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

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.

p.s. 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();
}
}

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);
}
}
}
});
}