I'm Dmitry Ratner, the creator of NativeLingo, a Chrome extension for vocabulary practice while browsing. Here is the product design problem behind it.
Change less of the page
A full-page translation helps someone understand a page immediately. Vocabulary practice has a different goal: keep the reading task intact while exposing the reader to a few unfamiliar words. NativeLingo replaces a small number of words with translations and lets the reader hover to see the original.
The tradeoff is interruption. More replacements mean more exposure, but also more work to read the same paragraph. I see this as a supplement to language study, not a replacement for conversation or lessons.
Keep processing local
NativeLingo processes page text in the browser using a local dictionary. That keeps this feature from depending on sending the page to a remote translation service. A dictionary-based approach also has limits: it should not be mistaken for a general-purpose translator that understands every sentence.
Separate exposure from review
Seeing a word once and recalling it later are different tasks. Word swapping is free; optional Pro features include spaced-repetition reviews in the web app. That gives the browsing experience and deliberate practice separate roles.
If you build browser extensions, I'd be interested in how you evaluate changes to page text. Would you prioritize the number of words encountered, reading interruptions, or whether people can recall those words later?
You can see the extension and its details at nativelingo.io. Disclosure: this is my product.
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