diff --git a/lib/pangea/controllers/message_analytics_controller.dart b/lib/pangea/controllers/message_analytics_controller.dart
index aecc073a3..ca2b2fe3c 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/controllers/message_analytics_controller.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/controllers/message_analytics_controller.dart
@@ -90,7 +90,9 @@ class MessageAnalyticsEntry {
       // get all the eligible activity types for the token
       // based on the context of the message
       final eligibleTypesBasedOnContext = token.eligibleActivityTypes
+          // we want to filter hidden word types from this part of the process
           .where((type) => type != ActivityTypeEnum.hiddenWordListening)
+          // there have to be at least 4 tokens in the message that can be heard for word focus listening
           .where(
             (type) =>
                 canDoWordFocusListening ||
diff --git a/lib/pangea/models/pangea_token_model.dart b/lib/pangea/models/pangea_token_model.dart
index fcca93a0f..17115694a 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/models/pangea_token_model.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/models/pangea_token_model.dart
@@ -138,7 +138,24 @@ class PangeaToken {
   int get end => text.offset + text.length;
 
   bool get isContentWord =>
-      ["NOUN", "VERB", "ADJ", "ADV", "AUX", "PRON"].contains(pos) &&
+      ["NOUN", "VERB", "ADJ", "ADV"].contains(pos) && lemma.saveVocab;
+
+  bool get canBeDefined =>
+      [
+        "ADJ",
+        "ADP",
+        "ADV",
+        "AUX",
+        "CCONJ",
+        "DET",
+        "INTJ",
+        "NOUN",
+        "NUM",
+        "PRON",
+        "PROPN",
+        "SCONJ",
+        "VERB",
+      ].contains(pos) &&
       lemma.saveVocab;
 
   bool get canBeHeard =>
@@ -175,7 +192,7 @@ class PangeaToken {
   bool _isActivityBasicallyEligible(ActivityTypeEnum a) {
     switch (a) {
       case ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning:
-        return isContentWord;
+        return canBeDefined;
       case ActivityTypeEnum.wordFocusListening:
       case ActivityTypeEnum.hiddenWordListening:
         return canBeHeard;
@@ -231,19 +248,31 @@ class PangeaToken {
   bool _isActivityProbablyLevelAppropriate(ActivityTypeEnum a) {
     switch (a) {
       case ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning:
-        return vocabConstruct.points < 15 || daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 2;
+        if (isContentWord) {
+          return vocabConstruct.points < 15 || daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 2;
+        } else {
+          return vocabConstruct.points < 5 || daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 7;
+        }
       case ActivityTypeEnum.wordFocusListening:
-        return !_didActivitySuccessfully(a) || daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 2;
+        return !_didActivitySuccessfully(a) || daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 30;
       case ActivityTypeEnum.hiddenWordListening:
         return daysSinceLastUseByType(a) > 2;
     }
   }
 
+  // maybe for every 5 points of xp for a particular activity, increment the days between uses by 2
   bool shouldDoActivity(ActivityTypeEnum a) =>
       lemma.saveVocab &&
       _isActivityBasicallyEligible(a) &&
       _isActivityProbablyLevelAppropriate(a);
 
+  /// we try to guess if the user is click on a token specifically or clicking on a message in general
+  /// if we think the word might be new for the learner, then we'll assume they're clicking on the word
+  bool get shouldDoWordMeaningOnClick =>
+      lemma.saveVocab &&
+      canBeDefined &&
+      daysSinceLastUseByType(ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning) > 1;
+
   List<ActivityTypeEnum> get eligibleActivityTypes {
     final List<ActivityTypeEnum> eligibleActivityTypes = [];
 
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_selection_overlay.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_selection_overlay.dart
index b38bf72ad..276ab1997 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_selection_overlay.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/message_selection_overlay.dart
@@ -84,17 +84,27 @@ class MessageOverlayController extends State<MessageSelectionOverlay>
       return null;
     }
 
+    debugPrint(
+      "selected token: ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.text.content} total_xp:${widget._initialSelectedToken?.xp} vocab_construct_xp: ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.vocabConstruct.points} daysSincelastUseInWordMeaning ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.daysSinceLastUseByType(ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning)}",
+    );
+    debugPrint(
+      "${widget._initialSelectedToken?.vocabConstruct.uses.map((u) => "${u.useType} ${u.timeStamp}").join(", ")}",
+    );
+
     // should not already be involved in a hidden word activity
     final isInHiddenWordActivity =
         messageAnalyticsEntry!.isTokenInHiddenWordActivity(
       widget._initialSelectedToken!,
     );
-
     // whether the activity should generally be involved in an activity
     final shouldDoActivity = widget._initialSelectedToken!
         .shouldDoActivity(ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning);
 
-    return !isInHiddenWordActivity && shouldDoActivity
+    return !isInHiddenWordActivity &&
+            widget._initialSelectedToken!.eligibleActivityTypes.isNotEmpty &&
+            widget._initialSelectedToken!
+                    .daysSinceLastUseByType(ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning) >
+                1
         ? widget._initialSelectedToken
         : null;
   }
@@ -103,21 +113,8 @@ class MessageOverlayController extends State<MessageSelectionOverlay>
   void initState() {
     super.initState();
 
-    _getTokens();
+    _initializeTokensAndMode();
     _setupSubscriptions();
-
-    if (_selectedTargetTokenForWordMeaning != null) {
-      messageAnalyticsEntry?.addForWordMeaning(
-        _selectedTargetTokenForWordMeaning!,
-      );
-    }
-
-    debugPrint(
-      "selected token: ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.text.content} total_xp:${widget._initialSelectedToken?.xp} vocab_construct_xp: ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.vocabConstruct.points} daysSincelastUseInWordMeaning ${widget._initialSelectedToken?.daysSinceLastUseByType(ActivityTypeEnum.wordMeaning)}",
-    );
-    debugPrint(
-      "${widget._initialSelectedToken?.vocabConstruct.uses.map((u) => "${u.useType} ${u.timeStamp}").join(", ")}",
-    );
   }
 
   void _setupSubscriptions() {
@@ -157,7 +154,7 @@ class MessageOverlayController extends State<MessageSelectionOverlay>
         )
       : null;
 
-  Future<void> _getTokens() async {
+  Future<void> _initializeTokensAndMode() async {
     try {
       final repEvent = pangeaMessageEvent.messageDisplayRepresentation;
       if (repEvent != null) {
@@ -169,6 +166,11 @@ class MessageOverlayController extends State<MessageSelectionOverlay>
     } catch (e, s) {
       ErrorHandler.logError(e: e, s: s);
     } finally {
+      if (_selectedTargetTokenForWordMeaning != null) {
+        messageAnalyticsEntry?.addForWordMeaning(
+          _selectedTargetTokenForWordMeaning!,
+        );
+      }
       _setInitialToolbarMode();
       initialized = true;
       if (mounted) setState(() {});