Loop part of a line
- Turn on Loop under the line.
- The timeline in the panel changes to the loop range. Drag its handles to trim where the piece starts and ends — down to a single phrase.
- Or select words in the line while looping: the loop moves to them.
Turn Loop off to go back to normal playback.
Speed and Slow mode
Tap the speed button to open Speed:
- Video Speed — from 0.25× to 1×. Tap the arrow next to the slider to extend it up to 2×.
- Slow Mode Button — adds a turtle button to the panel. One tap switches between normal speed and your Slow Speed (0.1×–1×, 0.5× by default).
- Speech Speed — how fast lines and words are read aloud.
Hear a line read aloud
Tap the megaphone in the side controls to hear the current line read by the device voice. Tap again to stop. The voice is set in Settings → App → Speech.
Tap a word to play from it
By default, tapping a word explains it. To make a tap play the video from that word, tap the mode button and set Tap Action to Play from Word.
In Build and Speak modes
The video stops after each line on its own, so Auto-pause and Loop are hidden. When a line is done, the play buttons turn into Next. See Modes overview.
Common questions
The video stops after every line
Auto-pause is on, or you’re in an exercise mode such as Understand or Listen. Tap the auto-pause button under the line to turn it off.
Can I use a keyboard?
Yes — see Keyboard shortcuts.
Related guides
- Subtitles and translationWatch YouTube with two lines of subtitles — the original and a translation into your language — and switch the translation or original on and off.
- Keyboard shortcutsControl the PlayLingo player from a hardware keyboard on iPad or Mac — play and pause, move between lines, repeat, auto-pause, loop, slow mode and microphone.
- Modes overviewWatch, Understand, Listen, Build and Speak — PlayLingo’s modes turn the same video into listening, sentence-building and speaking practice. Here’s when to use each.
- Subtitle appearanceCustomise how subtitles look in PlayLingo — colour themes, text size, fonts for subtitles and translation, alignment, width, karaoke cursor and more.