diff --git a/lib/pages/chat/chat.dart b/lib/pages/chat/chat.dart
index 13f09ffb6..5629d809e 100644
--- a/lib/pages/chat/chat.dart
+++ b/lib/pages/chat/chat.dart
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import 'package:fluffychat/pages/chat/recording_dialog.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pages/chat_details/chat_details.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/choreographer/controllers/choreographer.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/controllers/pangea_controller.dart';
-import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/enum/use_type.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/pangea_room_extension.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/models/choreo_record.dart';
@@ -586,7 +585,6 @@ class ChatController extends State<ChatPageWithRoom>
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensSent,
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensWritten,
     ChoreoRecord? choreo,
-    UseType? useType,
   }) async {
     // Pangea#
     if (sendController.text.trim().isEmpty) return;
@@ -630,7 +628,6 @@ class ChatController extends State<ChatPageWithRoom>
       tokensSent: tokensSent,
       tokensWritten: tokensWritten,
       choreo: choreo,
-      useType: useType,
     )
         .then(
       (String? msgEventId) async {
@@ -644,7 +641,6 @@ class ChatController extends State<ChatPageWithRoom>
         GoogleAnalytics.sendMessage(
           room.id,
           room.classCode,
-          useType ?? UseType.un,
         );
 
         if (msgEventId == null) {
diff --git a/lib/pages/chat/events/message.dart b/lib/pages/chat/events/message.dart
index c5756438c..3b2c1b2fb 100644
--- a/lib/pages/chat/events/message.dart
+++ b/lib/pages/chat/events/message.dart
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ class Message extends StatelessWidget {
                                                               ?.showUseType ??
                                                           false) ...[
                                                         pangeaMessageEvent!
-                                                            .useType
+                                                            .msgUseType
                                                             .iconView(
                                                           context,
                                                           textColor
diff --git a/lib/pangea/choreographer/controllers/choreographer.dart b/lib/pangea/choreographer/controllers/choreographer.dart
index 42661b81e..3e7668323 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/choreographer/controllers/choreographer.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/choreographer/controllers/choreographer.dart
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:sentry_flutter/sentry_flutter.dart';
 
 import '../../../widgets/matrix.dart';
-import '../../enum/use_type.dart';
 import '../../models/choreo_record.dart';
 import '../../models/language_model.dart';
 import '../../models/pangea_match_model.dart';
@@ -108,27 +107,16 @@ class Choreographer {
                 originalSent: false,
               )
             : null;
-    //TODO - confirm that IT is indeed making sure the message is in the user's L1
-
-    // if the message has not been processed to determine its language
-    // then run it through the language detection endpoint. If the detection
-    // confidence is high enough, use that language code as the message's language
-    // to save that pangea representation
-    // TODO - move this to somewhere such that the message can be cleared from the input field
-    // before the language detection is complete. Otherwise, user is going to be waiting
-    // in cases of slow internet or slow language detection
-    final String? originalSentLangCode = igc.igcTextData?.detectedLanguage;
 
     // TODO - why does both it and igc need to be enabled for choreo to be applicable?
-    final ChoreoRecord? applicableChoreo =
-        isITandIGCEnabled && igc.igcTextData != null ? choreoRecord : null;
-
-    final UseType useType = useTypeCalculator(applicableChoreo);
-
-    // if tokens or language detection are not available, get them
-    // note that we probably need to move this to after we clear the input field
-    // or the user could experience some lag here. note that this call is being
-    // made after we've determined if we have an applicable choreo in order to
+    // final ChoreoRecord? applicableChoreo =
+    //     isITandIGCEnabled && igc.igcTextData != null ? choreoRecord : null;
+
+    // if tokens or language detection are not available, we should get them
+    // notes
+    // 1) we probably need to move this to after we clear the input field
+    // or the user could experience some lag here.
+    // 2)  that this call is being made after we've determined if we have an applicable choreo in order to
     // say whether correction was run on the message. we may eventually want
     // to edit the useType after
     if (igc.igcTextData?.tokens == null ||
@@ -137,26 +125,24 @@ class Choreographer {
     }
 
