Before you travel to a foreign country, how about a foreign website?  With smart use of browser extensions or plugins, you can organize the vocabulary you need and even take a guided tour of foreign websites with your online tutor...

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This article published in partnership with <a href="http://lingua.ly/">Lingua.ly</a> - Learn a language with articles and vocab tools!
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When you use Google to translate an entire webpage, you miss an amazing opportunity to learn new vocabulary and challenge your brain. Next time, try a browser extension instead, and take a virtual field trip you&rsquo;ll never forget!
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People learn best when they meet new language in context. That&rsquo;s because we use prior knowledge and expectations about a situation to make good guesses about new vocabulary. So every few weeks, arrange to meet your italki tutor somewhere other than the same old video-chat classroom. Use a browser extension to surf anywhere on the web and start your lesson surrounded by the language you are learning.
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<h2>How to get the most out of your trip</h2>
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1. Go someplace that interests you
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If you are studying academic English, maybe you&rsquo;ll want to explore the website for the University of Oxford&rsquo;s Bodleian Library or perhaps you are looking to brush up on your business conversation and fancy a trip to the Shanghai stock exchange. Wherever you go, make sure it is someplace meaningful to you. If you prefer to be directed, tell your <a href="http://www.italki.com/teachers/?src=lingualyfieldtriparticle">italki tutor</a> what you are passionate about so they can suggest some locations with target language websites. Ask for the links in advance of your lesson so you can have a quick look around before your teacher joins you.
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2. Take full advantage of the experience
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Explore and investigate the location&mdash;let the content lead the way. Look at the images, listen to audio, read and pay attention to how the place might be different from similar institutions in your country. Having your tutor there at your side is a great way to get comfortable diving into an Internet full of language. It will give you the confidence and skills you need to surf anywhere, anytime and prepare yourself for the real thing.
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3. Make a return trip when your class is over
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The best part is that you can always go back when your session is over and take another trip, because it&rsquo;s all FREE. Start building up a list of favorite sites in the language you are learning and try to go back on a regular basis to keep your language learning FUN and REAL.
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Use a browser extension to visit a car dealership, a museum or even a pet-store.
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A few places you may want to visit, on your own or with your online tutor:
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<li>An Italian kitchen and recipe hub <a href="http://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/">http://www.lacucinaitaliana.it</a></li>
<li>A fashion museum in Paris <a href="http://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/fr">http://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/fr</a></li>
<li>A press room in China&nbsp;<a href="http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2014-06/19/nw.D110000renmrb_20140619_2-01.htm" target="_blank">http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2014-06/19/nw.D110000renmrb_20140619_2-01.htm</a></li>
<li>A guide to Flamenco in Andalusia <a href="http://www.andalucia.org/es/flamenco/">http://www.andalucia.org/es/flamenco/</a></li>
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<h2>What are browser extensions and how do they work?</h2>
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Tools like Lingua.ly&rsquo;s <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lingualy/iilcekgoelpgecpjnnoikhbleipnjdhf?hl=en">extension for Google Chrome</a> live inside your browser, allowing you to surf anywhere on the web where you are likely to encounter target language text. Then, they can provide the dictionary, flashcard and learning tools you need to make sense of the content once you have arrived.
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Whenever you see a word you don&rsquo;t know, you can double-click for an in-page definition and audio recording. You&rsquo;ll automatically make a flashcard with images and example sentences that you can review and practice later when your lesson is over. Meanwhile, your tutor can use the opportunity to explain all of the cultural nuances you will encounter.
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It&rsquo;s important to remember that italki learners should never feel confined by the digital medium. The Internet is full of exciting sites to explore and opportunities to discover language are yours for the taking!
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Meredith is a polyglot, applied linguist and digital learning enthusiast who has spent the last seven years working across the language learning industry in various roles from teaching to curriculum development and teacher-training. Previously, she managed the special projects team at Education First. She holds an M.Sc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition from the University of Oxford, a B.A. in French language and literature from Georgetown University and speaks 5 languages fluently.

Bring Your italki Lessons To Life With A Virtual Field Trip

Learning Article : Bring Your italki Lessons To Life With A Virtual Field Trip
Discuss the Article : Bring Your italki Lessons To Life With A Virtual Field Trip<a href='/article/267/bring-your-italki-lessons-to-life-with-a-virtual-field-trip' target='_blank'>Bring Your italki Lessons To Life With A Virtual Field Trip</a>Before you travel to a foreign country, how about a foreign website? With smart use of browser extensions or plugins, you can organize the vocabulary you need and even take a guided tour of foreign websites with your online tutor...

