How to highlight a selected RecyclerView item and use its values in Activity

Question

I have a list of words with translations in RecyclerView. I want the selected word to be highlighted, but at the same time I could use these values in Activity. I can highlight selected values or use the values of a selected item, but the combination of the both fails. Please, maybe You see where I am wrong and can help solve my problem.

ps Please don't judge me for the not enough clean code and my English, I'm learning. :)

MyListActivity.java

public class MyListActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    public ArrayList<MyWord> myWordList = new ArrayList<>();
    SelectData sd = new SelectData();
    int wordId;
    String word;
    String translation;

    public RecyclerView mRecycleView;
    public MyAdapter mAdapter;
    public RecyclerView.LayoutManager mLayoutManager;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_my_list);

        sd.selectMyWords(myWordList);

        buildRecycleView();

        Button btnInsert = findViewById(R.id.mywords_button_insert);
        Button btnEdit = findViewById(R.id.mywords_button_edit);
        Button btnDelete = findViewById(R.id.mywords_button_delete);
        Button btnMain = findViewById(R.id.mywords_button_backttomain);

        mAdapter.setOnItemClickListener(new MyAdapter.OnItemClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onItemClick(int position) {

// **This is my selected item values**

                wordId = myWordList.get(position).getWordId(); 
                word = myWordList.get(position).getWord();
                translation = myWordList.get(position).getTranslation();
                
                Toast.makeText(MyListActivity.this, "Selected -> " + word, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
        });

        btnEdit.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {

                if(!(word == null)) {
                    Intent intentInsert = new Intent(MyListActivity.this, InsertActivity.class);
                    intentInsert.putExtra("W", word);
                    intentInsert.putExtra("TR", translation);
                    intentInsert.putExtra("ACTION", "ED");
                    startActivity(intentInsert);
                } else {
                    Toast.makeText(MyListActivity.this, "Select word", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                }
            }
        });

    }

    @Override
    public void onBackPressed() {
        super.onBackPressed();
        
    }

    public void buildRecycleView(){
        mRecycleView = findViewById(R.id.mywords_RecycleView);
        mRecycleView.setHasFixedSize(true);
        mLayoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(this);
        mAdapter = new MyAdapter(myWordList);

        mRecycleView.setLayoutManager(mLayoutManager);
        mRecycleView.setAdapter(mAdapter);

        if (myWordList.isEmpty()){
            Toast.makeText(this, "word list is empty", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }
    }
}

MyAdapter.java

public class MyAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<MyAdapter.MyViewHolder> {
    private ArrayList<MyWord> mMyWordList;
    private OnItemClickListener mListener;

    public interface OnItemClickListener{
        void onItemClick(int position);
    }

    public void setOnItemClickListener(OnItemClickListener listener){
        mListener = listener;
    }

    public static class MyViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {

        public TextView mTextViewEN;
        public TextView mTextViewLT;
        public ImageView imageViewLearned;

        public MyViewHolder(@NonNull View itemView, final OnItemClickListener listener) {
            super(itemView);
            mTextViewEN = itemView.findViewById(R.id.myList_textView_word);
            mTextViewLT = itemView.findViewById(R.id.myList_textView_translation);
            imageViewLearned = itemView.findViewById(R.id.iV_learned);

            itemView.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
                @Override
                public void onClick(View v) {
                    if (listener != null){
                        int position = getAdapterPosition();
                        if (position != RecyclerView.NO_POSITION){
                            listener.onItemClick(position);
                        }
                    }
                }
            });
        }
    }

    public MyAdapter(ArrayList<MyWord> myWordList){
       mMyWordList = myWordList;
    }

    int selectedItem = -1;
   
    @NonNull
    @Override
    public MyViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(@NonNull ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
       View v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.my_list_view_layout, parent, false);
        MyViewHolder mvh = new MyViewHolder(v, mListener);
        return mvh;
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(@NonNull MyViewHolder holder, final int position) {

        MyWord currentMyWord = mMyWordList.get(position);
        holder.mTextViewEN.setText(currentMyWord.getWord());
        holder.mTextViewLT.setText(currentMyWord.getTranslation());

// TODO - START (select item highlight) - if I activate highlighting, the assignment of values no longer works in MyListActivity.
        
      /*  holder.itemView.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                selectedItem = position;
                notifyDataSetChanged();
            }
        });

        if (selectedItem == position) {
            holder.itemView.setBackgroundColor(Color.parseColor("#C0C0C0"));
        } else {
            holder.itemView.setBackgroundColor(Color.parseColor("#F8F8F8"));
        } */
//TODO -END

    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return mMyWordList.size();
    }
}

Answer 1

Looks like your commented code would overwrite your click listener with one that only hightlights. Try combining them:

public MyViewHolder(@NonNull View itemView, final OnItemClickListener listener)   {
    super(itemView);
    mTextViewEN = itemView.findViewById(R.id.myList_textView_word);
    mTextViewLT = itemView.findViewById(R.id.myList_textView_translation);
    imageViewLearned = itemView.findViewById(R.id.iV_learned);

    itemView.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            if (listener != null){
                int position = getAdapterPosition();
                if (position != RecyclerView.NO_POSITION){
                    selectedItem = position;
                    notifyDataSetChanged();
                    listener.onItemClick(position);
                }
            }
        }
    });
}