     final PangeaRepresentation originalSent = PangeaRepresentation(
-      langCode: originalSentLangCode ?? LanguageKeys.unknownLanguage,
+      langCode:
+          igc.igcTextData?.detectedLanguage ?? LanguageKeys.unknownLanguage,
       text: currentText,
       originalSent: true,
       originalWritten: originalWritten == null,
     );
-    debugger(when: kDebugMode);
+
+    final PangeaMessageTokens? tokensSent = igc.igcTextData?.tokens != null
+        ? PangeaMessageTokens(tokens: igc.igcTextData!.tokens)
+        : null;
 
     chatController.send(
-      // PTODO - turn this back on in conjunction with saving tokens
-      // we need to save those tokens as well, in order for exchanges to work
-      // properly. in an exchange, the other user will want
       // originalWritten: originalWritten,
-
       originalSent: originalSent,
-      tokensSent: igc.igcTextData?.tokens != null
-          ? PangeaMessageTokens(tokens: igc.igcTextData!.tokens)
-          : null,
+      tokensSent: tokensSent,
       //TODO - save originalwritten tokens
-      choreo: applicableChoreo,
-      useType: useType,
+      // choreo: applicableChoreo,
+      choreo: choreoRecord,
     );
 
     clear();
diff --git a/lib/pangea/constants/model_keys.dart b/lib/pangea/constants/model_keys.dart
index ca59d89b7..372e72606 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/constants/model_keys.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/constants/model_keys.dart
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ class ModelKey {
   static const String tokensSent = "tokens_sent";
   static const String tokensWritten = "tokens_written";
   static const String choreoRecord = "choreo_record";
-  static const String useType = "use_type";
 
   static const String baseDefinition = "base_definition";
   static const String targetDefinition = "target_definition";
diff --git a/lib/pangea/controllers/language_detection_controller.dart b/lib/pangea/controllers/language_detection_controller.dart
index 08f38ea2c..a3e07b0a3 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/controllers/language_detection_controller.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/controllers/language_detection_controller.dart
@@ -76,15 +76,20 @@ class LanguageDetectionResponse {
     };
   }
 
-  LanguageDetection get _bestDetection {
+  /// Return the highest confidence detection.
+  /// If there are no detections, the unknown language detection is returned.
+  LanguageDetection get highestConfidenceDetection {
     detections.sort((a, b) => b.confidence.compareTo(a.confidence));
     return detections.firstOrNull ?? unknownLanguageDetection;
   }
 
-  LanguageDetection bestDetection({double? threshold}) =>
-      _bestDetection.confidence >=
+  /// Returns the highest validated detection based on the confidence threshold.
+  /// If the highest confidence detection is below the threshold, the unknown language
+  /// detection is returned.
+  LanguageDetection highestValidatedDetection({double? threshold}) =>
+      highestConfidenceDetection.confidence >=
               (threshold ?? languageDetectionConfidenceThreshold)
-          ? _bestDetection
+          ? highestConfidenceDetection
           : unknownLanguageDetection;
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/pangea/controllers/my_analytics_controller.dart b/lib/pangea/controllers/my_analytics_controller.dart
index 14b3555a1..1ae6f2a5b 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/controllers/my_analytics_controller.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/controllers/my_analytics_controller.dart
@@ -216,8 +216,6 @@ class MyAnalyticsController {
         .where((room) => !room.isSpace && !room.isAnalyticsRoom)
         .toList();
 
-    final DateTime now = DateTime.now();
-
     // get the recent message events and activity records for each chat
     final List<Future<List<Event>>> recentMsgFutures = [];
     final List<Future<List<Event>>> recentActivityFutures = [];
@@ -309,10 +307,13 @@ class MyAnalyticsController {
     recentConstructUses.addAll(constructLists.expand((e) => e));
 