Working with an italki tutor is one of the best ways to ensure your language study is custom-fit to your level and needs. Try these easy tips to get more out of your learning. Remember, no matter your level, a new milestone is always just around the corner!

This article published in partnership with&nbsp;<a href="http://lingua.ly/">Lingua.ly</a>&nbsp;- Learn a language with articles and vocab tools!

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<h2>1. Share your Words</h2>
You spend time, energy and money on the right books, teachers and digital solutions, but only YOU can make sure the language you are learning in reading and writing activities actually overlaps with your speaking and listening practice.
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Language is dynamic and so is learning one&mdash;you have to be flexible enough to read newspapers one day, study grammar the next and chat with your tutor about all of it. But, teachers don&rsquo;t always know what you are learning in other forums and one of the best things you can do to maximize the impact of your italki lessons is to help them help you.
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How? Give them some clues about your level and vocabulary. Use a free learning platform like <a href="http://lingua.ly/">Lingua.ly</a> to collect words from articles and websites. Next,&nbsp;share the new words and articles you are studying with your teacher before the session starts so they can orient your lesson to the same topic.
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They&rsquo;ll provide you with a thorough speaking and writing workout of words you have already met and reinforce your learning instead of starting you off in a completely new direction.
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<h2>2. Practice strategically</h2>
There are many ways to know a word and cognitive scientists (who know a thing or two about learning) have figured out some tricks to help us transfer information from short to long-term memory more efficiently.
 First off, meet new words in context (italki lessons are great for this) so you can guess their meaning instead of just looking them up. Second, you have to practice vocabulary words at strategic intervals in the days and weeks after you first learn them. Many popular language apps (Duolingo, Memrise, etc.) use spaced repetition&mdash;but only for the words they teach.
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It&rsquo;s up to you to take the language you learned in your italki lesson and add it to a smart platform to ensure you don&rsquo;t forget your new vocabulary. Try Quizlet, Flashcards++ and Anki or use a language-specific tool like <a href="http://lingua.ly/">Lingua.ly</a>.
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<h2>3. Go beyond the &ldquo;virtual classroom&rdquo;</h2>
...and bring learning into your daily life. Tell your italki tutor what you are passionate about, what your work or study routine is like and why you are learning a new language to begin with. Your teacher can then suggest lesson content that is easier for you to relate to and more relevant. This gives you a better chance of acquiring new language and helps you continue your learning once the lessons is over.&nbsp;
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For example, if you are shopping around for a new scooter or planning to watch the World Cup, let your tutor know so they can prepare a lesson anchored in that subject. Save the new words your italki tutor has taught you and then Google them after your lesson to find real websites in the language you are learning. Browse the reviews, read captions on images and maybe even listen to a related Youtube video or two&mdash;you will be reinforcing your learning, taking in more meaningful language and effectively doubling the results of your original lesson.&nbsp;
 Working with an <a href="https://www.italki.com/teachers" target="_blank">italki tutor</a>&nbsp;is one of the best ways to ensure your language study is custom-fit to your level and needs. Try these easy tips to get more out of your learning. Remember, no matter what your level a new milestone is always just around the corner!
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Meredith is a polyglot, applied linguist and digital learning enthusiast who has spent the last seven years working across the language learning industry in various roles from teaching to curriculum development and teacher-training. Previously, she managed the special projects team at Education First. She holds an M.Sc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition from the University of Oxford, a B.A. in French language and literature from Georgetown University and speaks 5 languages fluently.
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Hero Image&nbsp;by&nbsp;<a href="http://lingua.ly/" target="_blank">Lingua.ly</a>

3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your italki Lessons

Learning Article : 3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your italki Lessons
Discuss the Article : 3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your italki Lessons<a href='/article/179/3-ways-to-get-more-out-of-your-italki-lessons' target='_blank'>3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your italki Lessons</a>Working with an italki tutor is one of the best ways to ensure your language study is custom-fit to your level and needs. Try these easy tips to get more out of your learning. Remember, no matter your level, a new milestone is always just around the corner!