     //TODO - confirm that this is the correct construct content
-    debugger(
-        when: kDebugMode &&
-            (recentPangeaMessageEvents.isNotEmpty ||
-                recentActivityRecords.isNotEmpty));
+    // debugger(
+    //   when: kDebugMode,
+    // );
+    // ;    debugger(
+    //       when: kDebugMode &&
+    //           (allRecentMessages.isNotEmpty || recentActivityRecords.isNotEmpty),
+    //     );
 
     await analyticsRoom.sendConstructsEvent(
       recentConstructUses,
diff --git a/lib/pangea/enum/use_type.dart b/lib/pangea/enum/use_type.dart
index 771b26220..56a4fa3b0 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/enum/use_type.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/enum/use_type.dart
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
-
 import 'package:flutter_gen/gen_l10n/l10n.dart';
 
-import '../models/choreo_record.dart';
 import '../utils/bot_style.dart';
 
 enum UseType { wa, ta, ga, un }
@@ -93,17 +91,3 @@ extension UseTypeMethods on UseType {
     }
   }
 }
-
-UseType useTypeCalculator(
-  ChoreoRecord? choreoRecord,
-) {
-  if (choreoRecord == null) {
-    return UseType.un;
-  } else if (choreoRecord.includedIT) {
-    return UseType.ta;
-  } else if (choreoRecord.hasAcceptedMatches) {
-    return UseType.ga;
-  } else {
-    return UseType.wa;
-  }
-}
diff --git a/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/events_extension.dart b/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/events_extension.dart
index 0f40da5c7..ce9d3451c 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/events_extension.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/events_extension.dart
@@ -229,7 +229,6 @@ extension EventsRoomExtension on Room {
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensSent,
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensWritten,
     ChoreoRecord? choreo,
-    UseType? useType,
   }) {
     // if (parseCommands) {
     //   return client.parseAndRunCommand(this, message,
@@ -247,7 +246,6 @@ extension EventsRoomExtension on Room {
       ModelKey.originalWritten: originalWritten?.toJson(),
       ModelKey.tokensSent: tokensSent?.toJson(),
       ModelKey.tokensWritten: tokensWritten?.toJson(),
-      ModelKey.useType: useType?.string,
     };
     if (parseMarkdown) {
       final html = markdown(
@@ -347,7 +345,7 @@ extension EventsRoomExtension on Room {
             RecentMessageRecord(
               eventId: event.eventId,
               chatId: id,
-              useType: pMsgEvent.useType,
+              useType: pMsgEvent.msgUseType,
               time: event.originServerTs,
             ),
           );
diff --git a/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/pangea_room_extension.dart b/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/pangea_room_extension.dart
index 78ecb9cc0..21f5abac5 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/pangea_room_extension.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/extensions/pangea_room_extension/pangea_room_extension.dart
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ import 'package:sentry_flutter/sentry_flutter.dart';
 
 import '../../../config/app_config.dart';
 import '../../constants/pangea_event_types.dart';
-import '../../enum/use_type.dart';
 import '../../models/choreo_record.dart';
 import '../../models/representation_content_model.dart';
 import '../client_extension/client_extension.dart';
@@ -181,7 +180,6 @@ extension PangeaRoom on Room {
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensSent,
     PangeaMessageTokens? tokensWritten,
     ChoreoRecord? choreo,
-    UseType? useType,
   }) =>
       _pangeaSendTextEvent(
         message,
@@ -198,7 +196,6 @@ extension PangeaRoom on Room {
         tokensSent: tokensSent,
         tokensWritten: tokensWritten,
         choreo: choreo,
-        useType: useType,
       );
 
   Future<String> updateStateEvent(Event stateEvent) =>
diff --git a/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart b/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
index 2f529e528..e0820d665 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/matrix_event_wrappers/pangea_message_event.dart
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
   late Event _event;
   final Timeline timeline;
   final bool ownMessage;
-  bool _isValidPangeaMessageEvent = true;
 
   PangeaMessageEvent({
     required Event event,
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
     required this.ownMessage,
   }) {
     if (event.type != EventTypes.Message) {
-      _isValidPangeaMessageEvent = false;
+      debugger(when: kDebugMode);
       ErrorHandler.logError(
         m: "${event.type} should not be used to make a PangeaMessageEvent",
       );
@@ -548,7 +547,18 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
         originalWritten: false,
       );
 
-  UseType get useType => useTypeCalculator(originalSent?.choreo);
+  UseType get msgUseType {
+    final ChoreoRecord? choreoRecord = originalSent?.choreo;
+    if (choreoRecord == null) {
+      return UseType.un;
+    } else if (choreoRecord.includedIT) {
+      return UseType.ta;
+    } else if (choreoRecord.hasAcceptedMatches) {
+      return UseType.ga;
+    } else {
+      return UseType.wa;
+    }
+  }
 
   bool get showUseType =>
       !ownMessage &&
@@ -662,30 +672,7 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
 
   /// all construct uses for the message, including vocab and grammar
   List<OneConstructUse> get allConstructUses =>
-      [..._grammarConstructUses, ..._vocabUses];
-
-  /// get construct uses of type vocab for the message
-  List<OneConstructUse> get _vocabUses {
-    final List<OneConstructUse> uses = [];
-
-    // missing vital info so return. should not happen
-    if (event.roomId == null) {
-      debugger(when: kDebugMode);
-      return uses;
-    }
-
-    // for each token, record whether selected in ga, ta, or wa
-    if (originalSent?.tokens != null) {
-      for (final token in originalSent!.tokens!) {
-        uses.addAll(_getVocabUseForToken(token));
-      }
-    }
-
-    // add construct uses related to IT use
-    uses.addAll(_itStepsToConstructUses);
-
-    return uses;
-  }
+      [..._grammarConstructUses, ..._vocabUses, ..._itStepsToConstructUses];
 
   /// Returns a list of [OneConstructUse] from itSteps for which the continuance
   /// was selected or ignored. Correct selections are considered in the tokens
@@ -696,6 +683,8 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
   /// are actually in the final message.
   List<OneConstructUse> get _itStepsToConstructUses {
     final List<OneConstructUse> uses = [];
+    if (originalSent?.choreo == null) return uses;
+
     for (final itStep in originalSent!.choreo!.itSteps) {
       for (final continuance in itStep.continuances) {
         // this seems to always be false for continuances right now
@@ -728,6 +717,24 @@ class PangeaMessageEvent {
     return uses;
   }
 
+  /// get construct uses of type vocab for the message
+  List<OneConstructUse> get _vocabUses {
+    final List<OneConstructUse> uses = [];
+
+    // missing vital info so return
+    if (event.roomId == null || originalSent?.tokens == null) {
+      debugger(when: kDebugMode);
+      return uses;
+    }
+
+    // for each token, record whether selected in ga, ta, or wa
+    for (final token in originalSent!.tokens!) {
+      uses.addAll(_getVocabUseForToken(token));
+    }
+
+    return uses;
+  }
+
   /// Returns a list of [OneConstructUse] objects for the given [token]
   /// If there is no [originalSent] or [originalSent.choreo], the [token] is
   /// considered to be a [ConstructUseTypeEnum.wa] as long as it matches the target language.
diff --git a/lib/pangea/models/analytics/summary_analytics_model.dart b/lib/pangea/models/analytics/summary_analytics_model.dart
index b09d0a870..0b8e4b27c 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/models/analytics/summary_analytics_model.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/models/analytics/summary_analytics_model.dart
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class SummaryAnalyticsModel extends AnalyticsModel {
           (msg) => RecentMessageRecord(
             eventId: msg.eventId,
             chatId: msg.room.id,
-            useType: msg.useType,
+            useType: msg.msgUseType,
             time: msg.originServerTs,
           ),
         )
diff --git a/lib/pangea/models/igc_text_data_model.dart b/lib/pangea/models/igc_text_data_model.dart
index fb9388514..442bf4a60 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/models/igc_text_data_model.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/models/igc_text_data_model.dart
@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ class IGCTextData {
                 "full_text": json["original_input"],
               })
             : LanguageDetectionResponse.fromJson(
-                json[_detectionsKey] as Map<String, dynamic>);
+                json[_detectionsKey] as Map<String, dynamic>,
+              );
 
     return IGCTextData(
       tokens: (json[_tokensKey] as Iterable)
@@ -96,7 +97,17 @@ class IGCTextData {
         "enable_igc": enableIGC,
       };
 
-  String get detectedLanguage => detections.bestDetection().langCode;
+  /// if we haven't run IGC or IT or there are no matches, we use the highest validated detection
+  /// from [LanguageDetectionResponse.highestValidatedDetection]
+  /// if we have run igc/it and there are no matches, we can relax the threshold
+  /// and use the highest confidence detection
+  String get detectedLanguage {
+    if (!(enableIGC && enableIT) || matches.isNotEmpty) {
+      return detections.highestValidatedDetection().langCode;
+    } else {
+      return detections.highestConfidenceDetection.langCode;
+    }
+  }
 
   // reconstruct fullText based on accepted match
   //update offsets in existing matches to reflect the change
diff --git a/lib/pangea/models/lemma.dart b/lib/pangea/models/lemma.dart
index 2ad0b2950..56f23d876 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/models/lemma.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/models/lemma.dart
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
+/// Represents a lemma object
 class Lemma {
+  /// [text] ex "ir" - text of the lemma of the word
   final String text;
+
+  /// [form] ex "vamos" - conjugated form of the lemma and as it appeared in some original text
   final String form;
+
+  /// [saveVocab] true - whether to save the lemma to the user's vocabulary
+  /// vocab that are not saved: emails, urls, numbers, punctuation, etc.
   final bool saveVocab;
 
   Lemma({required this.text, required this.saveVocab, required this.form});
diff --git a/lib/pangea/utils/firebase_analytics.dart b/lib/pangea/utils/firebase_analytics.dart
index 59485d35b..323a7a172 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/utils/firebase_analytics.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/utils/firebase_analytics.dart
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/controllers/subscription_controller.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart';
 
 import '../../config/firebase_options.dart';
-import '../enum/use_type.dart';
 
 // PageRoute import
 
@@ -90,13 +89,12 @@ class GoogleAnalytics {
     logEvent('join_group', parameters: {'group_id': classCode});
   }
 
-  static sendMessage(String chatRoomId, String classCode, UseType useType) {
+  static sendMessage(String chatRoomId, String classCode) {
     logEvent(
       'sent_message',
       parameters: {
         "chat_id": chatRoomId,
         'group_id': classCode,
-        "message_type": useType.toString(),
       },
     );
   }
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/overlay_message.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/overlay_message.dart
index d7c99f07b..5f3d46c7e 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/overlay_message.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/chat/overlay_message.dart
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ class OverlayMessage extends StatelessWidget {
                   mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
                   children: [
                     if (pangeaMessageEvent.showUseType) ...[
-                      pangeaMessageEvent.useType.iconView(
+                      pangeaMessageEvent.msgUseType.iconView(
                         context,
                         textColor.withAlpha(164),
                       ),
diff --git a/lib/pangea/widgets/new_group/vocab_list.dart b/lib/pangea/widgets/new_group/vocab_list.dart
index 240e99a85..67089145e 100644
--- a/lib/pangea/widgets/new_group/vocab_list.dart
+++ b/lib/pangea/widgets/new_group/vocab_list.dart
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
+import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/controllers/pangea_controller.dart';
+import 'package:fluffychat/widgets/matrix.dart';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
-
 import 'package:flutter_gen/gen_l10n/l10n.dart';
 
-import 'package:fluffychat/pangea/controllers/pangea_controller.dart';
-import 'package:fluffychat/widgets/matrix.dart';
 import '../../models/chat_topic_model.dart';
 import '../../models/lemma.dart';
 import '../../repo/topic_data_repo.dart';
@@ -76,7 +75,7 @@ class ChatVocabularyList extends StatelessWidget {
         for (final word in topic.vocab)
           Chip(
             labelStyle: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyMedium,
-            label: Text(word.form),
+            label: Text(word.text),
             onDeleted: () {
               onChanged(topic.vocab..remove(word));
             },
@@ -464,7 +463,7 @@ class PromptsFieldState extends State<PromptsField> {
 
         // button to call API
         ElevatedButton.icon(
-          icon: BotFace(
+          icon: const BotFace(
             width: 50.0,
             expression: BotExpression.idle,
           ),